Believers And Doubters

iMorpheon December 25, 2015

In this hour, TED speakers offer perspectives on belief from all ends of the spectrum, from atheists to the devout. (Original broadcast date: November 22, 2013)

ROBERT REICH:

THE POLITICAL ROOTS OF WIDENING INEQUALITY

Ultimately, the trend toward widening inequality in America, as elsewhere, can be reversed only if the VAST MAJORITY, WHOSE INCOMES HAVE STAGNATED AND WHOSE WEALTH HAS FAILED TO INCREASE, JOIN TOGETHER to DEMAND FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE.

The MOST IMPORTANT POLITICAL COMPETITION Over the Next Decades WILL NOT BE BETWEEN the RIGHT and LEFT, Or Between REPUBLICANS and DEMOCRATS . .

"IT WILL BE BETWEEN A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS WHO HAVE BEEN LOSING GROUND, AND AN ECONOMIC ELITE THAT REFUSES TO RECOGNIZE OR RESPOND TO IT'S GROWING DISTRESS."

IT’S HAPPENING NOW

“The necessity to harness the potential of quickly advancing new technologies creates a near-constant mandate for innovation in order to stay relevant. Survival is not guaranteed in a world when all is up for reinvention.

There’s no question we’re in a new technological age but how many of us actually understand the vast potential that lies within this new normal?

The biggest impacts of technology on our daily lives is still ahead of us, but already we’re beginning to imagine and navigate how global economies, enterprise businesses and even the human race will adapt to ensure we all thrive.

From a UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME, to understanding the fundamentals of WORKPLACE AUTOMATION and our increasing ability to define the physical future,

THERE’S NO QUESTION THAT DISRUPTION IS HERE.”

– The GIGAOM Change Team

The Next Economy By Andy Stern and Lee Kravitz

Advances in technology are creating the next economy and enabling us to make things/do things/connect with others in smarter, cheaper, faster, more effective ways.

But the price of this progress has been a decoupling of the engine of prosperity from jobs that have been the means by which people have ascended to (and stayed in) the middle class.

Andy Stern, the former president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) spent four years traveling the country and asking economists, futurists, labor leaders, CEOs, investment bankers, entrepreneurs, and political leaders to help picture the U.S. economy 25 to 30 years from now.

He vividly reports on people who are analyzing and creating this new economy.

Through these stories, we come to a stark and deeper understanding of THE TOLL TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS WILL CONTINUE TO TAKE ON JOBS AND INCOME AND ITS INEVITABLE EFFECT ON TENS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE.

But There is HOPE for our ECONOMY and FUTURE. The Foundation of ECONOMIC PROSPERITY for ALL AMERICANS, Stern believes, is a UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME.

Stern has been a game changer throughout his career, and his next goal is to create a movement that will force the political establishment to take action against something that many on both the right and the left believe is inevitable.

STERN’S PLAN IS BOLD, IDEALISTIC, and CHALLENGING- and IT’S TIME ..

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM:

CAPITALISM NEEDS URGENT REFORM

REFORMING the very nature of CAPITALISM will be needed to COMBAT THE GROWING APPEAL of POPULIST POLITICAL MOVEMENTS around the WORLD.

Capitalism as we know it needs to be reformed. The GROWING DISCONTENT at the ideology that has created so much wealth and progress on the one hand, and yet so much INEQUALITY and INSTABILITY on the other hand, is causing INCREASINGLY frequent SOCIAL DISRUPTIONS ACROSS the WORLD.

“IT IS NO COINCIDENCE THAT CHALLENGES TO SOCIAL COHESION AND POLICYMAKERS' LEGITIMACY ARE COINCIDING WITH A HIGHLY DISRUPTIVE PHASE OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE."

STOP TECHNOLOGY THREAT

Hawking said that technology must be controlled in order to safeguard the future of humanity and believes that a ‘world government’ could be the only way to combat the threat, though warned that that could lead to a global ‘tyranny’.

‘Since civilisation began, aggression has been useful inasmuch as it has definite survival advantages, It is hard-wired into our genes by Darwinian evolution.'

‘Now, however, technology has advanced at such a pace that this aggression may destroy us all by nuclear or biological war. We need to control this inherited instinct by our logic and reason.’

But he added that he believed the ‘THE HUMAN RACE WILL RISE TO MEET THESE CHALLENGES’. He said that the human race must ‘retrain’ for a new world where robots have replaced many everyday jobs.

‘Together, they are a reminder that we are at the most dangerous moment in the development of humanity. We now have the technology to destroy the planet on which we live, but have not yet developed the ability to escape it.’

When asked how the world will end, Hawking said that increasingly, most of the threats humanity faces come from progress in technology.

‘WE ARE NOT GOING TO STOP MAKING PROGRESS, OR REVERSE IT, SO WE MUST RECOGNISE THE DANGERS AND CONTROL THEM.'

3D-printing advance mitigates three defects simultaneously for failure-free metal parts
Engineers have found a way to simultaneously mitigate three types of defects in parts produced using a prominent additive manufacturing technique called laser powder bed fusion.
Engineered additive makes low-cost renewable energy storage a possibility
As part of an effort to overcome the long-term energy-storage challenge, engineers have invented a water-soluble chemical additive that improves the performance of a type of electrochemical storage called a bromide aqueous flow battery.
Ancient hot water on Mars points to habitable past
New research has uncovered what may be the oldest direct evidence of ancient hot water activity on Mars, revealing the planet may have been habitable at some point in its past.
Researchers develop an efficient way to train more reliable AI agents
Researchers developed an efficient approach for training more reliable reinforcement learning models, focusing on complex tasks that involve variability. This could enable the leverage of reinforcement learning across a wide range of applications.
A groundbreaking new approach to treating chronic abdominal pain
A research team has developed a new class of oral peptide therapeutic leads for treating chronic abdominal pain. This groundbreaking innovation offers a safe, non-opioid-based solution for conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), which affect millions of people worldwide.
3.2 million km/h galaxy smash-up
A massive collision of galaxies sparked by one travelling at a scarcely-believable 2 million mph (3.2 million km/h) has been seen in unprecedented detail by one of Earth's most powerful telescopes. The dramatic impact was observed in Stephan's Quintet, a nearby galaxy group made up of five galaxies first sighted almost 150 years ago. It […]
Exploring the impact of offshore wind on whale deaths
Scientists have presented work examining the circumstances surrounding the whale deaths off the coast of New Jersey in the winter of 2022-23, which prompted concern that survey work in the area somehow contributed to their deaths. The Marine Mammal Commission has stated there is no evidence linking the whales' deaths to wind energy development; many […]
The Parasaurolophus' pipes: Modeling the dinosaur's crest to study its sound
Scientists have presented results on the acoustic characteristics of a physical model of the Parasaurolophus' crest. They created a physical setup made of tubes to represent a mathematical model that will allow researchers to discover what was happening acoustically inside the crest. The physical model, inspired by resonance chambers, was suspended by cotton threads and […]
Quantum-inspired design boosts efficiency of heat-to-electricity conversion
Researchers have found a new way to improve a key element of thermophotovoltaic systems, which convert heat into electricity via light. Engineers designed a thermal emitter that can deliver high efficiencies within practical design parameters.
Innovating archaeology: Scholars utilize immersive 3D tech to document and study the human past
Archaeology studies the human past through the excavation of things people made and used thousands of years ago -- from architecture to objects like pottery bowls and animal bones from meals. Although many excavation projects create digital 3D models of what they uncover, archaeologists need new ways to meaningfully use those data. Some projects share […]
A nearby supernova could end the search for dark matter
Axions are the most likely candidate for enigmatic dark matter that dominates the universe. Astrophysicists are searching for evidence of high-mass axions produced during supernovae. Scientists propose that a quick way to find these axions is to look for a gamma ray burst coincident with a neutrino burst from a nearby core collapse supernova. But […]
Chemists create world's thinnest 'spaghetti'
The world's thinnest spaghetti, about 200 times thinner than a human hair, has been created.
New imaging method enables detailed RNA analysis of the whole brain
Researchers have developed a groundbreaking microscopy method that enables detailed three-dimensional (3D) RNA analysis at cellular resolution in whole intact mouse brains. The new method, called TRISCO, has the potential to transform our understanding of brain function, both in normal conditions and in disease, according to the new study.
Stability of perovskite solar cells doubled with protective coating
Scientists have developed a new protective coating that significantly extends the life of perovskite solar cells, making them more practical for applications outside the lab.
Engineering nature's blueprint: Dendron-based assemblies for chlorophyll's materials
Chlorophyll (a naturally occurring pigment involved in photosynthesis)-inspired molecules hold promise for developing next-generation light-harvesting materials. However, achieving precise control over their assembly is challenging. Researchers have now revealed that attaching dendrons -- branched, tree-like structures -- can aid in self-assembly of chlorophyll's materials. They found that smaller dendrons lead to stacked, fiber-like structures, while […]

SJEC to host workshop on ATL curriculum and Internet of Things - The Hindu November 23, 2024
SJEC to host workshop on ATL curriculum and Internet of Things The Hindu
Artificial Intelligence of Things Market Merging AI and IoT for Intelligent Automation - openPR November 23, 2024
Artificial Intelligence of Things Market Merging AI and IoT for Intelligent Automation openPR
IoT at Workplace Market Is Booming So Rapidly | Major Giants Cisco, IBM, Siemens - openPR November 23, 2024
IoT at Workplace Market Is Booming So Rapidly | Major Giants Cisco, IBM, Siemens openPR
Watch Rocket Lab launch 5 French 'Internet of Things' satellites Nov. 24 - Space.com November 23, 2024
Watch Rocket Lab launch 5 French 'Internet of Things' satellites Nov. 24 Space.com
Transforming healthcare with IoT: From remote monitoring to smart hospitals - London Daily News November 23, 2024
Transforming healthcare with IoT: From remote monitoring to smart hospitals London Daily News