STEM Saturday #39: Perspectives on AI, consciousness, cosmology, philosophy, biology, and current events

STEM Saturday Digest - Feb. 18, 2023

Please visit the /promoted page to view this week's STEM Saturday post promotions. This week's topics included cosmology, philosophy, consciousness & artificial intelligence, zoology, and current events.

This was the 39^th week of our post promotions for STEM Saturday on the Steem blockchain, and our little (but growing) community occupies the top of /promoted for the 39^th consecutive Saturday. Promotion prices and competition for the top of the /promoted page remain low, so I filled the page with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) posts again.

If you are a STEM enthusiast, please consider following the authors that you'll find in this article and also consider joining our community. If you would like your own post to be considered for STEM Saturday post promotion, please see the guidelines at the end of this post.

This week's promotions included the following posts (in alphabetical order, by author). Each author has been set as a 5% beneficiary on this post. All posts were passed through three different online plagiarism checks (except my own, which I know was not plagiarized ;-).

A recent observation of green lasers from a Japanese observatory in Hawaii was first thought to originate from NASA's ICESAT-2 satellite, but this was later realized to be impossible because the satellite wasn't in the correct location. Later, the lasers were attributed to a Chinese satellite for atmospheric monitoring. The satellite's LIDAR technology is intended to measure atmospheric gases and pollutants. The article has several YouTube embeds showing the appearance of the lasers, so click through for more details and for the videos.

In an interview with Jordan Peterson, Nobel Prize winning physicist, Roger Penrose discusses wide ranging ideas in the areas of consciousness, cosmology, and philosophy. Penrose argues that consciousness is not computable, and therefore cannot be duplicated by a computer; He also describes an apparent paradox arising from the existence of Matter, Mind, and Mathematics; and he also suggests that the Big Bang was not a singular event, but rather one of many in a cyclically recurring series of universes. Click through for a more complete summary and a YouTube embed of the interview.

In the United States, Florida has an invasive species problem because pythons have been introduced to the state's ecosystem, and there are few predators that can control the species' population growth. The problem is compounded by the fact that the pythons are secretive and difficult for humans to find. Zoologists have taken a step to make the snakes easier to find by putting GPS trackers on possums and raccoons in the region. This way, if the possum or raccoon gets eaten, the research team can use the GPS trackers to find the snake. Click through to read more about it.

On land and near the top of the oceans, most forms of life rely on sunlight for survival. Sunlight doesn't penetrate to the deep oceans, though, so if life will survive there it needs to produce energy in a different way. The idea of chemosynthesis to accomplish this was first suggested in the 1800s, and confirmed in the 1970s. In chemosynthesis, energy is produced from the oxidation of hydrogen and other inorganic molecules. A new study, Molecular hydrogen in seawater supports growth of diverse marine bacteria, finds that such chemosynthesis is much more common than was previously known. Examples were reported of microbes making energy from hydrogen and carbon monoxide in a variety of locations that included tropical islands, urban bays, and deep ocean locations. Click through to read more about it.

Referencing articles from Business Insider and Fortune, @truth2 argues that AI will follow a path that is similar to past technical advances. Some jobs will be replaced, others will become more productive from the capabilities that AI provides to workers, and a new set of jobs will be created. Like the power drill, robotic arms, or material moving robots, AI will be disruptive, but it will not eliminate the need for human workers. Click through for the full argument.

The Community

The Popular STEM community is intended to be a place for accessible STEM conversations (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). If you have an interest in STEM topics, please come join us!

About STEM Saturday

If members would like to have your own STEM content considered for future promotions, please come join us and start contributing. I don't know how long I'll be continuing the tradition, but while I do, here are the minimum requirements for consideration (subject to change without notice ;-).

1. Original, plagiarism-free content
2. Minimum word count: currently 300 words, but this may be adjusted.
3. The content must not be cross-posted on other web sites or blockchains. Correct use of the #steemexclusive tag is encouraged.
4. English language. (sorry, it's the only one I know)
5. Because a post leaves /promoted at payout time, posts created shortly before STEM Saturday may be more likely to be chosen than older posts.

All community members are invited to create original and exclusive content that can be considered for future promotions.

Please help grow the science & technology audience on the Steem blockchain by following the Science and Technology on the Social Blockchain Facebook page then liking & sharing our links!

Visit the /promoted page and #burnsteem25 to support the inflation-fighters who are helping to enable decentralized regulation of Steem token supply growth.