Lifeboat Foundation

Keith Kirkpatrick | Communications of the ACM
“‘There’s this whole realization that if news organizations are to attract an audience, it’s not going to be by spewing out the stuff that everyone else is spewing out,’ says David Herzog, a professor at the University of Missouri …‘It is about giving the audience information that is unique, in-depth, that allows them to explore the data, and also engage with the audience.’” Read more

Tanvi Misra | CityLab
“The idea is not just to teach city governments new techniques on harvesting open data to tackle urban problems and measure performance, but to replicate successful approaches that are already out there.“Read more

Zoltan Istvan | Motherboard
“Once uploaded, would your digital self be able to interact with your biological self? Would one self be able to help the other? Or would laws force an either-or situation, where uploaded people’s biological selves must remain in cryogenically frozen states or even be eliminated altogether?” Read more

Hal Hodson | New Scientist
“The focus is on medical applications to begin with…but the fact that it can sit discreetly behind an ear means that all kinds of other applications are feasible. No one wants to wear a headset constantly, but applying a hidden electronic tattoo once every two weeks is more acceptable.” Read more

Tom Simonite | Technology Review
“Nearly three-quarters of the people in HP’s research division are now dedicated to a single project: a powerful new kind of computer known as ‘the Machine.’ It would fundamentally redesign the way computers function, making them simpler and more powerful. If it works, the project could dramatically upgrade everything from servers to smartphones—and save HP itself.”

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By Rory Ross — NewsWeek

Despite his millions, the world of Moscow property development left Nikolay Gurianov “really bored.” Two motorbike crashes later, he reckoned it was time to move on, find a new business and swap two wheels for four.

He asked a marketeer: “What is the most interesting business that isn’t property, oil, armaments, diamonds, drugs or slavery?” And so began his career in IT—and a switch to Aston Martins.

In 2002, he set up Braintree, a technology outfit that helped Russian firms “optimise databases.” But databases too failed to ignite Gurianov. Drifting, he lit on artificial intelligence (AI). At last, here was a challenge fit for both intellect and wallet. Read more

By Tom Simonite — MIT Technology Review
Social-security and credit-card numbers frequently leak or are stolen from corporate networks—and surface on the black market. Adam Ghetti, founder of Ionic Security, says he has invented technology that could largely end the problem. His software keeps corporate data such as e-mails and documents encrypted at all times, except for when someone views it on an authorized computer or mobile device.

Workers at a company using Ghetti’s system can create and exchange e-mails or documents as normal. But Ionic’s software invisibly encrypts what they type on the fly. If someone tries to load a stolen document on a computer outside the company’s network, they would see only the encrypted data—a jumbled string of letters. “A network breach no longer has to mean a data breach,” says Ghetti.

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By Tom Simonite — MIT Technology Review
A Stanford professor claims to have invented a Bitcoin-like system that can handle payments faster and with more security.

The total value of the digital currency Bitcoin is now approximately $3.4 billion, and many companies and investors are working to prove that the technology can make financial services cheaper and more useful.

But Stanford professor David Mazières thinks he has a faster, more flexible, and more secure alternative. If Mazières is correct, his technology could make digital payments and other transactions cheaper, safer, and easier—particularly across borders. He released the design for his system in a white paper last Wednesday. Read more

Until 2006 our Solar System consisted essentially of a star, planets, moons, and very much smaller bodies known as asteroids and comets. In 2006 the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Division III Working Committee addressed scientific issues and the Planet Definition Committee address cultural and social issues with regard to planet classifications. They introduced the “pluton” for bodies similar to planets but much smaller.

The IAU set down three rules to differentiate between planets and dwarf planets. First, the object must be in orbit around a star, while not being itself a star. Second, the object must be large enough (or more technically correct, massive enough) for its own gravity to pull it into a nearly spherical shape. The shape of objects with mass above 5×10²⁰ kg and diameter greater than 800 km would normally be determined by self-gravity, but all borderline cases would have to be established by observation.

Third, plutons or dwarf planets, are distinguished from classical planets in that they reside in orbits around the Sun that take longer than 200 years to complete (i.e. they orbit beyond Neptune). Plutons typically have orbits with a large orbital inclination and a large eccentricity (noncircular orbits). A planet should dominate its zone, either gravitationally, or in its size distribution. That is, the definition of “planet” should also include the requirement that it has cleared its orbital zone. Of course this third requirement automatically implies the second. Thus, one notes that planets and plutons are differentiated by the third requirement.

As we are soon to become a space faring civilization, we should rethink these cultural and social issues, differently, by subtraction or addition. By subtraction, if one breaks the other requirements? Comets and asteroids break the second requirement that the object must be large enough. Breaking the first requirement, which the IAU chose not address at the time, would have planet sized bodies not orbiting a star. From a socio-cultural perspective, one could suggest that these be named “darktons” (from dark + plutons). “Dark” because without orbiting a star, these objects would not be easily visible; “tons” because in deep space, without much matter, these bodies could not meet the third requirement of being able to dominate its zone.

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