Category Archives: Technology

Harvard Business Review – January / February 2024

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Harvard Business Review (January / February 2024)

The Right Way to Build Your Brand

The best ad campaigns make a memorable, valuable, and deliverable promise to customers. 

More than a century ago the merchant John Wanamaker wryly complained, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The trouble is, I don’t know which half.” Because the proponents of advertising have always struggled to prove that the money is well spent, that indictment has long helped financial executives justify cutting ad budgets. As no less an authority than Jim Stengel, a former chief marketing officer at Procter & Gamble, has noted, the struggle continues, although huge resources go toward testing advertising copy and measuring effectiveness.

Leading in a World Where AI Wields Power of Its Own

New systems can learn autonomously and make complex judgments. Leaders need to understand these “autosapient” agents and how to work with them. 

The wheel, the steam engine, the personal computer: Throughout history, technologies have been our tools. Whether used to create or destroy, they have always been under human control, behaving in predictable and rule-based ways. As we write, this assumption is unraveling. A new generation of AI systems are no longer merely our tools—they are becoming actors in and of themselves, participants in our lives, behaving autonomously, making consequential decisions, and shaping social and economic outcomes.

Analysis: U.S. Builds Drone Fleet To Counter China

Wall Street Journal (December 6, 2023) – To help counter China, the U.S. military is racing to develop a fleet of next-generation drones. For the Pentagon, it’s not just a matter of gaining the technological edge.

Video timeline: 0:00 Autonomous systems 0:40 The need for next-generation drones 1:49 Scaling up 4:07 Keeping up with China

It’s a race against the clock, as Beijing has militarized islands in the South China Sea, and President Xi Jinping has ordered his military to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. Some experts are skeptical the U.S. military can work fast enough to meet its goals.

Science: Uncovering The Secrets Of Stonehenge

New Scientist (December 5, 2023) – Stonehenge was built between 3000 and 2000 BC and is one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments. Each year, the site attracts thousands of visitors during the summer and winter solstices.

Whether used for ceremonial, astronomical or spiritual events, Stonehenge remains a subject of intrigue. Now, using the latest scientific technologies such as radiocarbon dating and 3D laser scanning, archaeologists are understanding how this colossal stone circle was built and what its purpose was, as well as gaining new insight into how our Stone Age human ancestors lived.

New studies even suggest some of the stones could align with the moon during rare lunar events.

Special Report: ‘Carbon Dioxide Removal’ (NOV ’23)

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The Economist SPECIAL REPORTS – CARBON DIOXIDE REMOVAL (NOVEMBER 25, 2023): The new economy net zero needs – It is vital to climate stabilization, remarkably challenging and systematically ignored.

Carbon-dioxide removal needs more attention

It is vital to climate stabilisation, remarkably challenging and systematically ignored

St Augustine’s climate policy

The temptations of deferred removals

Carbon dioxide removals must start at scale sooner than people think

On the other hand…

The many prices of carbon dioxide

Not all tonnes are created equal

Clean Energy: The Global Race For Lithium Batteries

Financial Times (November 19, 2023) – Lithium is the ‘new oil’ of the clean energy era, crucial to the production of batteries for electric vehicles. The FT investigates this booming industry – and the controversies surrounding it – on a journey from Chile to Norway and the UK.

Video timeline: 00:00 Lithium and the energy transition 01:13 Global lithium reserves 01:33 The process 03:03 The communities 04:05 Water reserves 05:29 The investors 07:40 Lithium supply and China 08:41 The policymakers 09:35 Cornish mining revival 12:16 The markets 15:28 Chile’s lithium policy 18:02 Direct lithium extraction 19:54 The indigenous perspective 22:58 Recycling batteries 25:30 The future

#lithium #lithiumbattery #energy #electricvehicle #zerocarbon #emission

World Economic Forum: Top Stories – Nov 18, 2023

World Economic Forum (November 18, 2023) – The top stories of the week include:


0:15 Kiel is Germany’s first zero-waste city –Kiel has put 107 waste-reducing measures in place. They include practical changes, such as ‘pay-to-throw’, a scheme in which households pay a fee for the amount of landfill waste they generate. Other measures include recycling collection ‘islands’ around the city, discounts for shoppers who bring their own containers and banning disposable products at all city events.

1:33 Gender balanced companies outperform others – According to a BlackRock study of 1,250 of the world’s biggest companies. Over the past decade, the companies with the most equal gender balance achieved a 7.7% average annual return on assets (RoA). Those with the highest share of men delivered a 5.6% RoA, while those with the highest share of women returned a 6.1% RoA. The study concluded it was ‘diversity that counts’ rather than the dominance of a single gender.

3:08 US wants to convert empty offices into homes – The government will offer funding and technical support to help cities turn unused workspaces into affordable apartments. US office vacancy rates have hit a 30-year peak as more staff clock in to work remotely. Meanwhile, rents in the country remain at historic highs after a surge during the pandemic converting offices to apartments can be challenging.

4:48 Rwanda and Kenya open borders to other Africans – Rwanda and Kenya have made significant strides in promoting African unity by opening their borders to other Africans, enabling visa-free travel for all citizens of the continent. This move positions Rwanda as the fourth African nation to remove such restrictions, following Benin, The Gambia, and Seychelles. Kenya is set to join them on December 31, 2023.

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The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.

Previews: New Humanist Magazine – Winter 2023

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NEW HUMANIST MAGAZINE – WINTER 2023 ISSUE: The new issue features Pavan Amara on the new technologies revolutionising reproduction, Gabriele Di Donfrancesco on Europe’s battle over “family values” and Rachael Lennon on a decade of same-sex marriage, and a new column from Shaparak Khorsandi…

Special Report: ‘China’s Armed Forces’ (NOV 2023)

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The Economist SPECIAL REPORTS – CHINA’S ARMED FORCES (NOVEMBER 11, 2023): Overestimating China’s armed forces would be dangerous; Unknown soldiers – The People’s Liberation Army is not yet as formidable as the West fears; Rank indifference – China is struggling to recruit enough highly skilled troops; Weapons of woe – From hypersonic missiles to undersea drones, the PLA is making leaps…

The People’s Liberation Army is not yet as formidable as the West fears

Overestimating China’s armed forces would be dangerous, argues Jeremy Page

In 1957 america was gripped by fears of a “missile gap” with the Soviet Union. The Kremlin had stunned the world with a test flight of an intercontinental ballistic missile (icbm) and the launch of Sputnik. An American intelligence report predicted that by 1962, the Soviets could have 500 icbms, outstripping America’s arsenal. When word of that leaked, a political furore erupted. Eyeing the presidency from his Senate seat, John F. Kennedy demanded action to prevent a Soviet “shortcut to world domination”.

China is struggling to recruit enough highly skilled troops

The PLA needs them to operate all its new weapons

From hypersonic missiles to undersea drones, the PLA is making leaps

But China’s military tech still lags behind the West’s

Technology: Liv Boeree On The ‘Dark Side Of Game Theory’ Competition In AI

TEDx Talks (November 9, 2023) – Competition is a core part of human nature, and it can drive us to extraordinary feats. But when it goes wrong, the results can be devastating.

Poker champion and science communicator Liv Boeree introduces us to the dark force of game theory driving many of humanity’s biggest social problems — a force that’s now threatening to derail the AI industry.

Olivia “Liv” Boeree is a British science communicator, television presenter and former professional poker player. She is a World Series of Poker and European Poker Tour champion, and is the only female player in history to win both a WSOP bracelet and an EPT event.

Global Warming Answers: Underground Cooling System In Seville, Spain

Tomorrow’s Build (November 7, 2023) – The city of Seville in Spain is implementing measures to mitigate the scorching heat. Called the CartujaQanat, it is a €5 million pilot project that aims to reduce average temperatures by around 10°C in a region of the city.

These systems, developed over 1,000 years ago, consist of the construction of underground channels that transport water across a large area that needs to be cooled. Vertical shafts drilled along the channel bring underground air to the surface, lowering above-ground temperatures.

In summer, people don’t leave their house until 8pm and festivals usually start at 10pm. Built on the banks of the Guadalquivir River during the Middle Ages, the Spanish city regularly records temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) during July and August. And scientists expecting temperatures above 50°C in the near future.

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