What's Emerging end-of-May 2023
A newsletter on interesting stuff that is emerging around the world so you can think about strategy.
Welcome to our end-of-May newsletter
A bit of a food and space theme this edition.
In the next few weeks, Paul will continue working on a large foresight and strategic planning program for RSL Victoria.
He will also be convening a group to look at experiments in futures thinking using new AI models to generate questions rather than answers. An approach beyond the current ChatGPT hysteria. Places will be limited, so please contact us if you wish to participate. First come, first served.
Paul will also be continuing his work in his position as Chair of Social Venture Partners Melbourne, which supports innovative not-for-profit startups to scale their operations through engaged philanthropy.
After an extremely busy start to the year, he will also be taking a couple of weeks off.
If you are interested in talking to us about any of these approaches, please Contact Us.
The Emergent Futures Team
In case you missed it. The most popular link from the last edition:
Yet again :
‘Overemployed’ Hustlers Exploit ChatGPT To Take On Even More Full-Time Jobs
"ChatGPT does like 80 percent of my job," said one worker. Another is holding the line at four robot-performed jobs. "Five would be overkill," he said. Paul: A short-lived effect.....…. Read More
What are we Writing About?
As all work in the last two weeks has been private, we have nothing in this section this edition
What’s Emerging
THOR microwave weapon hammers drone swarms in demo test
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has countered the emerging threat of drone swarms, using the Tactical High-power Operational Responder (THOR) to take out multiple targets. There are a number of approaches being explored and one of the more promising is the use of directed energy weapons. One of these is THOR, which uses high-energy microwaves fired in bursts over wide areas to counter in-coming hostile drones. It doesn't do this by blasting the drones like a laser, but by frying the delicate electronics, causing the robotic aircraft to crash. Costing US$18 million, THOR is built into a 20-ft (6-m) transport container that can fit inside a C-130 Hercules transport and can be set up by two soldiers in about three hours. In addition, it has a user-friendly interface that requires only minimal training.…..Read More
Solar Foods’ Solein® makes its debut in Singapore’s resilient food culture
Singapore is now the first country in the world to approve a microbial novel food grown with carbon dioxide and electricity. Their market is now open for Solein®. On May 25th, a fine-dining restaurant in Singapore will host the first-ever official Solein tasting event,..…..Read More
Augmented reality bringing doctors' eyes and ears to remote medical exams in aged care
At La Trobe University's Digital Innovation Hub, researchers are trialling the use of AR technology to bring doctors into aged care homes virtually. AR is a step up from virtual reality (VR), letting users access digital content and information by seeing virtual documents and monitors in their live headset view.........……. Read more
How to fool a mouse: ‘chemical camouflage’ can hide crops and cut losses by over 60%
Like many animals, mice primarily use their sense of smell to find food. The world is full of odours, and hungry foragers must prioritise important smells and disregard useless ones. When a food is too difficult to find, or an odour is not a useful indicator of food, foragers must give up and search for something else to avoid wasting energy.......……. Read More
InnerPlant and Mertec to Develop Crops that Communicate Biological Stresses Weeks Before Problems Become Visible to Farmers
A new category of seed technology combined with elite germplasm could pave the way for plants to emit signals - detectable from as far away as space - within days of attack from pathogens, pests or lack of water or nutrients.....…..Read more
Lawyer cites fake cases invented by ChatGPT, judge is not amused
A lawyer asked ChatGPT for examples of cases that supported an argument they were trying to make. ChatGPT, as it often does, hallucinated wildly—it invented several supporting cases out of thin air. When the lawyer was asked to provide copies of the cases in question, they turned to ChatGPT for help again—and it invented full details of those cases, which they duly screenshotted and copied into their legal filings.........…..Read more
Research finds sustainable aviation fuel is not a silver bullet for the industry's colossal climate woes
The first problem is the huge amount of biomass and clean energy needed. On average across the roadmaps, producing sustainable aviation fuels would require about 9% of global renewable electricity and 30% of available biomass in 2050. Even then, about 30% of fuel used by airlines in 2050 would be fossil-derived........….. Read more
Mustard greens genetically tweaked to be less bitter will be the first CRISPR edited food available in the US when they reach supermarkets this summer
Mustard greens are packed with vitamins and minerals but have a strong peppery flavor when eaten raw. … Pairwise wanted to retain the health benefits of mustard greens but make them tastier to the average shopper, so scientists at the company used the DNA-editing tool Crispr to remove a gene responsible for their pungency. The company hopes consumers will opt for its greens over less nutritious ones like iceberg and butter lettuce...…. Read more
Future space food could be made from astronaut breath
To solve the problem of feeding astronauts on long-duration missions, NASA started the Deep Space Food Challenge in January 2021, asking companies to propose novel ways to develop sustainable foods for future missions. About 200 companies entered—a field that was whittled down to 11 teams in January 2023 as part of phase 2,......…..Read more
How to Grow Rice on Mars
New research suggests that gene-edited rice would likely survive in Martian soil, providing a staple crop to hungry colonizers..............….. Read more
Wendy’s tests underground robots for mobile order pickup
Wendy’s has partnered with Pipedream, a hyperlogistics company, to test an underground, autonomous robot system to deliver orders from the kitchen to designated parking spots in seconds.......….….Read more
Swedish datacenter operator wants to go nuclear
According to a report in The Times newspaper, Bahnhof CEO Jon Karlung said the reactor could also provide enough power for 30,000 households in the surrounding area, and could be ready to go online within just a couple of years if given the go-ahead….…Read more.
Walking naturally after spinal cord injury using a brain–spine interface
The participant reports that the BSI enables natural control over the movements of his legs to stand, walk, climb stairs and even traverse complex terrains. Moreover, neurorehabilitation supported by the BSI improved neurological recovery. The participant regained the ability to walk with crutches overground even when the BSI was switched off. This digital bridge establishes a framework to restore natural control of movement after paralysis.……...…Read more.
Magpie Unveils Concept For Long-Range Sustainable Flight
California-based startup Magpie Aviation is developing a system to provide a zero-emission solution to the challenge using current battery technology. The company is flight-testing the first elements of an aero tow concept in which electric and other aircraft will be tethered to an all-electric tow aircraft to extend their range by hundreds of miles.............…Read more.
Business Tips
Drag Your GAN: Interactive Point-based Manipulation on the Generative Image Manifold
Amazing image manipulation system that will be available very soon...…..read more.
7 Google Pixel phone settings you should change immediately
Modifying some of these settings will be up to your personal taste, but all of them will generally improve the performance and reliability of your Pixel phone.Paul: and not just on a Pixel 7. I changed some of these on my Pixel 6……Read more
Victoria Replacing Battery Rebates with Interest-Free Loans
Not strictly a business tip but important if you are making a decision on this. Paul: BTW I think batteries are still not an economic proposition for most people...…. Read More
'Don't F&*! The Planet': Atlassian wants to help companies reduce their carbon footprint
On a quest to be a climate action leader, technology firm Atlassian has written the manual for other companies to follow suit for long-term sustainable success.…... Read More
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