futurism
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On Russian terraforming: The race to reshape our planet's future
What would it mean to abandon Earth wholesale? The proposition to throw one’s hands up and forfeit our planet is a seductive one — things are looking pretty irredeemably grim.
DARPA wants to build wetware so we can mind control computers
Hot damn, our Ghost in the Shell future is getting closer by the day. DARPA announced on Tuesday that it is interested in developing wetware -- implantable brain-machine interfaces (BMI) that will allow their users to control computers with their thoughts. The device, developed as part of the Neural Engineering System Design (NESD) program, would essentially translate the chemical signals in our neurons into digital code. What's more, DARPA expects this interface to be no larger than two nickels stacked atop one another.
Korean robots to build high-rises by 2010
Dude, Korea knows we've been sending humans to do a robot's job for far too long already, and in a few short years the dangerous world of high rise construction could be left to the true masters of the craft. By 2010, the Korean Construction and Transportation Ministry hopes to have an almost completely automated construction process in place for high-rise projects that could cut labor costs by up to a third, project timelines by 15 percent, and reduce the number of construction-related injuries on these typically dangerous projects. Of course, an inevitable robotic Jurgis Rudkus will be blowing the whistle on robotic working conditions shortly thereafter. Still, civilization stands to benefit greatly from the accelerated completion of super-sized skyscrapers -- at least until the builders turn on us and convert us into human fuel cells.
