Life is supported by dynamic non-equilibrium as an operating condition. Managing dynamic non-equilibrium to provide the continuous change and control for our human needs will take creativity, insight and co-operation. How ecological and natures principles have influenced the evolution of behavioral and physiological traits of living organisms can inform and inspire fields such as urban design and architecture. By looking at nature’s ecosystem, we find independent, self-enriching, sustainability. This is a completely different paradigm and a new exciting landscape. Biology – especially ecology – are disciplines that can influence urban and architectural design projects in unexpected and interesting ways. Learning…

HOMO CREATOR als KRACHT VAN GEOLOGISCHE PROPORTIES Het grootste deel van de aardse biosfeer, met inbegrip van de biodiversiteit en ecosysteemdiensten- en processen, is nu definitief omgevormd door de directe interactie tussen mens en ecosystemen. Het earth system is een delicaat samenspel tussen verschillende sferen en bepaalt de voorwaarden voor het leven op aarde. Een antropogene transformatie van de terrestrische biosfeer is in essentie  ingrijpend en permanent. Weinig poëtisch, maar je kan zeggen dat één enkele soort, die woekert als onkruid, onbewust het vermogen verwierf om haar eigen lot en dat van alle andere soorten op deze planeet rechtstreeks te…

Strong sustainable and resilient cities requires enhanced knowledge and understanding of complex social-ecological interactions, but it also implies a ‘novel’ conceptualization of the relationship between humans and nature, one in which individuals perceive themselves as embedded members of the Biosphere. This “reconnection with the biosphere” in resilience suggests a radical shift in how resilient cities are conceived The shift to sustainable and resilient cities and it is a paradigm change has revolutionary consequences for how we envision a sustainable civilization. At the core of sustainable modern societies lays not only better understanding of complex social ecological interactions, and the following…

Robotics, Artificial intelligence (AI) has held a place in our imaginations for the better part of a century. Recently, these futuristic ideas have become a reality, earning artificial intelligence a constant place in the spotlight of the business world. Advancements in artificial intelligence have enabled companies to act on robust data sets, giving executives the ability to make data-driven decisions at a moment’s notice. Accelerating Artificial Intelligence capabilities will enable automation of some tasks that have long required human labor. Rather than relying on closely-tailored rules explicitly crafted by programmers, modern AI programs can learn from patterns in whatever data…

We stand at the threshold of a terrific challenge, but also a unique opportunity, and a fantastic adventure—never before has a single human generation had the potential to make such a difference. Arguably one serious aspect of the global issues is the loss of ecological diversity—the other living things with which we share Earth. This affects human well-being by interfering with crucial ecosystem services such as crop pollination and water purification and by destroying humanity’s beautiful, fascinating, and culturally important living companions. An important point is that we focus exclusively on species, ignoring the extirpation of populations—the units relevant to…

2030. No cause for concern. No machines with self-sustaining long-term goals and intent have been developed, nor are they likely to be developed in the near future. Instead, increasingly useful applications of disruptive technologies conversions, including AI, with potentially profound positive impacts on our society and economy are likely to emerge between now and 2030. At the same time, many of these developments will spur disruptions in how human labor is augmented or replaced by robots, cyber-systems and AI, creating new challenges for the economy and society more broadly. Sessions with 22 students in 2 three hour session focused on 2030…

Life is the most extraordinary phenomenon in the known universe; but how did it come to be? Even in an age of cloning and artificial biology, the remarkable truth remains: nobody has ever made anything living entirely out of dead material. Life remains the only way to make life. Are we still missing a vital ingredient in its creation? One hundred and fifty years ago, paleontologist Thomas Henry Huxley asserted that humankind would eventually take the processes of evolution into our own hands. Within a few decades of his proclamation, a cadre of equally brilliant scientists including Werner Heisenberg, David…

Life is the most extraordinary phenomenon in the known universe; but how did it come to be? Even in an age of cloning and artificial biology, the remarkable truth remains: nobody has ever made anything living entirely out of dead material. Life remains the only way to make life. Are we still missing a vital ingredient in its creation? Like Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene, which provided a new perspective on how evolution works, quantum biology alters our understanding of our world’s fundamental dynamics. Bringing together first-hand experience at the cutting edge of science reveals that the missing ingredient is…

What do traffic jams, obesity and spam have in common? They are all problems caused by abundance. By achieving abundance, technology destroys the natural checks and balances of scarcity. When technology creates abundance, it brings problems which are invulnerable to simplistic solutions. Like genies let loose from the bottle, the new problems are almost impossible to control. Traffic congestion cannot be solved by artificially reducing the speed of traffic, or increasing the cost of driving – through taxation. Obesity cannot be reduced by making food more expensive or less available. Spam cannot be eliminated by making it difficult and costly…

A combination of unprecedented control and manufacturing techniques allows us to structure and create new (meta-)materials over a large range of scales. This development will vastly increase the range of phenomena that we can understand, including known states of matter under new conditions and behavior of molecules over time in a living person. Even the idea of making synthetic cells or designing new, industrially useful forms of living systems is no longer science fiction. Creating this wealth of new materials, devices and living systems is likely to lead to a bigger revolution than the introduction of plastics. The design of…