Autonomous Weapons Are Here, but the World Isn’t Ready for Them — from wired.com by Will Knight
A UN report says a drone, operating without human control, attacked people in Libya. International efforts to restrict such weapons have so far failed.

This may be remembered as the year when the world learned that lethal autonomous weapons had moved from a futuristic worry to a battlefield reality. It’s also the year when policymakers failed to agree on what to do about it.

On Friday, 120 countries participating in the United Nations’ Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons could not agree on whether to limit the development or use of lethal autonomous weapons. Instead, they pledged to continue and “intensify” discussions.

 

 

Heart of the Forest — from 500px.com

A sunset in the distance, hovering over a forest turned golden

 

Dezeen’s top 10 Chinese architecture projects of 2021 — from dezeen.com

Set in the dramatic landscape surrounding Mount Tai, this ceremonial hall is topped with a semicircular window that reflects on a pool of water to create a moon-like effect when illuminated.

 

 

 

 

Autumn morning — from 500px.com by David Dai

 

Desert Camel by Xiao Yang — from 500px.com

Discover by Reacto Carbon — from 500px.com

Discover by Reacto Carbon

 

If the vision of the “Web3” comes to fruition, how might these developments impact the future of lifelong learning? [Christian]

The next age of the internet could suck power away from Big Tech while living on the same backbone as cryptocurrencies. Here’s what to know about Web3. — from businessinsider.com by Katie Canales

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

  • Web3 is the next generation of the internet and will exist on the blockchain.
  • It will be decentralized, meaning it won’t be controlled entities like Facebook or Google.
  • Twitter, GameStop, Reddit, and VC firm a16z are all putting resources into building Web3.

One aspect of the metaverse is that users will hopefully be able to go virtually from platform to platform with one single account — just like we will in Web3. 

And NFTs, one-of-a-kind tokens representing your ownership of a virtual good, could be more easily bought and sold with cryptocurrencies within a space like Web3. 


From DSC:
How might “Web3” translate into the future of lifelong learning? Here’s one vision/possibility:

There could be several entities and services feeding one's cloud-based learner profile

Each person would have a learner profile/account that could seamlessly log into multiple education/training providers’ platforms and services. The results of that learning could be stored in one’s cloud-based learner profile. This type of next-generation learning platform would still need subject matter experts, instructional designers, programmers, and other team members. But the focus would be on building skills — skills that an artificial intelligence-backed interface would demonstrate are currently being requested by the modern workplace.  This constantly-being-updated list of skills could then link to the learning-related experiences and resources that people could choose from in order to develop those skills.

The following vision/graphic also comes to my mind:

Learning from the living class room


 

Top Resources For Students To Discover Real World Problems and Issues

Top Resources For Students To Discover Real World Problems & Issues — from edtechreview.in by Saniya Khan

Are you looking for ways to help students learn about world issues: climate change, cultural diversity, biodiversity, education, water crisis, [homelessness] and more to build awareness about global issues and develop global competence?

 

EduMAX 2021 recap: Together for student success around the globe — from blog.adobe.com by Sebastian Distefano

Excerpt:

University CIOs, deans, provosts, faculty and staff from more than 100 institutions convened online for the Adobe EduMAX 2021 conference, where academic leaders shared how they are transforming teaching and learning practices across their campuses. Key discussion points included:

  • How digital literacy increases engagement to bring faculty and students together, whether they are in-person, online or in a hybrid environment.
  • How digital literacy closes the skills gap in higher education and industry by fostering critical essential skills that employers value.
  • How faculty can integrate digital literacy across the curriculum for all students.
 

The State of Student Success & Engagement in Higher Education -- from Instructure

The State of Student Success & Engagement in Higher Education — from instructure.com (authors of the Canvas LMS)
Our 2021 Global Student engagement and success study uncovers vital stats and key trends to help education institutions thrive through today’s education challenges.

Excerpt:

  • Connect students with alumni and potential employers through virtual networking, internships/externships, mentorship programs, and strategic partnerships.
  • Align curriculum with workforce outcomes and offer opportunities for students to showcase skill sets.
  • Close the perceived awareness gap of work/career readiness programs on campus with alumni programming highlighting the success of campus career resources.
  • Embed career exploration throughout the higher education experience and provide actionable insights into employment trends.

 

 

Nvidia’s New Supercomputer Will Create a ‘Digital Twin’ of Earth to Fight Climate Change — from singularityhub.com by Vanessa Bates Ramirez

Excerpt:

But according to Nvidia, to really know where and how to take action on climate change, we need more data, better modeling, and faster computers. That’s why the company is building what it calls “the world’s most powerful AI supercomputer dedicated to predicting climate change.”

The system will be called Earth-2 and will be built using Nvidia’s Omniverse, a multi-GPU development platform for 3D simulation based on Pixar’s Universal Scene Description. In a blog post announcing Earth-2 late last week, Nvidia’s founder and CEO Jensen Huang described his vision for the system as a “digital twin” of Earth.

 

Under the Tree — from 500px.com by Birdies Lanscapes

Photo by Mrwei — from 500px.com

 

90 degrees — from 500ox,com by Aytug Bayer

A bonus item: This video captures an incredibly talented and clever artist!

 
 

Look up series by Vadim Sherbakov -- incredibly beautiful work!
Look up series by Vadim Sherbakov — incredibly beautiful work!

 

 

 

 

From DSC:
For you folks in advertising, consider using this next idea/approach for your next piece…it surely kept my attention. (Ok, you might want to shorten it a bit.)

 
 

What doors does this type of real-time translation feature open up for learning? [Christian]

From DSC:
For that matter, what does it open up for #JusticeTech? #Legaltech? #A2J? #Telehealth?

 

Learning from the living class room

 

Business implications of AI within tax & accounting — from reuters.com by Yuiko Nakao (Japan)

Excerpt:

With AI promising the greatest transformation in many industries, including tax & accounting, we need to begin asking what the implications of this will be.

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to promise the greatest level of transformation within many industries, including tax & accounting. “The global AI market was valued at $62.35 billion in 2020, and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 40.2% between 2021 to 2028,” according to Grand View Research.

 

Japan Has Shattered the Internet Speed Record at 319 Terabits per Second — from interestingengineering.com by Brad Bergan
This could change everything.

Excerpt:

We’re in for an information revolution.

Engineers in Japan just shattered the world record for the fastest internet speed, achieving a data transmission rate of 319 Terabits per second (Tb/s), according to a paper presented at the International Conference on Optical Fiber Communications in June. The new record was made on a line of fibers more than 1,864 miles (3,000 km) long. And, crucially, it is compatible with modern-day cable infrastructure.

This could literally change everything.

Also see:

Japan Sets New Record for Internet Speed at 319 Terabits per Second — from singularityhub.com by Jason Dorrier

Excerpt:

To meet tomorrow’s demands, we have to start building a more capable internet today. And by we, I mean researchers in labs around the world. So it is that each year we’re duly notified of a new eye-watering, why-would-we-need-that speed record.

In August of last year, a University College London (UCL) team, set the top mark at 178 terabits per second. Now, a year later, researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) say they’ve nearly doubled the record with speeds of 319 terabits per second.

It’s worth putting that into perspective for a moment. When the UCL team announced their results last year, they said you could download Netflix’s entire catalog in a second with their tech. The NICT team has doubled that Netflix-library-per-second speed.

 

 
© 2024 | Daniel Christian