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These Technologies Will Change the World

MTLynn

Hall of Famer
Jan 27, 2003
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"Flying cars, virtual reality, quantum computing, genetic modification, artificial intelligence, migration into space, a real-life holodeck… Things that once seemed impossible are now becoming reality, and they are becoming reality much faster than most people had predicted. It’s not just that things are changing rapidly, it’s that the pace of change itself is speeding up. On this episode of Conversations with Tom, two of the world’s leading futurists, Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler, join with Tom Bilyeu for a discussion of the future of technology, culture and the human mind. This future is brighter, wealthier, more abundant and filled with more meaning than most of us could have believed, and it may be coming faster than anyone is prepared for."

SHOW NOTES:
Flying cars are even cooler than anyone expected [1:03]
The rate of change is much faster than anyone thinks [5:22]
Tom doesn’t even own a car, and hardly anyone rents a car any more [6:03]
Quantum computing has been taking huge leaps forward [7:52]
A company is now 3D printing rockets [10:33]
3D printed houses will be three or four times cheaper than current houses [13:33]
The rate of change is so rapid that people become afraid, but they shouldn’t be [16:17]
What can be done if you’re seriously averse to loss, or afraid of change? [17:53]
We’ve forgotten how fast things have changed already [20:38]
We turn thoughts into things. What’s the difference between insight and intuition? [24:36]
What will happen when we all have a version of Jarvis? [27:53]
There will soon be brain to computer connection, and even brain to brain connection [30:53]
Perhaps by the 2030’s we’ll be able to directly connect from our brains to the cloud [33:59]
The panel discusses how virtual reality and AI could really mess up human relationships [35:11]
What will happen when Jarvis or Alexa hears all your arguments with your spouse? [38:59]
Peter brings up the problem of deep fakes [40:20]
Is the rate of change so fast that we are just falling into things instead of creating them? [42:48]
How do you change people’s frame of reference? [46:53]
We create our own futures, limitations and expansive abilities [50:30]
We will create more wealth in the next decade than we did in the last century [52:41]
Hardly anyone writes near-future fiction any more because things change too fast [57:31]
Peter talks about how new technologies will change real estate, business and storage [1:00:58]
Peter and Tom discuss the need to be monomaniacal as an entrepreneur [1:04:29]
How do we create a hopeful, compelling and abundant future? [1:07:05]
The panel discusses gene modification [1:09:19]
What are the ethics behind genetic modification? [1:14:52]
There are already contacts that have augmented reality and virtual reality [1:20:13]
Creating meta-intelligence and migration into space [1:24:57]
Peter describes his experiences with plant medicine [1:29:04]
Steven describes the potential downsides of plant medicine [1:40:52]
In the next 20 years the human race will start irreversibly moving off the planet [1:42:01]
We are getting very close to being able to constantly being in flow [1:46:56]
What happens when VR becomes more meaningful than physical life? [1:50:02]
Steven discusses learning to control dopamine [1:53:18]
We will have more control of our own experiences in the future [1:55:06]

BOOKS MENTIONED:

“Abundance: The Future Is Brighter Than You Think”, Diamandis and Kotler

“The Future is Faster Than You Think: How Converging Technologies Are Transforming Business, Industries, and Our Lives.” Peter Diamandis
 
Engineers Develop A Device That ‘Literally Generates Electricity Out of Thin Air’

February 20, 2020

By Arjun Walia
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IN BRIEF

  • The Facts:
    Electrical engineers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst have created a device that literally generates energy out of thin air.

  • Reflect On:
    Why do none of the truly "free" energy sources we keep hearing about never come to market?
A new study published in Nature entitled “Power generation from ambient humidity using protein nanowires” has discovered an interesting way to harvest energy from the environment, creating the potential for another clean power generating system that is self-sustaining. According to the authors,


“thin-film devices made from nanometre-scale protein wires harvested from the microbe Geobacter sulfurreducens can generate continuous electric power in the ambient environment. The devices produce a sustained voltage of around 0.5 volts across a 7-micrometre-thick film, with a current density of around 17 microamperes per square centimetre. We find the driving force behind this energy generation to be a self-maintained moisture gradient that forms within the film when the film is exposed to the humidity that is naturally present in air.”

The study also mentions that “connecting several devices linearly scales up the voltage and current to power electronics” and that their results “demonstrate the feasibility of a continuous energy-harvesting strategy that is less restricted by location or environmental conditions than other sustainable approaches.”

So, how is this all possible? Well, more than three decades ago a “sediment organism” was discovered in the Potomac river that could do things nobody had ever observed before in bacteria. The microbe belonged to the Geobacter genus, and over time scientists discovered that it could make bacterial nanowires that conduct electricity.

Electricity Out Of Thin Air
According to the team that published the study, their device uses this finding to create electricity from the atmosphere. One of the electrical engineers, Jun Yao, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, stated that they are “literally making electricity out of thin air.” They are calling it the “Air-gen” and it generates clean energy 24/7, thanks to the electrically conductive protein nanowires produced by Geobacter.

The idea that a device can create energy with nothing but the presence of air around it is quite exciting, it works by using a thin film of the protein nanowires mentioned measuring just micrometres thick that are positioned between two electrodes that are also exposed to the air. It’s because of this exposure that the nanowire film is able to absorb the water vapour that’s abundant within the atmosphere. This is what allows the device to generate a continuous electric current.

The new technology developed in Yao’s lab is non-polluting, renewable and low-cost. It can generate power even in areas with extremely low humidity such as the Sahara Desert. It has significant advantages over other forms of renewable energy including solar and wind, Lovley says, because unlike these other renewable energy sources, the Air-gen does not require sunlight or wind, and “it even works indoors.”

The researchers say that the current generation of Air-gen devices are able to power small electronics, and they expect to bring the invention to commercial scale soon. Next steps they plan include developing a small Air-gen “patch” that can power electronic wearables such as health and fitness monitors and smart watches, which would eliminate the requirement for traditional batteries. They also hope to develop Air-gens to apply to cell phones to eliminate periodic charging.

Yao says, “The ultimate goal is to make large-scale systems. For example, the technology might be incorporated into wall paint that could help power your home. Or, we may develop stand-alone air-powered generators that supply electricity off the grid. Once we get to an industrial scale for wire production, I fully expect that we can make large systems that will make a major contribution to sustainable energy production.” (source)


An addition to the Air-gen, Yao’s laboratory has created several other applications using protein nanowires that are showing strong potential. Apparently this is just the beginning in a new era of protein-based electronic devices–if this technology is actually allowed to fully develop.

Human beings have so much potential, and we’ve had solutions to many of our problems for quite some time. Developments like this never seem to come to commercial scale as promised, and are not really ‘put out there’ nor marketed as they should be.

The Invention Secrecy Act of 1951
I’ve personally always wondered about the Invention Secrecy Act that was written up in 1951. Under this act, patent applications on new inventions can be subject to secrecy orders. These orders can restrict their publication if government agencies believe that their disclosure would be harmful to national security. I believe, as expressed by Julian Assange and many others, that national security has now become an umbrella term not to really protect national security, but corporate security and profits. After all, many corporations have a stranglehold of influence on the government.

The fact that Steven Aftergood from the Federation of American Scientists obtained a list from 1971 and reports the restriction of a new energy device is suspicious to me.

“The 1971 list indicates that patents for solar photovoltaic generators were subject to review and possible restriction if the photovoltaics were more than 20% efficient. Energy conversion systems were likewise subject to review and possible restriction if they offered conversion efficiencies in “excess of 70-80%.” (source)

Perhaps there are technologies that are kept under wraps that have the potential to change our world? Perhaps these technologies threatened the power of some people? Who knows.

Without diving down the conspiracy rabbit hole, the point is, even with what’s available in the public domain, we have and have had the means to change our world in a number of ways, yet it seems these technologies never seem to be implemented en masse. The solutions aren’t the problem, so ask yourself, what is?

The Takeaway
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about what I’ve been into for the past 15 years, it’s that scarcity is a joke, and it doesn’t exist. It’s made to exist, and it’s necessary for economics, and anything that comes along (there have been many examples) that threatens the idea of scarcity is done away with, fast. A lack of scarcity, especially of key resources, completely destroys modern day economics and the foundation of what our ‘new world’ was built off of. We have more than enough ways to provide abundance to all. But a world of abundance has to be a world that is not driven or motivated by power. The solutions to all of our problems exist, in ways that continue to be hidden from us.
 
Japanese company successfully tests a manned flying car for the first time
By Lauren M. Johnson, CNN

Updated 1752 GMT (0152 HKT) August 31, 2020

(CNN)A Japanese company has announced the successful test drive of a flying car.
Sky Drive Inc. conducted the public demonstration on August 25, the company said in a news release, at the Toyota Test Field, one of the largest in Japan and home to the car company's development base. It was the first public demonstration for a flying car in Japanese history.
The car, named SD-03, manned with a pilot, took off and circled the field for about four minutes.
"We are extremely excited to have achieved Japan's first-ever manned flight of a flying car in the two years since we founded SkyDrive... with the goal of commercializing such aircraft," CEO Tomohiro Fukuzawa said in a statement.

"We want to realize a society where flying cars are an accessible and convenient means of transportation in the skies and people are able to experience a safe, secure, and comfortable new way of life."
The SD-03 is the world's smallest electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle and takes up the space of about two parked cars, according to the company. It has eight motors to ensure "safety in emergency situations."
"In designing an unexplored, new genre of transportation known as the flying car, we chose the keyword "progressive" for inspiration," Design Director Takumi Yamamot said.
"We wanted this vehicle to be futuristic, charismatic and desirable for all future customers, while fully incorporating the high technology of SkyDrive.

The company hopes to make the flying car a part of normal life and not just a commodity. More test flights will occur in the future under different conditions to make sure the safety and technology of the vehicle meet industry standards.
The success of this flight means that it is likely the car will be tested outside of the Toyota Test field by the end of the year.
The company will continue to develop technologies to safely and securely launch the flying car in 2023, the news release said. No price has been announced.
 
‘Meat of the future’: KFC to ‘3D bioprint’ meat using ‘animal flesh cells’
Published July 22, 2020


MOSCOW -- KFC has partnered with a Russian bioprinting company to bring 3D printed chicken nuggets to the table.

Coined as the “meat of the future,” the lab-created chicken meat is KFC’s response to the growing interest of healthy lifestyles, the rise in demand for meat alternatives and the increasing need to develop more environmentally friendly methods of food production.

It is also KFC’s next step in creating a “restaurant of the future.”

The chicken company’s Russian partner, 3D Bioprinting Solutions, is developing additive bioprinting technology using chicken cells and plant material to recreate the taste and texture of chicken meat, with almost no animal involved in the process.

Provided with KFC’s necessary ingredients, such as breading and spices, the laboratory-produced meat aims to achieve the signature KFC taste.

"3D bioprinting technologies, initially widely recognized in medicine, are nowadays gaining popularity in producing foods such as meat," said Yusek Khesuani, co-founder of 3D Bioprinting Solutions. "In the future, the rapid development of such technologies will allow us to make 3D-printed meat products more accessible and we are hoping that the technology created as a result of our cooperation with KFC will help accelerate the launch of cell-based meat products on the market."

In the statement, the chicken franchise listed the advantages of utilizing the bioprinting method, including the absence of various additives used traditionally in farming and animal husbandry and the ethics of a production process that claims to not cause any harm to animals.

The company also emphasized that bioprinting remains an environmentally-friendly procedure to produce than the standard way of producing chicken meat.

“The technology of growing meat from cells has minimal negative impact on the environment, allowing energy consumption to be cut by more than half, greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced 25 fold and 100 times less land to be used than traditional farm-based meat production,” the statement said, sourcing a study by the American Environmental Science & Technology Journal.

This is certainly not the first time we have heard about 3D printed meat. Earlier this month, an Israel-based startup announced its first 3D printed plant-based steak, innovated by 3D meat printing technology.

Following the rise of alternative meat options in marketplaces and fast-food chains, 3D-printed meat aims to be the novel creation that combines technology and food formulations to present a new category of “meat.”
 
"3D printed rockets save on upfront tooling, enable rapid iteration, decrease part count, and facilitate radically new designs. "

 
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