Free Republic

The Biden administration laid out an ambitious new goal for the US: produce 20% of the world’s most advanced semiconductor chips by the end of the decade. It currently makes 0% of the so-called leading edge logic chips that are considerably more powerful than older-generation semiconductors, making them crucial for everything from mobile phones to AI to quantum computing. The legislation allows the White House to spend $50 billion in taxpayer dollars — $39 billion specifically earmarked for manufacturing — to try and help reignite American manufacturing in the years ahead.

The first human patient for Neuralink implanted with a brain chip appears to have made a ‘full recovery,’ according to Elon Musk. “Progress is good and the patient seems to have made a full recovery, with neural effects that we are aware of,” Musk said in a Spaces event on X, according to the Daily Mail. “Patient is able to move a mouse around the screen by just thinking,” he reportedly added.

My Sony flat screen TV is old and is rebooting at least once a day. And the pimps at Sony have overridden my "preferences" to hawk their "woke" alerts and advertisements. All this on the home screen. Since I'm going to upgrade anyway, is there a brand that doesn't pimp the Psuedo Cause du jour when it fires up?

Discover how the Yemeni Navy's seizure of the Remus 600 submarine highlights the evolving dynamics of naval power, technological warfare, and regional security in the 21st century. In an event that reads like a narrative torn from the pages of a high-stakes international thriller, the Yemeni Navy's special unit has seized control of the Remus 600, an advanced American unmanned submarine. This recent incident not only underscores the ongoing tensions in the region but also highlights the complexities of modern maritime security and technological warfare. The Strategic Seizure of the Remus 600 The Remus 600, with its sleek design and...

"THE CART IS SO FAR AHEAD OF THE HORSE, IT’S LIKE HOW DO WE REIN IT BACK IN WITHOUT CAREENING OVER THE RAVINE?" You may remember a series of lawyers who have attempted to use AI tools in court — and were subsequently embarrassed and sanctioned when the chatbots screwed up, sometimes even inventing plausible-sounding cases that didn't actually exist. So consider this: how would you feel if your doctor did the same thing, feeding your symptoms into an AI system to diagnose what's wrong with you? That's a looming question, Politico reports in a fascinating story, that's currently stressing...

Subject: Unveiling Project Renaissance: Catalyzing Paradigmatic Shifts for Unprecedented Triumph Esteemed Visionaries and Architects of Tomorrow, In the labyrinth of modern commerce, where the tides of change ebb and flow with capricious abandon, we find ourselves at a pivotal juncture, poised on the cusp of greatness. Today, I stand before you, fueled by the fervent belief that our collective resolve and boundless ingenuity shall illuminate the path to transcendent glory. With an illustrious flourish and a flourish of grandeur, I am thrilled to unveil Project Renaissance – a symphony of innovation and audacious ambition that shall reverberate throughout the annals...

Nice reasonable, thorough review of Apple Vision Pro. 0:00 Intro 2:48 Immersiveness 6:35 Looking through glass 9:10 The Ecosystem 13:17 The Apps 16:06 The Comfort Issue 19:55 Eyes on the outside 21:40 So should you buy It?

I've collected more ATSC 3.0 over the air television news. Unfortunately it's not great news: I learned that all ATSC 3 tuners will have certificates that will expire after a certain length of time and there's been very little progress towards getting gateway devices to work.00:00 - Intro00:59 - DRM Petition Update02:23 - Tuner Expiration Dates04:13 - All ATSC 3 Devices "Phone Home" For Decryption04:48 - Zero Progress on Gateway Devices05:44 - ATSC 3 statement10:08 - Broadcaster Moving 4k to Streaming Only11:07 - Could Cable Access Channels Use Unwanted Spectrum?13:58 - ConclusionAll ATSC 3 TV Tuners will EXPIRE & More...

For venture capitalists and startup entrepreneurs, 2023 was a year dedicated to the destructive phase of Joseph Schumpeter’s notion of creative destruction. Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in the second-largest bank failure in American history, 400,000 tech jobs were eliminated in what Wired dubbed “The Great Tech Layoffs,” and dozens of high-potential startups transformed from unicorns into “zombies.” Destruction is a necessary ingredient to creativity. Not all ideas are good, and not all firms can make it. Economic dynamism is predicated not just on the rapid generation and growth of winning startups, but also on the implosion of failed companies, which...

Beijing Betavolt New Energy Technology Co Ltd has announced the development of a miniature nuclear battery, the BV100, which they claim can generate power for 50 years. Utilizing nickel-63 isotope decay technology and diamond semiconductors, this battery offers significant advancements in miniaturizing and modularizing atomic energy batteries. The company said the batteries have entered the pilot stage and will be put into mass production on the market. Beijing Betavolt New Energy Technology Co Ltd, a Chinese company, recently announced they have made a significant breakthrough in battery technology by developing a new type of nuclear battery. Named the BV100, this...

Using AI and cloud computing, Microsoft was able to identify promising new battery materials for the Department of Energy (DoE) — in a fraction of the time it would usually take. The challenge: Batteries are an essential part of the clean energy future. We need them to power electric vehicles and to store energy from solar and wind. Currently, lithium-ion batteries are our best option for both of these uses, but they aren’t ideal. Because lithium is relatively scarce, it’s also expensive, and the metal is often unethically mined using child labor and environmentally destructive processes. Identifying better battery materials...

If you haven’t lost your job yet, you should be very thankful. Artificial intelligence and robots are taking more of our jobs with each passing day, and there will be no end to this high tech invasion. Eventually we could get to a point where AI and robots can do virtually everything far more efficiently and far more inexpensively than humans can. So what will happen to the vast majority of the human population when their labor is no longer needed? Will a way be found to quietly deal with “useless eaters” that are considered to be “just taking up...

At first, Ukraine noticed its GPS-guided 155mm Excalibur artillery shells suddenly started veering off target. Then rockets fired with Himars, which Kyiv once boasted had “scalpel-like” accuracy, began missing their targets. In some areas, they almost always missed. The same happened to JDAM guided bombs supplied to Ukraine’s air force by the United States. Frantic investigation eventually discovered they had all fallen victim to a new threat – Russian jamming. Moscow has quietly developed a knack for taking out some of Ukraine’s most prized missiles and rockets. It is a rare but crucial example of Russian technological advantage in a...

A new nickel-rich, single-crystal battery technology is on track for rapid deployment A seemingly simple shift in lithium-ion battery manufacturing could pay big dividends, improving electric vehicles’ (EV) ability to store more energy per charge and to withstand more charging cycles, according to new research led by the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. An EV’s mileage depends on the deliverable energy from each of the constituent cells of its battery pack. For lithium-ion cells—which dominate the EV battery market—both the cell-level energy capacity and the cell cost are bottlenecked by the positive electrode, or cathode. Now that bottleneck...

The generative AI will change the way economy functions and businesses are run; it will be a game changer for in many verticals In a world driven by unprecedented technological advancements, there emerges a groundbreaking force that promises to reshape the very fabric of innovation: generative artificial intelligence. With its awe-inspiring ability to create, compose, and imagine, generative AI has surged to the forefront of scientific exploration, capturing the imaginations of researchers, entrepreneurs, and artists alike. From generating realistic images and synthesising music to aiding in drug discovery and revolutionising customer experiences, this cutting-edge technology possesses the potential to revolutionise...

By the year 2025, communist China plans to unleash large number of humanoid robots, meaning robots that look and act like people but are just walking computers and circuitry. In a race with Elon Musk’s Tesla and other Western companies working on similar technologies, China hopes to start mass producing its version of humanoid robots by 2025. According to banking giant Goldman Sachs, the market for humanoid robots could reach $150 billion per year in just 15 years. Fully operational humanoid robots are expected to be mass produced and working in factories between 2025 and 2028, and later in other...

Have you ever thought about using an extra thumb? Perhaps you could play the guitar faster, or hold an extra tool as you continue to work? Well think no more, as Dani Clode has invented just that. We took a trip down to the University of Cambridge, where she collaborates with neuroscientist Tamr Makin to unravel the mysteries of how this extra thumb influences the brain. Dani envisions a future where augmentation becomes a reality and the third thumb serves as a tool to enhance the capabilities of regular individuals. She also explores the impact this additional thumb can have...

According to Moore's Law, the more transistors that could be put on an integrated microchip would double its processing power equalling more powerful, yet smaller, cheaper, and more efficient devices. Gordon Moore (co-founder of Intel) made this prediction in 1965 regarding the next 10 years. However, to date, this observation is still accurate and moving faster than I'm sure even he could have ever imagined. Similarly, Buckminster Fuller, in his 1982 book "The Critical Path", noted that the amount of new information doubled every hundred years up until the year 1900, after which, that too had begun to be halved...

The United States government is on the verge of deploying new artificial intelligence technology (AI) weapons that can make decisions on whether to kill human targets. The frightening lethal autonomous weapons, which are being developed in the United States, China, and Israel, will automatically select humans deemed a “threat” to the system and eliminate them. Some critics have voiced fears that the deployment of AI weapons would entrust machines to make decision whether to kill human targets, with no human oversight, The New York Times reported. This is starting to sound like Skynet. The Mirror reported that Numerous countries, including...

Albert Speer’s famous defense at the Nuremberg trials oddly concluded with a warning about the potential destructive powers of science and technology. He strongly pointed out that such a technology could easily be used to dominate people – as was the often the case in the Third Reich, especially with regard to the spread of propaganda. Speer even spoke of intercontinental super rockets that could now rain down atomic fire upon cities without warning. He went on to say that “science will be able to spread pestilence among humans and animals,” and that “chemistry will be capable of inflicting unspeakable...