A new military test has showcased potential that large drones can work as motherships for smaller loitering munitions. The plan could get a push following a recent air launch of a Switchblade 600 loitering munition (LM) from a General Atomics’ Block 5 MQ-9A unmanned aircraft system (UAS).
It marked the first time a Switchblade 600 has ever been launched from an unmanned aircraft.
The flight testing took place from July 22–24 at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Grounds Test Range.
Mo Gawdat warns that AI will soon surpass human intelligence, fundamentally changing society, but also believes that with collective action, ethical development, and altruistic leadership, humans can ensure a beneficial future and potentially avoid losing control to AI
## Questions to inspire discussion.
AI’s Impact on Humanity.
🤖 Q: How soon will AI surpass human intelligence? A: According to Mo Gawdat, AI will reach AGI by 2026, with intelligence measured in thousands compared to humans, making human intelligence irrelevant within 3 years.
🌍 Q: What potential benefits could AI bring to global issues? A: 12% of world military spending redirected to AI could solve world hunger, provide universal healthcare, and end extreme poverty, creating a potential utopia.
Preparing for an AI-Driven Future.
A debate/discussion on ASI (artificial superintelligence) between Foresight Senior Fellow Mark S. Miller and MIRI founder Eliezer Yudkowsky. Sharing similar long-term goals, they nevertheless reach opposite conclusions on best strategy.
“What are the best strategies for addressing risks from artificial superintelligence? In this 4-hour conversation, Eliezer Yudkowsky and Mark Miller discuss their cruxes for disagreement. While Eliezer advocates an international treaty that bans anyone from building it, Mark argues that such a pause would make an ASI singleton more likely – which he sees as the greatest danger.”
What are the best strategies for addressing extreme risks from artificial superintelligence? In this 4-hour conversation, decision theorist Eliezer Yudkowsky and computer scientist Mark Miller discuss their cruxes for disagreement.
They examine the future of AI, existential risk, and whether alignment is even possible. Topics include AI risk scenarios, coalition dynamics, secure systems like seL4, hardware exploits like Rowhammer, molecular engineering with AlphaFold, and historical analogies like nuclear arms control. They explore superintelligence governance, multipolar vs singleton futures, and the philosophical challenges of trust, verification, and control in a post-AGI world.
Moderated by Christine Peterson, the discussion seeks the least risky strategy for reaching a preferred state amid superintelligent AI risks. Yudkowsky warns of catastrophic outcomes if AGI is not controlled, while Miller advocates decentralizing power and preserving human institutions as AI evolves.
💹 Starship’s efficiency could potentially make it highly profitable, “making tons of money like a Tesla.”
🚨 Starship IFT-10’s success has reignited bold ideas for a Starship Starport Global Network.
Could Rocket Cargo really replace today’s air and sea freight? 🚀
In this episode of @overthehorizon, Chris Smedley and Scott Walter join me for a deep dive on the Starport Network vision — offshore launch pads, mobile rigs, and eVTOL last-mile links — and ask if suborbital rocket cargo can outcompete aircraft and ships.
We explore 👇🏽
🚀 How Starship’s scale changes global logistics.
🌍 Why rocket cargo could disrupt ports, airlines, and shipping.
⚡ The “rocket time dilation” effect that multiplies daily throughput.
🛳 From oil rigs to Starports: how offshore hubs could reshape trade.
🔮 First use-cases: military logistics, high-value freight, GCC & island tourism.
Starship Starports may be the end of hubs, choke points, and slow supply chains. But can they really replace air and sea?
WARNING: AI could end humanity, and we’re completely unprepared. Dr. Roman Yampolskiy reveals how AI will take 99% of jobs, why Sam Altman is ignoring safety, and how we’re heading toward global collapse…or even World War III.
Dr. Roman Yampolskiy is a leading voice in AI safety and a Professor of Computer Science and Engineering. He coined the term “AI safety” in 2010 and has published over 100 papers on the dangers of AI. He is also the author of books such as, ‘Considerations on the AI Endgame: Ethics, Risks and Computational Frameworks’
He explains:
⬛How AI could release a deadly virus.
⬛Why these 5 jobs might be the only ones left.
⬛How superintelligence will dominate humans.
⬛Why ‘superintelligence’ could trigger a global collapse by 2027
⬛How AI could be worse than nuclear weapons.
⬛Why we’re almost certainly living in a simulation.
00:00 Intro.
02:28 How to Stop AI From Killing Everyone.
04:35 What’s the Probability Something Goes Wrong?
04:57 How Long Have You Been Working on AI Safety?
08:15 What Is AI?
09:54 Prediction for 2027
11:38 What Jobs Will Actually Exist?
14:27 Can AI Really Take All Jobs?
18:49 What Happens When All Jobs Are Taken?
20:32 Is There a Good Argument Against AI Replacing Humans?
22:04 Prediction for 2030
23:58 What Happens by 2045?
25:37 Will We Just Find New Careers and Ways to Live?
28:51 Is Anything More Important Than AI Safety Right Now?
30:07 Can’t We Just Unplug It?
31:32 Do We Just Go With It?
37:20 What Is Most Likely to Cause Human Extinction?
39:45 No One Knows What’s Going On Inside AI
41:30 Ads.
42:32 Thoughts on OpenAI and Sam Altman.
46:24 What Will the World Look Like in 2100?
46:56 What Can Be Done About the AI Doom Narrative?
53:55 Should People Be Protesting?
56:10 Are We Living in a Simulation?
1:01:45 How Certain Are You We’re in a Simulation?
1:07:45 Can We Live Forever?
1:12:20 Bitcoin.
1:14:03 What Should I Do Differently After This Conversation?
1:15:07 Are You Religious?
1:17:11 Do These Conversations Make People Feel Good?
1:20:10 What Do Your Strongest Critics Say?
1:21:36 Closing Statements.
1:22:08 If You Had One Button, What Would You Pick?
1:23:36 Are We Moving Toward Mass Unemployment?
1:24:37 Most Important Characteristics.
Follow Dr Roman:
X — https://bit.ly/41C7f70
Google Scholar — https://bit.ly/4gaGE72
You can purchase Dr Roman’s book, ‘Considerations on the AI Endgame: Ethics, Risks and Computational Frameworks’, here: https://amzn.to/4g4Jpa5
The US military is considering SpaceX’s Starship for rapid Earth-to-Earth transportation of cargo, leveraging its high-speed capabilities to revolutionize military logistics, humanitarian missions, and commercial shipping operations.
🚀 Q: How does Starship revolutionize military transport capabilities? A: Starship can carry 150 metric tons of cargo, including heavy artillery tanks and helicopters, with a payload capacity of 1M tall and 9m in diameter, enabling transport of large military equipment in a single trip.
🌍 Q: What advantage does Starship offer for global military operations? A: Starship’s orbital velocities make it 10 times faster than commercial aircraft, allowing transport of cargo and personnel globally in under an hour, significantly enhancing military response times and operational flexibility.
SpaceX’s rumored “Starfall” program, related to its Starship initiative, aims to revolutionize in-space manufacturing, enabling advancements in various fields and reducing cargo transportation costs to unlock economic potential in space ## ## Questions to inspire discussion.
In-Orbit Manufacturing Potential.
🚀 Q: What unique advantages does in-orbit manufacturing offer? A: In-orbit manufacturing provides no gravity, perfect fluid flow, stable heat flow, and no air moving heat around, enabling growth of structures without scaffolding and benefiting industries like pharmaceuticals, advanced materials, and military logistics.
🏭 Q: Which industries could be disrupted by in-orbit manufacturing in the 2040s? A: In-orbit manufacturing could disrupt terrestrial industries in the 2040s, particularly pharmaceuticals, advanced materials, and military logistics, allowing production of high-value goods like protein crystals, retinal organoids, ZBLAN fiber, and semiconductor ingots in space.
Starfall Program.
🛰️ Q: What is SpaceX’s Starfall program? A: Starfall is a secret SpaceX program using small return pods from Starship to bring high-value goods back from orbit, potentially slashing the $40,000/kg cost of returning materials to Earth.
The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), and partners from over a dozen countries have linked the Salt Typhoon global hacking campaigns to three China-based technology firms.
According to the joint advisories [NSA, NCSC], Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology Co. Ltd., Beijing Huanyu Tianqiong Information Technology Co., and Sichuan Zhixin Ruijie Network Technology Co. Ltd. have provided cyber products and services to China’s Ministry of State Security and the People’s Liberation Army, enabling cyber espionage operations tracked as Salt Typhoon.
Since at least 2021, the Chinese threat actors have breached government, telecommunications, transportation, lodging, and military networks worldwide, stealing data that can be used to track targets’ communications and movements worldwide.
Report.
A closer look at one widely shared online image shows the vessel dwarfing a four-lane road in Beijing, implying that it likely stretches more than 15 meters (49 feet) in length. Its size, combined with the angular, stealth-oriented design and cockpit windows, indicates that the craft could accommodate either sophisticated onboard equipment or a small crew.
Preparations for a massive military parade in the capital are in full swing as the country readies to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, celebrated as Victory Day. The third major rehearsal ran from 5 p.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Sunday in Tiananmen Square, state news agency Xinhua reported.
The uncrewed surface vehicle featured in China’s official military parade indicates it has already entered active service. The vessel is significantly smaller than the “Killer Whale” a larger surface stealth drone that was unveiled at the Zhuhai Airshow last year, the South China Morning Post reported.
China’s military data link could offer faster coordination during hypersonic attacks.
Chinese researchers explain that traditional tactical data links rely on round-trip time (RTT) for synchronization, which works for low-speed aircraft. Systems like NATO’s Link-16 achieve roughly 100-nanosecond accuracy under these conditions.
However, in hypersonic cooperative strike systems operating above Mach 5, the rapid relative motion between widely dispersed platforms creates asymmetric transmission paths, severely reducing the precision of conventional RTT algorithms. This highlights the need for new communication technologies capable of maintaining ultra-precise timing at extreme speeds.