Category Archives: Futurist

It's a big week for Facebook-turned-Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

After a few rough quarters, a dismal public reaction to a glimpse at the founder's Horizon Worlds metaverse, and an allegedly imminent round of mass internal layoffs, the company is finally bearing down on the release of its Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest Pro VR and AR headsets. This stands to be a make-or-break moment for Zuck, who's hinged his company's legacy on his AR-dependent metaverse vision.

And by all accounts not to mention niche sport-related promos Facebook's katana-wielding overlord is thrilled about this product release. But according to The New York Times, there's one very telling group that may not be: the metamates themselves.

Corroborating a leak last week, the NYT reported that Meta has had a difficult time getting its employees on its Horizon Worlds platform. Some company staffers reportedly had to scramble to buy Oculus headsets which, you know, you might expect them to have already owned in response to new mandates that weekly meetings be held in the metaverse, and execs have even turned to threats to actively monitor their game play. Sounds, uh, fun.

"Everyone in this organization should make it their mission to fall in love with Horizon Worlds," read a September commandment, originally obtained by The Verge, from metaverse VP Vishal Shah. "Get in there. Organize times to do it with your colleagues or friends, in both internal builds but also the public build so you can interact with our community."

Shah has a point. It's difficult to drum up public excitement about a piece tech if those building it apparently don't care enough to even own the headset you need to use it.

But the issue, it seems, isn't just that the employees don't likeZuck's metaverse. In an anonymous NYT survey of 1,000 Meta employees, conducted on the popular Silicon Valley app Blind, only 58 percent said that they even understand the strategy he's taking to get there a sure recipe for chaos, confusion, and general unhappiness.

Even more damningly, some employees have reportedly taken to labelling metaverse projects with the acronym MMH which stands for Make Mark Happy (ouch) while Oculus' former technology chief, who still works as a Meta advisor, expressed during an August podcast interview that the many billions of dollars poured into the project made him "sick to [his] stomach." And back in August, the head of the metaverse division resigned.

Zuck, however, appears hellbent on bringing his "North Star" to fruition whether his metamates get it or not.

"Being a cynic about new and innovative technology is easy," A Meta spokesperson told the NYT. "Actually building it is a lot harder but that's what we're doing because we believe the metaverse is the future of computing."

READ MORE: Skepticism, Confusion, Frustration: Inside Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse Struggles[The New York Times]

More on Zucko woes: Mark Zuckerberg Is in Big, Big Trouble

More:
Facebook Employees Seem Completely Confused by the Metaverse - Futurism

During his maiden voyage to space, "Star Trek" icon William Shatner had an awe-inspiring experience but it wasn't necessarily positive.

"So, I went to space," reads aVariety-published excerpt from Shatner's new book, "Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder."

After describing the exhilarating launch procedure and beginning of his zero-gravity excursion, Shatner wrote that when he turned around to look into the void of space, he was shocked by the emptiness he found.

"When I looked in the opposite direction, into space, there was no mystery, no majestic awe to behold," Shatner wrote. "All I saw was death."

In spite of his conceptual love of space after all, he played Captain Kirk on "Star Trek" during the beginning of the space race and the mystery it presented, what Shatner was forced to contend with in the real thing was far from what he expected.

"I saw a cold, dark, black emptiness," he wrote. "It was unlike any blackness you can see or feel on Earth. It was deep, enveloping, all-encompassing."

After looking back "toward the light of home," Shatner described an intense homesickness for the planet he had just left.

"I turned back toward the light of home," the "TJ Hooker" star wrote. "I could see the curvature of Earth, the beige of the desert, the white of the clouds and the blue of the sky. It was life. Nurturing, sustaining, life. Mother Earth. Gaia. And I was leaving her."

"Everything I had thought was wrong," he concluded. "Everything I had expected to see was wrong."

Many space travelers have described an experience termed the "Overview Effect," or a sense of euphoria and interconnectedness stemming from viewing Earth from above. Shatner alluded to the phenomenon, but even his takeaway there sounds unusually dark.

"When someone travels to space and views Earth from orbit," he wrote, "a sense of the planets fragility takes hold in an ineffable, instinctive manner."

"The contrast between the vicious coldness of space and the warm nurturing of Earth below filled me with overwhelming sadness," Shatner added. "My trip to space was supposed to be a celebration; instead, it felt like a funeral."

While this is the most detailed description of Shatner's trip to space, it was not the first time the "Star Trek" star had spoken publicly about it.

Shortly after landing from his spaceflight, which took place almost exactly a year ago, Shatner thanked Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos profusely for the trip.

"What you have given me is the most profound experience," he told Bezos through tears. "I hope I never recover from this."

If his memoir is any indicator, Shatner has seemingly kept that hope alive.

More space feels: Scientists Say New James Webb Images Are So Powerful That It Was Emotional Just Looking at Them

See the rest here:
William Shatner Says His Space Trip Left Him With a Feeling of Terrible Grief - Futurism

India is going to witness a number of upcoming cars. From Hyundai to MG almost every other car company is waiting for next year to introduce their unique and classy features. This article would be dealing with the specs and features that car companies will bring to the Indian market.

On the top of the list is Hyundai Creta which has already gathered enough attention to create curiosity among buyers. Experts have speculated that it is likely to come up with a 10.25-inch digital instrument thats going to add a feature to Hyundais long list of features. This would be available with engines set of 115bhp, 1.5L 4-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol, 115bhp, 1.5L turbo-diesel, and a 140bhp, 1.4-liter turbocharged petrol. So just waiting for one year can make you have this awesome Hyundai car.

Mahindra is no doubt the best and to the list of best one more has been added by the launch of the Mahindra XUV400 electric SUV. It will be available for buyers on sale in January 2023 according to the news by Mahindra. It has a wheelbase of 2600mm. This is the widest e-SUV in this category and has got a lot more than the previous XUV300. So get ready to park an electric SUV in your home space that will be available in a few months.

Toyota will soon be launching Innova Hybrid in the Indian market. It will be launched in the global market by next month but India will get to see it next year. Its going to be a Hybrid Innova car. It will measure 4.7 meters in length and sit on a 2890mm long wheelbase. It will come with 2.0L petrol and 2.0L petrol with strong hybrid tech.

Maruti YTB SUV Coupe

Maruti YTB SUV Coupe is among those cars which have been spotted on road multiple times but experts knew it will bring more than its leaks. And finally, the wait is over for buyers and we have got whats exactly under the hood. Maruti Suzuki will bring a 1-liter turbo petrol engine on the Maruti Suzuki Baleno Cross. It would be wrong to say it is totally new because we saw the same thing in the Baleno RS model in the year 2017. Despite having almost the same thing, it could not be continued because of low sales in the market.

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Get ready to witness the best futuristic features in upcoming cars that will debut next year - The Tech Outlook

A large percentage of people who use Tesla's Autopilot driving assist system seem to think that the tech makes their car fully self-driving even though the software is far from capable of it.

Per a new survey from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a whopping 42 percent of Tesla Autopilot drivers said that they feel "comfortable treating their vehicles as fully self-driving."That's so bizarre that we can barely believe it Autopilot can keep your car in a lane with simple braking and acceleration, but it's nowhere near a full self-driving system. In fact, even Tesla's somewhat more advanced Full Self-Driving (FSD) package, which drivers weren't polled on in the IIHS study, is still very much in beta testing.

"The big-picture message here," IIHS President David Harkey said in the organization's press release, "is that the early adopters of these systems still have a poor understanding of the technologys limits."

Those limits, to be blunt, include the fact that Autopilot moderequires drivers to be paying attention and driving albeit with assistance from the vehicle's software.

"Its possible that system design and marketing are adding to these misconceptions,"Harkey said, alluding to widespread criticism that Tesla has overstated the capabilities of its Autopilot and FSD tech.

The IIHS survey also found that 53 percent of people who use Cadillac's Super Cruise assisted driving software are chill with treating their vehicles as self-driving, while only 12 percent of those who use Nissan/Infiniti's ProPILOT Assist software feel the same.

As Harkey noted, there appear to be "clear differences among the three owner populations" as to what their cars are capable of and the survey's findings seem to back that up, too.

Notably, 40 percent of the Tesla and Cadillac assisted driving users said that they had been "locked out" of their vehicles, both types of which have lockout features that switch off or otherwise suspend the vehicles if drivers don't meet failsafe criteria.

While the survey notes that "some of those drivers confused a temporary suspension of the feature with the lockout procedure," that high percentage "nevertheless suggest[s] that many drivers failed to respond to warnings intended to ensure they were paying attention to the road or that they repeatedly violated the operating parameters often enough to trigger the lockout."

Nissan/Infiniti assisted driving users, on the other hand, don't have lockout failsafes to contend with but they do, per the survey, have attention reminders, and a high percentage of the users questions "reported that they had never even received an attention reminder."

There's clearly something going on with Tesla and Cadillac owners, in other words and we have a bad feeling that this could be a sign of things to come.

More on FSD:Tesla Fires Employee Who Posted Shocking YouTube Videos About Its Full Self-Driving Beta

Continued here:
Survey: 42% of Tesla Autopilot Drivers Think Their Cars Can Entirely Drive Themselves - Futurism

New scam just dropped!Phony Cosmonaut

Earlier this year, a phony astronaut scammed a woman into sending him a ton of money in a phishing con that left an elderly woman heartbroken and, presumably, broke.

As Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbum reported last week, the scammer, who claimed he was a Russian cosmonaut, ended up taking 4.4 million yen the equivalent of about $30,000 from a 65-year-old Japanese woman after claiming he was on board the International Space Station and needed the money to hitch a ride back to Earth.

The grifter went as far as to claim he was in love with her and wanted to start a life with her in Japan provided, of course, that she pay for his ride home.

It's a heart-breaking tale that has left us wondering how anybody could possibly fall for such a ruse. You'd think it's common knowledge that astronauts usually pay for a return ticket up front.

The fake cosmonaut, whose name remains unknown, convinced the womanby name-dropping space agencies like NASA and JAXA, Japan's space agency.

The scammer also told the woman when he was out of contact for days at a time that the cellular service on board the ISS was spotty though, as Gizmodo notes,there is no cell service in space, and astronauts rely on an internet-connected IP phone.

Needless to say, astronauts also don't need to raise funds to get back to Earth, because that's usually included in the ticket price, which can easily reach tens of millions of dollars.

Eventually, after sending a total of five payments, the woman wised up and reported the scammer to the police, though it's unclear if the con artist was arrested or if the woman's money was recovered.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time this kind of thing has happened: in 2016, a man, who claimed to be Nigeria's first astronaut, said he was stuck on board a Soviet craft and needed $3 million to return home.

The lesson seems rather obvious: if someone tells you they're an astronaut and that they need your money, don't believe them there is no way anyone who's on board the space station is hurting for money that badly.

More on the ISS: Saudi Arabia Just Bought Two SpaceX Tickets to the International Space Station

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Scammer Fools Woman Into Thinking They're an Astronaut Who Needs a Ticket Home - Futurism

Theres tons of enthusiasm over self-driving cars. But nearly twenty years and some $100 billion since the first demos, the technology just isnt there yet.In fact, it may be further off from being fully and safely autonomous than were led to believe.

"Youd be hard-pressed to find another industry thats invested so many dollars in R&D and that has delivered so little," said self-driving pioneer Anthony Levandowski, in a must-read new interview with Bloomberg.

As the cofounder of Googles self-driving division, Levandowski is acknowledged by his peers as one of the key engineers that got the industry up and running. But in recent years,he's become persona non grata off the back of a calamitous lawsuit that virtually ended his career (but more on that later).

And he's not wrong. In spite of eyewatering sums spent on development over the past decade not to mention the almost comically enthusiastic support of Tesla CEO Elon Musk the internet is still frequently horrified by footage of the tech going haywire, screwing up, or facing yet another investigation from the government.

The problem? The industry still amounts to little more than a bunch of glorified tech demos, according to Levandowski.

"Its an illusion,"he told Bloomberg.

In demos, you see what the creators want you to see, and they control for things that they'd rather you didn't. To make it all seem high tech, monitors will show what the cars register in its camera, flashing with symbols and polygons to show that yes, the vehicle has some awareness of its surroundings.

What the demos won't show you,asBloombergreports, is a hilariously banal and longstanding problem for the tech: the fearsome left turn, or an "unprotected left turn," as the industry likes to insist. Basically,the elementary move ofcutting left across traffic when theres no light to make it easy has proved consistently difficult for AI drivers.

One notable incident Bloomberg cites is when Cruise LLC, a subsidiary of General Motors, recalled and updated the software of all of its self-driving cars in September after one of them couldnt properly pull off a left turn and crashed, injuring two.

With an AI especially one that has to drive a two ton vehicle you cant safely say that because it drove fine one time that it will in the future. To humans whove spent years growing up in the physical world with all of its structure and chaos, slight changes in the environment is the norm. Most of the time, we barely register them consciously and instead instinctively know whether to acknowledge or ignore.

To an AI, a slight change could be catastrophic. After all, how is it supposed to know what an appropriate response to a slight or sudden change is when it doesnt understand everything its looking at? How will it handle when it's overcast, when theres creatures teetering at the edge of the road, or when harmless birds plop down on the asphalt ahead and theres traffic behind?

"Why are we driving around, testing technology and creating additional risks, without actually delivering anything of value?" Levandowski asked in theinterview.

Of course, if anyone is going to have a gripe against the self-driving-car-o-sphere, itd be Levandowski.

He's credited by some for kick-starting the industry with his 2008 demonstration of a self-driving car delivering a pizza across the city of San Francisco, with a police escort in tow. That stunt demonstrated to the business world that the technology wasnt just a pipe dream, eventually leading to Levandowski co-founding Googles self-driving program in 2009, which today is known as Waymo.

But when Levandowski left Google and started working with Uber in 2016, things got dicey. By the next year, Levandowski and Uber were getting sued by Google, who alleged that Levandowski stole trade secrets to use in Ubers program. Then he got dumped by his new employers, forced into bankruptcy, and miraculously pardoned by then-president Donald Trump to avoid federal prison.

Still, hes not alone in his thinking.

"Its a scam," George Hotz, founder of the open source assisted driving company Comma.ai, told Bloomberg. "These companies have squandered billions of dollars."

Pretty much the entire industry hinges on its premise that self-driving cars will make our roads safer, and that humans are bad drivers. But as Hotz points out, in terms of how much we can intuit vs. an AI, humans are really good drivers.

Anecdotally and statistically, there are countless accounts of self-driving cars getting into accidents some fatal or bumbling into traffic contretemps that get laughed at online. Above all, there's no clear indicators that self-driving will deliver on its safety premise anytime soon.

Until we get there or ditch the tech altogether maybe we could at least require driving tests for self-driving cars in the meantime.

Read more: Even After $100 Billion, Self-Driving Cars Are Going Nowhere

More on self-driving: Drivers Sue Tesla Because Full Self-Driving Isn't Actually Full Self-Driving

Link:
Godfather of Self-Driving Cars Says the Tech Is Going Nowhere - Futurism

"NASA has proven we are serious as a defender of the planet."Planetary Defenders

Last month, NASA smashed its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft into an asteroid's moonlet known as Dimorphos at 14,000 mph.

Now, NASA is declaring the demonstration triumphant, saying it successfully changed the space rock's trajectory in an historic demonstration that humanity could indeed save itself from a catastrophic asteroid collision.

"All of us have a responsibility to protect our home planet," NASA boss Bill Nelsonsaid during a Tuesday briefing. "After all, its the only one we have."

"This mission shows that NASA is trying to be ready for whatever the universe throws at us," he added. "NASA has proven we are serious as a defender of the planet."

The data is rolling in, NASA says, and the numbers look promising. Case in point, the impact appears to have changed the time it takes for Dimorphos to circle its larger asteroid parent Didymos by a full 32 minutes.

That's more than three times the initial goal of changing its trajectory by ten minutes.

"For the first time ever, humanity has changed the orbit of a planetary object," NASA Planetary Science Division director Lori Glaze told reporters.

A number of ground- and space-based observatories, including NASA's Hubble and James Webb telescopes, were able to capture the event, confirming the new trajectory.

Despite the resounding success, we still much to learn about deflecting any future asteroidthreats to Earth, cautioned NASA spokespeople other than Nelson.

"We should not be too eager to say that one test on one asteroid tells us exactly how every other asteroid would behave in a similar situation," said Tom Statler, DART program scientist at NASA, during the briefing.

"But what we can do is use this test as an anchor point for our physics calculations in our simulations that tell us how different kinds of impacts in different situations should behave," he added.

READ MORE: The DART mission successfully changed the motion of an asteroid [CNN]

More on DART: The Devastation From NASA's Asteroid Collision Looks Unbelievable

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NASA Says Its Test of Asteroid Deflection Tech Was Wildly Successful - Futurism

This isn't the version of the story that Musk recalled.Photobomber

Remember the time that Elon Musk tweeted that his 2014 photo with Jeffrey Epstein enabler Ghislaine Maxwell was the result of her having "photobombed" him at a Vanity Fair party? Turns out Musk might have left out a few details.

To recap, the years-old photo had resurfaced back in 2020, during the windfall of high-profile arrests, allegations, and disturbing revelations including about Maxwell, who was sentenced to prison for sex trafficking in June that followed Epstein's July 2019 arrest. At the time, actual law enforcement officers and netizen sleuths alike were busy trying to connect the many diabolic dots of Epstein's network of abuse, so when that 2014 picture cropped up, the SpaceX founder immediately attempted to distance himself.

"Don't know Ghislaine at all," the billionaire wrote back in July 2020. "She photobombed me once at a Vanity Fair party several years ago. Real question is why [Vanity Fair] invited her in the first place."

But according to new reporting from The New York Times, those claims are now in doubt. Per a staffer who was at the soire and took notes on the conversation, the two had a whole chat about aliens, humans living in a simulation, and oh yeah scrubbing oneself from the internet.

To be fair, it was Maxwell who allegedly ask Musk if it was possible to completely erase someone from the online world which, if you're a soon-to-be convicted sex trafficker who helped funnel underage girls into a network of systemic sexual abuse, might definitely be something you'd want to do. Musk reportedly responded with skepticism, and the conversation divulged into the more Musk-ian topics of aliens and simulations from there.

And also, to be clear, we're not promoting any Musk x Epstein x Maxwell conspiracies. Epstein and Maxwell rubbed shoulders with swathes of the world's wealthiest, both famous and not it was probably inevitable that they mingled, and apart from the Vanity Fair photo, unconfirmed claims of a SpaceX tour, and an alleged link between Musk's younger brother Kimbal Musk and Epstein, there's nothing substantial to support a deeper link between the two.

By several accounts, though, Musk had an acquaintanceship with both figures that was a bit more involved than the Tesla CEO would seemingly care to recall. His former narrative of that photo was certainly convenient but it sounds like it may have been a bit of a selective truth.

READ MORE: Elon Musk Has the World's Strangest Social Calendar [The New York Times]

More on recent Elon behavior: Elon Musk Says He Has Not Been Talking to Putin, Thank You Very Much

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Jeffrey Epstein Associate Reportedly Asked Elon Musk If It Was Possible to Scrub Someone From the Internet - Futurism

Gwen Stefani came in glistening for the first battle round of The Voice, which aired last night on NBC. The Sweet Escape singer is one of the coaches on Season 22 of the singing competition show alongside her husband Blake Shelton, Camila Cabello, and John Legend.

Stefani wore a pink cutout dress with a black crystal-embellished neckline and a thigh-high slit. She added sparkling deconstructed sleeves to the look to add more bling. Stefani also wore an oversized silver choker over a thick metallic chain.

Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Carson Daly, Camila Cabello, John Legend on the set of The Voice at Universal City, Calif. on Oct. 11.

CREDIT: Trae Patton/NBC

Her fishnet stockings slipped perfectly into her thigh-high metallic boots. The pointed-toe boots with stiletto heels brought a futuristic feel to the outfit.

The singer was styled by Marta Del Rio. The stylist also worked with Christina Aguilera, Dove Cameron, and Billie Eilish.

Gwen Stefani on the set of The Voice at Universal City, Calif. on Oct. 11.

CREDIT: Trae Patton/NBC

Stefanis footwear choices are usually edgy, glamorous and eclectic, so the metallic boots are not a surprise. For the red carpet and special occasions, the Orange County Girl singer often dons sparkly and embellished pumps and boots from top brands like Le Silla, Paris Texas and Casadei. For more casual moments, the musician also dons comfy footwear including Vans sneakers and Crocs clogs.

PHOTOS: Gwen Stefanis Best Street Style Looks

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Gwen Stefani Gets Futuristic in Thigh-High Metallic Boots & Pink Cutout Dress on The Voice - Footwear News

For those looking for fall family activities outside of Montgomery County, the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) will reopen its west end to the public on Oct. 14 with eight new exhibits after closing for six months due to ongoing renovations.

Free timed-entry passes are required for admission, regardless of age. Passes are available online on the NASM website. Individuals can reserve up to six timed-entry passes for their visits.

The original museum, built in the 1970s, was growing outdated with the worn carpet floors, gold embellishments, and standard print infographics.

What came of the $1 billion renovation is the essence of the atmosphere of space travel: technology and innovation.

The museum touts its 2022 makeover with ambient lighting, interactive infographics, and striking technological elements that transport attendees to a sci-fi movie upon entering. A giant LED banner illuminates the new entryway, shining light that reflects off metal fragments in the terrazzo floor that give a magical appearance as though one is walking among stars.

The new exhibits feature historical artifacts including the 1903 Wright Flyer, Neil Armstrongs Spacesuit, the Apollo 11 command module and more. Sci-fi fans can spot a full scale Star Wars X-Wing Fighter used in the movies on the second floor. With a keen eye, one can spot a familiar friend in an inconspicuous place.

The museum also opened its basement floor for the futuristic Mars Cafe with food, drinks, and seating. Next to the cafe are restrooms, nursing rooms, quiet rooms and a companion care room.

The costly renovation project, which began in 2018, is set to be completed in 2025, according to the Smithsonian. Every exhibit will be reimagined, said NASM Director Chris Browne. During a staff family event on Oct. 10, Browne noted the immense effort that continues to go into the construction project.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos made a $200 million donation to the NASM in July of 2021, according to a Smithsonian announcement. $70 million contributed to the museum renovation, but the other $130 million is set to launch a new education center. The Smithsonian released five concept designs for the buildings in September, all showcasing wildly futuristic designs.

The museum is located on 6th Street and Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC. The entrance is on Independence Ave.

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National Air and Space Museum Unveils Futuristic Exhibits After $1 Billion Renovation - Montgomery Community Media