What's Emerging end of March 2024
A newsletter on interesting stuff that is emerging around the world so you can think about strategy.
Welcome to our end of March Newsletter
In the next few weeks Paul will be working on the strategy consultation process with RSL Victoria and working with a Melbourne Council. He will also continue working with the SEGRA Foundation and present to an economic development conference in Western Australia. He will also continue in his role of venture philanthropy organisation Social Venture Partners Melbourne that is conducting a wide-ranging strategy review in March (just completed - stand by for news from that).
If you are interested in talking to us about any of our strategy approaches, foresight approaches, workshops, or conference presentations for next year, please Contact Us.
The Emergent Futures Team
In case you missed it. The most popular link from the last edition was again one of our business tips:
How the Pentagon Learned to Use Targeted Ads to Find Its Targets—and Vladimir Putin
Meet the guy who taught US intelligence agencies how to make the most of the ad tech ecosystem, "the largest information-gathering enterprise ever conceived by man."........…..Read More
What are we Writing About?
Due to the Easter break and Paul having two weeks off in March there is nothing in this section this edition.
What’s Emerging
Nvidia Wants to Replace Nurses With AI for $9 an Hour
Nvidia announced a collaboration with Hippocratic AI, a healthcare company that offers generative AI nurses who work for just $9 an hour. Hippocratic promotes how it can undercut real human nurses, who can cost $90 an hour, with its cheap AI agents that offer medical advice to patients over video calls in real-time.........…..Read More
The great rewiring: is social media really behind an epidemic of teenage mental illness?
The evidence is equivocal on whether screen time is to blame for rising levels of teen depression and anxiety — and rising hysteria could distract us from tackling the real causes........…..Read More
Bats are in trouble. That’s not good for anyone who likes mezcal, rice or avocado
While bats are often the subject of fear and scorn – they’re fixtures in Halloween decor and haunted-house imagery, and are frequently portrayed as harbingers of doom – their presence is often a sign of a thriving ecosystem. Some of our favorite food and drinks would be much less plentiful, or even nonexistent, without them.........…..Read More
China's Xiaomi to start first EV deliveries
Rather than altering the genetic code itself, epigenetics studies the changes in organisms caused by modification of gene expression. Genetically, nothing has changed in the plant, only the mechanism for how it reacts has been altered. The potential is extraordinary. Not only would growers benefit but this new branch of science could quell consumer and export concerns about genetic modifications and even enhance trade............……. Read more
Farmed python snake meat a sustainable and efficient source of protein, study finds
Dr Natusch, from Macquarie University's School of Natural Sciences, said the reptiles were an efficient source of protein because of the way they processed food. "Warm-blooded animals waste about 80 to 90 per cent of the energy they get from their food in heat production," he said. "Cold-blooded animals such as pythons don't have that constraint — they're able to allocate far more of the energy they get from their food into things like growth.".......……. Read More
The top three battery chemistries coming soon to EVs – and none of them are solid-state
We’re starting to see some seriously exciting battery developments on the horizon, all of which have important implications for EVs, and will result in a diversification of the chemistries offered in different makes and models of electric vehicles .....…..Read more
CRISPR gene editing applications are expanding dramatically in agriculture. Here are the latest advances
A review by Nobel Laureate and CRISPR pioneer Jennifer A. Doudna of the Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, and Joy Y. Wang, also from UC Berkeley, explores the origins, applications, and limitations of this technology. They discuss advancements, future directions, and real-world examples of CRISPR’s impact on medicine and agriculture, highlighting its potential to shape various aspects of society.........…..Read more
General Motors Quits Sharing Driving Behavior With Data Brokers
G.M. had provided information about braking, acceleration and speed to LexisNexis Risk Solution and Verisk, firms that generated driver risk profiles for insurers.......….. Read more (NYT Paywall)
Loch Hart festival offers pre-purchased subscriptions to fend off Splendour-like cancellation
Patrons pay a $50 deposit to secure their ticket for next year's festival, giving Mr Bath a level of certainty when it comes to ticket sales. .……. Read more
Will AI Reshape the Value and Nature of Work?
MIT economist David Autor argues that AI has potential to level the playing field for employees .……. Read more
27 Ft-tall 3D-printed Structure Built by New Robot | ICON's Multi-Story Robotic Construction System
UK at risk of summer water shortages and hosepipe bans, scientists warn
Hot and dry conditions could force measures despite country experiencing wettest 18 months since records began............….….Read more
H5N1 avian flu found in Texas individual who apparently was infected by dairy cows
Up until now, cows have not been on the ever-lengthening list of animals that have been known to be susceptible to this virus. Infections of the highly pathogenic bird flu — a term that describes how it behaves in poultry — have been detected in many other mammals, though, including big cats, bears, foxes, skunks, sea lions, and seals......….…Read more.
Global warming is slowing Earth's spin and may affect how we keep time, study suggests
Recently Earth's spin has sped up suggesting we might need to remove a second from UTC, rather than add one to it. This has caused widespread concern that computers might not cope well with this "negative leap second" and there could be unprecedented disruption to global systems. But what if this dreaded negative leap second was postponed – even for just a few years? A new study, published in the journal Nature, suggests we may well get such a delay from the melting of Earth's ice caps, which are having a slowing effect on the planet's rotation.....… Read more.
NVIDIA Announces Earth Climate Digital Twin
Earth-2’s APIs offer AI models and employ a new NVIDIA generative AI model called CorrDiff, using state-of-the-art diffusion modeling, that generates 12.5x higher resolution images than current numerical models 1,000x faster and 3,000x more energy efficiently. It corrects inaccuracies of coarse-resolution forecasts and synthesizes metrics critical to decision-making....……...… Read more.
Business and Other Tips
What is a digital nomad visa and which countries offer them? Here's a breakdown plus the barriers for entry -
More than 40 countries offer digital nomad visas to travelers eager to work remotely....…..read more
6 Google Docs add-ons for productivity and they are free
The add-on market for Google Docs includes a wide range of apps that add new features and a broad range of capabilities, even creating word clouds from documents. Many of these add-ons are associated with third-party services, but some are dedicated solely to extending the feature set of Google Docs....…. Read More
Only walking for exercise? Here’s how to get the most out of it
Walking is cost-effective, doesn’t require any special equipment or training, and can be done with small pockets of time. Preliminary research shows there are ways to incorporate strength-training components into walking to improve your muscle strength and balance.……Read More
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