Einstein had some grave warnings about technology – what would happen once it exceeded our humanity. And considering how often we’re inundated with stories on big data, manipulated data, corrupted data, not to mention hearings on Capitol Hill and documentaries that scare the pants off you, (thanks, Social Dilemma,) it’s hard to ignore that Uncle Albert was really onto something.
But 3D printers that build communities for the homeless, robots who perform CPR, the advent of mind-controlled prosthetics, high-tech greenhouses that can help solve world hunger, devices that turn Martian carbon dioxide into life support for space travelers and AI that protects wildlife from poachers, show us the benefits of tech can be profound.
Here are some Happy Headlines that would make even Einstein agree that technology and humankind are a perfect match.
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”
– Arthur C. Clarke
Helping the World
Futuristic Farming Aimed at Feeding the World
Scientists in the Netherlands have determined that in order to feed the world by 2050, we will have to produce as much food as has been grown in the last 8000 years. Yikes!! To relieve some of the pressure on the food system (uh, yes, please,) they have developed efficient ways to produce food on land that’s already being used for growing, while employing far fewer natural resources in the process.
They’re using greenhouses to replicate climates around the world, studying how to best optimize growth and trying different hues of LED lights to increase pest resistance in plants. They’re even testing tiny drones capable of smashing crop-killing moths. Intent on being a developer for the rest of the planet, these scientists know nothing grows in a vacuum and look forward to sharing their knowledge and help feed generations to come.
Saving Species
Artificial Intelligence Protects Wildlife
Game poaching is one of the largest threats to wildlife. The market for ivory and keratin makes elephants and rhinoceros prime targets for hunters, and extinction is a looming possibility for both species in the next decade. But not if the world of artificial intelligence has anything to say about it.
Researchers at the University of Southern California have teamed with the National Science Foundation and the Army Research Office to create a new AI-based app that uses game theory to create patrol routes for wildlife rangers to help stop poachers and protect endangered species.
Getting It Out There
Robotic Tech That Gives Amputees a Hand
While still in high school, Easton LaChapelle, a robotics prodigy, used the science fair at his school to design something new every year. When he was 14, he entered a robotic hand that far exceeded prosthetic technology that was on the market, and met a seven-year old girl about to outgrow her $80,000 prosthetic device. Both events changed his life forever.
At 17 he founded Unlimited Tomorrow, a company dedicated to creating prosthetic technology in ways that remodel and democratize the system so that cutting edge prosthetic devices are accessible and most importantly, affordable for everyone.
Out of this world
NASA’s Capture of Martian Carbon Dioxide Helps Fight Climate Change
Manipulating Martian carbon dioxide is just one of the technologies NASA is employing with their use of AI, and one of the many pieces of early tech that led to other, inadvertent uses for their research, including developing ways to trap greenhouse gas emissions (one of the leading causes for global warming) instead of burning them off into the atmosphere.
Other space tech, such as researching the use of wind to fuel future Martian operations, forwarded both aircraft technology and helped develop higher-performing, longer lasting wind turbines, promoting sustainable, renewable energy, helping to improve conditions on the planet, while exploring what lays beyond.
Creating Communities
3D Printed Construction Helps Build More Than Houses for the Homeless
Community First! Village in Austin, Texas has a radical idea for helping the chronically homeless. They are determined not just to create shelters for people, but rather community that helps people who have lived without a home for years, feel supported and part of something.
Part of their revolutionary strategy is partnering with an entrepreneurial construction company, Icon, that builds homes using 3D print technology. With a commitment to affordability, sustainability, and availability to the over 1 billion people in the world who don’t have shelter, the company is determined to change the reality of who has access to housing.
RELATED: For The Love Of Musk Ox
Saving Lives
Robots that Perform CPR
Rather than just telling Alexa to reorder coffee or vacuuming while sitting on the couch reading the paper, first responders in southern England will be partnering with robotic technology in a new way.
LUCAS-3, a robot paramedic programmed to perform chest compressions that help sustain the flow of oxygen during CPR, will become part of the equipment found on the rigs of the South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) in Great Britain. Transitioning the performance of CPR from a bystander to LUCAS-3 can be done in under 7 seconds and free the hands of human paramedics to perform other tasks essential for the survival of the patient.
Did You Know?
- “Phantom Vibration Syndrome” is the name for when someone thinks their phone is vibrating, but it isn’t.
- The first Apple logo was Sir Isaac Newton sitting under a tree.
- The first VCR was the size of a piano.
- The first photograph, taken in 1826, took 8 hours to develop.
- The original Xbox contained edited sound bites from actual transmissions from the Apollo missions.
- The first alarm clock could only ring at one time: 4AM!!!
From the Fact Site. Read more Here!
“Technology is best when it brings people together.”
– Matt Mullenweg, Social Media Entrepreneur
More Happy Headlines
There is always some Good News out there and we find it for you! Here are more of our Happy Headlines
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