GESDA's best pick from the press, web and science journals, in relation to GESDA's thematic platforms
21-28 June 2022
A GESDA product curated by Olivier Dessibourg
www.gesda.global
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FOCUS 1
> There’s a carbon-capture gold rush. Some warn better solutions exist // 23.06.2022, The Washington Post
To stem climate change, billionaires, politicians and philanthropists say sucking carbon out of the air and storing it underground could work. Critics fiercely disagree.
Related articles:
> The nightmare politics and sticky science of hacking the climate // 22.06.2022, WIRED
Spraying aerosols and sucking carbon out of the air would bring down temperatures, yes. But the unintended consequences of geoengineering could be enormous.
> UK's largest carbon capture project will turn CO2 into baking soda // 24.06.2022, NewScientist
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(© Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg News)
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FOCUS 2
> What scientists can learn from tracking disease outbreaks from space // 21.06.2022, AXIOS
The proliferation of easy-to-use, relatively cheap and more comprehensive satellite data is allowing researchers to get a holistic view of what's happening on Earth during disease outbreaks and possibly learn how to predict the next one.
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(© Allie Carl/Axios)
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FOCUS 3
> Personalised cancer vaccines are finally beating hard to treat tumours // 22.06.2022, NewScientist
Some cancers are being treated with vaccines tailored to the genetic make-up of an individual’s tumours, a strategy that is looking increasingly hopeful.
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(© Shutterstock / molibdenis)
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FOCUS 4
> The energy transition: Climate technology // 25.06.2022, Technology Quarterly, by The Economist
Electrifying everything does not solve the climate crisis, but it is a great start. Vijay Vaitheeswaran reports on what the transition still needs.
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FOCUS 5
> Yann LeCun has a bold new vision for the future of AI // 24.06.2022, MIT Technology Review
One of the godfathers of deep learning pulls together old ideas to sketch out a fresh path for AI, but raises as many questions as he answers.
Related article: A path towards autonomous machine intelligence // 27.06.2022, OpenReview.net
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(© Brian Ach/Getty Images)
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FOCUS 6
> As quantum computing advances, who’s thinking about ethics? // 21.06.2022, EmergingTechBrew
With great processing power comes great responsibility. And quantum computing is already – at least on some specific measures—tens of millions of times faster than traditional. As the early-stage field begins to build momentum, some experts are exploring a familiar balancing act in tech ethics: How can we ensure responsible development of the field without stifling innovation?
Related article: Establishing a legal-ethical framework for Quantum Technology // April 2021, SSRN
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(© Dianna “Mick” McDougall)
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FOCUS 7
> Im Ukraine-Krieg kämpft eine «IT-Armee» online gegen Russland. Die Freiwilligen attackieren sogar Apotheken und Universitäten // 23.06.2022, NZZ
Als die Ukraine angegriffen wurde, fehlte dem Land eine offensive Cybertruppe. Inzwischen hat es eine Freiwilligenarmee rekrutiert. Die neuartige Kriegsführung im Cyberraum stellt den Westen vor Probleme.
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(© Yuri Kochetkov/EPA)
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FOCUS 8
> Microsoft, Meta, and others are founding a metaverse open standards group // 21.06.2022, The Verge
36 companies and organizations have formed a standards group for “metaverse” tech. The Metaverse Standards Forum is supposed to foster open, interoperable standards for augmented and virtual reality, geospatial, and 3D tech.
Related report: Value creation in the Metaverse// June 2022, McKinsey
With its potential to generate up to $5 trillion in value by 2030, the metaverse is too big for companies to ignore.
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FOCUS 9
> The world’s top 100 research institutions // 16.06.2022, Nature
China’s ranking in the Nature Index 2022 Annual Tables has skyrocketed. Out of the top 50 fastest-rising institutions on the list, just 10 were from outside China. The result shows how the country’s investment in research spending has paid off, say researchers – as well as its heavy emphasis on publishing papers for career progression. There are many qualities that could be used to define greatness, but the tables rely on just one: the share of articles published in 82 prestigious scientific journals, selected by an independent panel of scientists and tracked by the Nature Index database. Overall, the United States retains the top spot.
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FOCUS 10
> International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement calls on state and non-state actors to refrain from cyber operations against humanitarian organisations // 24.06.2022, Digwatch Newsletter
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRC) adopted a resolution on Safeguarding Humanitarian Data at the Council of Delegates held 22–23 June in Geneva. The resolution notes that humanitarian organisations should only process humanitarian data for purposes that are compatible with their mandate, and comply with applicable laws and data protection frameworks and principles. It further encourages the research, development, and acquisition of tools and measures to protect a neutral, independent, and impartial humanitarian space in the digital sphere, and to ensure the protection and security of humanitarian data. The resolution also calls on states and other actors to respect and protect impartial humanitarian organisations both online and offline and safeguard them from harmful cyber and information operations of any kind.
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GOOD READS ABOUT GESDA'S PLATFORMS THEMES
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Platform 1: Quantum Revolution & Advanced AI
Quantum and physics
> Canada lays the groundwork to become a powerhouse in quantum technology // 23.06.2022, Science|Business
> Scientists emulate nature in quantum leap towards computers of the future // 23.06.2022, UNSW press release
> Quantum computing funding remains strong, but talent gap raises concern // 15.06.2022, McKinsey Digital
> Quantum sensor can detect electromagnetic signals of any frequency // 21.06.2022, MIT News
AI & Tech
> Kuo: Apple’s AR headset will be its ‘most complicated product’ ever – and it’s coming soon // 23.06.2022, Gizmodo
> OpenAI’s new AI learned to play minecraft by watching 70,000 hours of YouTube // 26.06.2022, SingularityHub
> Open-source language AI challenges big tech’s models // 22.06.2022, Nature
> The power and pitfalls of AI for US Intelligence // 21.06.2022, WIRED
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(© Osakawayne Studios/Getty Images)
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Platform 3: Eco-regeneration & Geoengineering
Resources
> Can farm and food waste power tomorrow’s airplanes? // 23.06.2022, Science
> How the revolution in electric vehicles is changing mining // 23.06.2022, Financial Times
> Climate change and the urgency to transform food systems // 23.06.2022, Science
Energy
> Fusion power may run out of fuel before it even gets started // 23.06.2022, Science
Biotechnologies
> New PET-like plastic made directly from waste biomass // 27.06.2022, EPFL news
> Altered gene helps plants absorb more carbon dioxide, produce more useful compounds // 22.06.2022, NSF
Space
> UK wants to send a spacecraft to grab two dead satellites from space // 23.06.2022, NewScientist
> China aims to bring Mars samples to Earth 2 years before NASA, ESA mission // 20.06.2022, SpaceNews
> X Prize Foundation studying active debris removal competition // 24.06.2022, SpaceNews
Climate and environment
> Cosmic dust from venus is inspiring new air pollution-busting technology // 24.06.2022, SingularityHub
> UN Ocean Conference: high seas deal, seabed mining, climate change on agenda // 24.06.2022, GenevaSolutions
> 50 propositions ‘Prêt à Voter’ // 27.06.2022, SolarImpulse Foundation press release
Le succès de la transition écologique dépend moins du développement de nouvelles solutions technologiques, que de la création de conditions permettant d’adopter les solutions actuelles et de profiter des bénéfices qui les accompagnent. C’est dans cette optique que Bertrand Piccard et la Fondation Solar Impulse lancent une initiative originale, le « Prêt à Voter », qui prend les technologies propres comme point de départ pour guider la modernisation du cadre légal et réglementaire.
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(© Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty)
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GESDA Platform: Knowledge Foundations
> Building Blocks of Life Found on Samples Collected From an Asteroid // 24.06.2022, Smithsonian Magazine
> Gravitational wave radar could probe deep space for tiny stellar objects // 23.06.2022, Science
> Portal to new physics // July 2022, Science News
A decade after its discovery, the Higgs boson may point beyond the standard model
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OF INTEREST
> The smart city is a perpetually unrealized utopia // 24.06.2022, MIT Technology Review
Urban technologies were meant to connect, protect, and enhance the lives of citizens. What happened?
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(© Fondation Constant, Artists Rights Society, New York via Pictoright Amsterdam)
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TOOLS, RESOURCES AND PARTNERS
> Women scientists don’t get authorship they should, new study suggests // 22.06.2022, Science
> Many researchers say they’ll share data — but don’t // 21.06.2022, Nature
> Closing the loop on crowdsourced science // 10.06.2022, PNAS
> Bling-bling, brouillard et chocolats // 20.06.2022, RTS
À lʹExpo universelle 2020 (repoussée à 2022 en raison de la pandémie), la Suisse a su séduire grâce à son pavillon évoquant le luxe et la grandeur, en créant un moment de bien-être ou en projetant des paysages superbes. 1,7 million de visiteur.euses retiendront de la Suisse quʹelle brille et que son brouillard est rafraîchissant. Mais le pays se résume-t-il à cela? Alors que la prochaine exposition universelle se tiendra en 2025 à Osaka, Présence Suisse réfléchit déjà à son message pour attirer les foules.
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(© RTS)
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BOOKS
> Why you should love wasps, and what is emotion? Books in brief // 24.06.2022, Nature
Andrew Robinson reviews five of the week’s best science picks.
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(© Valero Doval)
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WHAT IS GESDA?
Humanity, now more than ever, is facing global challenges (especially with regards to the Covid-19 crisis), putting people and the planet under stress and in great uncertainty. Simultaneously, the world is experiencing breakthroughs in science and technology at an unprecedented pace, which are sometimes hard to grasp. Anticipation, therefore, is key to build the future with the aim of early and fully exploiting this scientific potential for the well-being and inclusive development of all. The Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator was founded in Geneva in 2019 to tackle this issue.
GESDA's ambition is to first anticipate and identify these cutting-edge advances in science and technology throughout various domains (Quantum Revolution & Advanced AI, Human Augmentation, Eco-regeneration & Geoengineering, Science & Diplomacy). Based on this scientific outlook, it will, with its Diplomacy community, translate potential leaps in science and tech into tools that can bring effective and socially-inclusive solutions to emerging challenges. Most importantly, this process will be achieved not only by scientists or diplomats, but will include actors of various professional origins and mindsets (from philanthropy, industry, citizens, to youth).
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Have a very nice and fruitful week! :-)
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