If you’re in SF from April 10-16 and into new R&D mechanisms for ambitious science and tech, this is for you: Protocol Labs and Foresight Institute are excited to invite you to a 5-day mini-workshop for LabWeek to (re)-ignite progress in bio, nano, neuro, crypto, AI, and space through

Heading to speak at TED Talks next week on the American political system and how we can improve it. Yes there is room for improvement. conferences.ted.com/ted2024/speake…

The insect world is disappearing fast and still we are doing nothing to stop it

Vegetables are losing nutrients, study shows. It identifies declining nutrient value in staple crops from rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels. There are artificial coping strategies, but the time scales are long-term. #ClimateCrisis affects everything.
theguardian.com/environment/20…

JOHN CENA DESTROYS means-testing, ENDORSES unconditional cash transfers in 2024 movie “Ricky Stanicky' 🤯

Thrilled to be giving a TED talk this year on America’s dysfunctional political system - and how change is both vital and possible. conferences.ted.com/ted2024/speake…

BIG NEWS: Out of 61 companies piloting a 4-day workweek, 89% decided to keep going.

- Workers got more done, same pay, happier
- Companies made 38% more revenue

Keynes saw a 15h workweek in our future, enabled by automation. This is a step towards it.

Much attention and effort is focused on the threats and risks to humanity. However, not much seems to be focused on what positive futures could look like and how to get there.
Existential Hope aims to empower coordination toward flourishing futures.

Applications are rolling for our AI Safety Grant, across the three approaches that we fund: Cryptography and Security, Multipolar Scenarios, and Lofi/WBE approaches. More information and to apply today: foresight.org/ai-safety/

Technology allows us to do more with less.
Eventually, almost everything with virtually nothing.

UBI ensures technological progress benefits all of humanity.

'The shrinking birthrate in the US could drag down GDP by 1-2 pp each year... Over several decades, that's the equivalent of slashing the US growth rate by 1/3 or wiping out the estimated productivity increases stemming from AI.'

Universal basic income will make AI work for all

There's a belief that being unemployed means you're not contributing to society. What if we redefine 'work' as anything that enriches our lives? Parenting, volunteering, creativity - these are all valuable and shouldn't be overlooked by a system focused solely on paid employment.

Ocean Beauty 🌊🌈

Cosmic Crystal ✨🌌

What can we learn from biological and social systems about designing safe & beneficial AI systems? The PIBBSS Fellowship is a 3-month funded program where you work on a project intersecting your own field & AI safety. Info & apply: pibbss.ai/fellowship. Deadline Feb 4!

Driverless trucks are still on their way. Aurora — which was founded in 2017 by alumni of Uber, Tesla, and Waymo — has said it plans to deploy 20 fully autonomous trucks this year with an eye on expanding to about 100 trucks in 2025 and thousands in 2027.

theverge.com/2024/1/5/24025…

Editors and publishers of the five media organizations who first partnered with Julian Assange - The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, El País and Der Spiegel - call for his immediate release #FreeAssange Link: nytco.com/press/an-open-…

Happy puppers..🐶🐾☃️😍

HOPE DROP #12

David Deutsch, physicist and writer, speaks on the creation of the universal constructor and the connection between beauty, knowledge, and progress, and how all three drive us forward as a society.

Tune in to the conversation: existentialhope.com/podcasts/david…

“AGI is still decades away, calm down”

If this Gemini demo is remotely accurate, it’s showing broader intelligence than a non-zero fraction of adult humans *already* lol