Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Category: economics

Circa 2019

Imagine we go through the disruptive transition between an economy where we need to work to make a living, to one where we don’t. It is hard to imagine because in North America; we haven’t been in this situation since the colonial era. Back in the colonial era, most people were farmers and families had to build their own homes. Neighbors traded with each other and with the closest town with what they had to get what else they needed. Those were difficult days with minimal supply chains established in North America. It is not a period we want to go back to, but we may learn from our forebears to prepare us for what is to come.

It is no surprise, in this age where automation is threatening to replace all employees, that we have concerns about how we can still function as a society when automation will take over most jobs. Fortunately, the same systems that threaten our livelihoods can bring us to a Golden Age of civilization where people live free, happy lives, without the concern for survival. I talk about the future of work in an article I published earlier this year. In a nutshell, and for the purpose of this article, I’ll jump to the conclusion: there won’t be enough demand for humans to have jobs within the next 20 years to sustain an employment-taxation type of economy.

We need to transform our economy to one that fits our aspirations and available technologies.

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The 2021 Space Renaissance Congress Acta is now online, and the voting session for the new President and Board of Directors is now open.

Dear SRI friends and supporters.

Two key milestones of our 3rd World Congress are now accomplished.

**1) The complete acta of the presented papers and speeches** is now online, for all of us to be viewed and reviewed. https://2021.spacerenaissance.space/index.php/2021-space-renaissance-congress-acta/

On this page you can find: * The presented papers, for download * The pointer to each live presentation, in the recorded videos on YouTube (hyperlink-pointer to the hour: minutes: seconds)

When watching to any video on the YouTube Space Renaissance channel, don’t forget to subscribe to the channel! (the channel is relatively recent, and increasing the number of subscribers is key to our web reputation).

Soon we will also begin the work to assemble the Acta Book, to be published on Amazon, let’s say, within September 2021.

**2) The new President and Board of Directors** are now waiting the completion of the voting process, to begin their work for the next 5 years, towards the SRI 4th World Congress.

As you likely know, Prof. Bernard Foing — for 30 years ESA officer and tireless space activist — is the candidate President of Space Renaissance International.

A large endorsement by our members and supporters is key, for the new leadership, to know they will be supported during the next 5 years.

Leading an organization mainly working on the web is not simple, it is a hard task, and the leaders never know whether they are “speaking in the desert” or the community is alive, reactive and proactive…

Now it’s up to all of us to assure that Bernard and the new Board get a warm and broad consensus, to support them in their task for the next 5 years!

Btw, as you can see in the list of Directors, i am not escaping! (😁), I am one of the vice presidents, and will take care of the Academy, and other key programmes.

The votes by non SRI members, though non binding for the election, are very important since they testify the consensus to our leadership.

Please vote for the President and the new Board of Directors:

**3) Taking the maximum cultural profit from our Congress**. What is the main outcome of our Congress? It is constituted by the concepts that emerged during the presentations and discussions. The things we understood or better clarified thanks to the great collective work we made, since October 2020 to July 2021, through the webinar series and the five days of the Congress. During the next weeks and months we will produce several newsletters and articles, “mining” the conceptual contents. A few non exhaustive examples: * the social inclusivity, as a 4th parameter to assess the level of a civilization (with reference to the Kardashev-Zubrin-Sagan scale) * the solution of the energy issue, by moving the industries outside the planet, in the cislunar space * the key and indispensable role of the new space industry to save and lead the global economy growth, overcoming the multiple crisis * a gas strategy to kick-off the civilian space development before 2030.

Just to name 4 of the many key concepts we discussed in this congress.

Keep on following and supporting the Space Renaissance!

Also consider joining the SRI Crew…

https://spacerenaissance.space/membership/international-membership-registration/

Ad Astra!

Adriano V. Autino — former SRI President.

…

Web Space Renaissance

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Experts are excited by the concept of microreactors because nuclear facilities have historically relied on economies of scale — a paradigm this tech could reverse.

“Microreactors promise to turn this paradigm on its head by approaching cost competitiveness through technological learning,” Alex Gilbert from the nuclear power think tank Nuclear Innovation Alliance, told CNBC.

Oklo’s “fast reactor” plant uses energy from already-spent nuclear reactor fuel, technology that has been around since the 1950s, according to CNBC.

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Livestreaming is a trillion-dollar industry in China, where social networking and entertainment meet marketing and e-commerce. China’s retail economy has become influencer-driven, with almost all online consumers buying products based on recommendations by their idols. That trend has enabled livestreaming and video platforms like Kuaishou and Douyin, which cultivated a roster of hugely popular influencers, to participate in the e-commerce market through partnerships with the online sales platforms.

Many people and businesses would not have survived the pandemic if it were not for the gig economy, says the co-founder of Asia Innovations Group, the start-up behind the live-streaming platform Uplive.

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Ut ohh.

The middle and working classes have seen a steady decline in their fortunes. Sending jobs to foreign countries, the hollowing out of the manufacturing sector, pivoting toward a service economy and the weakening of unions have been blamed for the challenges faced by a majority of Americans.

There’s an interesting, compelling and alternative explanation. According to a new academic research study, automation technology has been the primary driver in U.S. income inequality over the past 40 years. The report, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, claims that 50% to 70% of changes in U.S. wages, since 1980, can be attributed to wage declines among blue-collar workers who were replaced or degraded by automation.

Artificial intelligence, robotics and new sophisticated technologies have caused a wide chasm in wealth and income inequality. It looks like this issue will accelerate. For now, college-educated, white-collar professionals have largely been spared the fate of degreeless workers. People with a postgraduate degree saw their salaries rise, while “low-education workers declined significantly.” According to the study, “The real earnings of men without a high-school degree are now 15% lower than they were in 1980.”

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## GENERAL FUSION (VANCOUVER) • JUN 16, 2021.

# General Fusion to build its Fusion Demonstration Plant in the UK, at the UKAEA Culham Campus.

*Unlike conventional nuclear power, which involves fission or splitting atoms, the emerging fusion technology promises clean energy where the only emission would be helium, and importantly, no radioactive waste.*

New partnership between General Fusion and UKAEA is a landmark collaboration in the development of fusion, a technology for the world’s low-carbon future.

VANCOUVER, Canada and LONDON, United Kingdom (17th June 2021 BST): The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and General Fusion have announced an agreement under which General Fusion will build and operate its Fusion Demonstration Plant (FDP) at UKAEA’s Culham Campus. General Fusion will enter into a long-term lease with UKAEA following construction of a new facility at Culham to host the FDP. The FDP will demonstrate General Fusion’s proprietary Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) technology, paving the way for the company’s subsequent commercial pilot plant. General Fusion will benefit from the cluster of fusion supply chain activities in the UK, centered on UKAEA’s globally recognized expertise and presence in the field.

Amanda Solloway, Science Minister for UK Government said: “This new plant by General Fusion is a huge boost for our plans to develop a fusion industry in the UK, and I’m thrilled that Culham will be home to such a cutting-edge and potentially transformative project. Fusion energy has great potential as a source of limitless, low-carbon energy, and today’s announcement is a clear vote of confidence in the region and the UK’s status as a global science superpower.”

The Fusion Demonstration Plant at Culham is the culmination of more than a decade of advances in General Fusion’s technology, and represents a major milestone on the company’s path to commercialization. The Fusion Demonstration Plant will verify that General Fusion’s MTF technology can create fusion conditions in a practical and cost-effective manner at power plant relevant scales, as well as refine the economics of fusion energy production, leading to the subsequent design of a commercial fusion pilot plant. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2022, with operations beginning approximately three years later.

General Fusion and UKAEA intend to collaborate on a range of fusion energy technologies for power plant design and operation.

“Coming to Culham gives us the opportunity to benefit from UKAEA’s expertise,” stated Christofer Mowry, CEO, General Fusion. “By locating at this campus, General Fusion expands our market presence beyond North America into Europe, broadening our global network of government, institutional, and industrial partners. This is incredibly exciting news for not only General Fusion, but also the global effort to develop practical fusion energy.”

The Culham Campus, the home of the UK’s national fusion research programme, is owned and managed by UKAEA, widely recognized as a world leader in fusion energy development and innovation.

“This is a great development for UKAEA, very much in line with our mission to lead the development of sustainable fusion energy, and builds on our long heritage of hosting major fusion facilities such as the Joint European Torus,” said Ian Chapman, CEO of UKAEA.

###

About General Fusion.

General Fusion’s mission is to pursue the commercialization of fusion energy based on its proprietary Magnetized Target Fusion technology. The company is based in Vancouver, Canada, with locations in Washington, D.C., and London, U.K. The company was established in 2002 and is funded by a global syndicate of leading energy venture capital firms, industry leaders, and technology pioneers. General Fusion’s partnership with the UKAEA coincides with an expansion of the company’s global headquarters and research facilities in Vancouver, Canada, and a growing presence in the United States.

Twitter: @GeneralFusion More information: www.generalfusion.com.

Thank you to general fusion, folkstone design inc. & zoomers of the sunshine coast BC

#Fusion #ClimateChange #Vancouver #BC #UK #UKAEA

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If you walk down the street shouting out the names of every object you see — garbage truck! bicyclist! sycamore tree! — most people would not conclude you are smart. But if you go through an obstacle course, and you show them how to navigate a series of challenges to get to the end unscathed, they would.

Most machine learning algorithms are shouting names in the street. They perform perceptive tasks that a person can do in under a second. But another kind of AI — deep reinforcement learning — is strategic. It learns how to take a series of actions in order to reach a goal. That’s powerful and smart — and it’s going to change a lot of industries.

Two industries on the cusp of AI transformations are manufacturing and supply chain. The ways we make and ship stuff are heavily dependent on groups of machines working together, and the efficiency and resiliency of those machines are the foundation of our economy and society. Without them, we can’t buy the basics we need to live and work.

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