This Ingenious Skyscraper Would Hang from an Asteroid and Float Between Cities

Basically, this sounds like a building wrapped around a space elevator that's not tethered to the ground, but instead floats around the skies above the Earth:

http://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/architects-propose-an-insane-skyscraper-suspended-from-an-orbiting-asteroid

This Is What Makes Quantum Computers Powerful Problem Solvers

Using a clear analogy to explain how quantum computers work:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/03/30/this-is-what-makes-quantum-computers-powerful-problem-solvers/

A Paralyzed Man Was Able to Move His Arm With His Brain

Figure out the signals the brain puts out when imagining a task, then use those signals to activate a cyborg arm. Makes sense!

http://time.com/4715028/paralysis-brain-arm/

Google Chases General Intelligence With New AI That Has a Memory

https://singularityhub.com/2017/03/29/google-chases-general-intelligence-with-new-ai-that-has-a-memory/

Scientists reverse aging in mice by repairing damaged DNA

This could have gone into more detail about what it could mean for aging:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/scientists-reverse-aging-in-mice-by-repairing-damaged-dna

Customer Service Chatbots Are About to Become Frighteningly Realistic

The uncanny valley is still there, but as the video shows...human simulation is getting damn close:

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603895/customer-service-chatbots-are-about-to-become-frighteningly-realistic/?set=603954

Running the Numbers for Tesla’s Solar Roof: How Much Will It Cost You?

A cool idea, but solar tiles don't ventilate well, and they're fiddly, so I wouldn't expect them to take off for a while yet:

https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/the-economics-of-teslas-solar-roof

The Solar Singularity: 2017 Update

An excellent rundown of the trends in solar, wind, storage, electric vehicles and self-driving vehicles:

https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/the-solar-singularity-2017-update-ev-autonomous-energy-storage

This week in the war on workers: Self-driving cars will kill a lot of jobs. What then?

Trucking will likely be among the first mass casualties, and there are a LOT of truck drivers:

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/3/25/1646899/-This-week-in-the-war-on-workers-Self-driving-cars-will-kill-a-lot-of-jobs-What-then

Spinach Leaf Transformed Into Beating Human Heart Tissue

I guess Popeye was right:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/03/human-heart-spinach-leaf-medicine-science/

New Self-Assembly Technique Could Lead to Smaller Microchip Patterns

Boring but potentially important:

https://scitechdaily.com/new-self-assembly-technique-lead-smaller-microchip-patterns/

Uber’s Self-Driving Crash Proves We Need Self-Driving Cars

If it was the human driver who was at fault, not the self-driving car, then the accident is evidence that we need self-driving cars ASAP:

https://www.wired.com/2017/03/uber-self-driving-crash-tempe-arizona/

Mayo Clinic discovers high-intensity aerobic training can reverse aging

This could explain why I'm so immature. :-)

http://www.kurzweilai.net/mayo-clinic-discovers-high-intensity-aerobic-training-can-reverse-aging

Scientists Can Reverse DNA Aging in Mice

Were we but mice! All it takes is a kick in the NADs:

http://time.com/4711023/how-to-keep-your-dna-from-aging/?xid=newsletter-brief

Infrared-light-based Wi-Fi network is 100 times faster

http://www.kurzweilai.net/infrared-light-based-wi-fi-network-is-100-times-faster

Amazon’s CEO Just Demoed the World’s First Manned Bipedal Robot

The first battlemech is here! Well, sort of:

https://futurism.com/amazons-ceo-just-demoed-the-worlds-first-manned-bipedal-robot/

The US Military Will Usher in a Widespread Use of Laser Weapons in the 2020s

Pew, pew:

http://bigthink.com/philip-perry/the-us-military-plans-to-usher-in-widespread-use-of-laser-weapons-by-the-2020s

Kurzweil claims singularity will happen by 2045

I find it odd that Kurzweil says he thinks we'll achieve human brain parity in artificial intelligence by 2029, but doesn't think the singularity will occur until 2045. Why such a long gap?

http://www.kurzweilai.net/futurism-kurzweil-claims-singularity-will-happen-by-2045

The productivity paradox

According to this article, automation and other tech isn't the problem when it comes to job losses, but the solution:

https://medium.com/@ryanavent_93844/the-productivity-paradox-aaf05e5e4aad#.nk9fxgezx

This Is What Happens When We Debate Ethics in Front of Superintelligent AI

A short film that nicely encapsulates the problem with artificial intelligence and the singularity:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/03/19/this-is-what-happens-when-we-debate-ethics-in-front-of-superintelligent-ai/

Building Safe A.I.

The gist of the long article:

"Homomorphic encryption is a special type of encryption that allows you to do computation on data and get an answer, all while keeping the data encrypted so that the computer doesn't know what the real data is.  Now, if you can homomorphically encrypt the neural network itself, then it starts to have some really interesting applications.  The most interesting of them is that if you built a general A.I. at some point that was homomorphically encrypted, all the output would be encrypted and useless to the network itself, or anyone who didn't have the key.  This could provide a control mechanism for a smarter A.I.":

https://iamtrask.github.io/2017/03/17/safe-ai/

Meet 'Professor X,' the AI genius who left his lab at Princeton to beat Uber, Google, and Intel at their own game

His impressive system uses little more than several $50 cameras to self-drive as well as anyone else's cars:

http://www.businessinsider.com/autox-ceo-jianxiong-xiao-interview-2017-3

Researchers Unveiled The First Chicken Meat Grown Without Chickens

Good, progress continues to be made on this front, which could be a major game-changer (though the price is going to have to drop below $9,000 per pound before I order them McNuggets...):

https://futurism.com/researchers-unveiled-the-first-chicken-meat-grown-without-chickens/

The Brain: A Radical Rethink Is Needed to Understand It

There may be more to creating an artificial human brain than previously thought:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/03/17/the-brain-a-radical-rethink-is-needed-to-understand-it/

Driverless flying taxi service set to launch in Dubai

Even with a 30 minute battery life, this could be extremely useful:

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/17/tech/ehang-passenger-drone-dubai/index.html

Just make sure they have parachutes installed.

Experts Predict the Timeline for Self-Driving Cars

https://futurism.com/experts-predict-the-timeline-for-self-driving-cars/

What Rights Should We Give to Sentient Robots?

It'll be fun to watch society grapple with this:

https://futurism.com/what-rights-should-we-give-to-sentient-robots/

Kurzweil Claims That the Singularity Will Happen by 2029

Kurzweil has been criticized for predicting that the technological singularity will occur around 2045. This article says he's now saying computers will reach human parity in 2029. However, achieving human-level intelligence in machines and reaching the singularity are evidently two very different things to Kurzweil, since he's been saying BOTH these things for many years now:

https://futurism.com/kkurzweil-claims-that-the-singularity-will-happen-by-2029/

From Wikipedia's summary of 2005's The Singularity is Near:

"This decade [the 2020s] also marks the revolution in Robotics (Strong AI), as an AI is expected to pass the Turing test by the last year of the decade (2029), meaning it can pass for a human being (though the first A.I. is likely to be the equivalent of an average, educated human). What follows then will be an era of consolidation in which nonbiological intelligence will undergo exponential growth (Runaway AI), eventually leading to the extraordinary expansion contemplated by the Singularity, in which human intelligence is multiplied by billions by the mid-2040s."

New Artificial Synapse Bridges the Gap to Brain-Like Computers

We need a more efficient computing system that uses far less energy, and this may be a solution:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/03/15/new-artificial-synapse-bridges-the-gap-to-brain-like-computers/

Your Most-Pressing Universal Basic Income Questions Answered

An excellent (if perhaps a bit optimistic) rundown of the advantages of a UBI:

https://futurism.com/your-most-pressing-universal-basic-income-questions-answered/

Over the last 60 years, automation has totally eliminated just one US occupation

Just one job? I had thought it was MOST jobs:

https://qz.com/932516/over-the-last-60-years-automation-has-totally-eliminated-just-one-us-occupation/

But when robots can do EVERYTHING we can do, and better, virtually every job will be eliminated.

Are Self-Driving Cars a Motion-Sickness Nightmare Waiting to Happen?

I know a lot of people who get sick while reading in a car (I read a lot in the car with no problem, but every now and then I too can get a little nauseated):

http://bigthink.com/philip-perry/if-youre-prone-to-motion-sickness-a-self-driving-car-might-be-your-worst-nightmare

Brain has more than 100 times higher computational capacity than previously thought, say UCLA scientists

Does this mean the development of human-like general artificial intelligence will be delayed significantly?

http://www.kurzweilai.net/brain-has-more-than-100-times-higher-computational-capacity-than-previously-thought-say-ucla-scientists

Engineers shrink atomic-force microscope to dime-sized device

From $500K down to a few thousand dollars? Not bad:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/engineers-shrink-atomic-force-microscope-to-dime-sized-device

Tesla Unveils an Enormous Solar Farm to Replace 1.6M Gallons of Fuel a Year

I wonder if such massive utility-scale projects will be able to continue to make a profit as the price of solar continues to drop:

https://futurism.com/tesla-unveils-an-enormous-solar-farm-to-replace-1-6m-gallons-of-fuel-a-year/

How Fully Synthetic Complex Life Just Got a Lot Closer

https://singularityhub.com/2017/03/12/how-fully-synthetic-complex-life-just-got-a-lot-closer/

Exponential Solar Power Growth Means Fossil Fuels Are Toast

Total solar dominance in 12 years? I'm down with that:

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article58393.html

Car Wars

A great rundown of the various companies vying to capture the driverless car market:

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/03/everything-you-need-to-know-about-driverless-cars-a-cribsheet/518847/

The Solar Industry Beyond 2017

http://seekingalpha.com/article/4054020-solar-industry-beyond-2017

The optimist’s guide to the robot apocalypse

I think the assessments are indeed optimistic (meaning more sunny than is likely), since eventually machines will become better at ANYTHING humans can do. But it's an interesting viewpoint:

https://qz.com/904285/the-optimists-guide-to-the-robot-apocalypse/

Cruise the Streets (and the Air) of the Future With Airbus

This is a cool concept. The especially interesting part is having a mix of owned (the car) and rented (the drone):

https://futurism.com/videos/cruise-the-streets-and-the-air-of-the-future-with-airbus/

IBM-led international research team stores one bit of data on a single atom

This conventional magnetic storage could lead to 1,000 times higher storage density:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/ibm-led-international-research-team-stores-one-bit-of-data-on-a-single-atom

Mysterious flashes could be alien spacecraft at work, Harvard scientists say

Probably not...but interesting speculation:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/03/10/mysterious-flashes-could-alien-spacecraft-workharvard-scientists/

The boom is here: U.S. solar experiences record-smashing year

Nice! Although utility gains are far outstripping residential gains:

https://thinkprogress.org/report-u-s-solar-sales-doubled-in-2016-and-prices-dropped-20-percent-869b8a00989c#.u0ee0gk1e

Volkswagen’s Futuristic ‘Lounge on Wheels’ Drives Itself

An idea of what fully driverless cars may look like:

https://futurism.com/volkswagens-futuristic-lounge-on-wheels-drives-itself/

Autonomous Cars 101, with Brad Templeton

An older but nice rundown on how society will change with driverless cars:

http://bigthink.com/videos/autonomous-cars-101-with-brad-templeton-2

How to control robots with your mind

http://www.kurzweilai.net/how-to-control-robots-with-your-mind

A Magnetotail Around Mars Would Cause the Planet to Terraform Itself

"Though the plan is entirely theoretical, if it worked, the planet could actually be livable in about a century or so, NASA scientists claim."

Terraform Mars in a century? I like it!

http://bigthink.com/philip-perry/a-magnetotail-around-mars-would-cause-the-planet-to-terraform-itself

The 5 Jobs Robots Will Take Last

I suspect that early-grade school teachers will not be among the last to go, since a robot and a human supervisor could replace teachers rather quickly, I think...but the list is good food for thought:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-jobs-robots-take-last-shelly-palmer

‘Artificial Intelligence’ Has Become Meaningless

Unfortunately, this is true:

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/03/what-is-artificial-intelligence/518547/

Lawrence Summers says Bill Gates’ idea for a robot tax is “profoundly misguided”

Taxing robots is a lot more complex than it sounds:

https://qz.com/925412/lawrence-summers-says-bill-gates-idea-for-a-robot-tax-is-profoundly-misguided/

4 Ways Scientists Hope Nanobots Will Make You Healthier

That this is even mainstream is delightful to read, particularly because 30+ years ago when I first read about this, most people thought it laughable:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/03/07/4-ways-scientists-hope-nanobots-will-make-you-healthier/

IBM thinks it’s ready to turn quantum computing into an actual business

https://qz.com/924433/ibm-thinks-its-ready-to-turn-quantum-computing-into-an-actual-business/

New Study Confirms That the Future of Data Storage Is in DNA

"We showed that we can reach a density of 215 Petabytes per gram of DNA." Well now!

https://futurism.com/4-the-future-of-data-storage-is-in-the-dna-new-study-confirms/

25 Shocking Predictions about the Coming Driverless Car Era in the U.S.

I'm not entirely convinced that the transition will be all that quick for people in more rural areas, who still need transportation but don't get the advantages of population density. But otherwise, it all looks pretty likely:

http://www.futuristspeaker.com/job-opportunities/25-shocking-predictions-about-the-coming-driverless-car-era-in-the-u-s/#sthash.shqm5tff.dpuf

See How This House Was 3D Printed in Just 24 Hours

It's coming right along!

https://singularityhub.com/2017/03/05/watch-this-house-get-3d-printed-in-24-hours/

Denmark Just Ran Their Entire Country on 100% Wind Energy

Nice. Add in solar and battery packs to capture the extra, and fossil fuels can disappear:

https://futurism.com/denmark-just-ran-their-entire-country-on-100-wind-energy/

Researchers Have Found a “Reset Button” for Aging Cells

https://futurism.com/researchers-have-found-a-reset-button-for-aging-cells/

Geneticists Are Pioneering a Way to Postpone Death Using Human DNA

https://futurism.com/geneticists-are-pioneering-a-way-to-postpone-death-using-human-dna/