Science and Technology
Debate. Yoshua Bengio and Gary Marcus on the best way forward for AI
Both Gary Marcus and Yoshua Bengio agree that the field of AI might benefit from an articulation of their agreements and disagreements. The debate will be moderated by Vincent Boucher. Yoshua Bengio, Full Professor, Deep Learning Pioneer and A.M. Turing Award — “the Nobel Prize of Computing” Yoshua Bengio… »
An appeal to parents of the Climate Summit
Our Kids’ Climate and Parents For Future coordinated 222 climate parent groups in 27 countries and together signed a passionate appeal for delegates to the COP25 conference in Madrid to reflect on love for their own children and act to protect their health and future in the world. “Our sons… »
Dangers and questions of the Zuckerberg era
This year the Worldwide Web is thirty years old. For the first time since 1435, a citizen from Brazil could exchange their views and information with another in Finland. The Internet, the communications infrastructure for the Web is a little older. It was developed from the ARPANET, a US Defense… »
UN report calls for “radical transformations” to avert global climate catastrophe
By Bryan Dyne The United Nations Environment Program issued its tenth Emissions Gap Report yesterday, which highlighted the stark failure of the 2015 Paris Agreement to curb global greenhouse gas emissions and halt global warming. Even if countries hold themselves to their emissions pledges from four years ago, the report warns… »
Climate Change Is Breaking Open America’s Nuclear Tombs in Marshall Islands and Johnston Island
By James Albertini | Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action 14 Nov 2019 – The Marshall Islands say that plutonium is leaking into the Pacific Ocean from the concrete dome the U.S. built to dispose of its nuclear waste. (Also see information below on Johnston Island plutonium contamination, etc.)… »
Climate crisis: 11,000 scientists foresee untold human suffering
by Countercurrents Collective Governments are failing to address the climate crisis, says a new study, which is based on 40 years of data on a range of measures. Another team said: Paris carbon-cutting pledges are “too little, too late”. The alarming assessments came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump… »
Eighth Fair of Nonviolent Initiatives was held in Quito
In the framework of Nonviolent October, this morning and afternoon was held in Cumandá Parque Urbano, in the city of Quito, the 8th Fair of Nonviolent Initiatives. Hundreds of people visited stands and participated in recreational activities, sensory, with pets, brain gymnastics, among others that were registered in this fair… »
Lives at risk if wireless technology demands are not held in check: UN weather watchdog
Amid growing competition for radio wave space due to new wireless technologies, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Thursday called on governments to protect radio frequencies allocated to potentially life-saving weather forecasting services. Earth observation services vital to weather forecasts and long-term climate change monitoring, are having to share more… »
Why don’t more women win science Nobels?
Mary K. Feeney, Arizona State University for The Conversation All of the 2019 Nobel Prizes in science were awarded to men. That’s a return to business as usual, after biochemical engineer Frances Arnold won in 2018, for chemistry, and Donna Strickland received the 2018 Nobel Prize… »
Turing Test: why it still matters
Harry Collins, Cardiff University for The Conversation We’re entering the age of artificial intelligence. And as AI programs gets better and better at acting like humans, we will increasingly be faced with the question of whether there’s really anything that special about our own intelligence, or if we… »