The Daily Populous

Wednesday September 6th, 2017 day edition

image for Take Elon Musk Seriously on the Russian AI Threat

Elon Musk is worried about governments, specifically the Russian one, competing for artificial intelligence superiority and sparking World War III.

That shocking statement was made all the more shocking by the low expectations the world seems to have for Russia, which U.S.

Senator John McCain dismissed just a few years ago as a "gas station masquerading as a country.".

Speaking to schoolchildren about AI on Sept. 1, Putin declared, "Whoever becomes the leader in this area will rule the world."

Competition for AI superiority at national level most likely cause of WW3 imo.

In this sense, Musk's alarmism -- and Putin's words about AI-based global dominance -- should be taken seriously.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. »

FEMA Is Almost Out of Money and Hurricane Irma Is Approaching

Authored by bloomberg.com

And of that, just $541 million was "immediately available" for response and recovery efforts related to Hurricane Harvey, according to a spokeswoman for FEMA who asked not to be identified by name.

The agency would be out of funds just as Irma, a category 5 hurricane, might start thrashing the coast of Florida.

In the meantime, FEMA has restricted spending to what it calls "immediate needs" -- what it calls "lifesaving, life-sustaining response efforts" for Harvey and Irma. »

Red Sox Used Apple Watches to Help Steal Signs Against Yankees

Authored by nytimes.com

The Red Sox responded in kind on Tuesday, filing a complaint against the Yankees claiming that the team uses a camera from its YES television network exclusively to steal signs during games, an assertion the Yankees denied.

As part of the inquiry, baseball investigators have interviewed the Red Sox team trainers and outfielder Chris Young, a former Yankees player.

Several teams logged complaints with the commissioner’s office that the team used binoculars and other unauthorized methods to steal signs. »

Lifetime experience with (classic) psychedelics predicts pro-environmental behavior through an increase in nature relatednessJournal of Psychopharmacology

Authored by journals.sagepub.com

Bogenschutz MP , Pommy JM ( 2012 ) Therapeutic mechanisms of classic hallucinogens in the treatment of addictions: From indirect evidence to testable hypotheses .

Boynton MH , Richman LS ( 2014 ) An online daily diary study of alcohol use using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk .

Buhrmester M , Kwang T , Gosling SD ( 2011 ) Amazon’s Mechanical Turk a new source of inexpensive, yet high-quality, data? »

SENATORS McCAIN & WHITEHOUSE CALL ON SUPREME COURT TO REASSESS CONSTITUTIONALITY OF PARTISAN

Authored by mccain.senate.gov

Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today are submitting a brief with the Supreme Court in a case that could address wildly partisan gerrymandering of political districts and loosen the grip of special interests on American politics.

In their friend-of-the-court brief, the senators describe the effects of hyper-partisan redistricting and special interest influence in Washington, and call on the Court to adopt a new standard for assessing the constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering.

It is up to the Supreme Court, the senators write, to use that roadmap to protect Americans’ constitutional rights. »