The 'show why science is awesome' thread:

[espressojim]

Ok, but it was never in the hands of a group of researchers without a profit motive.

Microsoft has their own set of researchers working on this. You can root for your favorite AI to optimize your life.

Microsoft creates an AI research lab to challenge Google and DeepMind –...

[Mellified]

Peter F. Hamilton has “G8Turing” AIs in his latest series - 8th generation of AI designed by AI. I can’t help but think DeepMind and its ilk are generation 0.

[BennyProfane]

@espressojim

Ok, but it was never in the hands of a group of researchers without a profit motive.

Microsoft has their own set of researchers working on this. You can root for your favorite AI to optimize your life.

https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/12/microsoft-creates-an-ai-research-lab-to-challenge-google-and-deepmind/

I am aware that it takes enormous resources for this sort of project. That doesn’t mean I have to like the ramifications thereof.

[sillhouette]

I remember setting my PS3 to contribute to Folding@Home when idle. Those were the days…

[DeepT]

@Mellified

Peter F. Hamilton has “G8Turing” AIs in his latest series - 8th generation of AI designed by AI. I can’t help but think DeepMind and its ilk are generation 0.

When we get an general AI that can design a better general AI then:
We are on the brink of changes to make the world fantastically better
OR
We are on the brink of the extinction of the human race.

[fox.ferro]

Likely both.

[BloodyBattleBrain]

@DeepT

We are on the brink of changes to make the world fantastically better
OR
We are on the brink of the extinction of the human race.

@fox.ferro

Likely both.

a cynic might say these are the same thing! :P

[Timemaster_Tim]

Scientists Capture Incredibly Rare Footage of Deep-Sea Fish Devouring a Whole...

Rather cool unless you are the shark.

[BloodyBattleBrain]

I am always amazed by what happens in the seas.

I mean, even just scuba diving or snorkeling opens up a whole new world that is there all the time that you never even really think about.

[Mellified]

This is amazing!

Brain-controlled gaming exists, though ethical questions loom over the tech

[ShivaX]

Massimo (Rainmaker1973)

[vinraith]

@ShivaX

Aluminium oxynitride

I love that every year someone discovers this anew and that it’s still Star Trek IV that’s brought to mind (makes me feel slightly less old). Funnily enough the patents actually precede that movie, this stuff has been around for a long time. That it’s not seeing wider use is, I presume, a result of expense/difficulty in manufacturing.

[Balasarius]

@ShivaX

85% as hard as sapphire

I wasn’t aware we’re using semi-precious gems as a measurement of strength.

[fox.ferro]

I think sapphire is used as a high-end (pricey) alternative to things like gorilla glass for certain applications, though I’m not sure how common it is. But it’s among the top standards to aspire to for transparent materials.

[Becoming]

Sustained, High-Fidelity Quantum Teleportation Achieved for the First Time

[Houngan]

Extremely common in higher end watches, other than that probably optical applications.

[Houngan]

I was hovering above a reef once and looked up, three jackfish-esque fish were just hanging out in formation in the middle of the water column above me. Looked like lions, or some other predator that knows it’s the meanest thing in the area. Reminded me I was among the 1 percent slowest, most helpless things in the ocean.

[ineffablebob]

Korean artificial sun sets the new world record of 20-sec-long operation at...

The Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research(KSTAR), a superconducting fusion device also known as the Korean artificial sun, set the new world record as it succeeded in maintaining the high temperature plasma for 20 seconds with an ion temperature over 100 million degrees.
…
To re-create fusion reactions that occur in the sun on Earth, hydrogen isotopes must be placed inside a fusion device like KSTAR to create a plasma state where ions and electrons are separated, and ions must be heated and maintained at high temperatures.
…
Director Si-Woo Yoon of the KSTAR Research Center at the KFE explained, “The technologies required for long operations of 100 million- plasma are the key to the realization of fusion energy, and the KSTAR’s success in maintaining the high-temperature plasma for 20 seconds will be an important turning point in the race for securing the technologies for the long high-performance plasma operation, a critical component of a commercial nuclear fusion reactor in the future.”

I suppose this could also go into What Could Possibly Go Wrong, but so far, so good!

[RichVR]

An important step. Nice to see it.

[jpinard]

That is so exciting. Super happy for them.