Category Archives: Futurism

A Fitting Change

Teslas name has been tied to electric vehicles (EVs)ever since thecompany unveiled its pioneer product, the Tesla Roadster. But even with the title Tesla Motors Inc., the company has never been shy about their ambitious plans to reach far beyond electric cars. Since it was founded in 2003, Tesla has become so much more. Therefore, its fittingthat the company moved to officially change their name to Tesla Inc.

Ostensibly, all the company really did was drop a single word from their original name. However, its a move that signifies how a brand can stay true to its heritage, and continue to forge a new path towards what Elon Musk called the solar electric economy of the future, which he mentionedin the first half of his Master Planback in 2006.

When Musk was placed at the helm of the company, Tesla was already reeling from the effects of the financial crisis. But amid cutbacks, layoffs, and missed launch dates, the company was able to secure $40 million that helped Tesla avoid bankruptcy. By 2009, Tesla introduced the Model S, their first electric sedan. By mid 2010, Tesla went public for $17 per share.

Towards the end of 2011, Tesla unveiled the Model X prototype, simultaneous with deliveries of the Model S, which finally made it to the market. In 2014, Tesla open-sourced its patents for EVs. Beyond being an unprecedented move from a private, for-profit company, this demonstrated the companys commitment to their master plan to make sustainable transport accessible to all.

The construction of Teslas Gigafactory in 2014 marked Teslas steady path toward realizing its ultimate vision. Once the factory becomes fully operational (hopefully by 2020), this will allow the company to bring down the cost of their batteries by 30 percent, thus lowering the price of the Model 3. That same year, Tesla announced their semi-autonomous driving system, Autopilot.

2015 saw the arrival of the Model X and Autopilot in the market, but more notably, it was a milestone for the companys foray outside of car manufacturing. The introduction of the Powerwall and the Powerpack marked Teslas first big push into energy.

The following year, Teslas acquisition of SolarCity reignited talk of where exactly Tesla was headed but it wasnt long after that Musk revealed the second half of his masterplan, where he confirmed Teslas new objectives. Not only was Tesla set to introduce more affordable EVs, and make self-driving technology a reality, but the company was also going to start building solar roofs to seamlessly integrate with Teslas battery storage.

As Musk himself stated in the second half of his masterplan:

The point of all this was, and remains, accelerating the advent of sustainable energy, so that we can imagine far into the future and life is still good. Thats what sustainable means. Its not some silly, hippy thing it matters for everyone.

Quite simply, Tesla Motors Inc., was a means to an enda way to prompt an entire industry of gas-guzzling, carbon-emitting car manufacturers to recognize the need to follow the companys sustainable transportation model. And now, with Tesla, Inc., we can look forward to a truly sustainable future defined by Teslas core vision.

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Elon Musk Has Changed the Name of Tesla - Futurism

The Bore-ing Company

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been moving quickly on the development of what he calls The Boring Company.In January of last year, he presenteda proposal at the Hyperloop Pod Competition for a company that would lighten traffic through the use of underground tunnels. One year later, Musk mentioned that construction of a tunnel could begin in Los Angeles by the end of February.

Musk hasnt fallen short of his promise his new boring machine began to dig a tunnel as part of a demonstration at SpaceXs Hyperloop Pod Competition last weekend. Although the machine has only created a mere hole, his team plans to eventually construct a full-fledged tunnel.

Musk hasntbeen too clear about how the tunnel will function, but the Hyperloop could be involved after, it is supposed to be able to work above or below ground. Musk has, at the very least, not denied the connection:

For those that are curious enough to see what Musks boring machine looks like, he released a photo of it on Twitter recently. This might be only one part of a massive machine without the cutting head attached.

Although tunneling machines already exist, Musks company would be unique because the machines would make tunneling faster, speeding up the digging process almost tenfold compared to conventional methods. If Musks boring machine can make tunneling quicker and easier, underground transit could also become more popular. Tunnels would be a solution to heavy traffic, especially in urban areas, as well as a potential way to bring transportation into buildings.

Musk isnt exactly serious about creating a separate entity called The Boring Company. Thankfully, the project fits into Teslas mission to alleviate traffic which, in turn, will reduce fuel consumption and emissions.

His boring machine is also in line with SpaceXs mission to eventually settle a colony on Mars. It could be used to test the viability of tunnel construction on the Red Planet, creating underground habitats that would protect people from extreme cold, low pressure, and high radiation.

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Elon Musk Has Released Photos of His Underground Tunnels - Futurism

Shooting Stars

If you havent noticed, the Super Bowl LI is trending on social media the Patriots won in overtime and Lady Gaga impressed during halftime. But the pop superstar wasnt the only one that lit up the night Intel literally did so with 300 drones thatmoved behind Lady Gaga as she sangon the stadiums roof.

The Intel Shooting Star drone is the companys first drone created for entertainment light shows, says Anil Nanduri, VP for Intels New Technology Group. Weve also worked with the FAA to receive a Part 107 Waiver to fly these drones as a fleet with one pilot at night in the U.S.

These Shooting Star dronesare actually quite simple. They use a desktop software suite of programs, allowing them to follow a pre-programmed route. The software also keeps the drones form colliding with one another, as they dont have hardware to detect collisions, nor do they communicate directly with each other.

Each of Intels drones can be assembled in less than 15 minutes.There are no screws and everything snaps together. They have a large, multicolored LED light on the bottom, are encased in a styrofoam housing, and weigh about the same as a volleyball. Currently, Intel uses these drones to conduct fantastic, well-coordinated light shows in the night sky. Intel says these are near-limitless in its scale they re able to control more than 10,000 drones at a time.

In the future, Intel hopes that this fleet drone technology will find other applications beyond that of entertainment. As Josh Walden, senior VP and GM at the New Technology Group said: The potential for these light show drones is endless, and we hope this experience inspires other creatives, artists and innovators to really think about how they can incorporate drone technology in new ways that have yet to even be thought of.

These drones, combined with Intels other proprietary technologies, could even be used in search and rescue operations, or for industrial inspection. Intels leaders are positioning the company to provide the compute, sensor, communications, and cloud integration for the growing drone ecosystem, the company notes.

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Lady Gaga's Backup Dancers Were Actually 300 Drones from Intel - Futurism

In Brief

Last year, Elon Musk released the second half of his Master Plan, which was strongly anchored in creating a more sustainable future for our planet. It included plans to create a solar roof with seamlessly integrated battery storage, improve driverless vehicles, and expand its electric-powered product line. Included in the last piece of the plan is the development of electric semi-trucks.

Today, Musk has assured the public via Twitter that Teslas semis are well on their way.

However, as the Tesla Semi becomes a reality, the Model 3, a new Tesla car design slated for a 2017 release with over 400,000 reservations behind it, remains Teslas priority. Nevertheless, despite the companys current main focus, the Tesla Semi is apparently already in early development work, reports Electrek.

One of the biggest challenges that Tesla might face in bringing these large, battery-powered trucks might be their size. So far, we have seen Teslas current technology work exceptionally well for compact cars and sedans. But modifying this technology for heavy trucks designed to carry cargo and drive long-distance means that Tesla will most likely have to significantly adjust charging mechanisms, drastically increase the energy-capacity of its batteries, and work to make the vehicle lighter overall. But, since Tesla is one of the most forward-thinking and innovative companies of our time, its probably only a matter of time before we see the inventive new ways that they will address these challenges.

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Elon Musk: Electric Semi Trucks Are On Their Way - Futurism

In Brief

Bill Nye, everyones favorite science guy, recently appeared on the youtube series Big Thinkto answer a very difficult question from a young engineering student: What technology can we expect to have 50 years from now? Thinking back 50 years from 2017, it would have been impossible to imagine in 1967 that we would soon have computers, cameras, calculators, and phones all in our pockets and that jetpacks and flying cars would be a reality. So this was a difficult question to answer.

Bill spoke at length about the crossroads we find ourselves approaching, and that what might have been easy to predict before is now much more challenging. However, he hopes that in 50 years, at least 80% of our energy will be made using renewable resources. He also thinks that almost all cars will be both autonomous self-driving vehicles and powered by electricity. And while he discussed the grim possibilities of our future, he recognized that the progressive influence of younger generations can give us hope.

Though rising automation makes some fear job loss, many believe that if a universal basic income is implemented alongside these growing developments in automation, companies and citizens alike would benefit.

According to Bill Nye, either, in the next decade orfifteen years, the US becomes the world leader in renewable technologies or the US just continues to divide the rich and the poor and global climate change gets stronger and stronger and the ocean gets bigger and bigger as it gets warmer and the quality of life for a lot of people goes down. Well see.

Bills a cheerful guy, as you can see; either way, heemphasized, I want you to change the world!

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Bill Nye: This is The Technology We Can Expect to Have 50 Years From Now - Futurism

You Have Been Hacked

On Saturday, the notoriousdark web had over 10,000 of its secret and shady websites seized by an Anonymous-linked hacker. The person claiming responsibility for this hack said it was a vigilante move that was accomplished by targeting a dark web hosting service called Freedom Hosting II.

Initially, I didnt want to take down FH2, just look through it, the hacker told Motherboard in an email sent from the same address posted to the hacked Freedom Hosting II sites. The hack was initiated after the hacker discovered that the service was hosting child pornography websites. Thats when I decided to take it down instead, they claimed.Each site hosted by the service had its content replaced by a message from the hacker.

The hack, supposedly, wasnt very complicated, and according the person responsible, this was their first attempt at hacking. This is, in fact, my first hack ever, the hacker said.I just had the right idea. All they needed was control over a new or already existing site. From there, it was just a matter of changing a configuration file, triggering a reset password, and getting root access. The hacker said that they were able to infiltrate the system with just read-only access as early as January 30.

The ominous-sounding moniker dark webis fairly fitting given the nature of many of the websites that comprise it. This space on the internet is home to some of the most nefariouswebsites there are, like the infamous Silk Road and other sites similar to it, some of which are marketplaces for child pornography, black market guns, illegal drugs, and even assassins-for-hire. Inaccessible using traditional browsers, those who want to explore the dark web mustuse special software to access it.

This hack takes out a full 20 percent of those sites, and by the looks of things, the hacker seems to be responsibly handling the files they seized. They released a dump of system files but without including user data, and they also plan to give copies to a security researcher. That person will be the one to deliver them to government officials.

The hacker considers this an achievement in the crusade against the internets scum. Asked ifthey would do it again in the future,the hacker replied,If there is ever going to be a chance like that again, I wont say no to taking them down, but I do not plan to do so.

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One Hacker Just Took Down a Fifth of the Dark Web - Futurism

Futurismis a digital media platform covering the scientific breakthroughs and technological innovations that will shape our future. Coverage topics include artificial intelligence, robotics, space exploration, virtual reality, and much more. Our content is currently read by over 20 million people per month across all our distribution platforms.

Were looking for an ambitious, creative, and thoughtful Curator to join our distributed video production team. Futurisms videos (alongside those published by our sub-brands,Explorist and Virtuality)net over 100 million views on Facebook per month. This wouldnt be remotely possible without the hard work of our content curators.

Most succinctly, Curatorsare the lifeblood of our video production process: they work directly with our video producers by researching and unearthing the best science and technology content on internet, period. They source story ideas, find footage, and plant the proverbial seed that eventually becomes an awesome, shareable video.

The ideal candidate will be intimately familiar with the media landscape, intensely ambitious, and well versed in attribution and proper sourcing. This is a part-time, remote position.

The job at a glance:

The ideal candidate will have:

You will be joining a team of 40+ content creators that are passionate about telling stories that will shape and influence prominent discussions about our future. Ourfounding team has built companies funded by top VCs, has been listed in the Inc. Top 500 fast growing companies list four separate times, and has had multiple major exits.

Please submit a resume and cover letter to jobs@futurism.com elaborating on your qualifications, your interest in joining the team, your experience with science and technology, and links to some of your past work.

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Content Curator - futurism.com

The WrongDirection

Itstarted withremoving mentions of climate change on the WhiteHouse website, and now we are looking at an outright dissolution. Since Donald Trumps inauguration, the governments support of scientists and administrative organizations combating climate change (and protecting the environment) has dramatically decreased.

Case in point, on Friday February 3, Republican Florida congressman Matt Gaetz presented the billH.R.861, which would eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Not wanting to beat around the bush, the bill is actually called the bill to terminate the Environmental Protection Agency a pretty straightforward name that shows how the winds are changing in Washington.

The EPA is the federal agency that monitors and implements policies that protectour environment. Gaetz and fellow Republican representatives (who co-sponsored H.R.861) do not feel that this agency is necessary.

Kentucky representative Thomas Massie stated that The EPA makes rules that undermine the voice of the American people and threaten jobs in Kentucky. The bills authors believe that removing the EPA would move oversight and regulation from the federal government to individual states, which they feel already have the resources necessary to protect our environment.

Experts disagree with this move. A lot of states just dont have resources available to them, said professor Mary Jane Angelo, director of the Environmental and Land Use Law Program at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. Wealthier states would have better protection for their citizens health than poorer states.

But as the quote above makes clear, the thrust is really on placing jobs before the environment, so even if all states did have the necessary resources, it is clear that many states do not have the dedication or the will toprotect our environment.

However, EPA or No EPA, human-made climate change remains part of our daily reality, a reality which is progressively worsening.

Earths temperatures have been consistently warming. Despite political pushback from those who deny climate change, the actual effects of anthropogenic (manmade) climate change continue. From aberrant hurricanes and typhoons the world overto the extinction of several species, human-made climate change cannot be denied.

The details of H.R.861 remain unknown, as the text is still unavailable; however, the Walton Sunreports that the bill offers nothing new in the way of guidance, and according to Massie, 2018 will be the end of the EPA.

Hopefully, this will not happen, because if it is not yet obvious to some howthreatening human-made climate change is, it will become apparent all too soon.

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Republican Representatives Propose A Bill to Abolish The EPA - Futurism

Ya Dig?

When Elon Musk said he will bore through traffic, he meant it. The Tesla and SpaceX founder and CEO is serious about digging a tunnel into and through Los Angeles, and he has completed a boring test drive, so to speak, at the SpaceX headquarters in LA. Workers dug a test trench 30 feet wide, 50 feet long, and 15 feet deep this past weekend, which Musk called the beginning of an experiment.

Musks boring project began with a couple of tweets complaining about traffic in L.A. Now, it looks like the project is as concretely real as Tesla cars or SpaceX rockets, with work expected to begin sometime next month. His vision: to make human beings an inter-tunnel species.

You have tall buildings, theyre all 3D, and then everyone wants to go into the building and leave the building at a same time, he said Sunday, speaking at a Hyperloop design competition at SpaceX.. On a 2D road network, that obviously doesnt work, so you have to go 3D either up or down. And I think probably down.

With the progression of Musks plans come improvements of tunnel-building technology. Were just going to figure out what it takes to improve tunneling speed by, I think, somewhere between 500 and 1,000 percent, he said Sunday.We have no idea what were doingI want to be clear about that. Just as Musk improved electric cars and reusable rockets, he wants to improve the way that we build tunnels. Speaking to Wired, Musk said, better tunneling tech improves everything: road, subway, Hyperloop.

Since Los Angeles is the most congested city in the U.S., surely they might appreciate, or at least be open to, Musks solution. Of course, however, there will be many legal, logistical, and even environmental hurdles to overcome before the digging will begin underneath L.A.

The obstacles between this idea and the reality of a tunnel system in L.A. cant be helped. However, Roads are basically the only infrastructure we have that we experience daily shortages of, according to urban planning student Michael Manville at the University of California, Los Angeles. And so, while there will be a lot of work to set this plan in motion, it could revolutionizetransportation.

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Elon Musk Has Officially Started Building A Tunnel Under Los Angeles - Futurism

Gearing Up for SkyNet?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is currently at the forefront of cutting-edge science and technology. Advances in AI, including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks, are behind a massive percentage of modern developments. However, even though there is great positive potential for AI, many are afraid of what AI could do, and rightfully so. There is still the fear of a technological singularity,a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over the world.

Charity and outreach organizationthe Future of Life Institute(FLI) recently hosted their secondBeneficial AI Conference (BAI 2017). Throughout the week-long conference, AI experts developed what they call the Asilomar AI Principles, which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future of humankind.

The FLI, founded by experts from MIT and DeepMind, work with a Scientific Advisory Board that includes genius and theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, Nobel laureate and mathematician Frank Wilczek (the man behind time crystals), Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, ethical AI expert Nick Bostrm, and even Morgan Freeman. Currently, aside from their work keeping AI beneficial and ethical, the FLI is also exploring ways to reduce risks from nuclear weapons and biotechnology.

FLI isnt the only group thats been working on ethical guidelines for AI. There is also the Partnership on AI to Benefit People and Society, which Apple recently joined. Another is the Artificial Intelligence Fund, a partnership that looks at AI from an interdisciplinary approach.

The Asilomar AI Principles are similar to the IEEEs AI framework guideline called Ethically Aligned Design. Both provide parameters that support the continuation of conscientious AI development. So, how does the Asilomar Principles suggest to keep a SkyNet style science fiction nightmare at bay? Well, it offers 23 principles grouped into three categories that cover research, ethics and values, and long-term issues.

The principles dont dilute the concrete realities of AI research. On the contrary, they aim to keep it rigorous and well-funded. It suggests these key points:

On the ethical side, these principles highlight a respect for human values. AI systems should be designed and operated so as to be compatible with ideals of human dignity, rights, freedoms, and cultural diversity, principle no. 11 states. However, the principles make clear that humans should also seriously monitor AI: Humans should choose how and whether to delegate decisions to AI systems, to accomplish human-chosen objectives (principle no. 16). Additionally, it is noted that AI should never be used to subvert the foundations of society (principle no. 17).

As an overall and long-term principle, the group highlights that AI should always work for the common good. Their final point puts it well: Superintelligence should only be developed in the service of widely shared ethical ideals, and for the benefit of all humanity rather than one state or organization (no. 23).

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World's Top Experts Have Created a Law of Robotics - Futurism