Ireland: AI System to Search “Near Infinite Combinations” of Materials to Improve Hydrogen Production Through Electrolysis
November 8th, 2019Via: PhysOrg:
The team aims to now use artificial intelligence to put a large number of earth-abundant metals and ligands (which glue them together to generate the catalysts) in a melting pot before assessing which of the near-infinite combinations yield the greatest promise.
In combination, what once looked like an empty canvas now looks more like a paint-by-numbers as the team has established fundamental principles for the design of ideal catalysts.
Professor Max García-Melchor added: “Given the increasingly pressing need to find green energy solutions it is no surprise that scientists have, for some time, been hunting for a magical catalyst that would allow us to split water electrochemically in a cost-effective, reliable way. However, it is no exaggeration to say that before now such a hunt was akin to looking for a needle in a haystack. We are not over the finishing line yet, but we have significantly reduced the size of the haystack and we are convinced that artificial intelligence will help us hoover up plenty of the remaining hay.”
Blackouts, Fires, High Gas Prices: Who Wants to Live in California Today?
November 8th, 2019Via: Wall Street Journal:
One crisis rolls into another in parts of Golden State; ‘If I wasn’t as old as I am, I would pack up and get the hell out’
Chinese Surveillance Goods Illegally Sold to U.S. Military
November 8th, 2019Via: AP:
A Long Island firm sold tens of millions of dollars in Chinese-made surveillance and other sensitive security equipment to customers, including the U.S. military to use on aircraft carriers, by falsely claiming the goods were manufactured in America, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
The fraud that prosecutors allege by Aventura Technologies Inc. raised “a grave concern” over cyber security, U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue said.
Though there was no allegation of breaches involving the Chinese government, emails and other evidence from the investigation showed “individuals in China were well aware of what was going on,” Donoghue said.
The equipment made in China and sold by Aventura “as purportedly U.S.-made has been installed on dozens of Army, Navy and Air Force bases, Department of Energy facilities and, among other places, on Navy aircraft carriers,” prosecutors said in the criminal complaint.
Google Wants More Pentagon Work
November 7th, 2019Via: DefenseOne:
The company’s senior vice president for global affairs said Tuesday that the search giant has Pentagon contracts to work on cybersecurity, business automation, and deepfake detection — and is looking for more.
“It’s been frustrating,” said Google’s Kent Walker, referring to rising public perceptions that the company is opposed to doing national security work — and to the narrative pushed by some Google rivals, such as Palantir’s Peter Thiel and their allies in Congress, such as Rep. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri.
Speaking at the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence conference, Walker said that Google is “fully engaged in a wide variety of work with different agencies” within the Defense Department. Its work with the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center includes cybersecurity, healthcare, and business automation. It is working with DARPA to “ensure the robustness of AI” and “progress the operation of hardware” beyond the expiration of Moore’s Law.
“As we take on those kind of things, we are eager to do more, [and are] pursuing actively additional certifications” to provide cloud services for classified data and other services, he said.
Weird Structures in Antarctica [???]
November 7th, 2019What is this?
I got this from Third Phase of Moon.
Fully Charged Show Visits Rivian
November 7th, 2019Via: Fully Charged:
This Is How the U.S. Military’s Massive Facial Recognition System Works
November 7th, 2019Via: OneZero:
Over the last 15 years, the United States military has developed a new addition to its arsenal. The weapon is deployed around the world, largely invisible, and grows more powerful by the day.
That weapon is a vast database, packed with millions of images of faces, irises, fingerprints, and DNA data — a biometric dragnet of anyone who has come in contact with the U.S. military abroad. The 7.4 million identities in the database range from suspected terrorists in active military zones to allied soldiers training with U.S. forces.
Escalating Millennial Health Problems Raise Economic Concerns
November 7th, 2019Via: Newsmax:
More millennials in the U.S. are suffering from chronic health problems, potentially restraining the lifetime economic potential of a generation of young adults.
A spike in conditions like depression, hypertension and high cholesterol among younger people could increase health-care costs and lower incomes in coming years, according to a report Wednesday from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, a federation of 36 independent companies that together provide coverage for 1 in 3 Americans.
Between 2014 and 2017, rates of depression among millennials surged by 31%, while hyperactivity rose 29% and hypertension increased 16%, according to the report. High cholesterol and tobacco-use disorder also increased.
Tesla ‘Cybertruck’ Pickup Gets Unveil Date: Nov 21 in Los Angeles
November 6th, 2019
Via: Electrek:
Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla is going to unveil the ‘Cybertruck’ on November 21 in Los Angeles “near SpaceX’s rocket factory.”
The CEO has been teasing Tesla’s electric pickup truck concept for the last year.
It was first supposed to be unveiled this summer, but it was pushed to the fourth quarter.
Musk hinted that it would be unveiled in November in Los Angeles.
Coincidentally, or likely not, the events in the Blade Runner movie happened in November 2019 in Los Angeles.
The CEO has previously said that the Tesla pickup truck, which he now calls the ‘Cybertruck’, looks ‘Blade Runner-esque’.
U.S. Army Wants 50KW Lasers Fielded by 2022: “The Time Is Now to Get Directed Energy Weapons to the Battlefield”
November 6th, 2019Via: Stars and Stripes:
The Army is now developing 50 kilowatt lasers for its Stryker wheeled armored vehicles, with plans calling for a prototype to be fielded in 2022, the service said.
“The time is now to get directed energy weapons to the battlefield,” said Lt. Gen. L. Neil Thurgood, director of hypersonics, directed energy, space, and rapid acquisition.
“This is no longer a research effort or a demonstration effort. It is a strategic combat capability, and we are on the right path to get it in soldiers’ hands,” he said in a statement released Thursday.
Last week, the Army awarded competing contracts to Northrop Grumman and Raytheon to build the directed energy weapons. The two companies will act as subcontractors to Kord Technologies, which signed in May a $203 million contract with the service, and will each develop a prototype laser.
The program will deliver 50 kW-class lasers mounted in 2022 on four Strykers, the statement said. They would be tasked with protecting maneuvering brigades from drones, rotary-wing aircraft, rockets, artillery and mortar rounds.
