I'm moving this website to plausiblefutures.wordpress.com

Technologies are emerging that extend survival by delaying death from chronic fatal diseases. Pushing this envelope may briefly quench our insatiable thirst for extended life and temporarily quell our fear of death, but continuing to do so may turn out to be harmful unless it soon becomes possible to scientifically engineer an extension of the vigor of youth in both body and mind. In this article we go beyond usual scientific reasoning and imagine how the human body might have been designed differently if biology were goal-oriented.

Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESLT) introducing at AUSA Winter the Versatile, Intelligent, Portable Robot (VIPeR), the newest member of its unmanned systems family. The new robot is displayed at the company's booth at the USA Winter Symposium and Exhibition. VIPeR was developed for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) within the framework of its Portable Unmanned Ground Vehicle (PUGV) program, and in close cooperation with The Israeli Ministry of Defence’s Directorate of Defense R&D (DDR&D). Following operational evaluation, the IDF plans on fielding VIPeR in its infantry platoons.

Today, scientists aren’t just mapping genomes and manipulating genes, they’re building life from scratch – and they’re doing it in the absence of societal debate and regulatory oversight.

The Altair 8800, introduced in the early 1970s, was the first computer you could build at home from a kit. It was crude, didn't do much, but many historians would say that it launched the desktop computer revolution. Hod Lipson, Cornell assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, thinks a little machine he calls a Fab@Home may have the same impact.

The ongoing debate on the proposed missile defense shield in Europe is heating up. Poland and the Czech Republic are among the possible sites and the UK is now showing interest in supporting the missile shield. Fears over the destabilising effects of such a shield was confirmed by a Russian general who said that they would target the system.

For sure, Huxley was writing a satirical piece of fiction, not scientific prophecy. Hence to treat his masterpiece as ill-conceived futurology rather than a work of great literature might seem to miss the point. Yet the knee-jerk response of "It's Brave New World!" to any blueprint for chemically-driven happiness has delayed research into paradise-engineering for all sentient life.

I have decided to launch a Norwegian-speaking blog for the topics covered here. I'm firing off with some science-fictional writing I did last winter.

Since the time of the Industrial Revolution there has been a relatively consistent pattern of 50-year waves of techno-economic change. We are currently nearing the end of the fifth wave of information technology diffusion, while a sixth wave is emerging with converging advancements across the NBIC (nano-bio-info-cogno) space, making possible neurotechnology, the set of tools that can influence the human central nervous system, especially the brain.

The Universe offers humanity endless possibilities and new frontiers, but can we maintain the ideas of civilization and civility so far from home?

One common argument against pursuing a molecular assembler or nanofactory design effort is that the end results are too dangerous. According to this argument, any research into molecular manufacturing (MM) should be blocked because this technology might be used to build systems that could cause extraordinary damage. The kinds of concerns that nanoweapons systems might create have been discussed elsewhere, in both the nonfictional and fictional literature. See also "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibilty: Time for the Synthetic Biology Community to Acknowledge Three Responsibilities" by Roger Brent.

The legendary pioneer of artificial intelligence ponders the brain, bashes neuroscience, and lays out a plan for superhuman robot servants.

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Adjusts Clock From 7 to 5 Minutes Before Midnight; Citing Deteriorating Global Situation, Nuclear Weapons, Climate Change and Emerging Technologies.

It all started late in the 20th century. In 1992, an official announcement by the World Energy Council (WEC) stated clearly that the planet was not running out of energy resources. A few years later, the International Energy Agency (IEA) also ratified that there was more than enough energy, including oil and gas, to last for many decades. Such news from two recognized institutions like the WEC and the IEA openly contradicted the pessimistic views of the previous reports of the Club of Rome, which had forecasted in 1972 that the world would be running out of resources by the end of the 20th century.

This a series of three BBC documentaries that show how fear is an ultimate tool for politicians to preserve their power. As director Adam Curtis puts it, “Instead of delivering dreams, politicians now promise to protect us: from nightmares.”

Far from reality but interesting as a concept is Willanius Willhelmsen's zero emissions ship, the E/S Orcelle. It is the ship of the future - powered by the sun, wind and waves. The futuristic vessel has no conventional engines, uses no fossil fuels and releases no harmful emissions into the atmosphere or pollution into the sea. A pentamaran shaped hull (5 parallel hulls) using aluminium and thermoplastic composites reduces weight and drag. Designed to carry 10,000 cars the 250 metre long, 50 metre wide ship may be the emissions free ship of the future.

In order to give you pleasant dreams tonight, let me offer a few possibilities about the days that lie ahead — changes that may occur within the next twenty or so years, roughly a single human generation. Possibilities that are taken seriously by some of today's best minds. Potential transformations of human life on Earth and, perhaps, even what it means to be human.

An interview with Gary McKinnon, also known as Solo, is a British hacker accused by the United States of perpetrating the "biggest military computer hack of all time." Following legal hearings in the UK it was decided in July 2006 that he should be extradited to the United States. Visit Free Gary McKinnon

Imagine being present at the birth of a new industry. It is an industry based on groundbreaking new technologies, wherein a handful of well-established corporations sell highly specialized devices for business use and a fast-growing number of start-up companies produce innovative toys, gadgets for hobbyists and other interesting niche products. But it is also a highly fragmented industry with few common standards or platforms.

René Jean Marie Joseph Guénon (November 15, 1886 – January 7, 1951) also named Sheikh 'Abd al-Wahid Yahya upon his acceptance of Islam, was a French-born author. His field was metaphysics, applied to the study of cultural traditions. Labels such as philosopher and thinker were disowned by Guénon, who described himself as an "exposer of traditional data". His work dealing with history of religions and social criticism may be interpreted as by-products of the traditional function with which he was invested: to provide modern man with the means to understand traditional societies.

[FROM THE ARCHIVES]
When blackouts sweep the country (probably in 5 to 10 years) the political environment WILL change radically, but not in the way most people hope it will. One day we will wake up and suddenly the scientific truth WILL serve the political agenda of the ruling elites. Let's call that looming revolutionary day the "Pythagorean Revolution" in honor of the man who discovered that the Earth was spherical, and thus finite, approximately 2,500 years ago.

Engineers from the University of Cambridge and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have unveiled a radical design for a "silent aircraft".