Links for 2021-12-08
Meta-analysis suggests education causally raises IQ https://labs.la.utexas.edu/tucker-drob/files/2019/08/Ritchie-Tucker-Drob-2018-Psych-Science-How-Much-Does-Education-Improve-Intelligence.pdf
“macroeconomic stabilization policy is enormously important but quite esoteric.” https://www.openphilanthropy.org/blog/hits-based-giving#Anti-principles_for_hits-based_giving
“We're accepting proposals for projects working with deep learning systems that could help us understand and make progress on AI alignment.” https://www.openphilanthropy.org/focus/global-catastrophic-risks/potential-risks-advanced-artificial-intelligence/request-for-proposals-for-projects-in-ai-alignment-that-work-with-deep-learning-systems
“Biological anchors are a bad way to predict AGI. It’s a case of “argument from comparable resource consumption.” Analogy: human brains use 20 Watts. Therefore, when we have computers with 20 Watts, we’ll have AGI! The 2020 OpenPhil estimate of 2050 is based on a biological anchor, so we should ignore it.” https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ax695frGJEzGxFBK4/biology-inspired-agi-timelines-the-trick-that-never-works
The high-tech German region reshaping the quantum technology race https://www.nature.com/articles/d42473-021-00497-6
The evolutionary history of human spindle genes includes back-and-forth gene flow with Neandertals https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.11.29.470407v1.full
Pandemic prediction research is supposed to make us safer, but is actually giving thousands of people access to weapons of mass destruction. http://rationallyspeakingpodcast.org/261-dangerous-biological-research-is-it-worth-it-kevin-esvelt/
U.S. in hypersonic weapon 'arms race' with China -Air Force secretary https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/us-hypersonic-weapon-arms-race-with-china-air-force-secretary-2021-11-30/
Russia issues threat to GPS satellites https://www.gpsworld.com/russia-issues-threat-to-gps-satellites/
Mossad recruited top Iranian scientists to blow up key nuclear facility: "The three operations were planned together over an 18-month period by a team of 1,000 technicians, analysts and spies, as well as scores of agents on the ground." https://www.thejc.com/news/world/exclusive-mossad-recruited-top-iranian-scientists-to-blow-up-key-nuclear-facility-1.523163
China ‘modified’ the weather to create clear skies for political celebration: ".. a two-hour cloud-seeding operation was launched on the eve of the ceremony, and residents in nearby mountain regions reported seeing rockets shot into the sky on 30 June. The paper said the rockets were carrying silver iodine into the sky to stimulate rainfall. The researchers said the resulting artificial rain reduced the level of PM2.5 air pollutants by more than two-thirds, and shifted the air quality index reading, based on World Health Organization standards, from “moderate” to “good”." https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/06/china-modified-the-weather-to-create-clear-skies-for-political-celebration-study