There are way too many awesome stories around the web every week and especially this week I had a hard time picking. But I managed to choose a few things.
So, here we go.
Hope this sparks good conversations.
SPACE
"I said YES immediately"
Stephen Hawking is going to outer space! This week Hawking accepted the invetation by Virgin Galactic to take him to space, for free. If there is one person I'd like to see going to space, of course he is the guy.
At 75 years of age, Hawking won’t be the oldest astronaut ever (that designation belongs to John Glenn, who went to space at the age of 77), but he will definitely be the first person to go to space with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ASL) disease.
"Professor Stephen Hawking is one of the people I admire most in the world, an undisputed genius who has opened our eyes to the wonders of the universe, while also happening to be a kind and delightful man. He is the only person I have given a free ticket with Virgin Galactic, and he is signed up to fly as a Future Astronaut with us if his health permits it." Sir Richard Branson says.
AUTOMATION
Swedish Startup Wheelys opens up its first test store in Shanghai, its the world's first unmanned Convenience Store.
No Clerks Required in World's First Unmanned Convenience Store
"The customer installs an app on their phone, which allows them to access the store. When inside they simply scan the bar code of the goods they want and upon leaving the store their credit card will be charged for their purchases. ...Much like Wheelys' strategy selling its bike-cafes, the company's ultimate goal is to license the technology so any retailer can integrate it into their pre-existing stores. In the company's words, "What Uber did for taxis, we do for retail."
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Google created an AI that can learn almost as fast as humans.
Their method mimics the processes of learning that occur in human and animal brains.
MOSTLY HUMAN: Dead, IRL
If you could create a digital version of yourself to stick around long after you've died, would you want to?
If you've binged on all the episodes in Black Mirror you probably remember the one where the boyfriend dies and his girlfriend decides for a company to collect all his data and recreate his personality virtually. Well, not fiction anymore. This service exist in our reality too.
"In November 2015, Eugenia Kuyda's best friend Roman unexpectedly passed away. She created an experiment to bring parts of him back to life...Using artificial intelligence, she created a computerized chatbot based off his personality."
Chatbots are getting more and more real.
- A startup are creating humanly realistic virtual faces for their customer service chatbots. And they've also go the ability to read yours.
- Lonely? Hugging Face is another chatbot which apparently makes you feel you've got a friend.
IBM Infographics
I love the company IBM, to me it seems like they are in the forefront within every field, from machine learning, quantum computers, blockchain, medical research etc everything.
This week Futurism published an infographic, so I give you the pleasure to check it out!
An emotionally intelligent computer might already have an EQ higher than yours.
EARTH & ENERGY
A river in New Zealand was just granted the same legal rights as a human being.
VIRTUAL REALITY
Disney Researchers Catch a Real Ball in Virtual Reality
Disney is in the forefront of technology and dedicated to Mixed Reality
Now Disney's researchers have made catching a real ball while immersed in VR possible.
"It's very difficult to convey touching something in the virtual world with physical feedback. But what if you could interact with real world objects that appear in the virtual world. Disney Research decided to carry out just such an experiment by asking the question: can you catch a real ball in virtual reality?"
You can now control your VR game with your brain waves
BLOCKCHAIN
Blockchain is helping us feed the poor.
"The World Food Programme (WFP) is using the Ethereum blockchain to securely and transparently distribute cash assistance to the hungry.
The WFP's pilot program, Building Blocks, is demonstrating how blockchain can empower humanitarian organizations to quickly and safely send aid to undeveloped nations."
Blockchain will revolutionize every industry. I'm certain of that.
BIOTECH
The world's firt head transplant will take place in December 2017..
MEDICINE
The Amazing Hela Cells
I found the story about the Hela cells great and important. And I can't help but wonder how come we didn't learn about this study in school. In fact,
Breast Cancer
A new drug destroys breast cancer tumor within 11 days without the use of chemotherapy.
Longevity
An anti aging drug might be on the market within 2020.
ROBOTICS
Animal cyborgs
SOCIETY
According to a recent study done by UN Norway is the happiest country in the world. Well I got lucky. I'm a citizen of this beautiful country but I'm not sure where all this happiness is, I'd rather say we are content. Perhaps thats also why we are not the most innovative country?
COMMUNICATION
Researchers created a new type of Li-fi system thats 100 times faster than Wi-fi. So, it might replace Wi-fi in not too long hopefully...
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