Guest Thinkers — February 16, 2011

Happy 2nd birthday!

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

I am pleased to say that 694 posts (and 3,019 comments) later, Dangerously Irrelevant is 2 years old today. I can hardly believe it’s been 730 days since my first post. Thanks, everyone, for all of your good cheer and support!

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

The Present

Microplastic overload: Is cutting production the only realistic way to curb pollution?

On November 25, U.N. members will meet in South Korea to cap off a series of meetings aiming to reduce global plastic pollution.

Silhouette of a person against a blue background, overlaid with white node and line networks.

Thinking

Mechanized minds: AI’s hidden impact on human thought

While we’re busy wondering whether machines will ever become conscious, we rarely stop to ask: What happens to us?

A silhouette of a person with glowing orange eyes against a brightly lit office window exudes an aura of power, casting dramatic shadows that heighten the room's awareness.

Business

How leaders can avoid a power-driven descent from hero to villain

If you have any sort of power for any reasonable length of time, you will be changed by it — awareness of the effects is crucial.

Under the night sky, where the Milky Way galaxy glows above a silhouette of trees and a mountain, stars scatter across the deep blue and purple expanse. It's an ideal backdrop for alien hunting, sparking curiosity about potential biosignatures hidden among those distant celestial wonders.

Hard Science

Doubts grow about the biosignature approach to alien-hunting

Recent controversies bode ill for the effort to detect life on other planets by analyzing the gases in their atmospheres.

Gloved hands holding a computer processor chip, viewed from an angled perspective against a black background.

The Future

AI is now designing chips for AI

AI software is rapidly accelerating chip design, potentially leveling up the speed of innovation across the economy.

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

Video games and learning: Individualization, simulation, and complexity

[cross-posted atnLeaderTalk] n In my post for LeaderTalk thisnmonth, I’m going to quickly address three ideas related to video games,nschools, and learning and offer a short wrap-up at the end… […]