SAGE Lecture Spark [4/9/19] The Publisher of the Social Sciences

What Is the Future of Water? “Water is the Earth’s most important resource, and our collective approach to using, managing, and thinking about it must evolve quickly if we hope to have enough water to sustain us in the future.” “Wet areas of the world are getting wetter, dry areas are getting drier, and it is happening now. This is a wake-up call. I don’t believe society is prepared,” said Jay Famiglietti, professor and executive director of the University of Saskatchewan’s Global Institute for Water Security. https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2019/04/02/what-is-the-future-of-water

It’s Disturbingly Easy to Trick AI into Doing Something Deadly AI intelligence can be fooled with technology as simple as stickers on objects or substitutions of a few words in a bit of text. Some people may use this with malicious intent. In a health context, this could mean a skin cancer mole being labeled “benign” or in a military context it could mean drone or bombing targets being re-labelled. https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/4/8/18297410/ai-adversarial-machine-learning-self-driving-cars-tesla-stickers-medicine-military

The Future Is Non-Binary and Teens Are Leading the Way “Teenage girls are challenging the meaning and the traditional constraints of gender in ways I couldn't have imagined—but many boys are still trying to fit into a gender structure that has historically benefited them.” “[The] new generation [is] leading a quiet revolution in how we think about gender and sexuality. Young people are creating new vocabularies and taxonomies, and we scientists of sexuality and gender are playing catch-up.” https://psmag.com/ideas/gen-z-the-future-is-non-binary

The New Space Age: Experts Ponder the Future of Cosmic Exploration “In 10 to 50 years, spaceflight might take us to the surface of the Red Planet, to the discovery of an Earth-like exoplanet and beyond. But, according to a group of experts, this future will depend on international collaboration, determination, and increasing access to space for people around the world.” The panel argued that in the coming decades, it is a reasonable goal that we might find a nearby Earth-like planet, but only with significant work and investment. https://www.space.com/future-space-exploration-mit.html

Key Concepts “The Future” in the Media As our media looks to the future and millennials/Gen. Z consider their place in it, there is certainly a great deal of news that takes the perspective of “our dark and impending future.” Despite this, most of the articles this week also offer silver linings, positive perspectives, and chances for change—to be implemented to make our world a better place.

Assessment Writing: The Pacific Standard article refers to millennials/Gen. Z as leading a “quiet revolution” in gender identity. Do you feel this is a fair assessment? Are millennials and the Generation Z population “quiet” about gender identity? Are these generations quiet about other issues? Debate: How should we, and how should the media, balance a perspective between recognizing difficulties and challenges of the future while also remaining positive? Is one more important than the other? Poll: Before today’s post, had you heard about the issue of future water shortages? Yes, No, Unsure Short Answer: How might you have changed the approach/perspective of any of the articles in this post today? Explain briefly. Current Events Quiz In what way(s) is water shifting around the globe? To fool artificial car intelligence regarding speed limits, all you would need is a well-designed: Regarding gender and sexuality, the younger generations today are particularly adept at creating: In coming decades, it __ realistic to think that we might ___ a new planet like Earth. A theme within a few articles regarding how to have a successful future is: Answers Water is gathering in areas where there was water and leaving areas where there was less Sticker New taxonomies and vocabularies Is, find Collaboration

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4URapRHxsmE   “The world’s supply of cheap and clean fresh water will likely plummet as the climate warms and populations boom. Can we find ways to conserve, cut waste, and find new sources before it’s too late?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7dhOHMX0js   TedX Talk: “It’s often said that history repeats itself. Many times in the course of our history, new technologies have wiped out entire workforces. For upcoming generations, the rise of artificial intelligence represents the next great solution and the next great hurdle. Robin believes how we respond to this challenge, could be our defining moment as a species.”