
IN SPOTLIGHT
The future of global security hinges on societal resilience
Defence debates tend to focus on firepower. But the most destabilising risks may come from something far harder to quantify: the fraying of social trust, the manipulation of truth, and the erosion of the middle class.
BLOG BY FUTURES PLATFORM
Is the Internet Broken?
A key inventor of the WWW, Tim Berners-Lee is concerned about the current state of the Internet. According to Berners-Lee, three trends threaten the Internet; people have lost control over their personal data, misinformation spreads fast, and political advertising lacks transparency.
Data Successfully Stored in DNA
Data files have been successfully stored into DNA and extracted from it. According to Wired, researchers from Columbia University and the New York Genome Center have stored a movie, an operating system and other files on DNA molecules. The method is called DNA Fountain.
Are Climate Refugees the Next Global Crisis?
Going home at the end of the day is something most of us take for granted. However, that is a luxury that not all people have.
We are no strangers to refugees on this planet. For as long as humans have been around, there have been people who have been pushed from their homes or countries for political, social, or economic reasons.
However, there is a chance that we might have to brace for the largest migration of refugees the earth has ever seen.
5 Trends Creating the City of the Future
Cities allowed for the creation, storage, and passing of information throughout millennia. Without them, we wouldn't have had many of the political, scientific, artistic, and technological revolutions we've had over the years. Indeed, the city of the future will quite certainly look different from the city of today. What are the phenomena changing the nature of today's cities?
AI is Becoming Science's Best Friend
Science has, over the years, benefited tremendously from advances in computing power and other types of technology. Today, scientists, from chemists to cosmologists, can run more tests in a single day than their predecessors could in a year.
Eating Insects - The Solution to a Big Problem?
With human population numbers increasing, we can expect the demand for food to continue to grow too. This trend suggests we will have to produce more food to meet that demand, or reduce the food waste we currently create. In this article, we discuss how something uncommon to Western nations - eating insects - might be the solution.
Cooking with 3D Printers
3D-printed foods aren't a new thing. Or, rather, they are - but the hype around them is not. Ever since additive manufacturing started to become more popularized, in the early years of the 2010s, many started speculating what it would be able to do with food. After all the hype, we can say that it has, to a good extend, delivered on its promises.
Trump asks, Finland delivers
When US President Donald Trump tweeted that he wanted 5G, even 6G, in the US as soon as possible, social media didn't let him off the hook easily. Indeed, 5G is barely here today - how could we possibly be talking about 6G already? Curiously enough, however, 6G is a thing, and some people have already begun researching it.
Are We Getting Lonelier?
According to Wikipedia, it refers to a negative and unpleasant emotional response to isolation. Often cascading into other psychological and physical problems, loneliness is not a light matter. And while it has been an issue for many millennia, we must ask ourselves: Are we becoming lonelier in the 21st century?
Artificial Intelligence and Fraud
Artificial intelligence gets its fair share of bad rap, usually in the form of dire warnings. But AI is a tool, and whether it is used for good or evil, depends on who is using it. In this article, we look at AI and fraud, showing that AI can both help us protect against it, and help those who want commit it better.
How VR Could Help Us Deal With Depression
Depression is a serious illness. More than "the blues," it is a mental condition that, if left untreated, can have serious consequences. It doesn't just affect one's activities in his or her daily life. It can result in severe mental and physical issues in the long term. And, for many people, it's a reoccurring disorder. And despite it being so common, we still struggle to fully understand it and treat it. Now virtual reality is helping us do both.
Gaining Super Powers
Exoskeletons exist all around us. Animals such as grasshoppers, cockroaches, and lobsters all have them. For them, exoskeletons provide protection and support, among serving other functions. What if we could allow human beings to experience the same benefits, while at the same time increasing their strength, precision, and power?