Superminds

NEW! Superminds The Surprising Power of People and Computers Thinking Together BY THOMAS W. MALONE From the founder of Climate CoLab comes a fascinating look at the intelligence exhibited by groups of people and computers working together. Pre-Order Today MIT Center for Collective Intelligence and Climate CoLab are excited to announce the coming release of Superminds: The Surprising Power of People and Computers Thinking Together, the latest book by Prof. Thomas W. Malone, director of the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence and founder of Climate CoLab. About the Book If you're like most people, you probably believe that humans are the most intelligent animals on our planet. But there's another kind of entity that can be far smarter: groups of people. This groundbreaking book shows how groups of people working together in superminds -- like hierarchies, markets, democracies, and communities -- have been responsible for almost all human achievements in business, government, science, and beyond. And these collectively intelligent human groups are about to get much smarter.   Pre-order your copy today!  (See booksellers above.)  Superminds will be released on Tuesday, May 15, 2018.  Book Launch & Webcast Join Thomas W. Malone, Joi Ito (director of the MIT Media Lab), Patrick Winston (MIT professor of Artificial Intelligence), and Kathleen Kennedy (director of Special Projects at MIT) for an exciting discussion around the power of superminds on May 21, 2018 from 12-1PM Eastern Time in MIT Sloan, E62-276, Cambridge, MA or live on the web.

Climate CoLab is a project of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Collective Intelligence

Bulletin of Atomic Scientists May 10, 2018

Thursday, May 10, 2018

Trump withdraws from the Iran deal. What now?   John Mecklin In a shocking but not surprising announcement on Tuesday, President Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. As world leaders reel from the announcement, the Bulletin reached out to leading experts and asked what Trump's actions mean in both the short- and long-term. Here’s what they are saying:   The imprudence of unilateral US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal   Abbas Milani For Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatolla Ali Khamenei, and his allies, the US scuttling of the JCPOA will be a god-send.     Crisis creation at its finest   Dina Esfandiary   Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the Iran deal only serves to create a new crisis on an issue that was shelved more than two years ago.   An opportunity missed   William H. Tobey The decision to leave the JCPOA is a blunder. The deal has significant flaws, but withdrawing only compounds those problems.     A move that alienated allies and diminished US influence   Siegfried S. Hecker   Withdrawing from the deal has already alienated US allies and greatly diminished US ability to limit Iran’s nuclear direction.   Say goodbye to the Iran deal and hello to a "polynuclear" Middle East   Ezra Friedman   Just before President Trump's announcement, Ezra Friedman posted about how a US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal could lead to a Middle East with more than just one or two nuclear-armed states.   Trump's undoing of American influence   Sharon Squassoni   Science and Security Board member Sharon Squassoni writes that, for Donald Trump, getting out of the Iran deal is the political equivalent of firing someone on “The Apprentice.” It is a short-term action completely divorced from any consideration of long-term consequences.   A dangerous new US-Iran escalation   Seyed Hossein Mousavian A dangerous new US-Iran escalation will now ensue, and it has the real potential of resulting in a devastating war that will make the costs of the Iraq War pale in comparison.   Taking stock of the damage   Martin B. Malin If the JCPOA collapses, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as well as the UN Security Council may be rendered powerless.   The specter of an anti-American Eurasia   Mark Hibbs Right off the bat, cheerleaders for the Iran deal, following negotiators’ optimistic talking points, awarded it an A grade, and naïve and disingenuous demonizers just as promptly gave it an F. Into this breach the president stepped on May 8.     Tillerson was right about Trump   Frank von Hippel President Trump has talked at length about getting "a better deal," but he has done nothing to achieve that goal.   What We're Reading   Ariane Tabatabai   Fluent in Persian, French, and English, Bulletin columnist Ariane Tabatabai has become a go-to expert for the media for thoughtful, nuanced analysis on all things nuclear and Iran. Read her April column on what Iranian hardliners are saying on social media, and check her Twitter feed to see an updated thread with new Iranian memes added. A special collection of her columns can be found here.     A bad choice, for the United States and for Israel   Graham Allison If summarizing a reaction in a tweet: bad choice. If given a few more characters: bad for the US, and bad for our ally Israel, which stands much closer to this front line.   The Trump decision: dangerous, irresponsible, and full of implications for North Korea   Kelsey Davenport It would be premature to declare the nuclear deal dead. Washington’s P5+1 partners and the European Union have powerful tools at their disposal to block the secondary effects of US sanctions.     The likely result: US isolation and loss of leverage   Joshua Pollack   Iran’s nuclear ambitions may not be a solved problem in any ultimate sense, but President Obama succeeded in putting the issue in abeyance for a generation. That achievement won’t be improved upon in the foreseeable future. It should not have been discarded so lightly, or at all.   Trump makes a reckless decision   Lawrence J. Korb In his remarks reneging on the Iran nuclear deal, President Trump gave no indication that he has a Plan B.   An extremely risky experiment   Robert Rosner   Science and Security Board member Robert Rosner describes how, by stepping out alone, the US is conducting a diplomatic and economic experiment.   Join us for a virtual reality tour of the Clock For 8 days in May, you can take a virtual reality tour through the Doomsday Clock. See our events page for details.   Follow the Bulletin on Twitter and on Facebook.

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Trump’s undoing of American influence | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Trump’s undoing of American influence | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Trump withdraws from the Iran nuclear deal. What now? | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Trump withdraws from the Iran nuclear deal. What now? | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Condoleezza Rice Says U.S. Should Have Not Left Iraq in 2011 – Bloomberg

Condoleezza Rice Says U.S. Should Have Not Left Iraq in 2011 – Bloomberg: Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice talks about the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the rebuilding effort. She speaks with David Rubenstein on "The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations." (Source: Bloomberg)

David Davenport: A Dismal National ‘‘Report Card’’ - TownhallReview.com

David Davenport: A Dismal National ‘‘Report Card’’ - TownhallReview.com

Condoleezza Rice Says Trump Needs to Be Very Aware of Kim Jong Un – Bloomberg

Condoleezza Rice Says Trump Needs to Be Very Aware of Kim Jong Un – Bloomberg: Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice talks about President Trump's upcoming summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. She speaks with David Rubenstein on "The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations." (Source: Bloomberg)

Watch CIA Vet and RI Contributor Ray McGovern Get Tackled by Police at Haspel Hearing

Watch CIA Vet and RI Contributor Ray McGovern Get Tackled by Police at Haspel Hearing: McGovern is one of the great civil disobedience heroes of our age, and has dedicated the last 30 years of his life to protesting outrage - starting with the Iraq war, and not stopping since. He is a great expert on Russia, speaks fluent Russian, and visits Russia often, and has been very outspoken against the insane US policy of aggression and confrontation with Russia. You

China is building a huge weather-control machine – will it work? | New Scientist

China is building a huge weather-control machine – will it work? | New Scientist: Water shortages are a huge problem for Chinese agriculture, so the country has just begun the world's largest ever weather control experiment

U.K. Signs a Deal with Amazon to Test Delivery Drones - MIT Technology Review

U.K. Signs a Deal with Amazon to Test Delivery Drones - MIT Technology Review: The British government has agreed to let Amazon test delivery drones, while U.S. regulations still forbid it.

Zipline launches the world’s fastest commercial delivery drone - MIT Technology Review

Zipline launches the world’s fastest commercial delivery drone - MIT Technology Review: The California-based startup’s new machine takes to the skies just as the US is about to loosen rules governing drone operations.

U.S. drone program taps Apple, passes over Amazon, China's DJI | Reuters

U.S. drone program taps Apple, passes over Amazon, China's DJI | Reuters: Apple Inc soon will be capturing images of North Carolina by drone; a 1,500-pound, unmanned aircraft will look for mosquitoes in Florida; and startup Flirtey will fly medical equipment on drones to heart-attack victims in Nevada.

NBC's Demonization of Bolton and Gatestone

NBC's Demonization of Bolton and Gatestone: When I was growing up, organizations that expressed any views at all similar to those expressed by Communist groups were called "Communist fronts". Anyone who defended on the grounds of civil liberties the right of communists to express their hateful

Americans are Dying for China in Afghanistan

Americans are Dying for China in Afghanistan: While US policy-makers are trying desperately to stabilize Afghanistan, a shift is being orchestrated by China. The Chinese evidently see their role in Afghanistan as the "good cop" versus the U.S. role as "bad cop." Like Pakistan, China seems to view

The Truth May Never Be in Fashion. That’s OK. (A Met Gala Reflection)

https://blog.ascensionpress.com/the-truth-may-never-be-in-fashion-a-met-gala-reflection/?utm_source=Ascension+Press&utm_campaign=ee8f3f8f4e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2016_12_15&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e09e12a778-ee8f3f8f4e-351387457&mc_cid=ee8f3f8f4e&mc_eid=2bb902f84a

The specter of an anti-American Eurasia | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

The specter of an anti-American Eurasia | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Gina Haspel: As If Nuremberg Never Happened | The American Conservative

Gina Haspel: As If Nuremberg Never Happened | The American Conservative: Nothing will say more about who we've become as a nation than if a torturer is allowed to head the CIA.

Background Briefing on President Trump's Decision To Withdraw From the JCPOA

Background Briefing on President Trump's Decision To Withdraw From the JCPOA

The Corruption of Biblical Studies » Mosaic

The Corruption of Biblical Studies » Mosaic: Academic scrutiny of scripture, a discipline prey to intellectual fashion since its inception, is today pursued by many in the service of secular liberal positions.

The West Had a Chance to Make a Good Deal with Iran. President Obama Blew It » Mosaic

The West Had a Chance to Make a Good Deal with Iran. President Obama Blew It » Mosaic: It should never have come to this.

Family to hold private funeral for Alfie Evans | BT

Family to hold private funeral for Alfie Evans | BT: Well-wishers are being asked to line the pavement as the funeral procession passes by.

Alfie Evans: Funeral cortege in Goodison Park drive-past - BBC News

Alfie Evans: Funeral cortege in Goodison Park drive-past - BBC News: Merseyside Police said well-wishers could line the pavement outside Goodison Park on 14 May.

Bishop Barron Gospel Reflection for Thursday, May 10, 2018 Ascension Thursday

Your daily Gospel reflection...

Thursday, May 10, 2018

The Ascension of the Lord

Mark 16:15-20

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus is taken up to his Father in heaven. We tend to read the Ascension along essentially Enlightenment lines, rather than biblical lines—and that causes a good deal of mischief. Enlightenment thinkers introduced a two-tier understanding of heaven and earth. They held that God exists, but that he lives in a distant realm called heaven, where he looks at the human project moving along, pretty much on its own steam, on earth. On this Enlightenment reading, the Ascension means that Jesus goes up, up, and away, off to a distant and finally irrelevant place. But the biblical point is this: Jesus has gone to heaven so as to direct operations more fully here on earth. That’s why we pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Jesus has not gone up, up, and away, but rather—if I can put it this way—more deeply into our world. He has gone to a dimension that transcends but impinges upon our universe. The Ascension of the Lord Lectionary: 58 Reading 1 Acts 1:1-11 In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for "the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." When they had gathered together they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He answered them, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven." Gospel Mk 16:15-20 Jesus said to his disciples: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

Conversions will give Islam a big future in the West - Fabius Maximus website

Conversions will give Islam a big future in the West - Fabius Maximus website: Today's post gives something different – a wild guess about the future of Islam in the West. It might have a big future as conversions swell their numbers.

When Alfie Evans comes to America | TheHill

When Alfie Evans comes to America | TheHill: "If the life of an infant can be cast aside like so much rubbish, the conscience of the nation must be either myopic or deluded. Is roll back possible?"

Thousands of Alfie Evans Supporters Will Honor His Second Birthday With Candlelight Vigil | LifeNews.com

Thousands of Alfie Evans Supporters Will Honor His Second Birthday With Candlelight Vigil | LifeNews.com: Thousands of Alfie Evans Supporters Will Honor His Second Birthday With Candlelight Vigil

What Alfie Evans tells us about end-of-life care and futility

https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/what-alfie-evans-tells-us-about-end-of-life-care-and-futility

States are right to act toward preventing an Alfie Evans in the US

http://thehill.com/opinion/international/386907-states-are-right-to-act-toward-preventing-an-alfie-evans-in-the-us

New Ebola Outbreak Strikes the Congo

New Ebola Outbreak Strikes the Congo: World Health Organization hopes to avoid mistakes leading to 2014 epidemic.

Is There A Global Climate Engineering Cover-up? A Live Debate, Parts 1 and 2 » Is There A Global Climate Engineering Cover-up? A Live Debate, Parts 1 and 2 | Geoengineering Watch

Is There A Global Climate Engineering Cover-up? A Live Debate, Parts 1 and 2 » Is There A Global Climate Engineering Cover-up? A Live Debate, Parts 1 and 2 | Geoengineering Watch

North Korea's American Prisoners Released With Mike Pompeo | National Review

North Korea's American Prisoners Released With Mike Pompeo | National Review: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the dictatorship its people will be rewarded if the country gives up its nuclear weapons.

Catholic groups oppose CIA nominee Gina Haspel for connection to torture | National Catholic Reporter

Catholic groups oppose CIA nominee Gina Haspel for connection to torture | National Catholic Reporter: Several Catholic groups have opposed President Trump's nominee for director of the Central Intelligence Agency, saying Gina Haspel's role in overseeing torture disqualifies her, according to &...

Depression And Anxiety From Storm Disruptions Drive Some Puerto Ricans To Suicide : Shots - Health News : NPR

Depression And Anxiety From Storm Disruptions Drive Some Puerto Ricans To Suicide : Shots - Health News : NPR: The electricity is back on across much of the island, but the disruption to community spirit continues. Isolation, anxiety and depression are up, as are suicides, especially among older adults.