Future Imperative: 2011-04-03

Future Imperative

What if technology were being developed that could enhance your mind or body to extraordinary or even superhuman levels -- and some of these tools were already here? Wouldn't you be curious?

Actually, some are here. But human enhancement is an incredibly broad and compartmentalized field. We’re often unaware of what’s right next door. This site reviews resources and ideas from across the field and makes it easy for readers to find exactly the information they're most interested in.

About Me

The future is coming fast, and it's no longer possible to ignore how rapidly the world is changing. As the old order changes -- or more frequently crumbles altogether -- I offer a perspective on how we can transform ourselves in turn... for the better. Nothing on this site is intended as legal, financial or medical advice. Indeed, much of what I discuss amounts to possibilities rather than certainties, in an ever-changing present and an ever-uncertain future.

Thursday, April 07, 2011

Regular IAEA Reports Logged for Fukushima Daiichi Disaster

For those interested in some outside, relatively authoritative reports on the Fukushima Daiichi crisis, the International Atomic Energy Agency is compiling its ongoing updates here.

Monday, April 04, 2011

LAVA Wins Contest for Designing the City Center of the World's First Sustainable City in the UAE

The Laboratory for Visionary Architecture has won first prize for its city-center design for Masdar, the world's first sustainable city being built in seven stages by the government of the United Arab Emirates. The link includes some impressive images for the planned city center.

Some would complain that the design is not practical for areas with substantially less resources -- poor Third World villages, for example. But to be blunt, I think any meaningful plans for the future, especially coupled with action, are a huge improvement over widespread inaction, and I am glad to see the UAE taking this step.

Stuxnet as a "Cybernetic Weapon of Mass Destruction"

Ralph Langner's analysis of the Stuxnet malware.

Two key points:
One, this work is brilliant, but generic, and could be redirected to sabotage many infrastructure targets, particularly in the developed world.

Two, we had better get ready for that.

In the wake of the havoc caused by natural disasters and human error at Fukushima Daiichi, his points are well taken.