Futurology articles

In 1863, one man warned us about AI - how a 19th-century letter foresaw AI fears

Through the looking glass: In an era when the American Civil War dominated headlines, an English sheep farmer in New Zealand penned a letter that would prove remarkably prophetic. On June 13, 1863, The Press newspaper of Christchurch published a missive titled "Darwin among the Machines," which may contain the first published argument for halting technological progress to prevent machines from dominating humanity.

JetZero aims to make commercial jets flatter (and more futuristic) by 2030

Hidden underground hydrogen reserves could power the entire Earth for centuries

Mercedes is working on "solar paint" that could drastically reduce the need for charging

Are gaming consoles reaching final form? Former PlayStation boss says no more major hardware leaps

What's next for Intel: Split, sell, or shut down the fabs?

In context: Intel has been in play since reporting its disastrous June quarter. Despite turning in a decent quarter last month, the writing has been on the wall for several months that Gelsinger was under pressure. That pressure was coming from all directions – customers, partners, employees, and, not least, the Street. After the company reset guidance in July, the consensus across the financial community was that Intel had to be split in two, and increasingly that Gelsinger had to go.

New $150M facility will fire 7-petawatt lasers to (hopefully) achieve nuclear fusion

Forward-looking: Fusion energy is often regarded as the holy grail of power generation because it harnesses the same atomic process that powers the sun. The concept involves forcing atomic nuclei to fuse together, unleashing immense energy. If scientists can crack the code using lasers, it could lead to a virtually limitless supply of safe, sustainable energy without any carbon emissions.

Researchers achieve first successful communication between dreaming individuals

HaLow protocol establishes new Wi-Fi range record of 9.9 miles

SingularityNET leads effort to build supercomputer network for AGI development

Breakthrough CRAM technology ditches von Neumann model, makes AI 1,000x more energy efficient

Transhumanist author predicts artificial super-intelligence, immortality, and the Singularity by 2045

Dystopian Kurzweil: As Big Tech continues frantically pushing AI development and funding, many users have become concerned about the outcome and dangers of the latest AI advancements. However, one man is more than sold on AI's ability to bring humanity to its next evolutionary level.

Infrared filter allows everyday eyeglasses to double as night vision lenses

OpenAI launches faster and free GPT-4o model – new voice assistant speaks so naturally you will think it's hoaxed

Forward-looking: OpenAI just introduced GPT-4o (GPT-4 Omni or "O" for short). The model is no "smarter" than GPT-4 but still some remarkable innovations set it apart: the ability to process text, visual, and audio data simultaneously, almost no latency between asking and answering, and an unbelievably human-sounding voice.

Survey reveals almost half of all managers aim to replace workers with AI, could use it to lower wages

A hot potato: A lot of companies try to assuage fears that employees will lose their jobs to AI by assuring them they'll be working alongside the tech, thereby improving efficiency and making their duties less tedious. That claim feels less convincing in light of a new survey that found 41% of managers said they are hoping to replace workers with cheaper AI tools in 2024.

Ventiva shows off tech to keep chips and devices cool

In context: We've noticed a burning sensation in our pockets lately. Not the bite of inflation, but an actual heat source coming from our phones. Maybe it is 5G, maybe it is a design decision made by Apple, or by TSMC, whatever the reason, our smartphone runs hot.

Eco-friendly "water batteries" are cheaper and safer than lithium-ions

Data Governance and Provenance: Two words that are critical to the future of generative AI

DVD-like optical disc could store 1.6 petabits (or 200 terabytes) on 100 layers

Wrestling with AI and the AIpocalypse we should be worried about

Editor's take: Like almost everyone in tech today, we have spent the past year trying to wrap our heads around "AI". What it is, how it works, and what it means for the industry. We are not sure that we have any good answers, but a few things have been clear. Maybe AGI (artificial general intelligence) will emerge, or we'll see some other major AI breakthrough, but focusing too much on those risks could be overlooking the very real – but also very mundane – improvements that transformer networks are already delivering.

Custom data center reaches 64 gigatransfers per second through optical PCIe 6.0

HaLow Wi-Fi standard achieves 1.8-mile range in field test