Bitchin Dave's Newsletter - June 2nd

I've been thinking about the advent of AI, and how we really don't know *what* it is, how it will be used, or how it will affect us.

And yet, AI is the answer to everything!  And it will cost all kinds of jobs! And it will make our lives better (or worse, I'm confused)!

The headlines promoted by companies tell a story that they want to tell, but ignore what's actually driving this: an opportunity to "rightsize their workforce" under the guise of innovation.  To the companies: lower payroll = more money to the wealthy investors!  

So instead, I prefer to focus on the fact that each new innovation does change some aspects of our lives, but doesn't end the world as we know it.  A relatively recent analogous example being the advent of the personal computer - which we were told would eliminate humans from most jobs.

AI is probably overstated in how it can be applied, though it definitely has use cases that can be helpful and improve on some things we as humans do. And industries will surely change.  But it seems unlikely that it will "eliminate humans from most jobs."  That's my take, anyway.

But I don't think I'm alone on that.  I found this video, and it talks about the same general topic from a slightly different perspective, and is worth a watch.


Oh, and by the way, I did note that Lowe's is investing in training tradespeople.  They, too,  see the headlines, and realize that no matter what, trades can't be replaced by AI.  Plus, being in construction broadly, they see a deficit on people who can do plumbing, electric, and carpentry.  So they are looking to fill that need, and take a part of that business.  Kudos to them.

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NASA is making a powerful new ion engine to send astronauts to Mars — and it just passed its 1st test | Space

Flight readiness is still a ways off. But the theoretical ion engine that could propel humans into deep space just took a nice leap forward. 

NASA successfully tested an ion engine (one that feeds off an electromagnetic reaction rather than a chemical one) that can produce 120 kw. This should be sufficient to propel a craft to mars. 

I look forward to seeing how this goes. 




Newton’s law of gravity passes its biggest test ever | Science | AAAS

The inverse square law proves to be true in large expanses. That’s pretty amazing. 

The inverse square law states that a specified physical quantity or intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from its source. As something spreads out spherically from a single point, the same amount of energy is distributed over an increasingly larger surface area, resulting in an exponential drop in intensity.

I guess you could (but probably shouldn’t) say that Newton was a really smart cookie. 





How a pot left on the stove overnight inspired a teen’s winning science fair project

Another young person for the win!

This young lady created a simple method for keeping someone from leaving the stove on. 

Yay, science! Yay, critical thinking! 




Disney pulled back the curtain on Imagineering’s robotics lab during its Week of Wishes for a young fan — and showed how its next-gen characters come to life | TechRadar

It makes me happy to see Disney doing some good. In this case, they offered a tour of the robotics lab to a “make a wish kid”…

And the fact that Disney is creating and innovating on the cutting edge is great, and carries on the fine tradition started by Walt and his WED designers. 
 




Deep-Earth map reveals a lost U.S. continent | Science | AAAS

This is kind of a cool story about how an array of sensors have been put to use, and once scientists reviewed the data, they have concluded that there is a piece of a continent jammed under the eastern seaboard of the US. 

Their modeling suggests that this happened when Pangea was broken apart, and this is why we have some mountain ranges, and the Appalachian trail. 





New Chinese Iron Battery Lasts 16 Years, and Could Upend the $150B Lithium Market | OilPrice.com

I like the leap forward here. A Chinese team has developed an iron-based battery (rather than lithium), which is cheaper to produce, stores energy more efficiently, and lasts many cycles longer than a lithium battery. 

And that’s all before we even mention the environmental impact. 



Bonus: Because we all need a break from the world we're in, here's a kind of a fun story about a face that appears on so many ads. 
 

Bitchin' Dave's newsletter is published weekly.  Please feel free to forward it around. If you want to subscribe or unsubscribe, send an email to geezergamer92@gmail.com

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