Kozminski Techblog

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Pedestrians are the most vulnerable road-users and ensuring their safety has become a challenge throughout the globe. They are facing the most significant risks from traffic accidents than other transportations, and the consequences of the injuries may be devastating.

According to the World Health Organization, approximately 1.35 million people die each year as a result of road traffic crashes. Unfortunately, pedestrians account for about 26% of these deaths. That is why, their safety is considered to be a crucial issue that affects the quality of life and well-being of each and every member of our society.

In this article, I would like to explore some of the most out of the ordinary measures that can be taken to make our streets safer for all. But firstly, let us take a glance at something more classic.

WHAT ARE THE CLASSIC SUSTAINABLE WAYS TO IMPROVE PEDESTRIAN SAFETY?

As written above, improving pedestrian safety must be key to creating a more sustainable community. Of course, there are many different measures that can be taken in order to achieve this goal. Some strategies are already being applied in some cities showing and demonstrating outstanding effects. What are the standard practices for making the streets of our cities safer for pedestrians?

• Reducing vehicle speeds The concept of reducing the speed of vehicles and speed management is considered to be one of the most effective ways to improve pedestrian safety.
• Focusing On Left-Turn Collisions Left turns usually pose a major threat to pedestrians as left-turning drivers are often distracted by watching oncoming traffic. Which is why, this strategy in the end may lead to decreasing number of intersection-related accidents.
• Improving the visibility of pedestrian-crossers Pedestrian collisions are often caused by poor lighting conditions. As a matter of course, the measures aiming at increasing pedestrian visibility to drivers should be implemented.

Providing immediate care for injured pedestrians, reducing exposure to vehicular traffic and law enforcement also add up to the crucial attributes of pedestrian safety.

However, those are the most obvious and typical ways all of us are familiar with…

HOW ABOUT SOME MORE INNOVATIVE APPROACHES?

At the moment, there are a lot of companies on the market offering their innovative solutions that are aimed at improving the level of pedestrian safety and some of them especially caught my attention.

• Pedestrian Detection

Imagine if a computer system could automatically detect and recognize pedestrians in images and videos, and even understand their intentions in real-time, such as when they intend to cross the road. This kind of system would incredibly enhance the safety of autonomous cars, enabling them to avoid dangerous situations and significantly reduce the number of road accidents. To detect pedestrians, computer vision systems are expected to use bounding boxes and different types of features, such as motion-based, texture-based, etc.

A lot of companies have already introduced a pedestrian recognition system and a vehicle reaction in the event of a dangerous situation. Of course the systems are still far from perfect, error prone and require learning.

• Innovative 3-D Pedestrian Crossings

This is a pedestrian crossing that is aimed at fooling driver with the help of cleverly-detailed optical illusion.

The technology looks so realistic that it seems to drivers that white blocks have hung over the road and cast a shadow on it. The floating zebra stripes immediately get the attention of drivers, who will be sure to slow down their speed once they spot the illusional crossing. The technology has already begun to be applied in some countries, moreover, in some of them it’s not showing good outcomes, as drivers get used to the three-dimensional zebras and pass them the same way as before, without stopping.

• The crossing of the future

It is worth paying tribute to a group of British designers who, in terms of road safety, were ahead of the rest and have proposed a new concept of zebra crossing. They invented the so-called Starling Crossing – a smart pedestrian crossing.

This is the same zebra that we are used to, but built into the roadway and at the same time being a traffic light. Initially it’s not visible on the pavement, the marking appears only at the moment when it is safe for all road users to drive along it. It is activated and starts working the moment a pedestrian approaches the edge of the roadway.

By using a combination of tiles, cameras, and sensors, road and pedestrian traffic can be detected, and their positions, directions, and speeds can be calculated. This information, combined with millions of previous data points, allows for the anticipation of future movements. As a result, signs can be reconfigured in real time, including their size and direction, to increase pedestrian safety.

• Laser Crosswalk Adds A Virtual Wall On Pedestrian Lanes

Sure, as for now it’s only a concept but turning this idea into reality sounds like one of the best innovation I’ve ever seen in keeping pedestrian lanes safe. Regardless, the Laser Crosswalk, which adds a virtual wall of light between motorists and people crossing the street.

For many countries in the world, pedestrian lanes are considered to be are unsafe place, especially at night when a lot of drivers are either sleepy or tired after the whole day. The Laser Crosswalk is a perfect fit for such places as it is a technology that adds a virtual wall of light between vehicles and people crossing the street. This kind of illusion, unlike ordinary traffic lights which people can instinctively ignore, immediately triggers instincts that make you stop. As if a real wall suddenly appeared before the driver’s eyes.

Innovative technologies are beginning to make a significant contribution to improving pedestrian safety, offering various solutions to reduce accidents and fatalities. Thanks to artificial intelligence, advanced computer vision, and a huge variety of predictive algorithms, we can now better detect and anticipate pedestrian traffic. From my point of view, I genuinely believe that the potential of these innovations, combined with the classic typical ways of improving safety, which have been used in our society for a long time, is leading us to increasingly high level of safety on the roads.

Tell me which of these innovation is your favorite! Perhaps, there are any other innovative approaches in this area that have caught your attention? Share them with us in the comments down below!

references:

https://trafficsafetydirect.com/innovations-in-pedestrian-crosswalk-safety

https://tomorrow.city/a/smart-zebra-crossing

https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/panorama/seven-measures-ensure-680824.html

tps://www.coolthings.com/laser-crosswalk-adds-a-virtual-wall-onpedestrian-lanes/](https://www.coolthings.com/laser-crosswalk-adds-a-virtual-wall-on-pedestrian-lanes/

Reading Time: 4 minutes

What if we could develop a system that harnesses the kinetic energy of people walking on paving slabs and converts it into electricity? Could such technology make a significant contribution to meeting our energy needs? Those questions led Pavegen to launch their own project and revolutionize the power generation industry.

WHAT IS THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT?

The British company Pavegen Systems Ltd., currently directed by Lawrence Kemball-Cook, is engaged in the production and sale of its unique technology – paving slabs that generate energy thanks to pedestrians walking on it, literally around the world.

WHAT ARE THE SLABS MADE OF?

Simply speaking, the tiles are made from recycled rubber and polymer concrete. In a little more detail, the innovative tile is made from a flexible waterproof material obtained from the recycling of used car tires, which gives the tile strength and makes it resistant to abrasion. The body of the tile is made of special stainless steel. When pressed, the top edge flexes by 5 millimeters, and causes the integrated converter to generate electricity.

HOW DOES THE TECHNOLOGY WORK?

The technology of the detailed functioning of the plates is kept secret, because in this way the company strengthens its competitive advantage. However, the engineers did make a few claims, noting that their technology is different from classic piezoelectric transducers. Why? The time between peaks that piezoelectric generators require makes it difficult to convert to direct current. Pavegan technology, in turn, reduces the gaps between the “peaks”, and thanks to this, it allows you to get more direct current.

The developers also shared information that their solution allows you to effectively capture and store energy after it is converted into a 12-volt supply. Thus, the top sheet of the tile deviates by 5 mm, and it is this movement that is converted into electricity.

Lawrence’s original idea was to provide power for street lamps and street signs. However, in just three years, the company managed to reach such a level that their products are widely used around the world. The electricity collected using these tiles can be sent directly to power various bus stops, advertising banners and signs, shop windows, and so on, or simply stored in a lithium battery for further use. Thus, the project allows you to convert kinetic energy into electricity, which can be stored for later use for various purposes.

This technology is best suited for the crowded pedestrian streets of modern metropolitan areas. It can be considered that this technology is the first significant step for people on the path to generating clean energy everywhere, literally everywhere, where there are paving slabs. The system they invented makes it possible to modernize existing pavement surfaces, and can be used in the construction of new footpaths.

HOW DOES THE PROJECT LOOK LIKE NOW?

Since the inception of Pavegen, Lawrence has moved towards becoming the market leader in the energy-harvesting pedestrian sector, bringing the issue to the attention of society on a global scale. He managed to convince several commercial properties that were still in the pipeline, after which they picked up Lawrence’s idea, transforming his concept and design into real products.

Pavegen received its first commercial order for the creation of electric generating paving slabs for one of the largest shopping centers in Europe – Westfield Stratford City, which is located near the Olympic site in London. In 2012, during the Summer Olympics in London, tiles produced by Pavegen were already installed on several crowded streets, and in a couple of weeks they collected 20 megajoules of electricity, which was enough to power the lighting of the capital’s streets.

By this time, the company had already managed to conclude an agreement and begin distributing its technology to many parts of the world from Brazil to Vietnam itself.

Lawrence is confident that the company is not even close to the peak of its capabilities. He argues that power sources for consumer devices can be embedded in clothing, and stoves located on the streets of the city are just the beginning in the renewable energy sector.

In my personal opinion, it is almost impossible to predict the exact amount of electricity that will be generated by the Pavegen project at the moment, as it depends on a huge number of different factors. Moreover, both external and internal within the company itself. Moreover, a lot of tests will be needed in order to understand how safe such a coating is for pedestrians, whether it deforms the foot and gait, whether it is dangerous for high heels and small vehicles such as scooters because the walking surface will not be flat.

At present, the electricity that the tiles can generate is relatively small, but after installing tiles in multiple places with heavy traffic, the amount of electricity generated can increase. Of course, technology is unlikely to completely replace traditional energy sources. However, it seems to me that in the future, this project will be able to generate a decent amount of electricity, especially in urban areas with heavy traffic, and become a significant additional source of energy for us.

Don’t hesitate to leave comments down below. I would love to hear your opinion on that!

references:

https://www.archdaily.com/911965/sidewalks-that-generate-energy-through-the-steps

https://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/13/tech/innovation/pavegen-kinetic-pavements/index.html

https://futurism.com/new-flooring-tech-generates-electricity-through-your-footsteps

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Fast Internet anywhere in the world sounds promising, right? But what is Starlink system and how does this system work?

STARLINK – WHAT IS THAT?

Starlink is a satellite system in Earth orbit developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Simply speaking, Starlink is a satellite constellation system that aims to deliver global internet coverage. With the help of these satellites, a person can access high-speed Internet from literally anywhere in the world. However, provided that he has the equipment available and paid a certain tariff.

SpaceX began work on the project began back in 2015. Three years later, they placed the first prototypes in orbit, and in 2019 they have launched a full-fledged program that included 60 working satellites. According to some reports, by the beginning of 2022, there were already more than 2 thousand satellites in the Starlink constellation, which means that the project is developing quite quickly and by 2027 SpaceX wants to place about 40 thousand of their satellites in orbit.

Of course, the presence of so many Musk satellites in orbit will make scientists start to worry. SpaceX equipment is now the brightest object in the sky, which makes it way more difficult to observe space space. However, the company promised to fix this problem before the massive expansion of its constellation.

It is also worth noting that Elon Musk was not the pioneer of the idea of the space Internet, but his project is clearly considered to be the fastest space provider. SpaceX achieved a similar effect by placing their satellites at a relatively low altitude from the Earth’s surface. What’s more, Starlink’s low altitude has another added benefit: if any satellite fails, it’s much less likely to collide with another spacecraft.

HOW DOES STARLINK WORK?

The Internet that we are used to works on wires – it is either cable technology or fiber optic. It is through these wires that the connection with the world wide web passes. Unlike them, Starlink technology uses radio signals from ground gateway stations to satellites instead of conditional wires, which send it back to Starlink user terminals on Earth. The terminal is connected to the Starlink Wi-Fi router, which is included in the kit package and provides the user with the Internet.

WHAT ARE STARLINK’S SPEEDS?

Starlink proffers unconstrained high-velocity data through an array of inconsequential satellites that distribute up to 150 Megabits per second (Mbps) of internet speed. SpaceX blueprints to double this rate in the coming months. What is more, as for now, Starlink provides its service to over 1 million active customers across 54 countries.

WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF SUCH A TECHNOLOGY?

If we are talking about the advantages of Starlink project, here are some of the most obvious ones:

• It is cheap. SpaceX are definitely using cost leadership strategy to gain their competitive advantage. It is cheaper than cable and satellite internet in suburban amd rural areas. Moreover, in many places and locations, suburban citizens pay the same amount as their city counterparts but receive far slower internet.
• Is it available everywhere worldwide. Starlink covers most of the planet, from Antarctica to the middle of the ocean. Thousands of low earth satellite orbiting above us. Its signal reaches every part of this world. Whether you are in a remote suburb, middle of the ocean, or the sky, Starlink internet is available.
• It is fast. Obviously, some users may experience slower speeds due to their network issues, but genrrslly, Starlink internet delivers 50 to 200 Mbps speeds, which is considered to be pretty fast.
• Easy to install. The Starlink technology is pretty simple to install as the company provides you with all the necessary tools and the dish doesn’t require any specialized knowledge to do so.

On the other hand, Starlink also turns out to have its drawbacks:

• It is not portable. Comparing to cellular internet all of us got used to, Starlink service isn’t portable, which means it is attached to a particular place.
• Disruption due to bad weather. However, this kind of disruption is pretty typical and common for cable internet as well.
• Starlink satellites interfere and will interfere with astronomers. The whole problem is that at dusk the satellites are very bright and make it difficult to monitor asteroids and other space objects that are potentially dangerous for our planet Earth. What is more, satellites use almost the same radio frequencies used by astronomers.

STARLINK IS A THREAT TO TOTALITARIAN REGIMES

Starlink technologies have faced a rather harsh reaction from totalitarian regimes. After all, the presence and such an active development of Musk’s satellites greatly worried China and Russia.

China: A group of Chinese scientists accused SpaceX of violating space traffic safety rules. Scientists have calculated that Starlink satellites transmitting data via laser communication are less than five kilometers apart. The authors of the study called this distance unacceptable.

Later, сhinese military researchers have called for the development of a “hard kill” weapon to destroy Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system if it threatens China’s national security. Chinese scientists have simulated the possibility of delivering a precision nuclear strike capable of destroying the satellites of the Starlink project. According to chinese scientists, for this it is necessary to detonate a 10 megaton nuclear warhead at a given height – about 80 kilometers above the Earth. The choice of this height is due to the fact that there is still air here, which will contribute to the formation of a radioactive cloud. Within a few minutes after the explosion, the cloud will rise to a height of 500 kilometers and spread over an area of about 140,000 square kilometers.

Russia: After the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite Internet terminals began to operate, which became a vital source of communication for the Ukrainian military, allowing them to fight and stay connected even when cellular and Internet networks were destroyed.Outer space has become the latest theater of war in Russia’s campaign to subjugate Ukraine, and Elon Musk’s space internet provider Starlink is now considered a legitimate military target in Moscow’s eyes.

The russian government indirectly warned Elon Musk that it would shoot down his satellites, which as Moscow says represent an “extremely dangerous trend” towards a “full-fledged arms race in space.”

COMPETITION AND MONOPOLY

Will SpaceX project Starlink destroy regular internet providers in the near future?

From my personal perspective, at the moment it is quite difficult to predict how much this technology will affect the industry. After all, whether Starlink will be able to oust the usual Internet providers from the market depends on a fairly large number of factors, such as the availability and reliability of the service, the area of its distribution, the speed of development, and so on. Which is why, how these two will interact is definitely to be seen.

To sum up everything that’s been written above, the Starlings are definitely revolutionizing the internet service industry. Whether it is worth it and whether terrestrial technologies will be able to coexist with them remains to be seen, but the price of innovation is always high. New technologies are changing the old market patterns and creating new requirements for the industry. Lemme know your opinion on this issue in the comment down below!

references:

https://ae.linkedin.com/posts/techdadpk_outer-space-has-become-the-latest-theater-activity-6992373972809977856-8CDV?trk=public_profile_like_view

https://www.livescience.com/china-plans-ways-destroy-starlink

https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/Starlink

Pros and Cons of Starlink Internet

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The world of technology has incredibly advanced over the past few years. Since then we have definitely come a long way and our regular watches or the old pedometer have been replaced by way more innovative technologies such as smartwatches. This allows you not only to keep track of time or count the number of steps taken, but also offers much more advanced solutions that provide you with lots of different healthcare options. Unfortunately, smartwatches are still often associated with some health obsessed people or health enthusiasts even though ordinary people can also sufficiently benefit from their use.

Let us have a closer look at some of the most significant health features:

• heart rate monitor Your heart rate measures how fast your heart is beating to pump blood throughout the body. If the heart rate seems to be up or down without any clear reason, this can indicate a problem. The monitor feature may help you notice the problem deviation on time or even identify approaching heart attacks.
• headphone audio levels The feature may prevent your headphone audio from result into a temporary damage, such as muffled sounds, ringing in the ears or even hearing loss.
• blood pressure monitor This kind of monitor features provides people struggling with the diseases, such as hypertension, with a constant opportunity to check on their blood pressure whenever is needed.
• sleep tracker Sleep tracker provide insights into your sleep habits and can help you to get a better sleep as well as understand your sleep patterns
• respiratory rate monitor This allows you to detect any deviations or anomalies in a breathing rate
• mobility tracker / activity monitor Activity tracker provides us with the opportunity to keep track of the steps taken or kilometers travelled throughout the day
• body measurements Body measurement feature allows to monitor a lot of different aspects of your body, such as fat percentage, body temperature, mass index, etc.

However, such technologies can have not only positive, but also negative effects on human health. The most obvious downside of the technology is possible skin irritation or allergic reaction to the materials in the watch band, which may be easily noticed by itchiness, redness, or swelling symptoms. Another thing people are still concerned about is electromagnetic radiation emission, which in theory may increase the rate of causing cancer. Moreover, wearable technologies are believed to steal significant personal data that customers are not willing to share.

What is the future of wearable technology?

Despite all the possible risks, I personally consider the future of wearable technology in healthcare to be bright. Smartwatches are expected to reach way more people and have way more treatment applications, anomaly detection, disease prevention as well as remote monitoring, which could be used in hospitals and be your doctor’s favorite gadget.

With the help of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning algorithms, wearable sensors are without any doubts expected to save more lives in the future.

references:

https://digitalhealthcentral.com/2021/04/05/what-is-the-future-of-wearable-technology-in-healthcare/

Reading Time: 3 minutes

What are genes?

The gene is considered the basic unit of inheritance. Genes are a set of instructions passed down from parents to offspring. They contain the information that determines a person’s specific physical and biological traits. Genes are made of sections of DNA. Every gene consists of four different nucleotide bases, which can be sequenced in different ways.

What are genetic disorders?

Genetic disorders occur when a mutation (a harmful change to a gene) affects your genes or when you have the wrong amount of genetic material.

By receiving half of the genes from each biological parent, there is a possibility of inheriting a gene mutation from one parent or both. Sometimes genes change due to issues within the DNA. This can raise your risk of having a genetic disorder. Some cause symptoms at birth, while others develop over time.

There are three main types of genetic disorders:

• chromosomal: this type affects the structures that hold your genes/DNA within each chromosome. With these conditions, people are missing or have duplicated chromosome material.
• single-gene: these disorders occur from a single gene mutation.
• complex: this group of conditions stems from a combination of gene mutations and other factors, which includes diet, certain medications, alcohol/tobacco use.

How common are genetic disorders?

Around 1 in 50 people are affected by a known single-gene disorder, while around 1 in 263 are affected by a chromosomal disorder. Around 65% of people have some kind of health problem as a result of congenital genetic mutations. There are well over 6,000 known genetic disorders, and new genetic disorders are constantly being described in medical literature.

Due to the constant development of such diseases, the usual medical approach is no longer enough to deal with this problem. For this reason, the need for the development of the field of gene therapy is growing significantly.

What is gene therapy?

Gene engineering is a medical field which primary focus is genetic modification of cells to produce a therapeutic effect or the treatment of disease by repairing or reconstructing defective genetic material. Simply speaking, gene therapy is a technique that modifies a person’s genes to treat or cure disease.

What are the ways to do this?

Gene therapy is used to correct defective genes in order to cure a disease or help your body better fight it.

Researchers are investigating several ways to do this, including:

• making diseased cells more evident to the immune system. In some cases, the immune system does not fight the diseased cells because it does not recognize them as a threat. In this case, gene therapy allows doctors to train the immune system to better recognize the intruders
• replacing mutated genes. This may help treat certain types of the diseases.
• fixing mutated genes, so that it doesn’t cause the disease

What are the benefits?

In the future, genetic therapies may be used to prevent, treat, or cure certain inherited disorders.

So, gene engineering:

• provides options and opportunities
• prevents the transmission and provides effects passed down through generations
• provides long-lasting effects and has to be given one time in contrast to medication

What are the risks?

Genetic therapies hold promise to treat many diseases, but they are still new approaches to treatment and may have risks, such as:

• unexpected and unwanted immune system reaction, which may cause organ failure
• possibility of causing a tumor
• infection caused by the virus

Is gene therapy worth it?

As far as I’m concerned, the question “is gene therapy worth it?” is wrong as well as the assumption of a yes-or-no answer. This should be an individual and conscious choice of each person. On the one hand, it gives opportunity and hope even in the most difficult cases, however, there is always a risk. When making such a decision, it is worth taking into account all the nuances, because genetic engineering is considered a relatively new and not yet sufficiently reliable direction. The health of each person is individual which means that the approach should be different for everyone.

references:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/120574#summary

https://blog.praxilabs.com/2022/06/29/genetic-engineering-in-humans-2/#Disadvantages_of_Genetic_Engineering_in_Humans

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_therapy

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/gene-therapy/about/pac-20384619

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21751-genetic-disorders

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“You want to wake up in the morning and think the future is going to be great – and that’s what being a spacefaring civilization is all about. It’s about believing in the future and thinking that the future will be better than the past. And I can’t think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars.” -Elon Musk

WHY DO WE NEED COLONIZATION?

The two most common arguments in favor of colonization are survival of human civilization, which thereby increases the likelihood that mankind will survive in global terrestrial catastrophes by the creation of a backup copy of humanity in outer space. The second reason is the availability of additional resources in space that could enable expansion of human society.

WHAT ARE THE PROS OF SPACE COLONIZATION?

• Ensuring the survival of our species Space colonization is the creation of a backup copy of humanity. We have mastered such technologies and energies that it is becoming easier for us to destroy ourselves. Do not forget about external factors: humanity should think about how not to die as a result of some kind of catastrophe. We need a living colony somewhere far away.
• Developing new technology that can be used to fix earth Сolonization is a project which involves the use of a large number of new technologies that could potentially help us clean up our own planet.
• Diplomatic potential Nothing is more inspiring than a group of people banding together to achieve a common goal. The mission to colonize Mars could possibly bring together people of all countries, ethnicities, cultures, and backgrounds.

WHAT ARE THE DISADVANTAGES OF COLONIZATION?

• Cost overruns The cost overruns are not uncommon in big projects in different areas, and there is no doubt that colonizing space will be very expensive
• Contamination Humans have made a mess of Earth. There is no doubt that by colonizing the Red Planet, we will end up polluting and destroying its environment
• Plenty of insecurity Since it has never been done before, we as humans have no experience with colonizing Mars and there might be many problems we still don’t know about yet. Colonization is still rather a vague plan.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT MARS?

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun – a dusty, cold, desert world with a very thin atmosphere. Mars is also a dynamic planet with seasons, polar ice caps, canyons, extinct volcanoes, and evidence that it was even more active in the past.

It is one of the most explored bodies in our solar system and the only planet where humans have sent some rovers in order to explore the alien landscape.

WHY MARS IS THE BEST COLONIZATION TARGET?

Mars has always been considered the best target for colonization in the solar system for which there is an infinite number of reasons. Let us take a closer look at some of them:

• Mars is more like Earth than any other planet in the solar system It has polar ice caps that grow and recede with the seasons and has evidence of water channels similar to those on Earth today.
• Its scientific secrets With its similarity to Earth, there is a strong possibility that bacterial life or even something more exists on the planet. If we ever find life, we can begin to answer some of the biggest questions we’ve ever asked: “Are we alone in the universe? What else is out there?”.
• Its location Mars is relatively close to the Earth. Moreover, it remains close enough to the sun to benefit from its heat and light but remains far enough away to be protected from any significant change in the sun’s heat output.
• Its greatest potential for self-sufficiency among other planets
• Its economic value Mars is worth a lot of money considering how great all that land is for residential, commercial, and industrial use.

WHAT IS THE CONCLUSION?

On the one hand, humanity needs development. Space colonization looks like the most promising area for this kind of growth. On the other hand, there are no guarantees that we are ready for this at the moment. Perhaps it is worth directing our efforts to improve life on Earth and secure ourselves by the construction of a planetary shield.

references:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_colonization

https://www.ccusd93.org/cms/lib/AZ02204140/Centricity/Domain/1109/Seven https://environmental-conscience.com/colonizing-mars-pros-con

https://starbasebrewery.com/pages/why-should-we-colonize-mars-starbase-texas

https://www.inverse.com/innovation/spacex-mars-city-codex

Reading Time: 3 minutes

What Is Artificial Intelligence and How Does It Work?

By definition, artificial intelligence (AI) is the use of a computer or machinery to perform tasks commonly associated with human intelligence. In short, AI is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. As AI has gradually become integrated into our daily lives it has become smarter with each and every technology that adopts it. Developments in digitalization, big data, computational power and machine learning mean that computers using AI can perform an increasing range of tasks previously thought to be the exclusive domain of humans. This kind of advancements in AI have encouraged people to become fearful for the safety and future of their job. As technology becomes more advanced, beginning to imitate human behaviour and critical thinking, the worry of job displacement becomes more real.

The future of AI is unpredictable, no one knows what it will bring for industries and businesses worldwide, but we do know for sure that any further advancements in AI will drastically change our future.

“ AI is going to change the world more than anything in the history of mankind. More than electricity.”— AI oracle and venture capitalist Dr. Kai-Fu Lee, 2018

However, will AI actually replace humans and take our jobs away?

In its recent Future of Jobs Report, the World Economic Forum estimated that AI will replace 85 million jobs by 2025. The same report, however, concluded that 97 million new jobs would be created in the same timeframe due to AI.

The answer to that question seems to be divided:

Apparently, artificial intelligence will definitely displace a significant number of professions. There is a number of reasons for that. Artificial intelligence helps to eradicate human error. It doesn’t get bored, so that it can do all the repetitive tasks efficiently. Moreover, AI is cheaper in a long term.

Examples of the jobs that will probably be taken away in the nearest future:

• accountants
• couriers/delivery people
• retail services
• marketing research analysis
• translating
• taxi driving

However, on the other hand, some industries will always need humans. From some empathetic fields to creative, writing, political, teaching or strategic jobs. What is going to happen eventually in these cases is that artificial intelligence will definitely become an indispensable tool which will be used by different professions in order to do a better job.

• teachers
• medical professionals
• lawyers
• writers
• therapists

What’s more, artificial intelligence will create a huge number of new jobs that we do not yet know about. This means that every accountant, taxi driver or clerk who have lost their job due to the implementing of artificial intelligence in their field of activity will eventually be able to find a new job for themselves.

Nevertheless, this issue must also be considered from a psychological point of view, since the very fact of creating new professions and the possibility of retraining specialists in no way solve the problem of people’s lack of learning skills, which, without proper training, disappear by the age of 30. With a high degree of probability, specialists whose work will be replaced by AI will not be able to find a place for themselves in the changed world, since they have not studied anything for a long time and simply cannot physically do it. The solution to this issue must be taken to the government level, where it is necessary to find an opportunity to support people in the transition period and prevent the constant occurrence of psychological problems due to “loss of purpose in life” and “lack of benefit to society”. There is no simple solution to this problem, and it definitely lies not only in the technological plane, but also in the field of psychology, finance and labor market provision.

References:

https://www.beyond.agency/blog/will-ai-take-my-job

https://www.tidio.com/blog/ai-trends/

https://builtin.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-replacing-jobs-creating-jobs