The following submission statement was provided by /u/tonymmorley:

>"Yesterday, six companies that build or support sophisticated mobile robots (led by Boston Dynamics) published an open letter to the robotics community and industry pledging to not weaponize their general-purpose robots. Signed by Agility Robotics, ANYbotics, Clearpath Robotics, Open Robotics, and Unitree, in addition to Boston Dynamics, the letter seeks to ensure that the companies’ robots are used safely and ethically, in a way that helps rather than harms."

Weaponizing advanced robotic systems is a little talked discussed global risk; one that increases the risk of flash points and rapid escalations. It's a risk that needs to be carefully managed to reduce a robotic military arms race, one that is already well underway.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y7p10i/weaponized_robots_letter_calls_for_policy_tech/isvrufv/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/ChickenTeriyakiBoy1:

>From what I could glean over a dozen conversations with my virtually deceased parents, this really will make it easier to keep close the people we love. It’s not hard to see the appeal. People might turn to digital replicas for comfort, or to mark special milestones like anniversaries.
At the same time, the technology and the world it’s enabling are, unsurprisingly, imperfect, and the ethics of creating a virtual version of someone are complex, especially if that person hasn’t been able to provide consent.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y7kxb6/technology_that_lets_us_speak_to_our_dead/isv2u9j/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/filosoful:

High-profile initiatives to plant millions of trees are being touted by governments around the world as major contributions to fighting climate change.

But scientists say many of these projects are ill-conceived and poorly managed and often fail to grow any forests at all.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y7ey3k/phantom_forests_why_ambitious_tree_planting/isu33wz/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/mossadnik:

Submission Statement:

>“We have deployed four weaponised [unmanned] machines within an operational experiment”, told Lieutenant Colonel Sjoerd Mevissen, commander of the Royal Netherlands Army's Robotics and Autonomous System. “To my knowledge, we have not seen this before in the West…the machines have been handed over for experimental use in an operational unit in a military-relevant environment. These are not simply tests on a training ground. We are under the direct eyes and ears of the Russians, and as such in a semi-operational environment.”

>The machine-gun-toting robots aren’t the first the world has ever seen. Estonia first deployed an unarmed version of THeMIS in Mali in 2019. This Russian MoD confirmed it deployed armed UGVs in Syria in 2018. Iran has also been developing its own UGVs and showed off its Heidair-1 on social media in 2019. Iran’s small beetle-like drone seems designed to roll under tanks and APCs and explode.

>Both Russia’s Uran-9 and Estonia’s THeMIS are bigger and can carry more deadly equipment. The Uran-9 is capable of carrying a 30mm 2A72 automatic cannon and four 9M120-1 Ataka anti-tank guided missiles, which makes it look like a frightening and deadly killer robot. However, early reports indicate that Russia's UGV didn’t work well in Syria and repeatedly lost connection to its controller.

>During the summer, a video of a robot dog with an assault rifle strapped to its back went viral on the internet. Earlier this month, Boston Dynamics promised it wouldn’t weaponize its brand of robot dogs. The video was creepy and Boston Dynamics’ sentiment was aimed at calming down the public, but the truth is that killer ground robots are already here and that the world’s militaries aren’t interested in strapping a gun to the back of a quadruped even if they might have other uses on a near-future battlefield.

>Gun-toting killer ground robots were always going to look like what the Dutch have deployed and what the Russian’s tested in Syria—little tanks bristling with guns and absent humans.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y7edoj/the_killer_ground_drone_revolution_is_here_the/isu00my/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/lughnasadh:

Submission Statement

Neither company is giving much detail on the reasons why. From the little they say it appears they both believe the technology will eventually work, but it doesn't seem to be happening "near term" enough.

It's interesting to compare this with middle mile robot delivery. Middle mile refers to trips between two fixed points. A major distribution center and its end retail locations for example. That finally appears to be arriving, with Level 4 vehicles traveling from fixed point to fixed point without safety drivers now a reality.

Who knows how long we may have to wait for true level 5 autonomous robotic driving, but if Amazon & FedEx can't make it work soon with small, slow robots, it seems it will be Level 4 robotic vehicles reshaping transport and logistics first for some time.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y7ahgo/as_middlemile_autonomous_robotic_delivery_finally/istcv32/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/CPHfuturesstudies:

Submission Statement: Breaking up in outer space: Will the competition between nation states move into the cosmos? 🌕

In 1967, a historic UN treaty came into force which today, more than five decades later, still forms the basis for international space law.

The Outer Space Treaty was an ambitious document declaring outer space to be a zone for collaboration and peaceful co-existence – a ‘province of all mankind’.

The article was first published in the latest issue of FARSIGHT - Futures Reviewed. The quarterly publication from Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y79we2/the_outer_space_treaty_is_peaceful_coexistence_in/ist9fe3/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/redingerforcongress:

> Named Crimson Storage, the site holds 350 MW / 1400 MWh of standalone battery energy storage, delivering flexible power to California’s grid.

> The project is held by a fund managed by Axium (80%) and Recurrent Energy (20%).

> During construction, the project employed about 140 union workers, including International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, International Union of Operating Engineers, Laborer’s International Union of North America, and the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers Union.

> Upon activation, Crimson Storage became the largest active single-phase storage project in the world, and second-largest energy storage project currently in operation of any configuration. The project holds two long-term contracts with utilities Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric. Both contracts are part of reliability mandates made by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y7cqv1/the_worlds_largest_singlephase_battery_is_now/istqbts/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/V2O5:

Submission statement:

In Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, killer drones have cemented their reputation as a potent, cost-effective weapon that can seek out and destroy targets while simultaneously spreading the kind of terror that can fray the resolve of soldiers and civilians alike.

They’re also quickly surpassing missiles as the remote weapon of choice. Known as “the poor man's cruise missile,” the flying death machines can flood any combat theater much more cheaply.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y7b3kc/killer_drones_vie_for_supremacy_over_ukraine/istggd3/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/WehnerEd:

It seems the autonomous forklift was initially developed for the US Department of Defense's increasingly autonomous logistics fleet.

In what other applications do you see this being useful?

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y78ywl/this_autonomous_offroad_forklift_weighs_onethird/ist48cx/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/Gari_305:

From the Article

>Self-driving truck startup Kodiak Robotics said that it has begun a pilot program with IKEA in Texas.
>
>A semitruck equipped with Kodiak’s autonomous driving system is making daily delivery runs from an IKEA warehouse near Houston to a store close to Dallas, roughly 300 miles away.
>
>The trucks have human safety drivers on board, but they’re being driven by Kodiak’s autonomous-driving system.

Since we're about to enter a new economic downturn are we going to see more of these self driving systems and robots come into the labor market?

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y774o4/ikea_teams_with_selfdriving_truck_startup_kodiak/issuejg/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/upyourego:

Rolls-Royce says it is investing heavily now in quantum technology despite no quantum computers being available that can perform the calculations to a necessary standard.

It is between 3 and ten years away from 'advantage' and longer still from 'supremacy' but Rolls-Royce says it has to start now as it can take longer than that to get the algorithms correct .

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y76wdp/rollsroyce_says_a_combination_of_quantum/issth7g/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/el_gee:

The reporter talks about how real the experience was for them: "At first, they sounded distant and tinny, as if they were huddled around a phone in a prison cell. But as we chatted, they slowly started to sound more like themselves. They told me personal stories that I’d never heard. (...) And for a moment I forgot I wasn’t really speaking to my parents at all, but to their digital replicas."

It's kind of cool to think that we're getting to a point where you can have realistic conversation - and while I'm not sure how I feel about talking to dead relatives, this could be great for immersive storytelling, virtual companions, that sort of thing.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y7381v/technology_that_lets_us_speak_to_our_dead/issbh3o/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/izumi3682:

Submission statement from OP. Note: This submission statement "locks in" after about 30 minutes, and can no longer be edited. Please refer to my statement they link, which I can continue to edit. I often edit my submission statement, sometimes for the next few days if needs must. There is often required additional grammatical editing and additional added detail.

From the article.

>Researchers at Boston University say they have developed a new COVID strain that has an 80% kill rate following a series of similar experiments first thought to have started the global pandemic that began in China.

>The variant, a combination of Omicron and the original virus in Wuhan, killed 80% of the mice infected with it, the university said. When mice were only exposed to Omicron, they experienced mild symptoms.

And.

>They extracted the spike protein from Omicron and attached it with the strain first detected at the onset of the pandemic that began in Wuhan, China. They then documented how the mice reacted to the hybrid strain.

>"In…mice, while Omicron causes mild, non-fatal infection, the Omicron S-carrying virus inflicts severe disease with a mortality rate of 80 percent," they wrote in a research paper.

>The new strain has five times more infectious virus particles than the Omicron variant, researchers said.

As of the time of my posting this (2:29 AM CDT), this story is very recently released, only about 2 hours ago. So it is possible that this is false story or misleading information, but I got a feeling that it is not. Time will tell.

Anyway I wonder at the reasoning for attempting such "gain of function" in a clearly demonstrated highly contagious disease. At least it wasn't kept a secret, right? Or maybe it shoulda been...

You know why they allowed us to stop wearing masks in the US? Because the CDC said everybody in the US has already had it or is already vaccinated. Well, I was vaccinated with 2 damn shots and a booster and I still got it anyways in the last week of August this year. I was surprised and stunned. I totally thought I had dodged the bullet. My case was very mild with just some fever for few days and some cough and mild SOB. I was COVID positive for almost exactly 14 days. I'm age 62. Now I got my 2nd booster and I hope I'll be better off. (lol! Who am I kidding?)

Not to get too "tin-hatty" but it seems to me this would be a terrific way to clean the world up in a jiffy if the societal SHTF. And not leave everything all radioactive, if you take my meaning.

You might find this essay I wrote in 2018, interesting.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/8sa5cy/my_commentary_about_this_article_serving_the_2/

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y6zw1j/boston_university_researchers_claim_to_have/isrzkg2/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/Stephen_P_Smith:

Submission statement: I find the claim that AI can predict the future with 99% accuracy to be overly sensational, and in need of statistical benchmarking! But that is just my singular opinion, and I am wondering how other more sophisticated thinkers might react. Hence, this article was shared here. Cheers!

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y6ut1m/spooky_artificial_intelligence_found_to/isrb098/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/matpompili:

If you are interested and/or have some questions about it, feel free to ask them below! (I am one of the authors of the article)

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y6lv6u/experimental_demonstration_of_entanglement/ispwduw/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/izumi3682:

Submission statement from OP. Note: This submission statement "locks in" after about 30 minutes, and can no longer be edited. Please refer to my statement they link, which I can continue to edit. I often edit my submission statement, sometimes for the next few days if needs must. There is often required additional grammatical editing and additional added detail.

Here is the paper.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abo4626

From the article.

>Plastic waste is clogging up our rivers and oceans and causing long-lasting environmental damage that is only just starting to come into focus. But a new approach that combines biological and chemical processes could greatly simplify the process of recycling it.

>...a new approach that uses a chemical process to break down mixed plastic waste into simpler chemical compounds before genetically modified bacteria convert them into a single, valuable end product could point the way to a promising new solution to our plastic crisis.

>This new hybrid technique, outlined in a recent paper in Science, builds upon previous research that showed that a mixture of different kinds of plastics could be broken down and converted into an array of useful chemicals by oxidizing them with the help of a catalyst.

The article then goes into a complex discussion of how certain genetically modified bacteria can apparently perform this "breakdown" of plastics into useful chemicals. But the article demonstrates the true promise of this technology.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y6l41l/scientists_engineer_bacteria_to_recycle_plastic/ispt9yq/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/redingerforcongress:

> Carbon Monitor, an academic emissions tracker, estimates Chinese carbon dioxide emissions were down 2 percent, or 155 million tons, through August.

> European emissions are up 81 million tons, an increase of 4 percent over last year. Power plants accounted for 61 million tons of that increase, as the continent leaned into coal amid reduced output from the French nuclear fleet and weak hydro production.

> In the United States, EIA projects renewables will generate 22 percent of the country’s power this year, compared with 38 percent for gas and 20 percent for coal.

> Renewables are attractive to countries facing soaring costs because wind and solar have no fuel costs. They are also domestically produced. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine likely will prompt Europe to accelerate its shift to renewables, which the continent views as a source of energy security, wrote DNV analysts in the company’s annual energy outlook.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y6eafq/clean_energy_transition_gains_speed_despite/isoo4wx/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/thedailybeast:

It’s easy to take delight in the schadenfreude of one of the richest and most powerful companies in the world taking L after L—especially when they’re attempting to create something that seems like a ludicrous pipe dream at best and an absolute waste of time, money, and resources at worst.

However, the truth is the metaverse is inevitable. Not only that but, in many ways, it’s already here—and has been here for decades.

Even Neal Stephenson, who first coined the term metaverse in his 1992 book Snow Crash to describe a fictional virtual reality world, has alluded to this. In a tweet from June, he said that when he first came up with the term, he didn’t conceive of the fact that a metaverse might not be through VR—but then came along a video game called Doom.

Stephenson touched on a key component of any successful metaverse that many folks within the web3 (a term used to describe the next evolution of the world wide web) and metaverse space tend to miss: video games—or even just gaming in general.

“It’s not so much that the metaverse is the future of games. The future of the metaverse is games,” Jon Radoff, the writer of the Building the Metaverse blog and founder of metaverse consulting firm Beamable, told The Daily Beast. “Games are going to be what the metaverse is all about.”

What do you think is the future of the metaverse? Will Mark Zuckerberg's vision become reality?

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y6epha/the_metaverse_is_inevitablebut_not_how_mark/isoqnhf/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/Gari_305:

From the Article

>While the Netherlands and Estonia may be leading the charge with armed robot vehicle testing within the NATO alliance, the United States isn’t far behind. For the last several years, the U.S. Army has been testing light, medium and large variations of the so-called Robotic Combat Vehicle outfitted with remote weapons stations bristling with XM813 Bushmaster chain gun, .50 caliber machine guns, and FGM-148 Javelin missile launchers.
>
>As recently as this past February, Green Berets with the 1st Special Forces Group used RCVs armed with M240s, .50 cal M2 machine guns, and MK19 automatic grenade launchers to “make initial contact with adversaries and mask operators’ movements towards the objective” during a two-week experiment at the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, as Breaking Defense reported at the time.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y6bhou/nato_countries_are_getting_serious_about_sending/iso81jp/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/Leprechan_Sushi:

A lubricant derived from the mucus of cow salivary glands has shown promise at preventing the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and a herpes virus from infecting healthy human cells.

Mucus is a protective gel that lubricates the epithelial tissues that cover our organs and line our body cavities, as well as acting as a first line of defence against microorganisms. The main component of mucus, a protein called mucin, may have antiviral properties.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y6apfq/personal_lubricant_made_from_cow_mucus_may/iso3nlv/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/chopchopped:

SS-In order to meet the increasing global demand for hydrogen, the U.S. DOE is looking for ways to scale-up hydrogen production, including nuclear. Nuclear power plants can produce hydrogen in a variety of methods, taking advantage of the constant thermal energy and electricity it provides. As Joe Dominguez, president and CEO of Constellation Energy, described, “Clean hydrogen is an essential tool in addressing the climate crisis, and in a few short months we will demonstrate to the world how essential carbon-free nuclear energy is to unlock its potential.”

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y67tc9/nations_first_nuclearpowered_clean_hydrogen/isnqil6/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/cartoonzi:

Announced a few months ago at NewFronts, Amazon and Peacock demonstrated new ad formats that use similar virtual product placement (VPP) tools, a post-production technique for inserting a brand into a TV show or movie scene.
Amazon presented its new VPP tool, currently operating in beta, that lets advertisers place their branded products directly into streaming content after they have already been filmed and produced. Meanwhile, Peacock’s new “In-Scene” ads will identify key moments within a show and digitally insert a brand’s customized messaging or product post-production so the brand is showcased in the right TV show/movie and at the right time.

The virtual product placement beta program has already been implemented in several Prime Video and Freevee original series such as “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” “Bosch: Legacy,” the overall Bosch franchise, “Reacher” and “Leverage: Redemption.”

----------

This is really interesting from a tech perspective, but I wonder if the personalization of these ads could alter or feel out of place in a movie. Example: can a virtual billboard ad be a mismatch with the genre or historical timing of the movie or show?

It makes a lot of sense from a streamer's perspective. They want to invest in creating more content without charging people more because they will leave (*cough* Netflix *cough*). And many streaming services now offer ad-supported tiers so they don't lose as many subscribers.

From Amazon's perspective, I can see them building this technology to the point where they can provide it as a service to Netflix and Disney Plus (like they do with AWS).

What does everyone think of this?

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y5wahp/cgipowered_ads_are_coming_to_prime_video_and/ism45ua/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/AdmiralKurita:

Article states that the vaccine may be available in ten years or so. A potential use for these vaccines is to vaccinate those with a predisposition for cancer, such as those with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations or those who had cancer and are at risk for re-occurrence, as oppose who have advanced cancer.

Oddly enough, the article agrees with my negative assessment on the progress of oncology over the last few decades:

>A breakthrough like that can’t come soon enough, say breast cancer
advocates. “I was diagnosed in 1987, and I wasn’t treated much
differently from what is available today, in terms of surgery and
chemotherapy,” says Fran Visco, president of the National Breast Cancer
Coalition, an advocacy organization. “Yes, there is a lot of focus on
immunotherapy, and that’s exciting from a research perspective. But it
hasn’t really made a difference in women’s lives yet.”

There are a few more targeted therapies.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y5cewv/the_race_to_make_a_vaccine_for_breast_cancer/isivp4t/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/Defiant_Swann:

We could live 1.5 times longer if we could use technology to reduce our sleep requirements. Sleeping is a natural part of life, but we have the power to change that.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y4ilrk/sleep_simulation_the_future_of_sleep/ise8pok/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/RamslamOO7:

Do you think Ultium batteries can change the game of Electric Cars?

Modular propulsion and a highly adaptable third-generation global EV platform, both powered by exclusive Ultium batteries, are at the core of General Motors’ approach. They will enable the business to compete with almost any consumer on the market right now, whether they’re seeking work trucks, high-performance machinery, or luxury experiences.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/y4et29/new_ultium_batteries_and_a_flexible_global_ev/isdrqk1/