Foresight Update 23.38: Scanning probe memories feasible at room temperature - September 27, 2009
Discuss these news stories at http://foresight.org/nanodot and http://www.opensourcesensing.org/blog.
Top News of the Week
From Nature Nanotechnology: "Here, we demonstrate the writing, reading and erasure of an ultrahigh-density array of nanoscopic indentations without heating either the scanning probe tip or the substrate."
In this issue:
Foreseeing Future Technologies - Join Foresight
Events
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John Timmer dispels some common misconceptions. An understanding of evolution is key to understanding technological change — we individual humans are the mutations and crossover, but the dynamics of the overall process is similar…
Michael A is mildly skeptical about World Future Society claim we'll have "human-level AI" by 2025.
This caused me to think about whether I believed it myself. I think the answer depends on how you define it. I think AI is going to be really big over the 20s — maybe like the internet in the 90s. But what will this mean for the real world, as opposed to inside the AI labs? …
More on the "is technological change accelerating front, from Ars Technica…
…Technology Review's Katherine Bourzac:
A California company is using silicon ink patterned on top of silicon wafers to boost the efficiency of solar cells. The Sunnyvale, CA, firm Innovalight says that the inkjet process is a cheaper route to more-efficient solar power. Using this process, the company has made cells with an efficiency of 18 percent…
With the Singularity Summit fast approaching, it's worth spend a little time pondering the perennial question of nanotechnology vs AI: which will happen first, will they be independent, symbiotic, or synergetic, and so forth? …
—Nanodot posts by J. Storrs Hall
Advancements in technologies such as nanotech, robotics, and biotech are promising to make major differences in our lives in the not-too-distant future, as the Industrial Revolution did to the agrarian world — to do for the physical world what the computer and Internet have done to the world of information.
Since 1986, the Foresight Institute has been in the forefront of a worldwide community of visionaries who work to help shape these possibilities into a positive, beneficial reality. If you would like to help us understand the potential of these technologies, and influence their direction, please consider becoming a member of the Foresight community. With your support, Foresight will continue to educate the general public on these technologies and what they will mean to our society.
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Events
The Singularity Summit 2009
Devoted to the better understanding of increasing intelligence and accelerating change
October 3, 2009
New York, NY USA
The Singularity Institute will host the Singularity Summit 2009, in New York October 3-4. The Summit is a gathering of thinkers to explore the rising impact of science and technology on society, and in particular to further the understanding of a controversial idea — the singularity scenario.
Converging Technologies for 21st Century Security
Organized by the Institute of Nanotechnology
November 25, 2009
The Royal College of Physicians, London, UK
Organised crime, terrorism, civil conflict, and natural disasters are sadly commonplace in global society and have developed increasingly complex dimensions. To counter such threats, civil security and emergency response teams are looking towards new technologies that offer more sensitive, rapid, and accurate detection methods; that provide the means to neutralise or effectively deal with the outcomes of such incidents; and that provide greater protection to personnel.
NanoManufacturing Conference & Exhibits
Society of Manufacturing Engineers
Looking to understand what nanotechnology means for you?
April 14-15, 2010
Hilton Phoenix East/Mesa, Mesa AZ USA
Call for Speakers, Abstract deadline: October 7, 2009
This conference will highlight the current, near-term, and future applications of nanotechnology and how they are transforming the way we manufacture products. Peer networking, information sharing, and technology exchange among the world's nanomanufacturing leaders will be a key feature of the event.
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