Tag: Culture

Would you wear this ‘shoe-like vessel’ made from genetically engineered bacteria?

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Transitioning towards sustainable clothing practices is a must for combating climate change, so researchers are turning to bacteria for their fashion inspiration. As detailed in the research journal Nature Biotechnology, a team at Imperial College London has genetically engineered new microbial strains capable of being woven into wearable material, while simultaneously self-dyeing itself in the […]

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Vernor Vinge, influential sci-fi author who warned of AI ‘Singularity,’ has died

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Vernor Vinge, prolific science-fiction writer, professor, and one of the first prominent thinkers to conceptualize the concepts of a “Technological Singularity” and cyberspace, has died at the age of 79. News of his passing on March 20 was confirmed through a Facebook post from author and friend David Brin, citing complications from Parkinson’s Disease. “Vernor […]

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Airbnb finally bans all indoor security cameras

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Certain Airbnb hosts will need to make a few adjustments to their properties. On Monday, the short-term rental service announced it is finally prohibiting the use of all indoor security cameras, regardless of room location. For years, hosts could install video cameras in “common areas” such as living rooms, kitchens, and hallways, so long as […]

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TSA is testing a self-screening security checkpoint in Vegas

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The Transportation Security Administration is launching the pilot phase of an autonomous self-screening checkpoint system. Unveiled earlier this week and scheduled to officially open on March 11 at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, the station resembles grocery store self-checkout kiosks—but instead of scanning milk and eggs, you’re expected to…scan yourself to ensure you […]

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OpenAI wants to devour a huge chunk of the internet. Who’s going to stop them?

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You probably don’t know about Automattic, but they know you. As the parent company of WordPress, its content management systems host around 43 percent of the internet’s 10 million most popular websites. Meanwhile, it also owns a vast suite of mega-platforms including Tumblr, where a massive amount of embarrassing personal posts live. All this is […]

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Delta’s solar eclipse flight sold out, but your best bet to see it is still down here

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Earlier this week, Delta Air Lines announced an extra flight for its April 8 schedule, timed specifically to provide passengers an aerial view of the total solar eclipse. But if you were still hoping to snag a ticket for the afternoon jaunt alongside the path of totality, you’re already out of luck—seats aboard the Airbus […]

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OpenAI’s Sora pushes us one mammoth step closer towards the AI abyss

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It’s hard to write about Sora without feeling like your mind is melting. But after OpenAI’s surprise artificial intelligence announcement yesterday afternoon, we have our best evidence yet of what a yet unregulated, consequence-free tech industry wants to sell you: a suite of energy-hungry black box AI products capable of producing photorealistic media that pushes […]

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Did sonar finally uncover Amelia Earhart’s missing plane?

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New deep sea sonar scans are reigniting interest in one of the 20th century’s most enduring mysteries—the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. For those in charge of maintaining the world’s largest Earhart archival collection, last week’s news appears not only credible, but extremely promising. “The potential discovery of the location of Amelia Earhart’s plane is incredibly […]

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Want to report a UAP sighting? US government workers can now use this website.

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The government’s ongoing campaign to investigate and destigmatize unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) sightings entered its latest stage this week. A new, easy-to-use online reporting tool is available to file incidents occurring as far back as 1945—but only for those already affiliated with the US government. For now. Announced on October 31 by the Department of […]

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