Scientist, author, and professor in Arizona State University’s School for the Future of innovation in Society studying the future and how our actions influence it
The Future of being Human goes online, Quantum Ethics, and some stunning AI-generated graphics
Good morning/afternoon/evening, and welcome to this September update!
The big news this month is that the new ASU Future of Being Human community now has a website (see below) -- definitely worth checking out! Plus a heads-up on the upcoming season of the Mission: Interplanetary podcast, a bit of AI-assisted "art," and plenty more.
Hope you enjoy!
Andrew
The Future of Being Human Website
Hot on the heels of last month's update, we have a new website for the ASU Future of Being Human community -- check it out at https://futureofbeinghuman.asu.edu/
As this is a multi-year initiative we're beginning slowly, but have big plans to expand the opportunities to engage and participate as time goes on -- especially around casual in-person "meetups" where participants can enjoy diving into compelling questions about the future of being human together.
Make sure you sign up on the website for regular updates and information on events etc. and let me know if you are interested in helping host a meetup!
New Risk Bites Video: How Effective are Face Masks Against COVID Infection?
I know that many of you will be thinking "enough with the masks already!" But even after two plus years into COVID there's still a lot of confusion over how effective different masks and mask-wearing approaches are at reducing the spread of the virus.
To address continuing uncertainty here, I teamed up with public health expert Dr. Lisa Brosseau for a new Risk Bites video on the effective use of masks (to be fair, this was her gig -- I just produced the video!).
This ended up as a great collaboration -- especially as it gave me a chance to get back to my aerosol science and public health roots. Plus, this information is still important as the virus continues to impact lives.
You can watch the video at the link below -- and if you think it's worth while, please do share it as this is the only way that information resources like this reach their intended audiences these days. Thanks!
How effective are face masks against COVID? (YouTube)
Worth Watching
This month I thought I'd pass on two things I've come across recently that I think are worth watching:
Quantum Ethics | A Call To Action
This is a 13 minute video that was published early last year by The Quantum Daily, and draws on leading Quantum Technologies experts as it explores the need for new thinking around the ethical development and use of these technologies.
What stands out is not the specific ethical issues as these remain largely unclear at this point, but the urgency with which these experts feel that we need to be expanding the conversation around what we should do, rather than what we could do, with the technology.
Well worth a few minutes of your time:
Quantum Ethics | A Call to Action (YouTube)
Ron's Gone Wrong
OK, so Ron's Gone Wrong is a kids movie, and it's been out for a while now. And to be honest, it wasn't on my radar until I watched it on a flight back from the UK a few weeks ago. However, having watched it, I loved how it dealt with our current obsession over ever-more sophisticated technologies, the tensions between creating social value and making bucket loads of money, and the divisiveness of some seemingly empowering tech.
Plus, it kept me entertained, despite me no longer quite fitting into the "kids" category of viewer.
Definitely worth watching if you're looking for a great family-friendly movie with some serious themes around technology and society.
Ron's Gone Wrong (20th century Studios)
Season Three of the Mission: Interplanetary Podcast
Season three of the popular Mission: Interplanetary podcast kicks off on October 4th -- make sure you bookmark it on your favorite podcast platform (here's the Apple Podcast link, but it's available most places).
My co-host Cady Coleman and I will be talking with another amazing list of guests as we cover everything from the complexities of pulling off space missions to establishing settlements on the moon. Plus we have a couple of fabulous guest presenters joining us -- the amazing Tanya Harrison and Joe O’Rourke.
Here's the complete lineup of episodes:
- How Do We Make Space Exploration More Sustainable? Moriba Jah, University of Texas at Austin. Oct 4
- What Will We Do on the Moon? Chris Hadfield, retired astronaut and author. Oct 11
- What Is the Relationship Between Religion and Space Exploration? Mary-Jane Rubenstein, Wesleyan University. Oct 18
- What Can Space Exploration Teach Us About Innovation? Tracy Drain, Flight Systems Engineer with NASA/JPL. Oct 25
- What Are We Learning From the James Webb Space Telescope? Amber Straughn, NASA astrophysicist. Nov 1
- Something that will blow you away! Alex MacDonald, NASA's chief economist. Nov 8
- What Is the Future of Food in Space?” Bryan Onate, NASA's Exploration Research & Technology (ER&T) Programs. Nov 15
- What Would a Space Program That De-centers Whiteness Look Like? Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, University of New Hampshire. Nov 22
Looking forward to having you along for the ride!
And finally ...
As you'll know from last month's update, I've been playing around with the AI Art Bot Midjourney. For the past few weeks I've been doing a deep dive into how creative a bot-human team can get around a single prompt, and as I was in need of some graphic art for the new Future of being Human website, I used a future tech focused phrase as my starting point.
You can check out the results of my journey below -- and also see some of the images on the new website.
56 Stunning AI-Generated Images Inspired By The Future of Being Human
https://medium.com/edge-of-innovation/56-stunning-ai-generated-images-inspired-by-the-future-of-being-human-6d3ef5cd6674
Andrew Maynard
Scientist, author, and professor in Arizona State University’s School for the Future of innovation in Society studying the future and how our actions influence it
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