When we look around the world at the latest developments, we realize that some of them go against the protection of the planet and that robots are becoming the norm. Sometimes, we wonder if human beings will find themselves at the mercy of chips and robots. Zoom in on some news from around the world.
A giant vertical farm run by robots
China has just built the world’s first 20-level vertical farm, run entirely by robots and artificial intelligence. The farm can produce up to ten harvests of vegetables per year with less land and less water. It was built by the Institute of Urban Agriculture (IUA) of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS).
All operations are carried out by robots. The latter grow salads in just 35 days. It is equipped with colored LEDs to provide the necessary light. The system is managed by an AI, which relies on a database to provide the nutrients and the specific type of light at each stage of the plant’s life. The researchers said they found no difference between plants grown in the laboratory and those from traditional agriculture.
A brain-machine interface, a first for Neuralink
Elon Musk has just announced on X the installation of the brain implant created by the company Neuralink. It wanted to create an implantable brain-machine interface device to improve the lives of people with severe brain and spinal cord injuries. It is about developing a complete brain interface capable of precisely connecting biological and artificial intelligence. This innovation consists of a computer chip with electrodes, implanted on the surface of the brain by a surgical robot. The device consists of 96 probes, each of which includes 32 electrodes, which represents a total of 3,072 electrodes placed in the brain. According to Elon Musk, this innovation could help fight obesity, autism, depression, and schizophrenia and even allow Internet browsing and telepathy.
The Pesticides Act
The European Commission has announced several measures aimed at appeasing farmers’ anger. Ursula von der Leyen has proposed withdrawing the draft legislation. This withdrawal provides for halving the use of pesticides within the European Union by 2030. Copa-Cogeca, representing the majority of agricultural organizations at the European level, had criticized “a purely ideological text, poorly calibrated, unrealistic and unfunded”.
Accused of backtracking on pesticides, the French Minister of Agriculture, Marc Fesneau, is trying to respond to the associations and elected officials who have castigated the government after the pause of the Écophyto plan, which aims to reduce pesticides by half. “The objective of this pause is to find a trajectory that is credible, credible means and alternatives that are also credible,” according to the minister. He mentioned the 250 million euros dedicated to the protection of nature and water in 2024 to reduce the use of pesticides. Finally, in the 2024 budget, there is an additional 1.2 billion euros for farmers to initiate transitions.
The “train of the future”
The work of the Toronto company TransPod for the creation of the first section of a magnetic levitation train is progressing well and could be completed in 2027. This section should connect the cities of Edmonton and Calgary. This train, inspired by the Hyperloop of the American billionaire Elon Musk, would propel capsules, containing passengers and goods, at more than 1,000 km/h, by magnetic levitation within a tube. Thus, the trip between Calgary and Edmonton would take 45 minutes instead of three hours currently. The train will be ecological because it will reduce CO2 emissions by 636,000 tonnes per year. This line aims to transport 8 million passengers and 3 million tonnes of goods per year. The State of Alberta also estimates that 140,000 jobs could be created.
An artificial moon! for $5 million
A pharaonic project: the construction of an artificial Moon. An extraordinary building with residences and leisure areas as well as attractions reproducing the characteristics of the lunar soil. A Canadian company is at work and its project could well see the light of day by 2030. This moon would reach a height of 224 meters. Inside, tourists or sports astronauts could live the space adventure on a realistic reproduction of the desolate plains of the Earth’s satellite. In addition, the founders wish to integrate 4,000 private apartments on the lower floors. A few images on social networks allow you to admire 3D visuals and start dreaming for moon fans. However, this Moon project raises the question of light pollution and energy consumption.
Humanoid robot factory to open
10,000 humanoid robots per year, is the goal of the American company specializing in robotics, Agility Robotics. To do this, it has built a 70,000 m² factory in Salem (Oregon), south of Portland, in the United States. The factory will create bipedal robots called Digit. The American company Figure has agreed with the BMW Group to introduce its humanoid robots in the first factory. The figure is a start-up that has just revealed its first model, of a build comparable to a human (1.70 meters for 60 kilos), capable of moving at 4 km/h and carrying loads of up to 20 kilos. But above all, it has articulated fingers and not grippers like many other humanoid robots, to better manipulate certain objects. As for the production of cars, these robots will assist humans throughout the car manufacturing process.
“Market 4.0” the rise of paperless payments
The “market 4.0” or cashless market model allows residents to pay for all their purchases and services in a cashless manner. Thus, digital payments have become a popular trend among Vietnamese people. Indeed, buyers increasingly use bank transfers for their transactions. Bac Kan province launched the “market 4.0” model in December 2022, which is now applied in 12 traditional markets. Thus, small traders and consumers buy and sell goods on the market by scanning QR codes or making money transfers via an application on their phones. Bac Kan aims for 100% of small traders and consumers in “market 4.0” to use digital payment.
The most expensive cities in 2024
The EUI survey reveals that the annual cost of living index in the world increased by an average of 7.4% in 2023. To conduct this global study on the cost of living, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) studied and compared more than 400 individual prices for 200 products and services, in 173 cities on five continents. Finally, the survey highlights that food products are the ones that suffer the most from inflation. However, Moscow and St. Petersburg have seen the biggest drop in the ranking due to the sanctions imposed on Russia that have weakened the value of the ruble. Singapore has been in first place for several years. Singapore and Zurich (tied), New York and Geneva (also tied), Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tel Aviv, at the same rank as Copenhagen, and San Francisco.