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

There's a lot of work to be done, and if we can somehow solve value pluralism for A.I., that would be exciting. We could think of it, AI shouldn't suggest humans do dangerous things or A.I. shouldn't generate statements that are potentially racist and sexist, or when somebody says the Holocaust never existed, A.I. shouldn't agree. But yet, there were instances such as Tay bot. So I think we have a long way to go.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zxxmq5/an_ai_pioneer_on_what_we_should_really_fear/j22tk5e/

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

> Scientists have proposed another use for the world's largest gravitational wave observatory: scanning for the ripples in space-time left in the wake of gargantuan alien spaceships.

> Now, new calculations published Dec. 5 to the preprint database arXiv(opens in new tab) suggest that the U.S.-based Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) can look beyond conventional sources for these space-time ripples. Colossal alien spacecraft traveling at high speeds, or pushed along by warp drives, would also produce the telltale vibrations.

> The LIGO detector spots gravitational waves from the tiny distortions they make in space-time as they pass through it. Made up of two intersecting L-shaped detectors — each with two 2.48-mile-long (4 kilometers) arms and two identical laser beams inside — the experiment is designed such that if a gravitational wave passes through Earth, the laser light in one arm of the detector will get compressed while the other expands, creating a tiny change in relative path lengths of the beams arriving at the detector.

> To be detectable by LIGO, an alien mothership would need to weigh roughly the same as Jupiter, travel at one-tenth the speed of light, and be within 326,000 light-years of Earth.

> The physicists have noted that advanced alien warp drives would create gravitational wave patterns that would be distinguishable from natural sources and that, if detected, these alien waves could even provide humans with clues about how to reverse engineer the technology.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zxuefe/one_of_the_worlds_largest_lasers_could_be_used_to/j22c5z8/

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

> Quantum researchers at Ford have just published a new preprint study that modeled crucial electric vehicle (EV) battery materials using a quantum computer. While the results don’t reveal anything new about lithium-ion batteries, they demonstrate how more powerful quantum computers could be used to accurately simulate complex chemical reactions in the future.

> Developing materials using computers has a huge advantage: the researchers don’t have to perform every possible experiment physically which can be incredibly time consuming. Tools like AI and machine learning have been able to speed up the research process for developing novel materials, but quantum computing offers the potential to make it even faster. For EVs, finding better materials could lead to longer lasting, faster charging, more powerful batteries.

> Traditional computers use binary bits—which can be a zero or a one—to perform all their calculations. While they are capable of incredible things, there are some problems like highly accurate molecular modeling that they just don’t have the power to handle—and because of the kinds of calculations involved, possibly never will.

> Instead of regular bits, quantum computers use qubits that can be a zero, a one, or both at the same time. Qubits can also be entangled, rotated, and manipulated in other wild quantum ways to carry more information. This gives them the power to solve problems that are intractable with traditional computers—including accurately modeling molecular reactions. Plus, molecules are quantum by nature, and therefore map more accurately onto qubits, which are represented as waveforms.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zxs6b8/ford_used_a_quantum_computer_to_find_better_ev/j21z3sn/

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

From the Article

>TECHNOLOGIES ENABLED BY quantum science will help researchers better understand the natural world and harness quantum phenomena to benefit society. They will transform health care, transportation, and communications, and enhance resilience to cyber threats and climate catastrophes. For example, quantum magnetic field sensors will enable functional brain imaging; quantum optical communications will permit encrypted communications; and quantum computers will facilitate the discovery of next-generation materials for photovoltaics and medicines.

Also from the article

>2023 will see more innovation in the design of materials for quantum technologies. Of the many awesome candidates considered so far (e.g., diamonds with nitrogen vacancy defects, van der Waals/2D materials, and high-temperature superconductors), I’m most excited about the use of molecular materials. These materials are designed around carbon-based organic semiconductors, which are an established class of materials for the scalable manufacture of consumer electronics (having revolutionized the multibillion-dollar OLED display industry). We can use chemistry to control their optical and electronic properties, and the infrastructure surrounding their development relies on established expertise.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zxohwl/new_materials_will_bring_the_next_generation_of/j21ehoa/

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

Submission Statements

The potential losses of existing freshwater supplies are one of the most terrifying aspects of climate change. The River Po in Italy has severely shrunk, as the snow in the Alps that feeds it, is becoming less and less due to climate change.

If that were to happen to the rivers the Himalayas feed, in India, China & SE Asia, it would be a far worse disaster.

It's hopeful to see credible tech solutions like this. As the technology works best in the sub-tropics, it could be powered by solar or wind.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zx9j0b/uiuc_researchers_propose_a_new_way_to_get_fresh/j1z0fz1/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/chrisdh79:

From the article: Most of us rely on counter-top air poppers or microwaves to whip up a tasty popcorn snack. But infrared cooking offers another viable alternative, according to a September paper published in the journal ACS Food Science and Technology.

Popcorn is the only grain in the corn family that pops in response to the application of heat—specifically, temperatures above 180° C. It has a lot to do with the structure of the kernels. Each has a tough outer shell, called the pericarp, within which lies the germ (seed embryo) and the endosperm. The latter holds trapped water (popcorn kernels need about 14 percent water to pop) and starch granules.

Last year, Mahdi Shavandi and his coauthors at the Iran Research Organization for Science and Technology in Tehran successfully demonstrated the proof of principle for their approach to making popcorn with infrared heat. With this method, a heat source like fire, gas or energy waves is in direct contact with the food, rather than a heating element like a pan or grill grate. It's often likened to broiling or cooking food over a campfire. Fans argue that this method is fast, highly energy efficient, and environmentally friendly when compared to more conventional means of heating.

It's already used for such purposes as heating, drying, roasting, cooking, baking, and even microbial decontamination, per the authors. And infrared grills are increasingly popular. But could you use infrared cooking to produce popcorn with all the desirable characteristics we know and love, and convince us to switch from our beloved microwaveable brands? Shavandi et al. thought it might be possible.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zx6v2m/some_day_soon_we_might_be_making_popcorn_with/j1yo7cf/

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

2022 was a breakthrough year for xenotransplantation, a procedure that could be a lifeline for patients in desperate need of a donor. — Here’s What’s Next for Pig Organ Transplants, Emily Mullin for Wired, December 26th, 2022. (Paywall jump in the next comment.)

>"Griffith and the rest of the team at the University of Maryland Medical Center, led by surgeon Muhammad Mohiuddin, were about to conduct the first transplant of a genetically engineered pig heart into a human being. The patient, David Bennett, was too sick to be eligible for a traditional transplant. The Maryland group had been studying cross-species transplantation—a field known as xenotransplantation—for years and undertook the experimental procedure as a last-ditch effort to save Bennett’s life."

Root Source Study: American Journal of Transplantation, First clinical-grade porcine kidney xenotransplant using a human decedent model, First published: 20 January 2022 https://doi.org/10.1111/ajt.16930

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zx6c28/heres_whats_next_for_pig_organ_transplants/j1ymppp/

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

From the Article

>It was not a foregone conclusion, as there are some potentially negative environmental factors to mining in space. While it might not cause any immediate harm to ecosystems as it does here on Earth, it does destroy "pristine" environments that have arguably been around since the dawn of the solar system, at least in the case of the asteroids. As excellently portrayed in the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson, there will always be a part of humanity that will want to leave space as it is

Also form the Article

> However, there are some other confounding factors, including, as the authors point out, that both lunar and asteroid mining are, at this point, highly abstract concepts, the real impact of which may be hard to grok for many study participants. But studies such as this have to start somewhere, and waiting until after there is already a fully-fledged mining mission on the moon to see if it has public support might be a little late. For now, at least, those interested in moving forward with this aspect of the economic development of space have the public on their side.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zwvmq5/is_mining_in_space_socially_acceptable/j1x0p9w/

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

From the Article

>In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Jitendra Singh, minister of state (independent charge) of science and technology, atomic energy and space , said the crewed Gaganyaan mission—H1 mission—is being targeted to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2024.
>
>“In view of the paramount importance of crew safety, two test vehicle missions are planned before the ‘H1’ mission to demonstrate the performance of crew escape system and parachute-based deceleration system for different flight conditions,” Singh’s reply read

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zwv8oz/indias_1st_human_space_flight_to_be_launched_in/j1wy0gs/

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

From the Article

>Anand’s colleagues will send up an instrument they have designed in Nasa’s next Artemis mission, scheduled for 2024, called an exospheric mass spectrometer, to drill into rock, withdraw and analyse water.
>
>The research into water extraction is important because it costs an estimated $1m to bring a kilogram of any substance into space, so extracting water would be much more cost-effective.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zwv6o3/moon_rivers_uk_scientists_at_heart_of_mission_to/j1wxniz/

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

> Over recent months, sets of sturdy, brightly-branded battery swapping stations have cropped up around Kenya's capital Nairobi, allowing electric motorcyclists to exchange their low battery for a fully-charged one.

>It is a sign of an electric motorcyle revolution starting to unfold in Kenya where combustion-engine motorbikes are a cheaper and quicker way to get around than cars but environmental experts say are 10 times more polluting.

>East Africa's biggest economy is betting on electric-powered motorcycles, its renewables-heavy power supply and position as a technology and start-up hub to lead the region's shift to zero-emission electric mobility.

>The battery swapping system not only saves time - essential for Kenya's more than one million motorcyclists, most of whom use the bikes commercially - but also saves buyers money as many sellers follow a model in which they retain ownership of the battery, the bike's most expensive part.

>"It doesn't make a lot of economic and business sense for them to acquire a battery...which would almost double the cost of the bike," said Steve Juma, the co-founder of electric bike company Ecobodaa.

>Ecobodaa has 50 test electric motorcyles on the road now and plans to have 1,000 by the end of 2023 which it sells for about $1,500 each - roughly the same price as combustion-engine bikes thanks to the exclusion of the battery from the cost.

>After the initial purchase, the electric motorcyle - designed to be sturdy enough to traverse rocky roads - is cheaper to run than petrol-guzzling ones.

>"With the normal bike, I will use fuel worth approximately 700-800 Kenyan shillings ($5.70-$6.51) each day, but with this bike, when I swap a battery I get one battery at 300 shillings," said Kevin Macharia, 28, who transports goods and passengers around Nairobi.

EXPANSION PLANS

>Ecobodaa is just one of several Nairobi-based electric motorcycle startups working to prove themselves in Kenya before eventually expanding in East Africa.

>Kenya's consistent power supply which is about 95% renewable led by hydroelectricity and has a widespread network, was a major support for growth of the sector, said Jo Hurst-Croft, founder of ARC Ride, another Nairobi-based electric motorcycle startup.

>The country's power utility estimates it generates enough to charge two million electric motorcycles a day: electricity access in the country is over 75%, according to the World Bank, and even higher in Nairobi.

>Uganda and Tanzania also have robust and renewables-heavy grids that could support electric mobility, said Hurst-Croft.

>"We're putting over 200 swapping stations in Nairobi and expanding to Dar es Salaam and Kampala," said Hurst-Croft.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zvznmd/battery_swapping_spurs_kenyas_electric_motorbike/j1s0bk4/

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

High fertilizer prices could put an additional 100 million people at risk of undernourishment, a study suggests.

The war in Ukraine has led to the blockade of millions of tons of wheat, barley and corn, but reduced food exports from the region are less of a driver of food price rises than feared, researchers say.

Instead, a modeling study led by University of Edinburgh researchers suggests surging energy and fertilizer prices will have by far the greatest impact on food security in coming decades.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zvt87h/soaring_fertilizer_prices_could_see_millions_more/j1qyc7w/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/Background-Net-4715:

Now scheduled to come into force in April, Local Law 144 of 202 would bar companies from using any “automated employment decision tools” unless they pass an audit for bias. Any machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, or artificial intelligence-based software used to evaluate employees or potential recruits would have to undergo the scrutiny of an impartial, independent auditor to make sure they’re not producing discriminatory results.

The audit would then have to be made publicly available on the company’s website. What’s more, the law mandates that both job candidates and employees be notified the tool will be used to assess them, and gives them the right to request an alternative option.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zvs3be/nycs_ai_bias_law_is_delayed_until_april_2023_but/j1qrk94/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/thebelsnickle1991:

Submission statement*

Canada's Western Hudson Bay polar bear population has fallen 27% in just five years, according to a government report released this week, suggesting climate change is impacting the animals.

Every autumn, the bears living along the western edge of the Bay pass through the sub-Arctic tourist town of Churchill, Manitoba, as they return to the sea ice. This has made the population not only the best studied group in the world, but also the most famous, with the local bear-viewing economy valued at C$7.2 million ($5.30 million) annually.

However, the Government of Nunavut's assessment finds that just 618 bears remained in 2021 - a roughly 50% drop from the 1980s.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zvm5xz/canadas_hudson_bay_polar_bear_population_plummets/j1pshqg/

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

Around three billion litres of water are lost through leaks across hundreds of thousands of miles of water pipe in England and Wales daily, says water industry economic regulator Ofwat

Scientists have now developed miniature robots to patrol the pipe network, check for faults and prevent leaks.

They say maintaining the network will be "impossible" without robotics.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zvguac/water_pipe_robots_could_stop_billions_of_litres/j1p3ixy/

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

From the Article

>China may launch a new vessel capable of carrying its first crewed mission to the moon as early as 2027, according to the head of the country’s biggest space contractor.

Also form the article

>The plans include more Chang’e missions, which aim to bring samples from the far side of the moon back to Earth in 2026, an environmental and resource survey at the south pole of the moon the following year, and establish a research station also at the south pole in 2028.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zvb0rb/china_hopes_rocket_to_send_people_to_the_moon/j1o5cpd/

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

From the Article

>Engineers at the University of California, Irvine said microbes could help colonize the Moon and Mars. Inspired by the cyanobacteria that acquire nutrients from rocks in Chile’s Atacama Desert, they also see the findings as a step toward employing microorganisms in large-scale 3D printing or additive manufacturing at a scale suitable for civil engineering in challenging locations such as the Moon and Mars.
>
>As mentioned by the university, high-resolution electron microscopy and cutting-edge spectroscopic imaging methods were used by researchers from the Departments of Materials Science and Engineering at UC Irvine and Johns Hopkins University to gain a thorough understanding of how microorganisms modify both naturally occurring minerals and artificial nanoceramics.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zuz2k6/microbial_mining_could_help_colonize_moon_and/j1m1uck/

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

From the Article

>The overarching ambition is to make China one of the world’s main aerospace powers by 2030 and become a fully comprehensive space power by 2045. CASC, ranked 322 in this year’s Fortune 500 list, has previously stated plans to make China a global leader in space technology by 2045, a focus seen by some as a challenge to the U.S.

Also form the article

>In terms of nearer-term goals, Wu Yansheng stated plans for a crewed lunar landing by 2030, establishing the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) in the 2030s, following three Chang’e robotic landing missions during this decade. China is however seeking partnerships for the IRLS, which will be developed alongside and separate to the U.S. Artemis program.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zuynap/china_sets_out_clear_and_independent_longterm/j1lzewf/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/daleelsayarat-cars:

Little Known benefits of wind energy to the environment revealed In this study, some expert statistics are shared from well known websites like Statista and (google scholar studies) to highlight and show if solar energy for US homeowners worth the investment, and how much time they need to recoup it! happy reading

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zuux1o/is_solar_energy_for_home_really_worth_it_in_the/j1lh4d8/

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

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 660V 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.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zulppg/new_nio_500_kw_ultrafast_power_charger_30_can/j1jz8ru/

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

From new vaccines to fight malaria to new advancements in cancer treatments, and from a universal flu vaccine to the James Webb Space Telescope — here are "the 10 biggest scientific breakthroughs of 2022 from The Week 🌌

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zu4wru/the_10_biggest_scientific_breakthroughs_of_2022/j1h4h7c/

The following submission statement was provided by /u/darkened-foxes:

A great development for drug manufacturers. Organ chips and other human-relevant technology like 3d organoids are the future of medicine. Companies like emulate are leading the charge in this technology, and I hope with the passage of this law more focus and funding is given to these models.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zts0a3/congress_passes_the_fda_modernization_act/j1ez8ti/

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

New estimates for the world's total solar power installations in 2022 range from 230-300 GW, blowing the doors off projections made late last year.

Manufacturing capacity has exploded in the past year and is expected to continue rapidly scaling-up through 2023. Factories could produce as much as 500 GW of solar modules next year. For perspective, it is estimated that the world's total solar capacity reached 1000 GW only 9 months ago, in March of 2022

The article briefly interviews Jenny Chase of BloombergNEF:

pv magazine USA: What most surprised analysts about 2022? Where did we go wrong?

Honestly, China was the biggest upset as usual, and we’re not even totally sure the final number will be our 126GW(DC) current estimate (our estimate was below 100GW for most of the year). However, the modules have got to be going somewhere in Q4. Also Europe has bought over 70 GW of modules from China, though we do not believe it has installed much more than 42GW yet.

Recently, you mentioned that projections beyond 300 GW to 400 GW a year before the end of the decade are tough to make, because even if we can manufacture such a large quantity – where are the national programs and power grids to connect it to?

Honestly, I just can’t bully the local analysts for the individual markets which haven’t already got a lot of solar into forecasting transformative growth. You need new markets to hit 1 TW/year, but progress has been slow – not nonexistent, but slow – in places like Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and parts of southeast Asia (but not Vietnam). There aren’t national programs in these places (at least not ones I trust to do anything, looking at you Saudi Arabia) and often the solar will need to support the grid rather than just connecting to it.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/ztplap/all_i_want_for_christmas_is_400_gw_of_solar/j1em4l7/

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

> An estimated 4-6 billion male chicks are slaughtered globally every year because they serve no economic purpose. Some are suffocated, others are fed alive into grinding or shredding machines to be processed into reptile food.

“If you can determine the sex of a hatching egg you can entirely dispense with the culling of live male chicks,” said Seleggt managing director Dr Ludger Breloh, who spearheaded the four-year programme by German supermarket Rewe Group to make its own-brand eggs more sustainable.

Breloh said his first breakthrough came when he approached scientists at the University of Leipzig where Prof Almuth Einspanier had developed a chemical marker – similar to a pregnancy test – that could detect a hormone present in high quantities in female eggs. Mixed with fluid from fertilised eggs at nine days, the marker changes blue for a male and white for a female, with a 98.5% accuracy rate.

A laser beam burns a 0.3mm-wide hole in the shell. Then, air pressure is applied to the shell exterior, pushing a drop of fluid out of the hole. The process takes one second per egg and enables fluid to be collected from eggs without touching them.

“It worked absolutely faultlessly,” said Breloh of the test phase. “Today, female hens are laying eggs in farms in Germany that have been bred without killing any male chicks.”

Article from 2018 in regard to cull-free eggs nearly a half of decade later

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/ztp1rh/december_2018_worlds_first_nokill_eggs_go_on_sale/j1egi8x/

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

While Elon was busy stuffing Twitter around, a new paper-thin photovoltaic was developed. "These thin-film solar cells are one-hundredth as heavy as conventional solar cells while generating 18 times as much power per kilogram." u/IEEEorg https://spectrum.ieee.org/thin-film-solar-panels ☀️

"MIT researchers have developed what they say is a scalable fabrication technique to produce ultrathin, lightweight solar cells that can be adhered to any surface."

>"The fabric modules had a power density of 370 watts per kilogram and weighed 0.1 kilogram per square meter. Commercial residential silicon solar panels, by contrast, have a power density of 20 W/kg and weigh 10.7 kg/m2"

Root Study: Printed Organic Photovoltaic Modules on Transferable Ultra-thin Substrates as Additive Power Sources, First published: 09 December 2022 https://doi.org/10.1002/smtd.202200940, Small Methods

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/ztbpvl/paperthin_solar_makes_any_surface_photovoltaic/j1ctijd/