Ariadne

The flying car, nearly here?

Robert Hickson • Apr 21, 2017

• flying cars,
• future,
• transport

A small German-based company, Lilium, has announced that they have successfully tested an electric “flying car”. A ducted fan mini-plane really.   Others are also looking at developing small air-borne taxis. But Lilium is the first to have a working prototype. Initially piloted, but Lilium hopes it can become autonomous and able to be summoned using a smart … Read More

Hoppy meals

Robert Hickson • Apr 20, 2017

• agriculture,
• food,
• future farming,
• trends

Here’s a weak signal associated with changing dietary habits. Grasshoppers were on the menu at a Major League Baseball game in the US recently. At a Seattle Mariners vs Astros game six kilos of spicy grasshoppers sold out. I wrote in October in more detail about some of the trends and challenges associated with traditional western food consumption. Read More

Death and resurrection

Robert Hickson • Apr 17, 2017

• death,
• longevity,
• Society,
• transhumanist,
• trends

The oldest person in the world has died, aged 117. Life expectancy in Italy in 1899 when she was born was 44 years. She wasn’t the oldest; the current record is 122. NZ’s oldest living person is 109, although the oldest so far reached 113 years. Life expectancy in New Zealand has, as elsewhere, risen … Read More

Foresight as a gravitational force

Robert Hickson • Mar 21, 2017

• anticipatory governance,
• foresight

Jonathan Boston, of Victoria University, is launching two books this week on anticipatory governance. These are based on his study tour looking at how other governments look ahead. One, Safeguarding the future, from Bridget Williams Books is an extended précis of his larger Governing for the future. Jonathan notes New Zealand and many other governments have … Read More

Send lawyers, bots, and money

Robert Hickson • Mar 14, 2017

• artificial intelligence,
• financial,
• future of work,
• legal

The bank JP Morgan Chase & Co. has used machine learning to complete some mundane tasks (such as interpreting commercial-loan agreements) in “… a matter of seconds”  that would normally take 360,000 human hours. It also reduced the number of mistakes. Many legal firms (and banks) are investing in artificial intelligence (AI) to take over routine tasks. Including … Read More

The internet of predatory things

Robert Hickson • Mar 05, 2017

• Big Data,
• conservation,
• internet of things,
• predator free New Zealand

My first job after completing my Bachelor’s was tracking and trapping rats on Stewart Island. Decades later, the tools and approaches for mammalian pest control have progressed; better lures, traps and poisons. But not so much. Particularly if you compare how the field of genetics has changed over the same time; from laborious manual DNA sequencing to high-speed automation. The … Read More

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Autonomous beasts and where to find them

Robert Hickson • Mar 02, 2017

• biomimicry,
• robots

Seeing Boston Dynamics’ latest robot “Handle” got me thinking about the diversity of other autonomous (or nearly so) robots that have appeared over the last few years.   I’ve previously noted the prediction of a robotic “Cambrian explosion”. We aren’t at that stage yet, but it is interesting to look at the variety “out” there. Though mostly … Read More

Cyborg bugs

Robert Hickson • Feb 10, 2017

• biosensors,
• cyborgs,
• ethics,
• genetic modification,
• robots

Here’s a sci-fi scenario that may become reality: genetically modified cyborgs susceptible to mind control. That’s the plan for a collaboration between engineering R&D firm Draper and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.  They are focusing on dragonflies, and using optogenetics so that their movements can be controlled by light. The techniques and technologies are there, … Read More

Computer games

Robert Hickson • Jan 31, 2017

• artificial intelligence,
• poker

Another one bites the dust. Libratus, an artificial intelligence program from Carnegie Mellon University has beaten four top Texas Hold’em poker players in a series of two player games over the last three weeks. That’s big news because unlike chess and go, poker playing relies on incomplete information. And you have to decide when to bet, and how much. Read More

Thinking the unpalatable

Robert Hickson • Jan 25, 2017

• Decision making,
• future,
• governance

If you look beyond the current concerns of rising populist authoritarianism there is a greater threat. It’s what Nik Gowing and Chris Langdon in the UK have called the failure to “think the unthinkable”. Based on interviews with a range of Chief Executives and other senior people in the public and private sector they highlight that current institutional … Read More

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