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Lugh

@ Lugh @futurology.today

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1212
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720
Joined
3 yr. ago

  • France to ditch Windows for Linux to reduce reliance on US tech

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  • The French were smart to keep all their military tech home-produced, and not rely on anything American. All of Europe (& Canada & S American countries, too) needs to do the same.

  • $2.3 billion funded Cursor, admits its new coding model was built on top of Moonshot AI’s Open-Source Kimi.

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  • Nothing wrong with making money off open-source if you are adding some value. What I question here is the investors pouring hundreds of billions into closed-source AI. If free open-source is almost as good - how do you expect to get your money back?

  • A blueprint for Chinese global leadership: With the US destroying its own credibility, the opportunity is Beijing’s for the taking

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  • I don't know how much China wants to be a global "leader", but OP is correct, the opportunity is there for the taking.

  • Futurology @futurology.today
    Lugh @futurology.today

    A blueprint for Chinese global leadership: With the US destroying its own credibility, the opportunity is Beijing’s for the taking

    archive.ph /ike9B
  • Futurology @futurology.today
    Lugh @futurology.today

    Inside the stealthy startup that pitched brainless human clones: The ultimate plan to live forever is a brand new body.

    www.technologyreview.com /2026/03/30/1134780/r3-bio-brainless-human-clones-full-body-replacement-john-schloendorn-aging-longevity/

  • China dominates the humanoid robot market, & has than 90% of global sales. That's good news for the future. It means humanoid robots will be cheap, plentiful, & widely owned.

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  • It was foolish of Western countries to outsource their industrial bases to where wages were cheaper. That said, those jobs are going to disappear due to robots/AI, even in China & we'll be moving on to a different type of economic system anyway, whether we like it or not.

    Before that happens, there are benefits to this world of China-dominated manufacturing, too. We can see it most clearly in renewables & EVs, but I think it will happen with robotics as well.

    China will make humanoid robots cheap. I'm sure there'll be expensive luxury models, too. But like all other electronics, the vast majority will be cheaper 'almost as good' models. How cheap? China can already make them for $5,000 or so. I'd guess in the 2030s, a few cheaper humanoid robots will be the price of the cheaper car models.

    So, simultaneously with robots making human workers obsolete, they will also be giving us all our own personal workers, too.

    Article - China Leads in humanoid robots

  • Chinese firm BYD says it will build 2,000 5-minute fast charger stations across Europe in 2026; at 1.5MW each, they will be 5 times more powerful than most existing chargers.

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  • Yes, it should be 1.5 MW. I corrected the headline.

  • Another indication the future of robotics will be cheap, open-source, & ubiquitous - a student in Texas has developed a 3-D printed robotic hand delicate enough to handle raspberries and potato chips.

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  • One of the most persistent dystopian futurist tropes is that AI & robotics tech will be controlled by the 1%, and the rest of us will be serfs living in a hellscape. I'm not surprised the idea is so popular; it's a Sci-Fi mainstay, but I am surprised so many people can't see that it's very unlikely to be true.

    Free Open-Source AI is the equal of the stuff investors have spent 100's of billions of dollars on & robotics is not far behind. Furthermore, we know we have two future sources of cheap, widely available robotics - Chinese manufacturing & 3-D printing.

    It's not as dramatic storytelling for Sci-Fi, but future robots are likely to be cheap and widely owned by everyone. So will the economic benefits that stem from that.

  • Solar energy has yet to get an order of magnitude even cheaper .Researchers claim a breakthrough in polymer solar cells; cheap & easy to manufacture solar cells that can be printed on rolls of plastic

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  • "The polymer solar cell is able to retain 97% of its performance after 2,000 hours in air. By blending small-molecule acceptors into polymeric matrices, the research team improved molecular packing, enhancing both stability and charge transport for “ultra-stable” flexible devices.

    It will be interesting to see if & how quickly this can be translated into commercially available solar tech. If this isn't a final breakthrough for polymer solar, it's certainly bringing it one step closer.

    This is why solar energy will conquer the world, and all the other energy options are dead men walking. It's already the cheapest energy source in most of the world in 2026, and it will be an order of magnitude cheaper when next-gen solar tech like this comes online.

    Another consequence of polymer solar tech? It is vastly easier to manufacture. China will lose a structural advantage there. By the 2030s, poorer parts of the world could be churning this stuff out at a massive scale and for a small cost. A hopeful vision for the future.

  • In 2025, for the first time, solar and wind produced more electricity than fossil fuels in the European Union. The bloc's goal to reduce fossil fuel use by 90% by 2040 seems on track.

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  • I think its not built as much because solar/wind are simpler & cheaper. Hydro needs the right elevation/water flow/geography. Its disruptive to ecosystems & human habitation & it has huge up-front costs. Yes, its great sometimes, but maybe not as often as we might think.

  • In 2025, for the first time, solar and wind produced more electricity than fossil fuels in the European Union. The bloc's goal to reduce fossil fuel use by 90% by 2040 seems on track.

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  • The 2026 Middle East War is likely to be the last in human history where a disruption to fossil fuels means a major global economic impact. By the 2030s, both China and Europe will be well on their way to totally decarbonising their economies, and Chinese manufacturing exports of renewable tech will be doing the same for much of the rest of the world. The age of fossil fuels will be disappearing in the rear-view mirror.

    The longer the war goes on, the more renewables win. It will be clear they mean cheap, reliable, clean, and freedom from global instability. Tens of millions of people around the world who have cars to buy in 2026 will be looking at EVs with new appreciation.

  • The Future of Petrostates After Oil

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  • The Petrostates were already facing the prospect of fossil fuels' decline before the 2026 war started; now, events may accelerate fossil fuels' decline. Iran may have many times more cheap drones and missiles than the expensive systems the US, Israel & Gulf states need to neutralize them. At $20-50k each, it can build 5,000 or so per $100 million and has been preparing for years. Soon, when those expensive defences run out, 20% of the world's fossil fuel production may be at Iran's mercy and defenceless from its drones and missiles.

    The rest of the world may be forced to adapt to a world of permanent high oil & LNG prices. Unlike the last time this happened in the 1970s, this time there is an alternative. Renewables, batteries, and EVs were already cheaper before the 2026 Middle East War; they will be vastly cheaper as it goes on. Iran may have enough cheap missiles to last months, or possibly years. By the time they run out, the Gulf states may find the rest of the world has adapted away from needing them so much.

  • THE 2028 GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE CRISIS: A Thought Exercise in Financial History, from the Future.

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  • This is an interesting piece of research that has been doing the rounds. It speculates about the financial effects of AI displacing workers. In essence, what happens when AI-induced unemployment and wage reduction lead to reduced demand in the economy, even as AI makes sectors more productive.

    This kind of speculation is nothing new; people have been wondering about this scenario for years. What interests me about this particular piece of research is the reaction to it. Predictably, Big Tech's defenders have come out criticizing it, yet all around us are the signs that it's coming true.

  • Anthropic drops its pledge to pause AI training over safety concerns.

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  • Sure, I changed it to Time, who I think did the original reporting.

  • After Scarcity: The Economic Models We'll Need Once Abundance Becomes Undeniable

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  • Open source AI is the equal of anything investors are pouring hundreds of billions into. You can have its expertise for free. Soon, that expertise will do the work any lawyer or doctor can do. Everyone on planet Earth will be able to have that for free.

    It strikes me the author has it right on AI tending towards abundance.

  • After Scarcity: The Economic Models We'll Need Once Abundance Becomes Undeniable

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  • This article feel AI written.

    I see a lot of people getting AI to rewrite their writing for 'polish', which might be what is happening here. However, looking at the totality of their thought across their other articles, it definitely feels like this originates from a human.

  • China showcases new Moon ship and reusable rocket in one extraordinary test

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  • China has a well developed plan for Space stretching out into the 2050s and beyond, and sticks to it.

    Every new US administration chops & changes with NASA. That's how its ended up with its current nonsensical half Artemis/half-Space X plans for the Moon that are destined to fail.

  • Japan’s ispace warns of delays in new lunar lander engine

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  • Fingers crossed that 'third time is a charm' for ispace & they succeed with Hakuto-R Mission 3.

  • The Worst-Case Future for White-Collar Workers.

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  • Yes, there's a theory that it's elite-over production (a society that has an excess supply of potential elite members relative to its ability to absorb them into the power structure.) that drives revolutions, not working class discontent. The French & Russian revolutions can both be looked at that way.

  • Microsoft AI CEO: 'Most, if not all' white-collar tasks can be replaced by AI within 12-18 months

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  • The cognitive dissonance it must take to usher in the conditions for a communist revolution, while simultaneously bankrolling Donald Trump, proves US Big Tech is run by people who are far less smart than they think they are.

  • Selloff wipes out nearly $1 trillion from software and services stocks as investors debate AI's existential threat.

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  • So you’re a slop-monger.

    Most of the speed improvements are when I'm using it to do things I previously did much more slowly with software, in particular After Effects.

    I'm not surprised at the backlash against generative AI & the widespread use of the term 'slop'.

    But human creatives have always used tools. Once upon a time, practical effects people, & paper and pen animators would have seen After Effects computer generated animation & VFX as slop, too.