Automation in research is just getting started. Look at what Alphafold did with only a small staff.

I don't think it will be many years before the co-authors of many papers are AIs.

> as there is not unlimited number of people on earth

Which is where automation comes in.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

As civilization grows richer, the amount of billions available to us also increases.

> as technology usually makes things worse

That is an incredibly bizarre point of view lol.

I could waste a lot of time, but I will just zoom right to the end - one day humans will be completely divorced from nature, and we will be sustained just by technology.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_engineering

So you are not really informed then.

Makes sense you are a doomer.

Or you know, do this sulphur thing. Or 10 other things we can do due to technology.

The main thing holding us back is other people, not technical practicality.

> The scale of the problem is well beyond what any technology we're likely to develop can fix.

That's just your opinion, obviously. Do you want to expand on that?

Earth is an open, not closed system, so none of that applies.

> technology matters little if it breaks the biosphere

Actually it matters the most then.

> The problem I was posing was not how fast tech progresses, it was how much impact it has on society.

You really think things like Amazon deliveries (powered by amazing logistics not possible without computerization) did not have a profound impact on society?

That's probably because as soon as it becomes practical its suddenly no longer AI. Look at the very wide and successful implementation of things like voice recognition, photo and video manipulation filters, machine translation and more.

When image generation ends up in Adobe it will be immediately forgotten as an AI landmark and just be used by professionals to improve their productivity.

I feel this is a joke at the expense of non-adherent Muslims who pretend to be religious but are really only faking it. Why would you be drinking and still get up early for morning prayers?

How much does a typical install cost with volunteer labour then?

Imagine a green activist volunteer movement which goes around installing solar for 1/10th the cost it usually takes, teaching other volunteers along the way, and rapidly saving the world.

So the average American install is 20-25 panels, and the average cost for a new 300w panel is say $200, which means the main hardware cost is around $4000-5000. Add another $1000 for an inverter.

Yet we keep hearing a typical install is $50,000 and the pay-off period 20-30 years because of that.

It sounds to me like the main issue is labour costs, which is why I think self-install or low-skill install should become a thing.

You can already buy plug and play kits, and you can now get adhesive mounting kits which means there is no risk of leaks and no roof penetration.

It seems no matter how cheap the panels become, the cost of install which seems to be nearly 10x more than the hardware, is going to hold solar back.

If the cost of labour can be reduced by a lot in USA solar would immediately become a lot more viable and attractive.

You are right. The real specs are:

• Peak Charging Power of 500 kW

• Maximum charging current of 660A

• EVs with 800V architecture can be charged from 10% to 80% in just 12minutes!

https://twitter.com/AfonsoEV_/status/1606621111055450112

Sure, but say it cuts your charging cycles by 1/2, which reduces the life of your battery say from 1 million miles to 500,000 miles.

The car will fall apart well before then.

LFP can easily do 3000.

Recharging times compared to petrol cars have been one of the biggest objections to EVs, but advances in car fast chargers have made this less and less of an issue.

Nio has just announced a 500 kW ultra-fast charger called Power Charger 3.0 on Nio day. It has a maximum charging current of 660A and can charge EVs based on 800V architecture from 10% to 80% in 12 minutes.

These advances, which should become ubiquitous amongst EVs over the next few years, will mean we need fewer superchargers for long-distance travel, and that EVs will become even more practical for those without chargers at their homes.

I'm not an engineer lol, but the people who are designing these systems are. Surprisingly they glue the fasteners to the roof and bolt the panels to the fastner.

Anyway, do and think what you want - the development of the concept will continue irrespectively.

You may be concerned to know that adhesives are widely used in cars these days.

Because the system is poorly optimised for this. Imagine a system using adhesives saving $30,000. That sounds like a lot of motivation.

> For years, Fraunhofer CSE has been working with the U.S. Department of Energy, through its SunShot initiative, and other stakeholders on approaches to lowering the cost of installing solar PV, including a “Plug and Play PV” approach designed to reduce the installed cost of solar to $1.50 per kilowatt by 2020, about half of today’s average price. To meet this objective, Fraunhofer CSE and its partners have worked to develop an adhesive-based mounting system that eliminates the need for drilling holes through the roof structure and for electrical grounding, which can save installers several hours of work per site.

Given the price of energy self-use must be becoming a massive driver, and that is independent of government support.