Human
Extinction and Farsighted Universal Surveillance
Mark
Walker (Department of Philosophy, New Mexico State University, La Cruces, NM,
USA)
Volume
3, Issue 4. Copyright © 2012. 11 pages.
Abstract
This paper bridges the dilemma
created by intrusive surveillance technologies needed to safeguard people’s
security, and the potential negative consequences such technologies might have
on individual privacy. The author begins with a brief review of the increasing
threat to human life posed by emerging technologies, e.g., genetic engineering
and nanotechnology. Next, they canvass a potential technological means to
mitigate some of this threat, namely, ubiquitous microscopic sensors. The
author then notes that a consequence of the deployment of such technology
appears to be an erosion of personal privacy on a scale hitherto unimaginable.
It is then argued that many details of an individual’s private life are
actually irrelevant for security purposes, and that it may be possible to
develop technology to mask these details in the data gleaned from surveillance
devices. Such a development could meet some, perhaps many, of the concerns
about privacy. It is also argued that if it is possible to use technology to mask
personal information this may actually promote the goal of security, since it
is conjectured that the public is likely to be more willing to accept such
invasive technology if it is designed to mask such details. Finally, some
applications to Society’s current uses of surveillance technology are drawn
Personal Comment:
This abstract discusses a core
competence of the Lifeboat Foundation’s philosophy. Protecting people from intrusive
use of technology is a rather current topic in times of growing surveillance
and modernization. Even if the abstract is written as a quite monotonuous
summary and somehow lacks findings it still manages to give the reader a
concrete idea of the papers content.
Link: http://www.igi-global.com/article/human-extinction-farsighted-universal-surveillance/74714
Protection
of the human race against natural hazards (asteroids, comets, volcanoes,
earthquakes)
Joseph
V. Smith1
+ Author Affiliations
1Department
of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637
Abstract
Although we justifiably worry
about the danger of nuclear war to civilization, and perhaps even to survival
of the human race, we tend to consider natural hazards (e.g., comets,
asteroids, volcanoes, earthquakes) as unavoidable acts of God. In any human
lifetime, a truly catastrophic natural event is very unlikely, but ultimately
one will occur. For the first time in human history we have sufficient
technical skills to begin protection of Earth from some natural hazards. We
could decide collectively throughout the world to reassign resources: in
particular, reduction of nuclear and conventional weapons to a less dangerous
level would allow concomitant increase of international programs for detection
and prevention of natural hazards. Worldwide cooperation to mitigate natural
hazards might help psychologically to lead us away from the divisive bickering
that triggers wars. Future generations could hail us as pioneers of peace and
safety rather than curse us as agents of death and destruction.
Personal comment:
The abstract resorts to very
persuasive language in the beginning and therefore caught my attention right
from the first sentence. It provokes a feeling of concern by referring to war
in first place and then compare it to the power of natural phenomenons. Furthermore,
the abstract tries to referr to the way the majority tends to think about the
topic only to immediately smash it by saying that one day a truly catatstrophic
natural event will occur. The abstract also ends on a high note and again a
great level of persuasive language. I would not hesitate a second if I was
asked to read the paper tot he abstract. It really fits perfectly into the
topic of my CAJ.
COMET/ASTEROID
PROTECTION SYSTEM (CAPS): A SPACE-BASED SYSTEM
CONCEPT FOR REVOLUTIONIZING EARTH
PROTECTION AND UTILIZATION OF
NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS
Daniel
Renjith R. Kumar
Analytical Mechanics Associates,
Inc.
Hampton, Virginia USA
ABSTRACT
There exists an infrequent, but significant hazard
to life and property due to impacting asteroids and comets.There is currently
no specific search for long-period comets, smaller near-Earth asteroids, or
smaller shortperiod comets. These objects represent a threat with potentially
little or no warning time using conventional ground-based telescopes. These
planetary bodies also represent a significant resource for commercial exploitation,
long-term sustained space exploration, and scientific research. The
Comet/Asteroid Protection System (CAPS) would expand the current detection
effort to include long-period comets, as well as small asteroids and
short-period comets capable of regional destruction. A space-based detection
system, despite being more costly and complex than Earth-based initiatives, is
the most promising way of expanding the range of detectable objects, and
surveying the entire celestial sky on a regular basis. CAPS is a future
spacebased system concept that provides permanent, continuous asteroid and
comet monitoring, and rapid, controlled modification of the orbital trajectories
of selected bodies. CAPS would provide an orbit modification system capable of
diverting kilometer class objects, and modifying the orbits of smaller asteroids
for impact defense and resource utilization. This paper provides a summary of
CAPS and discusses several key areas and technologies that are being
investigated.
Personal comment:
The abstracts builds up the first
argument claiming there has not yet been a lot of research and measures to
protect the Earth from asteroids. The idea to start with a scenario where there
is no protection provided for a catastrophy that could potentially eradicate
the earth’s population is quite shocking.
Link: http://www.cs.odu.edu/~mln/ltrs-pdfs/NASA-2002-53iac-ddm.pdf
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