Netizen

Monday, June 01, 2015

Only 9,000 Cabs?

New York City taxi cabs (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

That is an amazing number. I just read it on the Gary's Guide newsletter.

"9000 self-driving cars could replace every taxi cab in NYC (avg wait only 36 secs & cost only $0.5/mile). Ancillary industries such as auto insurance ($198B), auto finance ($98B), parking ($100B) & auto aftermarket ($300B) will collapse as demand evaporates. The Transportation Cloud is coming."

Autonomous cars will destroy millions of jobs and reshape the US economy by 2025

Autonomous cars will be commonplace by 2025 and have a near monopoly by 2030, and the sweeping change they bring will eclipse every other innovation our society has experienced. They will cause unprecedented job loss and a fundamental restructuring of our economy, solve large portions of our environmental problems, prevent tens of thousands of deaths per year, save millions of hours with increased productivity, and create entire new industries that we cannot even imagine from our current vantage point....... Morgan Stanley’s research shows that cars are driven just 4% of the year, which is an astonishing waste considering that the average cost of car ownership is nearly $9,000 per year. Next to a house, an automobile is the second-most expensive asset that most people will ever buy ...... Driverless cars do not need to park—vehicles cruising the street looking for parking spots account for an astounding 30% of city traffic, not to mention that eliminating curbside parking adds two extra lanes of capacity to many city streets. Traffic will become nonexistent, saving each US commuter 38 hours every year—nearly a full work week. As parking lots and garages, car dealerships, and bus stations become obsolete, tens of millions of square feet of available prime real estate will spur explosive metropolitan development. ...... As most autonomous cars are likely to be electric, we would eliminate most of the 134 billion gallons of gasoline used each year in the US alone. And while recycling 242 million vehicles will certainly require substantial resources, the surplus of raw materials will decrease the need for mining.

Taxi Cabs Factbook

Friday, May 29, 2015

Google Photos

English: Google+ wordmark (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Google Plus has been my favorite photo sharing app. I have liked the instant upload, the auto upload thing, I have liked the lots of space thing. I have liked the easy share thing. And now, instead of giving me nightmares by sunsetting Google Plus, as was the rumor, Google gives me Google Photos. I am thrilled. I want storage to be free. Unlimited.

But free is just the starting point. Google Photos takes photo storage and sharing to a whole new level. A Gmail for photos is a good description.

CNN: Google's amazing new app is like Gmail for your Photos
Time: Google Plus’ Best Feature Is Coming Back From the Dead
Despite Google Photos’ arrival, Google+ still lives

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Future Megaprojects

Technology Problems, Policy Problems

English: ANgel_F, the child artificial intelligence son of Derrick re Kerckhove and the Biodoll (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is not the job of technology to make sure everyone is fed. It is the job of technology to produce abundant food. It is the job of public policy to make sure everyone is fed.

Technology produces guns. And citizenship requires that we agree to the lawful use of the gun by the police and the military, both of whom have to work within the parameters of the law. Public policy does, or should, determine the use of the gun.

Artificial intelligence is the same way. The public policy domain needs to stay vigilant. There is good use to which artificial intelligence can be put. We are nowhere close to having too much artificial intelligence right now.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Hello

Space Travel And Showing Skin

Planets of the Solar System (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Space travel damages skin but makes hair grow FASTER: 'Astromice' study discovers the lesser-known impacts on astronauts

some astronauts experience skin dryness and itching after spending time in space - making them more vulnerable to scratches and irritation...... the astronaut underwent an accelerated skin ageing process in space...... ‘Weightlessness as experienced by astronauts during space flights affects physiological functions of the human organism that has evolved, like other organisms living on Earth, through continuous adaptation to the permanent gravitational field.’ ...... a study on 19 crew members of six Nasa-Mir missions from 1995 to 1998 indicated small skin injuries were the most frequent medical incidents including dryness and itching. ..... several cutaneous physiological changes were recorded after the mission such as coarsening and decreased skin elasticity ....... there might be more detrimental effects than thought on missions into deep space, such as to Mars

I have known this all along. We are not supposed to travel vast distances. We are supposed to take good care of earth. Maybe moon, maybe Mars. But there is nothing much going on either on Moon or Mars. Other than having a backup plan that might be needed a million years from now, I don't see the point. What would it take to recreate Tribeca or Chinatown on the moon or Mars? A lot. You will probably ended up creating a parking lot up there.

There is a reason why everything out there is measured in light years. We are supposed to stay back and measure, use telescopes and things, take in the incoming information if we ever got so curious. We are not supposed to go there. We are supposed to stay put.

I get the impression we experimented on people before we experimented on mice. Beware, time travels faster for the skin out there.

But if this is only about gravity, Mars has gravity. As long as you can survive the journey and make it fast, you should be okay. Right?

Food And Housing Are 10 Times More Expensive Than They Need To Be

At least 10 times. More like 100 times.

The world has to move towards abundance. First through technological breakthroughs. Then through policy innovation. Imagine an America where just like 5% of the people get to be on unemployment benefits, there is free food and housing for that 5%. Nothing fancy, but enough basic food and housing. Part of it might be faith-based. I don't mind.

The thing about rent in New York City is, it is misguided. The message is, it is demand and supply. Too many people want to live here, that is why rent is so high. Hogwash. Big cities are good for the environment. You want NYC to get two times as big, 10 times as big.

Come in bullet trains and satellite cities.

NYC should build a city just for the homeless. About 30 miles away.

Cheap housing also has to be about moving retired lower middle class people to far away countries where they can live like kings and queens on the same retirement income.

You make basic food and housing guaranteed, and the world will see a new era for art and culture.

I think strong, cheap material will be nanotechnology. So housing prices come down like a house of cards.