To the Stars with Data: August 1 2021
Light pollution, gaming AI, telescopes on balloons, space treaties, and more...
Hello Datanauts!
Earlier this week, Zuckerberg announced Facebook will become a “metaverse company”. Many think a metaverse will be the next revolution of the internet.
But what is a metaverse?
A metaverse is a virtual world where people can do anything they desire (think Ready Player One).
A metaverse is so powerful because it’s decentralized and interoperable.
Decentralization ensures that no single entity owns the environment (unlike most video games) while interoperability ensures that entities within a metaverse operate on universal standards.
Here are some things to consider:
There may be multiple metaverses, just like there are multiple versions of “the” internet.
Many other companies are currently working on metaverses, like Epic Games and NVidia.
There are already a few examples of metaverse-like environments. Examples include Decentraland and CryptoVoxels.
Here’s to this week’s To the Stars with Data!
Thought-Provoking Data Viz
Quick hits. This interactive heatmap displays levels of artificial light pollution from around the world. It incorporates various types of measurements (here’s the info page if you want to learn more) and even has a trend version for seeing artificial light pollution over time.
My thoughts. You may be wondering why I’m including a heatmap of light pollution in a future-focused newsletter. The primary reason is that light pollution affects our ability to see outside our atmosphere. Living in New York City, it’s difficult to justify buying an astronomical telescope for my backyard. And, according to the map, I need to travel hundreds of miles inland to not be affected by light pollution. Also, I’m a sucker for heatmaps and world maps.
Earth News
🎮 DeepMind creates XLand to train AI agents to play games
Quick hits. DeepMind (Alphabet’s AI company) created a universe of games—called XLand—containing billions of tasks for AI agents to train. Through playing in this universe, the agents gain a wider array of skills they can apply to a wider array of tasks. After training, AI agents could skillfully participate in activities they had never experienced before.
My thoughts. This article might not make a lot of sense to laypeople, but it was too cool not to share. Teaching AI to generalize to new situations is imperative for achieving AI on par with human intelligence—referred to as “Artificial General Intelligence” or “AGI”. Though these videos of AI agents are cute and funny now, we likely won’t be laughing in a few years. Our computing power is exponentially increasing; at the current rate, today’s most powerful AIs will become obsolete within a year or two.
🧠 Synchron obtains green light to begin trial of implantable brain-computer interface in US
Quick hits. Synchron is the first company in the brain-computer interface (BCI) space to achieve a green light from the US's Food and Drug Administration to begin trials of an implantable device inside people's brains. The surgery to implant Synchron’s device (a “Stentrode”) takes 2 hours and involves moving the device through blood vessels, similar to a heart stent.
My thoughts. Other BCI devices (such as this Speech Neuroprosthesis) can require invasive surgery and wires coming from the skull. Conversely, the Stentrode communicates wirelessly to a receiver that someone wears! In terms of speed, two trial subjects in Australia were able to type at 14 and 20 characters per minute after having the device in their brains for a few months. Bonus context: Synchron beat Neuralink (Elon Musk's BCI company) to an FDA-approved trial.
Space News
🎈 Balloon-borne astronomical telescope to remain in atmosphere for months
Quick hits. The SuperBIT will launch in April 2022 and soar Earth's skies for months at a time, thanks to a helium balloon the size of a football stadium. With an imaging telescope equipped with a 0.5m mirror, its imaging capabilities will rival that of the Hubble Space Telescope. But costing $5m, it will be 1000 times cheaper. SuperBIT will charge during the day with solar panels and image the sky at night. During its first voyage, it will measure the properties of dark matter particles.
My thoughts. The balloon will fly 40km in the air, above 95% of Earth’s atmosphere. By comparison, planes fly at around 12km. A balloon alternative to Hubble doesn't seem glamorous, but the quality, price tag, and environmental-friendliness are incredibly exciting.
🛰 NASA gets closer to sending a spacecraft to Europa to confirm conditions for life
Quick hits. NASA has selected SpaceX to launch the Europa Clipper in October of 2024. The spacecraft will visit Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, to determine whether it has conditions suitable for life. The craft will capture high-quality images of the moon, determine the depth and salinity of Europa's ocean, measure the thickness of the moon's icy shell, and more.
My thoughts. Europa is an enticing candidate for life within our solar system because of its huge sub-surface oceans, which scientists estimate to be over twice as large as all of Earth’s oceans combined. As noted by NASA, life as we know it requires liquid water, energy, and specific chemistry. NASA suspects that Europa has all three!
Bonus. If you're interested in more space news, you should check out The Space Roundup. In this free weekly newsletter, The Curious Astronaut shares the most interesting updates about space exploration and human spaceflight so that you’re always up to date.
Things that make you think
📜 We need a new international space treaty
Quick hits. With increasing amounts of commercial space activity, our usage of space looks completely different than even a few decades ago. Considering that the last two widespread international treaties were from 1967 (The Outer Space Treaty) and 1984 (The Moon Agreement), this is a problem. Space tourism looming on the horizon only exacerbates this problem. Individual countries or groups of countries have recently developed treaties, but none have been widely implemented.
My thoughts. Whenever space law comes up, I immediately think of human rights. Which human rights apply to outer space and which don't? Do human rights depend on the country from which the astronauts are based? What if a country launches astronauts from within the borders of another country? I realize I’m asking questions instead of contributing thoughts, but these questions underscore the importance of agreed-upon rules for space.
Your thoughts. Do you have any thoughts or resources on space law or human rights in space? Share them by replying to this email!
Future-Thinking Companies
🌱 Pivot Bio. Produces microbes that are applied to corn and wheat seeds that convert air-borne nitrogen to ammonia for the crop to use as fuel.
🍎 Leap. Manufactures artificial leather from natural rubber and upcycled apple waste discarded from cider production.