The Speculist

This week we are tempting fate by publishing the thirteenth edition of The Carnival of Tomorrow.

But the future looks bright, so we're feeling pretty lucky. Read on if you dare!

J Random American at Multiple Mentality points out that news coverage has changed drastically in the past few years, but more change is on the way:

"The Future of Media, Not Now But Soon"

Ironman at Political Calculations looks at the myriad ways that several major inventions have come into being and points to how today's technology will affect future development around the world.

Eric at Eric Grumbles Before the Grave has details on NASA's first annual Space Elevator Games.

Eric's post inspired Stephen to write more generally about "Push Prizes" - prizes, like the X-prize, that seek to push the development of technology.

Jack William Bell asks "Is There a Future in Futurism?"

Our answer to that question would have to be an emphatic YES.

The host of the last edition of the Carnival of Tomorrow, Micah Glasser wrote that "Google Resumes Construction of 'Turing's Cathedral.'"

Google employee quote:

"We are not scanning all those books to be read by people... We are scanning them to be read by an AI."

Stephen reports that Google Print is now open in beta form.

In fact, Micah has been on fire lately: writing on automatic speech translation, the hydrogen economy (a response of sorts to our post on the Israeli car), and the large binocular telescope. Go to his blog and start scrolling.

Speaking of vehicles and fuel and that sort of thing, Glenn Reynolds has had some thoughts about hybrids and energy efficiency both on his own blog and at SinceSlicedBread.  And CNET covers the 12th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems including BMW smart cars that operate in packs to assess the road and travel conditions.

Paul Hsieh has the latest on research towards allowing the US military to set phasers on stun (second item).

Fingers upon fingers upon fingers: Technovelgy describes amazing downwardly cascading waldoes. Scroll down for the creepy picture/video. Also on Technovelgy, a report on the new shopper's best friend:

TMSUK has created a new shopping assistant robot. This service bot will follow you around autonomously, carrying your heavy bags full of purchases. The robot will be tested at a shopping mall located in the Fukuoka airport in February of 2006. It turns out that British science fiction writer John Brunner wrote about a robot with a similar purpose in his 1975 masterpiece Shockwave Rider...

Of course, shopping bags aren't the only things that machines are helping out with these days. Rand Simberg reports that we can't do math without them anymore.

Mike at DistracTech provides us a map of North America ca 3005. Looks like a very wet place.

Regine at We Make Money Not Art reports on a new robot being developed at the Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla, California which has a brain with 20,000 electronic brain cells.

Darwin VII is a trashcan-shaped robot that has just 20,000 brain cells.

It crawls across a floor strewn with blocks, grabbing and tasting as it goes, its malleable mind impressionable and hungry to learn. It is adapting, discovering that the striped blocks are yummy and the spotted ones taste bad.

This does raise the question of how we could possibly know what tastes good to a robot, but maybe we have to take Darwin'e creator's word for it.

Sam Dinkin at Transterrestrial Musings dismisses those who worry about China's new entry into the space race:

I think the interesting story that no one is telling is why the Chinese mimic the dead end space programs of the US and the USSR. It's some kind of misguided nostalgia or timewarped hero worship.

We'd worry less if our nation wasn't also still committed to the old expensive model.  It certainly helps that NASA is beginning to look at alternatives, but that's a tiny, tiny percentage of the NASA budget.

For more future-related news, don't miss our recent "Better All The Time" feature.

This week's Carnival was put together by Phil, Stephen, and Michael.

If you would like to host or contribute to the 14th edition of the Carnival of Tomorrow, please write:

mrstg87 {@ symbol} yahoo {dot} com

or

bowermaster {@ symbol} gmail {dot} com