NASA will pay $500,000 for your innovative ideas about food production in space

Introducing the Deep Space Food Challenge.

Credit: NASA
  • A major hurdle for any human mission to Mars is how to feed astronauts during the extended spaceflight.
  • NASA is currently crowdsourcing solutions through its Deep Space Food Challenge.
  • The challenge is open to all U.S. citizens and ends July 30, 2021.
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    What early US presidents looked like, according to AI-generated images

    "Deepfakes" and "cheap fakes" are becoming strikingly convincing — even ones generated on freely available apps.

    Magdalene Visaggio via Twitter
    • A writer named Magdalene Visaggio recently used FaceApp and Airbrush to generate convincing portraits of early U.S. presidents.
    • "Deepfake" technology has improved drastically in recent years, and some countries are already experiencing how it can weaponized for political purposes.
    • It's currently unknown whether it'll be possible to develop technology that can quickly and accurately determine whether a given video is real or fake.
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    There’s no way we could stop a rogue AI

    Max Planck Institute scientists crash into a computing wall there seems to be no way around.

    Credit: josefkubes/Adobe Stock
    • Artificial intelligence that's smarter than us could potentially solve problems beyond our grasp.
    • AI that are self-learning can absorb whatever information they need from the internet, a Pandora's Box if ever there was one.
    • The nature of computing itself prevents us from limiting the actions of a super-intelligent AI if it gets out of control.
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    From NASA to your table: A history of food from thin air

    A fairly old idea, but a really good one, is about to hit the store shelves.

    Credit: Brian McGowan/Unsplash/mipan/Adobe Stock/Big Think
    • The idea of growing food from CO2 dates back to NASA 50 years ago.
    • Two companies are bringing high-quality, CO2-derived protein to market.
    • CO2-based foods provide an environmentally benign way of producing the protein we need to live.
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    How will we govern super-powerful AI?

    The AI constitution can mean the difference between war and peace—or total extinction.

    • The question of conscious artificial intelligence dominating future humanity is not the most pressing issue we face today, says Allan Dafoe of the Center for the Governance of AI at Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute. Dafoe argues that AI's power to generate wealth should make good governance our primary concern.
    • With thoughtful systems and policies in place, humanity can unlock the full potential of AI with minimal negative consequences. Drafting an AI constitution will also provide the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of past structures to avoid future conflicts.
    • Building a framework for governance will require us to get past sectarian differences and interests so that society as a whole can benefit from AI in ways that do the most good and the least harm.
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