Great article. I'm glad 'Star Trek' still looms so large in the public imagination; it's given us a really hopeful template for the future.
Lugh
joined 2 years ago
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This topic fascinates me. There are more space telescopes from Europe, the US and China due to launch, that will have even greater capability for biosignature detection than now. I wonder how soon the day will come when one of these findings will be regarded as definitive proof?
I don't like or support Hezbollah, but the added irony here is that Northern Ireland (where Mo Chara is from) is festooned with British-supporting terrorist flags from groups like the UDF & UDA; pro-British terrorist groups active during The Troubles.
Both the US & Russia have claimed Mach 20 with the HTV-2 (DARPA's Falcon Project) & Avangard respectively. China’s DF-ZF HGV reportedly reaches Mach 5–10.
If this golden dome goes ahead, I suspect/guess the ensuing counter-developments will mean true Mach 20 will be achievable within a ten year time frame for all three countries.
I’m calling bullshit.
Their findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal, Nature.
without refrigerant
Yes, they say this does away with the need for compressors or refrigerants.
"This cools by using electrons to move heat through specialized semiconductor materials, eliminating the need for moving parts or challenging coolant liquids."
79% of 16-21 year olds say technology companies should be required by law to build robust privacy safeguards into technology and platforms used by children and teenagers.
This is another illustration of the huge divide between Big Tech and everyone else. Big Tech wants total freedom from regulation with no accountability for any damage or costs to others they cause. The general population overwhelmingly feels the opposite. Thanks to their ability to line politician's pockets, it's Big Tech who usually wins out.
In Britain's case, desperate to get a trade deal with the US, it's been dangling the offer of even less regulation on tech & AI.
then prescriptions should be done away with and all drugs should be available.
It used to be the way the world was. The result was huge amounts of addiction (laudanum was 10% opium), and gullible people being peddled snake oil.
The bill, which was passed by the state legislature on April 29 and is expected to be signed by Governor Greg Gianforte, essentially expands on existing Right to Try legislation in the state.
The same people who are denying abortions & medical care to trans people, are all for "freedom" and right to choose when it comes to other people's medical choices?
…in a similar way as with conventional rental cars – which can be hired to transport people to “a range of destinations, including cultural landmarks and urban tourist attractions.”
Baidu, like everyone else, still hasn't got to true Level 5 self-driving. But it doesn't need Level 5 to be offering services like this. If you have mapped out the 100 most popular destinations in a city, and fixed routes between them, then level 4 self-driving like they have now, is all you need.
This isn't the same as a regular rental car you can drive anywhere, but many people would be happy with a car that covers a city's Top 100 spots. How does this differ from a taxi? Seemingly that you rent it for specified time slots, whether you're in the car driving or not.
Google recently held its big annual product announcement event - I/O 2025 - and it got lots of upbeat coverage. There were dozens of new product upgrades across Android, Search, Gmail, etc. Of course, the big focus was AI.
Google seemed to be lagging in AI but has caught up to speed lately with its models topping various AI leaderboards. Not surprising, Google has deep wells of computing power and talent to compete in AI.
However, behind the scenes, all is not so rosy. Almost 75% of Google's revenue comes from search, and it's about to be obliterated. As anyone who has gotten used to using ChatGPT, Claude, or DeepSeek instead of Google Search will tell you - AI is miles better. Google is about to transform old Search into an AI Search like ChatGPT, Claude, DeepSeek, and all the other AIs, but the problem is their days of 90% market domination in this new medium don't seem repeatable.
Google are about to be replaced as the dominant means of internet search - but just how much, and how fast?