The Future is Electric
The Future is Electric
Michael Barnard
Welcome to The Future is Electric, a techno-optimistic site devoted to technologies which are changing the world for the better, especially around low-carbon innovation. It's an extension of the Medium publication of the same name.
TFIE068 ML09: Building conscious machines - What Kahneman and AI can teach us about ourselves
What will it be like to interact with a conscious machine? What does it mean to be conscious? What is there to interact with? Where can we start? This is a podcast version of the article of the same title in the TFIE Medium publication, written and recorded by frequent TFIE collaborator David Clement.
Feb 6, 2020
5 min
TFIE067 ML08: The Mountain - A metaphor for aligning human perception and machine learning
It is difficult for many of us to understand the language of machine learning and thus we map this into the only common experience we have of AI: popular culture. The gap between ‘Skynet’ and what Yoshua Bengio is describing is vast. We need a new fiction that can help us all understand what it really is and the impact it is likely to have. This is a podcast version of the article of the same title in the TFIE Medium publication, written and recorded by TFIE collaborator David Clement.
Feb 5, 2020
6 min
TFIE066 CT027: Hydroelectric dams have environmental challenges
For many, hydroelectric dams seem as if they should be environmentally benign, delivering large quantities of carbon-free electricity. The water is renewable, there are no fossil fuels involved and you end up with lovely lakes. But dams have a dark side and siting is important. This is a podcast version of the article of the same title in the TFIE Medium publication.
Feb 4, 2020
8 min
TFIE065 CT026: Indonesia suffered in 2018 but global warming is a greater issue
Indonesia is a regional powerhouse and a growing economy of value to itself, the region and the world. It’s currently struggling with a trio of natural disasters in Sulawesi with an earthquake, a resultant tsunami and now a major volcanic eruption. But its long-term ability to thrive is more challenged by climate change. This is a podcast version of the article of the same title in the TFIE Medium publication.
Feb 4, 2020
18 min
TFIE064 CT025: Fixing climate change is much easier than the alternative
Population is a current obsession of the deny and delay crowd. On the one hand, there’s the inaccurate, ahistorical and racist assertion that it’s population growth that’s the problem, specifically in countries where there are people who aren’t white and Christian. This is a podcast version of the article of the same title in the TFIE Medium podcast.
Feb 4, 2020
15 min
TFIE063 CUL32: China is the only scaled manufacturer of many necessary technologies
This is the last in a series of articles detailing the challenges facing rapid transformation to substantial decarbonization by 2030. This article deals with a different challenge, that of procuring enough of the right technology for rapid transformation. This is a podcast version of the article of the same title in the TFIE Medium publication.
Feb 2, 2020
13 min
TFIE062 CUL31: Utilities and transit poorly positioned for transformation
This article deals with a specific challenge within major organizations which will be seeing substantial change over the next 20 years, and organizations which are expected to drive those changes. This is a podcast version of the article of the same title in the TFIE Medium publication.
Feb 2, 2020
18 min
TFIE061 CUL30: Patchwork regulation slows low-carbon transformation
This article deals with the specific headwinds of regulatory patchworks that exist across the United States and Canada, headwinds which will slow rapid decarbonization and must be addressed. This is a podcast version of the article of the same title in the TFIE Medium publication.
Feb 1, 2020
12 min
TFIE060 CUL29: Low-carbon transformation faces headwinds in the United States and Canada
We are at a challenging point in time. The UN IPCC 1.5 degrees report has made it clear that we have until 2030 to make major strides to achieve that aspirational COP21 target, and if we don’t 2 degrees is quite a lot worse. But there are systemic barriers to progress for many of the solutions. This is a podcast version of the article of the same title in the TFIE Medium publication.
Feb 1, 2020
14 min
TFIE059 CT024: The 21st Century Climate Connection for Diseases
As we face the novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV emerging from China, memories of SARS and its global deaths and economic impacts echoing hollowly, it’s worth reviewing the increasing linkages of climate change and disease. This is a podcast version of the article of the same title in the TFIE Medium publication.
Jan 31, 2020
9 min
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