Tag: Futurology
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New robot ‘on the path to self-awareness’
Will robots ever be self-aware? Scientists at Colombia University have built a machine that learns about itself in the same way as a baby. Could it become more intelligent than a human?
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Emergency plan to deflect giant asteroid
Are asteroids our biggest threat? Scientists are now working on a plan to protect Earth from Didymos, a giant rock the size of Egypt’s great pyramid — one of 20,000 known near-Earth objects.
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France hires sci-fi writers to predict threats
Can fiction be truer than fact? The French army is to create a “Red Team” of sci-fi writers to imagine possible, future threats. But many say it is absurd and that soldiers would be better.
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Solar power and smart farms: welcome to utopia
Can we build utopia? For hundreds of years, we have been captivated by the dream of a perfect society. Now, amid the climate crisis, is it time to build an “ecotopia”?
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Android artist’s show makes over £1 million
Can robots create art? One AI artist created by Oxford scientists has just completed her first solo exhibition and sold over £1 million worth of paintings. But some say it isn’t real art.
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Robots to replace 20m factory jobs by 2030
Should we embrace or fear the robot revolution? Yesterday, Oxford Economics warned that up to 20 million manufacturing jobs around the world could be replaced by robots by 2030.
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The sinister rise of deepfake videos
Will deepfakes destroy democracy? In a viral video, Mark Zuckerberg lays out his scheme for world domination using stolen data. But the footage isn’t real — it was created with AI technology.
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Artificial stars could redesign the night sky
Why not re-write the stars? We have the ability. Already, Japan wants to create fake meteor showers, China wants an artificial moon for street lighting and Russia wants to sell advertising.
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Underwater metropolis planned as seas rise
Is the best response to climate change to invent new ways of living? The Japanese Shimizu Corporation plans to build a giant underwater metropolis powered by energy from the seabed.
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The tech arms race shaping your future
Google has restricted Huawei’s use of Android this morning — a huge ramping up of the tech arms race between China and America. The eventual winner could dominate our lives for decades.
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Flying cars and iToilets: welcome to the future
Thousands of glitzy new gadgets have been launched today at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Some of the innovations could transform our lives — but not necessarily for the better.
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Race to make Moon Earth’s eighth continent
Should we colonise the Moon? Yesterday morning, China successfully landed a spacecraft on the Moon’s far side. Some say a new age of lunar exploration (and exploitation) is beginning.
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Mars, meat, monkeys: the best science of 2018
Will they change the world? 2018 has been a year of fascinating experiments and mind-blowing discoveries in science. We take a look at five of the best from the past year…
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Meet Space Force, Trump’s new military branch
Is a new force to protect America in space a good idea? Launching this week, Donald Trump says it will keep the US ahead of China and Russia, but some fear the militarisation of the cosmos.
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You could soon be taking holidays in space
Would you be a space tourist? Virgin Galactic has launched a revolutionary new aircraft to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere — it could take tourists into space as early as next year.