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Hope: A double-edged sword in the human experience

Hope has long been cherished as a source of strength in times of adversity. Yet, as explored in this edited extract from his new book The Human Condition by author Tony Grey, this fundamental emotion is not without its complexities and potential pitfalls. --- As in the host of challenges explored in The Human Condition, the feeling of expectation and desire for something beneficial to happen, which we call hope, is as fundamental to the human condition as the will to survive; they’re linked within the evolutionary imperative. As Cicero pointed out, “dum spiro spero” (while I breathe I hope). Hope is a rolling prayer to life as time moves on, a whisper to the soul that things will turn out all right. The sentiment is generally unchallenged. Why should it be? In times of trouble, we need the balm of hope. Samuel Johnson said, “Hope is a species of pleasure, and perhaps, the chief pleasure this world affords.” While usually positive about hope, Greek philosophers were sometimes ambivalent about it, citing its propensity, through wishful thinking, to encourage indolence or actually cause harm. In Sophocles’ play Antigone, the Chorus sings, “Hope whose wanderings are so wide is to many men a comfort, but to many a false lure of giddy desires.” Plato observes that hope breeds a confidence which can exacerbate a precondition of arrogance in the powerful, leading to serious wrongdoing. “It is among these men that we find the ones who do the greatest evils.” Napoleon and Hitler are examples. And so is the Japanese government responsible for the Pearl Harbour attack. At the World War Two surrender on the deck of the USS Missouri, a Japanese general was heard to say when he looked at the sky blackened by Allied aircraft flying past and the sea bursting with warships, “How did we ever hope we could win?” On the other hand, Plato stressed the motivational properties of hope when directed towards a good aim. And Aristotle links hope with the virtue of megalopsychia (high-mindedness) resulting from its inspirational role. I have an experience of this in my family. My nephew was born to my sister with intellectual disability, and other difficulties. His condition seemed hopeless. Nevertheless, from the first, hope was my sister’s support; it gave her the energy to carry on. Through the gloom it afforded a glimpse into the future where progress beckoned. And all along she demonstrated that hope is ineluctably linked to love. Aided by her husband, the father, she worked day and night teaching and inspiring the boy. When old enough he went to a special needs school and gradually progressed, indefatigably supported at home. Over time his condition improved so that eventually he could take and keep a simple job, cook food, and have friends (similarly disabled), a state absolutely unforeseeable at his early stage of life. Throughout all the difficulties, frustrations and threats of despair, hope sustained my sister and guided her to the wonderful achievement of saving a human life. In most instances, hope is personal in the sense that something specific to the individual or those who are close is wanted. However, it can range far beyond that into areas involving others such as team sports, politics, economic activity, justice, national and tribal identity, international relations – notably war, and pandemics like Covid. Within these fields, hope calls out for the survival and well-being of humanity and its prospects for moral and material progress. Such hope embraces faith in something bigger than the individual. If human beings have a purpose, its linked to that, and its fulfillment is somehow bound up in hope. This approach cries out for exploring a whole array of other challenges inherent in the human condition. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Tony Grey is an accomplished author residing in Sydney. His latest book, The Human Condition, ambitiously explores the hurly burly of human existence, and is available now for purchase through Halstead Press Publishers. Tony is the founder of Pancontinental Mining, a former director of Opera Australia and the Conservatorium of Music, and a former trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Other books by Tony Grey include Jabiluka, East Wind and Seven Gateways. His writings have featured in the Australian Financial Review, Quadrant and the Australian. Image: Getty Images

Mind

"An insult to human dignity": Mother of Bondi stabbing victim hits out at the media

The mother of Bondi stabbing victim Jade Young has hit out at how social media and major news outlets reported on her daughter's death. Jade Young, 47, was one of six people fatally stabbed by Joel Cauchi during his violent rampage at Bondi Junction Westfield on April 13th. Following the tragedy, graphic videos and images of the attacks were circulated online. Now, Jade's mother Elizabeth Young, writing in the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/my-daughter-was-killed-in-the-bondi-junction-attack-how-my-family-found-out-is-shameful-20240429-p5fnbw.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sydney Morning Herald</a> on Wednesday, said it was “shameful” how her family found out about Jade’s death. “Members of my family recognised Jade and her husband Noel in uncensored vision being played on a mainstream TV news feed, with vision of Jade lying on the ground at the shopping centre, receiving CPR,” she wrote. “The vision, shared on social media and picked up — and used by — multiple news media programs shared my daughter’s final moments with millions. Finding out that a loved one has been murdered is a horror that I do not wish on anyone. But seeing the vision of their last moments and knowing it has been broadcast to millions of people is an appalling breach of privacy and an insult to human dignity.” Ms Young went on to say how some of the major media organisations that shared violent images of the Bondi stabbing “approached our family within hours of the attack, offering their condolences … and the opportunity to share our family’s story”. “These same media organisations reported the failure of a certain popular social media platform to take down videos, without acknowledging their own complicity,” she said. “I am not surprised at their hypocrisy, but I am angry.” “Sharing violent images or personal material from the lives of victims of crime is not free speech — it is enormously profitable for some but it’s speech with a steep price for the victims,” she said. “Those who run social media platforms are remote from the pain inflicted by their uploads and the dystopia they have helped create. It is the victims who bear the cost.” Last week, hundreds of mourners attended a public memorial for Ms Young, an acclaimed architect and mother-of-two, where mourners were encouraged to wear colourful clothing “in memory of Jade”. Image credits: Getty Images / Facebook

Family & Pets

Elephant tourism often involves cruelty – here are steps toward more humane, animal-friendly excursions

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/michelle-szydlowski-1495781">Michelle Szydlowski</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/miami-university-1934">Miami University</a> Suju Kali is a 50-year-old elephant in Nepal who has been carrying tourists for over 30 years. Like many elephants I encounter through my <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10888705.2022.2028628">research</a>, Suju Kali exhibits anxiety and can be aggressive toward strangers. She suffers from emotional trauma as a result of prolonged, commercial human contact. Like Suju Kali, many animals are trapped within the tourism industry. Some venues have no oversight and little concern for animal or tourist safety. Between 120,000 and 340,000 animals are used globally in a variety of wildlife tourism attractions, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0138939">endangered species</a> like elephants. Over a quarter of the world’s <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/7140/45818198">endangered elephants</a> reside in captivity with little oversight. Wildlife tourism – which involves viewing wildlife such as primates or birds in conservation areas, feeding or touching captive or “rehabilitated” wildlife in facilities, and bathing or riding animals like elephants – is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14724049.2022.2156523">tricky business</a>. I know this because I am <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=YbweA2MAAAAJ&hl=en">a researcher studying human relationships with elephants</a> in both tourism and conservation settings within Southeast Asia. These types of experiences have long been an <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/money/2021/06/17/tourism-is-nepal-s-fourth-largest-industry-by-employment-study">extremely popular and profitable</a> part of the <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1002074">tourism market</a>. But now, many travel-related organizations are urging people not to participate in, or <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2018/04/27/animal-welfare-travelers-how-enjoy-wildlife-without-harming/544938002/">calling for an outright ban on, interactive wildlife experiences</a>. Tourism vendors have started marketing more “ethical options” for consumers. Some are attempting to truly improve the health and welfare of wildlife, and some are transitioning captive wildlife into touch-free, non-riding or lower-stress environments. In other places, organizations are attempting to <a href="https://www.fao.org/documents/card/es/c/b2c5dad0-b9b9-5a3d-a720-20bf3b9f0dc2/">implement standards of care</a> or create manuals that outline good practices for animal husbandry. This marketing, academics argue, is often simply “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2017.11.007">greenwashing</a>,” <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2023.2280704">applying marketing labels to make consumers feel better</a> about their choices without making any real changes. Worse, research shows that some programs marketing themselves as ethical tourism may instead be widening economic gaps and harming both humans and other species that they are meant to protect. <h2>No quick fix</h2> For example, rather than tourist dollars trickling down to local struggling families as intended by local governments, many tourism venues are owned by nonresidents, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/japfcsc.v2i1.26746">meaning the profits do not stay in the area</a>. Likewise, only a small number of residents can afford to own tourism venues, and venues do not provide employment for locals from lower income groups. This economic gap is especially obvious in Nepalese elephant stables: Venue owners continue to make money off elephants, while elephant caregivers continue to work 17 hours a day for about US$21 a month; tourists are led to believe they are “<a href="https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/book/10.1079/9781800624498.0000">promoting sustainability</a>.” Yet, there are no easy answers, especially for elephants working in tourism. Moving them to sanctuaries is difficult because with no governmental or global welfare oversight, elephants may end up in worse conditions. Many kindhearted souls who want to “help” elephants know little about their biology and mental health needs, or what it takes to keep them healthy. Also, feeding large animals like Suju Kali is pricey, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14010171">costing around $19,000 yearly</a>. So without profits from riding or other income, owners – or would-be rescuers – can’t maintain elephants. Releasing captive elephants to the jungle is not a choice – many have never learned to live in the wild, so they cannot survive on their own. <h2>Hurting local people</h2> Part of the problem lies with governments, as many have marketed tourism as a way to fund conservation projects. For example in Nepal, a percentage of ticket sales from elephant rides are given to community groups to use for forest preservation and support for local families. Increasing demand for <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Tourism-and-Animal-Ethics/Fennell/p/book/9781032431826">wildlife-based tourism</a> may increase traffic in the area and thus put pressure on local governments to further limit local people’s access to forest resources. This may also lead to <a href="https://www.worldanimalprotection.org/latest/news/un-world-tourism-organisation-urged-create-better-future-animals/">increased demands on local communities</a>, as was the case in Nepal. In the 1970s, the Nepalese government removed local people from their lands in what is now Chitwan National Park as part of increasing “conservation efforts” and changed the protected area’s boundaries. Indigenous “Tharu,” or people of the forest, were forced to abandon their villages and land. While some were offered access to “buffer zones” in the 1990s, many remain poor and landless today. In addition, more and more desirable land surrounding conservation areas in Nepal is being developed for tourist-based businesses such as hotels, restaurants and shops, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/japfcsc.v2i1.26746">pushing local poor people farther away</a> from central village areas and the associated tourism income. Some activists would like humans to simply release all wildlife back into the wild, but <a href="https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/book/10.1079/9781800624498.0000">there are multiple issues</a> with that. Elephant habitats throughout Southeast Asia have been transformed into croplands, cities or train tracks for human use. Other problems arise from the fact that tourism elephants have <a href="https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315457413">never learned</a> how to be elephants in their natural elements, as they were <a href="https://www.pugetsound.edu/sites/default/files/file/8342_Journal%20of%20Tourism%20%282009%29_0.pdf">separated from their herds</a> at an early age. So tourism may be vital to providing food, care and shelter to captive elephants for the rest of their lives and providing jobs for those who really need them. Because elephants can live beyond 60 years, this can be a large commitment. <h2>How to be an ethical tourist</h2> To protect elephants, tourists should check out reviews and photos from any venue they want to visit, and look for clues that animal welfare might be impacted, such as tourists allowed to feed, hold or ride captive wildlife animals. Look for healthy animals, which means doing research on what “healthy” animals of that species should look like. If a venue lists no-touch demonstrations – “unnatural” behaviors that don’t mimic what an elephant might do of their own accord, such as sitting on a ball or riding a bike, or other performances – remember that the behind-the-scenes training used to achieve these behaviors can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.21832/9781845415051-014">violent, traumatic or coercive</a>. Another way to help people and elephant is to to use small, local companies to book your adventures in your area of interest, rather than paying large, international tourism agencies. Look for locally owned hotels, and wait to book excursions until you arrive so you can use local service providers. Book homestay programs and attend cultural events led by community members; talk to tourists and locals you meet in the target town to get their opinions, and use local guides who provide wildlife viewing opportunities <a href="https://nepaldynamicecotours.com/">while maintaining distance from animals</a>. Or tourists can ask to visit <a href="https://www.americanhumane.org/press-release/global-humane-launches-humane-tourism-certification-program/">venues that are certified</a> by international humane animal organizations and that <a href="https://www.su4e.org/">do not allow contact</a> with wildlife. Or they can opt for guided hikes, canoe or kayak experiences, and other environmentally friendly options. While these suggestions will not guarantee that your excursion is animal-friendly, they will help decrease your impact on wildlife, support local families and encourage venues to stop using elephants as entertainment. Those are good first steps.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219792/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/michelle-szydlowski-1495781">Michelle Szydlowski</a>, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Project Dragonfly, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/miami-university-1934">Miami University</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/elephant-tourism-often-involves-cruelty-here-are-steps-toward-more-humane-animal-friendly-excursions-219792">original article</a>. </div>

Travel Tips

Aussie billionaire's ambitious mission to recover family remains

Australia's richest man is undertaking an ambitious mission to bring the remains of a long-lost loved one home, to keep a promise he made to his father before he died. Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest's uncle was one of many Australians who died during the conflict in Papua New Guinea in the 1940s. David Forrest was shot down piloting his RAAF Beaufort bomber into an attack on a Japanese-held airstrip at Gasmata in Papua New Guinea in 1943. The loss has haunted the family ever since, as David's remains were never found. "[We] got the letter, from the king in those days, saying that uncle David was missing and presumed killed in action," Twiggy told <a href="https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/aussie-billionaire-andrew-twiggy-forrests-search-to-find-loved-ones-lost-in-world-war-ii/9c042a41-c3d1-4b73-af6e-af40c983b81b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Current Affair</a>. "Dad went through extreme emotions and grief and since that day he never cried for the rest of his life. "For the next 80 years he couldn't shed a tear it was just overwhelming for him." Twiggy's dad Donald had long said he wanted to hold his brother's dog tags before he died, but after passing away last year at the age 95, he was unable to fulfil his final wish. "Unfortunately we lost dad six months ago so I haven't fulfilled that, but it's really to put closure around something that really wrenched our family," he said. In order to bring closure to the family, Twiggy and his sister Janine have travelled to PNG onboard a purpose-built research vessel and joined by a crew of experts, including marine archeologists. The mission has been ongoing for many years with the blessing of the PNG government and the assistance of RAAF members, but has remained under wraps until now. In 2021, the family thought they had a breakthrough with their mission. "It was really emotional, very heart-wrenching as you went down into the depths thinking, 'Am I going to dive on uncle David's plane and be part of solving the mystery maybe of his remains maybe even his dog tags?' The serial number on David Forrest's Beaufort bomber was A9-188, but the bomber they'd found was A9-186. "I had to tell Dad I can confirm it was a Beaufort bomber, I can confirm it was Australians, but I have to confirm it wasn't your brother's. That was tough." While Twiggy admitted that the chances of finding his uncle's remains are slim, he said he owed it to his father to keep looking. "For my kids and myself, the standard I hold myself to is doing your absolute best," he said. "It's not whether or not you achieve it, it's did you do your best?" Image credits: A Current Affair

International Travel

9/11 victim’s remains identified nearly 23 years after terror attack

Almost 23 years on from the deadly attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York, a victim’s remains have been identified. John Ballantine Niven, 44, was an executive at Aon Risk Services, an insurance firm on the 105th floor of Tower Two of the Trade Centre complex in September 2001. Niven is the 1,650th victim identified from the deadliest act of terrorism on American soil, when hijackers crashed planes into the Twin Towers, killing 2,753 people on September 11th. At the time of his death, he left behind a wife and an 18-month-old son, with his body remaining unidentified until now. “While the pain from the enormous losses on September 11th never leaves us, the possibility of new identifications can offer solace to the families of victims,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement. “I’m grateful for the ongoing work from the Office of Chief Medical Examiner that honours the memory of John Ballantine Niven and all those we lost.” In recent years, the medical examiner’s office has been utilising modern advanced DNA technology to identify victims through their remains. “We will forever remember our heroes who perished on 9/11 and we appreciate the continuous efforts of forensic experts to help identify victims,” Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino said in a separate statement. “We’re hopeful that this amazing advance in technology helps bring peace to Niven’s family and allows him to eternally rest in peace.” Roughly 40 percent of victims of the World Trade Centre attack have yet to have their remains identified, as few full bodies were recovered when the towers collapsed. Image credits: Getty Images / legacy.com

Caring

"It feels like losing her all over again": Missing woman's remains identified

Human remains discovered in a grassland area in New South Wales have been positively identified as those belonging to Samah Baker, a victim of a tragic murder. The individual responsible for her murder, James Hachem, who had an intermittent relationship with her, was convicted last year for the crime that occurred in January 2019. He was subsequently handed a 24-year prison sentence in May of this year. The recent discovery, made on July 28th, involved a woman stumbling upon the remains approximately 100 metres to the south of the Windellama Overpass in Goulburn. Law enforcement officials have now officially confirmed the identity of these remains as belonging to Samah Baker. The Baker family, in response to this development, released a statement expressing the persistent anguish they have endured since Samah's untimely death. While the identification of her remains offers some solace after four-and-a-half years, it doesn't provide a complete sense of closure. The family highlighted how each new twist in the case exacerbates the wounds that have barely started healing, serving as a stark reminder of their profound loss. The statement poignantly conveys the feeling that even though her physical remains have been located, it evokes the sensation of losing her all over again. Samah, a 30-year-old resident of Sydney, had been engaged in a tumultuous and occasionally violent relationship with Hachem, who was 37 years old, ever since their initial encounter at work in 2015. Despite numerous breakups, Baker eventually moved on and found a new partner in December 2018. The court proceedings unveiled that Hachem had obsessively watched Baker, even waiting outside her apartment and growing increasingly furious when he observed her with her new partner on the early morning of January 4. He concocted a ruse involving a fabricated story about his parents being in a car accident to lure Baker out of her apartment before committing the heinous act. Hachem's premeditation extended to purchasing materials, such as a double sheet, gloves, cleaning supplies and a digging trowel from a Bunnings store, before embarking on a journey to remote regions in rural New South Wales. At the time of Hachem's sentencing, Baker's body had not yet been discovered, compounding the grief experienced by her family and friends. The full statement from the Baker family reads: "On Friday 4 January 2019, Samah was taken away from us in the cruellest way. "In the years that followed, our grief has been compounded by the fact that we have not been able to have a funeral or lay her to rest. "We never got to say goodbye to her or tell her we loved her for the last time. "The news of her remains being discovered four and a half years later isn't a neat resolution, but it does offer a small measure of what we've been longing for all this time. "Each development in the case feels like a reopening of our barely healed wounds, reminding us of the harsh reality of our loss. "Even though what remains of Samah has been found, it feels like losing her all over again. We ask for privacy in dealing with our grief." Images: PR Handout / Facebook

Legal

If the world were coming to an end, what would be the most ethical way to rebuild humanity ‘off planet’?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/evie-kendal-734653">Evie Kendal</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/swinburne-university-of-technology-767">Swinburne University of Technology</a> Last week, scientists announced that for the first time on record, Antarctic ice has failed to “substantially recover” over winter, in a “once in 7.5-million-year event”. Climate change is the <a href="https://theconversation.com/antarctica-is-missing-a-chunk-of-sea-ice-bigger-than-greenland-whats-going-on-210665">most likely culprit</a>. Petra Heil, a sea ice physicist from the Australian Antarctic Division, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-24/antarctic-sea-ice-levels-nosedive-five-sigma-event/102635204">told the ABC</a> it could tip the world into a new state. “That would be quite concerning to the sustainability of human conditions on Earth, I suspect.” And in March, a senior United Nations disarmament official <a href="https://press.un.org/en/2023/sc15250.doc.htm">told the Security Council</a> the risk of nuclear weapons being used today is higher than at any time since the end of the Cold War. Both warnings speak to concerns about Earth’s security. Will our planet be able to support human life in the future? And if not, will humanity have another chance at survival in space? <h2>‘Billionauts’ and how to choose who goes</h2> Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed the rise of the “billionaut”. The ultra-wealthy are engaged in a <a href="https://theconversation.com/billionaire-space-race-the-ultimate-symbol-of-capitalisms-flawed-obsession-with-growth-164511">private space race</a> costing billions of dollars, while <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/oliverwilliams1/2021/12/21/billionaire-space-race-turns-into-a-publicity-disaster/?sh=79056f7e5e4d">regular citizens often condemn</a> the wasted resources and contribution to global carbon emissions. Space – described in the <a href="https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/introouterspacetreaty.html">Outer Space Treaty</a> as being the “province of all mankind” – risks instead becoming the playground of the elite few, as they try to escape the consequences of environmental destruction. But if we have to select humans to send into space for a species survival mission, how do we choose who gets to go? In Montreal last month, the <a href="https://irg.space/irg-2023/">Interstellar Research Group</a> explored the question: how would you select a crew for the first interstellar mission? A panel led by <a href="https://www.erikanesvold.com/">Erika Nesvold</a>, a co-editor of the new book <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/reclaiming-space-9780197604793?cc=au&lang=en&">Reclaiming Space</a>, discussed the perspectives of gender minorities, people with disabilities and First Nations groups regarding the ideal composition for an off-world crew. I was on the panel to discuss my contribution to the book, which explores how we can promote procreation in our new off-world society, without diminishing the reproductive liberty of survivors. <h2>The ultra-wealthy and reproductive slavery</h2> The first step in deciding how to allocate limited spaces on our “lifeboat” is identifying and rejecting options that are practically or ethically unacceptable. The first option I rejected was a user-pay system, whereby the wealthy can purchase a seat on the lifeboat. A 2022 Oxfam report showed the investments of just 125 billionaires collectively contribute 393 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year: <a href="https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/billionaire-emits-million-times-more-greenhouse-gases-average-person#:%7E:text=Recent%20data%20from%20Oxfam's%20research,%C2%B0C%20goal%20of%20the">a million times more</a> than the average for most global citizens. If the ultra-wealthy are the only ones to survive an environmental apocalypse, there’s a risk they would just create another one, on another planet. This would undermine the species survival project. The second option I rejected was allowing a reproductive slave class to develop, with some survivors compelled to populate the new community. This would disproportionately impact cis-gender women of reproductive capacity, demanding their gestational labour in exchange for a chance at survival. Neither a user-pay system nor reproductive slave labour would achieve the goal of “saving humanity” in any meaningful way. Many would argue preserving human values - including equality, reproductive liberty, and respect for diversity - is more important than saving human biology. If we lose what makes us unique as a species, that would be a kind of extinction anyway. But if we want humanity to survive, we still need to build our population in our new home. So what other options do we have? <h2>Reproduction and diversity</h2> How can we avoid discrimination on the basis of reproductive capacity – including age, sexuality, <a href="https://theconversation.com/infertility-through-the-ages-and-how-ivf-changed-the-way-we-think-about-it-87128">fertility status</a> or personal preference? We could avoid any questions about family planning when selecting our crew. This would align with <a href="https://www.seek.com.au/career-advice/article/illegal-interview-questions-what-employers-have-no-right-to-ask">equal opportunity policies</a> in other areas, like employment. But we would then have to hope enough candidates selected on other merits happen to be willing and able to procreate. Alternatively, we could reserve a certain number of places for those who agree to contribute to population growth. Fertility would then become an inherent job requirement. This might be similar to taking on a role as a <a href="https://theconversation.com/surrogacy-laws-why-a-global-approach-is-needed-to-stop-exploitation-of-women-98966">surrogate</a>, in which reproductive capacity is essential. But what if, after accepting such a position on the mission, someone changed their mind about wanting children? Would they be expected to provide some sort of compensation? Would they be vulnerable to retaliation? The more we focus on procreation, the less diversity we will preserve in the species as a whole – especially if we deliberately select against diverse sexualities, disabilities and older people. A lack of diversity would also threaten the long-term viability of the new society. For example, even if we exclude all physiologically or socially infertile people from the initial crew, these traits will reappear in future generations. The difference is: these children would be born into a less accepting community. Cooperation will be essential for the new human society – so promoting hostility would be counterproductive. So, what options are left? Using a random global sample to select travellers might alleviate concerns about equity and fairness. But the ability of a random sample to maximise our survival as a species would depend on how large the sample can be. A global sample would minimise bias. But there’s a risk it might yield a crew without doctors, engineers, farmers or other essential personnel. <h2>Random selection versus a points-based system</h2> The best balance between competing needs might be a stratified random sampling method, involving randomly selecting survivors from predetermined categories. Reproductive potential might be one category. Others might focus on other elements of practical usefulness or contribution to human diversity. Another option is a points-based system, whereby different skills and characteristics are ranked in terms of their desirability. In this system, an elderly person who speaks multiple languages may score higher than a physiologically fertile young person, due to their ability to substantially contribute to language preservation and education. This does not entirely eliminate the potential for discrimination, of course. Someone would need to decide which traits are most desirable and valuable to the new human society. However we determine our lifeboat candidates, it should be carefully considered. In our attempt to “save humanity”, we must avoid sacrificing the very things that make us human. <hr /> Evie Kendal is a contributor to <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/reclaiming-space-9780197604793?cc=au&lang=en&">Reclaiming Space: Progressive and Multicultural Visions of Space Exploration</a> (Oxford University Press)<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210647/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/evie-kendal-734653">Evie Kendal</a>, Senior lecturer of health promotion, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/swinburne-university-of-technology-767">Swinburne University of Technology</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-the-world-were-coming-to-an-end-what-would-be-the-most-ethical-way-to-rebuild-humanity-off-planet-210647">original article</a>.

Travel Trouble

Human remains found in search for missing teenager

Tasmanian Police have discovered human remains in their search for missing 14-year-old Shyanne-Lee Tatnell. After a huge ground and air search, the remains were found on a bush track at Nabowla, in the north-east of Tasmania. While police have yet to confirm the remains are those of the missing teen, they have notified Shyanne-Lee's parents of the discovery. Shyanne-Lee went missing almost three months ago on April 30th, and was last seen on a main road in Launceston. Northern District Commander Kate Chambers said a crime scene had been declared where the remains were found. "It is with a heavy heart that I can confirm that remains were located late this afternoon during our extensive search. While these have not yet been forensically confirmed, they are believed to be human remains," Chambers said. "We have been in regular contact with Shyanne-Lee's family throughout the investigative process, and have notified them about this latest development." "Our thoughts continue to be with them and Shyanne-Lee's loved ones during this difficult time." Police went on to confirm that no arrests have been made, but declared that the investigation into Shyanne-Lee's disappearance now likely had a “criminal element” as they are “following a specific line of inquiry". Tasmania Police, with the assistance of NSW Police, the Australian Federal Police, SES and community volunteers, launched what’s believed to be Northern Tasmania’s largest police operation on Wednesday in the search for clues as to Shyanne-Lee’s whereabouts. Image credits: Facebook / Tasmania Police

Legal

10 reasons humans kill animals – and why we can’t avoid it

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/benjamin-allen-100036">Benjamin Allen</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a> As long as humans have existed, they’ve killed animals. But the necessity of some types of animal killing are now questioned by many. So can humans ever stop killing animals entirely? And if not, what’s the best way forward? <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969723039062">New research</a> I led investigates these questions. My colleagues and I identified the ten main reasons why humans kill animals. We found the need for some types of animal killing is questionable, but several forms are inescapable – a necessary part of humanity’s involvement in a single, functioning, finite global food web. But the debate doesn’t end there. Even if humans must kill animals in some cases, they can modify their behaviours to improve the welfare of animals while they are alive, and to reduce an animal’s suffering when it is killed. Doing so may improve the lives of animals to a greater extent than efforts to eliminate human killing entirely. <h2>Why humans kill animals</h2> Critics of animal-killing come from a variety of perspectives. Some oppose it on <a href="http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0048-9697(23)03906-2/rf0005">moral grounds</a>. Others claim animals should have <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.13494">rights equal</a> to humans, and say animal killing is a criminal act. Many people view any animal killing as <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.13126">cruel</a>, regardless of whether the animal suffers. But as valid and important as these views might be, they largely fail to address why humans kill animals – and why in many cases, it can’t be avoided. Our research sought to shed light on this. We focus our discussion on vertebrate animals which are almost universally recognised as “sentient” (or able to perceive and feel things). We identified ten main reasons humans kill animals: 1. Wild harvest or food acquisition: such as killing wild animals for meat 2. Human health and safety: such as reactively killing an animal when it attacks you 3. Agriculture and aquaculture: such as killing that occurs in the global meat industries, or killing required to produce crops 4. Urbanisation and industrialisation: such as clearing bushland to build homes 5. Wildlife control: such as programs that eradicate introduced animals to stop them killing native ones 6. Threatened species conservation: such as unintentionally killing animals when relocating them 7. Recreation, sport or entertainment: such as trophy hunting or bull fighting, and animal killing required to feed domestic pets 8. Mercy or compassion: such as euthanasing an animal hit by a car 9. Cultural and religious practice: such as animal sacrifice during the Islamic celebration of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/01/sydney-muslims-take-eid-al-adha-livestock-sacrifice-into-their-own-hands">Eid al-Adha</a>, or those associated with the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1594756">Yoruba</a> religion of West Africa 10. Research, education and testing: such as the laboratory use of rodents or primates. <h2>Understanding human killing behaviour</h2> So how best should we understand the above types of animal killing? Our research considers them in ecological terms – as behaviours consistent with our predatory and competitive roles in the global food web. Such behaviours are intended to improve human prospects for acquiring food or to protect and enhance life. These are innate life objectives for any sentient animal. Maintenance of all life on Earth requires obtaining, using, disposing of and recycling chemical elements. Ecosystems can be thought of as a “battleground” for these elements. <a href="https://theconversation.com/peter-singers-fresh-take-on-animal-liberation-a-book-that-changed-the-world-but-not-enough-205830">Some people argue</a> that directly killing animals is unacceptable, or that adopting certain lifestyles or diets, such as veganism, can eliminate or greatly reduce animal killing. But in our view, achieving a no-killing lifestyle is a physical and ecological impossibility. For instance, most plant foods come from crops grown on land where animals have been <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/5/1225">killed or displaced</a>. And while an animal-free diet for humans might temporarily reduce the number of animals killed, this won’t last forever. As human populations continue to grow, more land will eventually be needed to meet their food requirements. At that point, humans will have to directly or indirectly kill animals again or risk dying themselves. Humans also need space to live, which <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969723039062?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=7e2e8f44ae1aaae3#bbb1045">results in</a> animal killing when habitat is razed. Of course, in rare cases an individual human may live without killing animals directly. Perhaps they live in a cave in the forest, and get sustenance from wild berries and mushrooms. But that human still lives inside the food web, and is competing against other animals for finite resources. In these cases, other animals may suffer and die because the human’s use of berries and caves leaves less food and space for them. Even if that human could do no harm at all to any animal, it’s still impossible for societies at large to live in this way. Some forms of animal killing are certainly not essential for human existence. Good examples are recreational hunting, euthanasia or keeping pets (which requires killing animals to feed them). And we certainly do not condone direct human participation in all forms of animal killing. It’s also important to note that in many cases, current levels of animal killing are <a href="https://www.opsociety.org/stop-unsustainable-fishing/">unsustainable</a>. Human populations have increased to the point where animals must be killed on enormous scales to feed, house and protect ourselves. If this continues, animal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969723039062?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=7e2e8f44ae1aaae3#bbb0905">populations</a> will <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969723039062?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=7e2e8f44ae1aaae3#bbb0910">crash</a> – and with them, human populations. Nevertheless, we maintain that the overall necessity of animal killing is an unavoidable reality for humanity as a whole. A variety of direct and indirect forms of animal killing will undoubtedly remain an ongoing human endeavour. <h2>Taking responsibility</h2> So what are the implications of all this? We hope our research leads to a constructive dialogue, which starts with accepting that human existence on Earth is dependent on animal killing. It should then focus on the nuances of animal welfare and sustainability. Humans are the only known animals with an ethical or moral conscience. That means we have <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969723039062?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=7e2e8f44ae1aaae3#bbb0650">a responsibility</a> to assume a stewardship role over all other animals, to resolve negative interactions between them as best as possible, and to ensure good welfare for as many animals as we can. Directing our attention in this way is likely to improve the lives of animals to a greater extent than trying to prevent humans from killing animals altogether – efforts my colleagues and I believe will ultimately be in vain.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209218/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/benjamin-allen-100036">Benjamin Allen</a>, Wildlife ecologist, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/10-reasons-humans-kill-animals-and-why-we-cant-avoid-it-209218">original article</a>.

Family & Pets

"Possibly carcinogenic to humans": WHO's dire warning over common ingredient

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called for one of the world’s most popular artificial sweeteners to be declared a possible carcinogen. The push will be led by the WHO’s research team for the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), pitting it against the food industry and regulators. The sweetener, known as Aspartame, is used in products from Coca-Cola diet drinks, such as Diet Coke and Coke Zero, to Mars’ Extra chewing gum and some Snapple drinks. Later this month, the IARC will list Aspartame for the first time as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” The ruling from the IARC has assessed whether the sweetener is hazardous to humans or not, although it does not stipulate how much of the product a person can safely consume. This advice for individual consumers comes from a different organisation, known as JECFA (the Joint WHO and Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Expert Committee on Food Additives), who make consumption guidelines alongside national regulators. Despite the claims from the WHO, since as early as 1981 JECFA has said aspartame is safe to consume within accepted daily limits. An adult weighing 60kg would have to drink between 12 and 36 cans of diet soft drink, depending on the amount of aspartame in the beverage, every day to be at risk. Its view has been widely shared by national regulators, including in the United States and Europe. These conflicting reports have angered some regulators and consumers alike, with Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare official Nozomi Tomita writing to the WHO, “kindly asking both bodies to coordinate their efforts in reviewing aspartame to avoid any confusion or concerns among the public.” Image credits: Getty Images

Body

Human remains found in search for missing actor

Californian hikers have discovered human remains in the wilderness area where actor Julian Sands disappeared more than five months ago, according to authorities. Officials have not yet identified the victim. The remains were transported to the coroner’s office for confirmation, which is expected to be completed next week, The New York Post reported. Sands was reported missing on January 13 after he failed to return from a hiking trip in Mount Baldy, located about 72 kilometres east of Los Angeles. The search – consisting of 80 volunteers and officials – resumed on June 12 after a temporary suspension. Police have conducted eight ground and air searches since the actor's disappearance on the mountain. “Despite the recent warmer weather, portions of the mountain remain inaccessible due to extreme alpine conditions. Multiple areas include steep terrain and ravines, which still have 10-plus feet [about 16 metres] of ice and snow,” San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office said. Sands’ family spoke publicly for the first time since he vanished, releasing a statement on June 23 to express their gratitude for the ongoing search and rescue efforts. “We are deeply grateful to the search teams and co-ordinators who have worked tirelessly to find Julian,” the family said. “We continue to hold Julian in our hearts, with bright memories of him as a wonderful father, husband, explorer, lover of the natural world and the arts, and as an original and collaborative performer.” Sands is known for starring in films such as Arachnophobia, A Room with a View, Warlock and Leaving Las Vegas. Mt. Baldy is renowned for being one of the most dangerous peaks to climb in California. According to the Los Angeles Times, six people have died with crews conducting over 100 searches as daredevils and avid hikers alike are drawn to the daunting challenge of the more-than-16,000 metre climb. In January, officials found hiker Jin Chung, 75, who had become lost on Mount Baldy and was hospitalised with a leg injury and other weather-related injuries. Before Chung’s brief disappearance, a mother of four fell more than 500 to 700 feet to her death. Crystal Paula Gonzalez, renowned as a “hiking queen”, slipped on the steep icy hillside and later died from her injuries, officials reported. Image credit: Facebook / Getty

News

MP proposes schools remain open until night-time

A NSW Liberal MP has proposed that Australian schools should remain open until 6pm to better accommodate “modern employment”. During his maiden speech to parliament, Member for Ryde Jordan Lane said that "local schools should become hubs for after-school activity”, where the government guarantees that a child can remain on school campuses after 3pm. "It affords parents flexibility, while at the same time making school a place for extracurricular excellence," he said. "By engaging providers and community organisations, we avoid overworking our tirelessly hardworking teachers but expose more children to rounded experiences, such as coding classes, culture and language, art, dance, music and sport. "I care deeply about the academic results that our students are able to achieve, and about ensuring they can compete on a global stage, but I care even more that our education system helps us to create a new generation of Australians with the content of character we need to be successful as a country.” The move could lead to an extra year of education as a result of the extended hours of teaching, Lane added. "Greater flexibility for parents, a productivity and employment boost to the state, financial relief from the high cost of child care and an injection of hope for potential but reluctant parents who, like me, struggle to rationalise how to afford, in terms of both time and money, children, a home and equal employability between partners," he said. Image credit: Getty / Instagram

Legal

Three Aussie regions set to be unliveable

Three major economic centres are set to become uninhabitable by the end of the century as global temperatures are on track to warm by 2.7C. It is predicted that Broome, Darwin and Port Hedland in WA are to be pushed outside the “human climate niche”, referring to the temperature and humidity conditions in which humans can survive. The destinations are just three of the many northwestern sections of Australia facing “niche displacement” in the next 70 years. New research by The University of Exeter, published in the science journal Nature Sustainability in May 2023, calculates the human cost of climate inaction based on current insufficient policies and government inaction. According to the report, two million people will be living with unprecedented mean average temperatures (MAT) above 29C. MAT >29C is the point at which wellbeing scientifically declines, labour productivity and cognitive ability shrinks, negative pregnancy outcomes are emancipated and mortality rates soar. The report calculates that twenty per cent of Australia, around 374,977 Aussies, will be negatively impacted by the 2.7C temperature increase. Those Australians would join a third of the world’s population, including Africa, South America, and South-East Asia. A 3C warmer temperature in Darwin would mean that for 265 days of the year, temperatures would reach above 35C. At 40C, humidity soars and temperatures become lethal, the Australian Academy of Science reports. The University of Exeter report also explained the effects of a “wet-bulb temperature” where temperature and humidity are combined. In temperatures above 28C (WBT) body struggles to cool itself by sweating, and fails to do so in temperatures above 35C (WBT), which can be fatal. By limiting global warming to 1.5C, which is the goal of the Paris Agreement, 80 per cent of those at risk of rising temperatures would remain in their climate niche. However, scientists warn that a 1.5C will still cause severe and irreversible effects on people, wildlife and ecosystems. Global warming currently sits at 1.2C, but new research from The World Meteorological Organisation suggests there is a 66 per cent chance at least one year in the next five will breach the 1.5C threshold. “Despite increased pledges and targets to tackle climate change, current policies still leave the world on course for about 2.7C end-of-century global warming,” The University of Exeter report said. “These results highlight the need for more decisive policy action to limit the human costs and inequities of climate change.” The report also found the impacts of rising temperatures will not be felt equally, as estimates of the human cost of climate change “tend to be expressed in monetary terms”. “(Estimates) tends to recognise impacts on the rich more than those on the poor (because the rich have more money to lose) and tend to value those living now over those living in the future (because future damages are subject to economic discounting),” the report said. “From an equity standpoint, this is unethical — when life or health are at stake, all people should be considered equal, whether rich or poor, alive or yet to be born.” Image credit: Shutterstock

Domestic Travel

Will AI ever reach human-level intelligence? We asked 5 experts

Artificial intelligence has changed form in recent years. What started in the public eye as a burgeoning field with promising (yet largely benign) applications, has snowballed into a <a href="https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/artificial-intelligence-ai-market">more than US$100 billion</a> industry where the heavy hitters – Microsoft, Google and OpenAI, to name a few – seem <a href="https://theconversation.com/bard-bing-and-baidu-how-big-techs-ai-race-will-transform-search-and-all-of-computing-199501">intent on out-competing</a> one another. The result has been increasingly sophisticated large language models, often <a href="https://theconversation.com/everyones-having-a-field-day-with-chatgpt-but-nobody-knows-how-it-actually-works-196378">released in haste</a> and without adequate testing and oversight. These models can do much of what a human can, and in many cases do it better. They can beat us at <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-ai-named-cicero-can-beat-humans-in-diplomacy-a-complex-alliance-building-game-heres-why-thats-a-big-deal-195208">advanced strategy games</a>, generate <a href="https://theconversation.com/ai-art-is-everywhere-right-now-even-experts-dont-know-what-it-will-mean-189800">incredible art</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/breast-cancer-diagnosis-by-ai-now-as-good-as-human-experts-115487">diagnose cancers</a> and compose music. There’s no doubt AI systems appear to be “intelligent” to some extent. But could they ever be as intelligent as humans? There’s a term for this: artificial general intelligence (AGI). Although it’s a broad concept, for simplicity you can think of AGI as the point at which AI acquires human-like generalised cognitive capabilities. In other words, it’s the point where AI can tackle any intellectual task a human can. AGI isn’t here yet; current AI models are held back by a lack of certain human traits such as true creativity and emotional awareness. We asked five experts if they think AI will ever reach AGI, and five out of five said yes. But there are subtle differences in how they approach the question. From their responses, more questions emerge. When might we achieve AGI? Will it go on to surpass humans? And what constitutes “intelligence”, anyway? Here are their detailed responses. Paul Formosa: AI and Philosophy of Technology AI has already achieved and surpassed human intelligence in many tasks. It can beat us at strategy games such as Go, chess, StarCraft and Diplomacy, outperform us on many <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-34591-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">language performance</a>benchmarks, and write <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/12/chatgpt-ai-writing-college-student-essays/672371/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passable undergraduate</a> university essays. Of course, it can also make things up, or “hallucinate”, and get things wrong – but so can humans (although not in the same ways). Given a long enough timescale, it seems likely AI will achieve AGI, or “human-level intelligence”. That is, it will have achieved proficiency across enough of the interconnected domains of intelligence humans possess. Still, some may worry that – despite AI achievements so far – AI will not really be “intelligent” because it doesn’t (or can’t) understand what it’s doing, since it isn’t conscious. However, the rise of AI suggests we can have intelligence without consciousness, because intelligence can be understood in functional terms. An intelligent entity can do intelligent things such as learn, reason, write essays, or use tools. The AIs we create may never have consciousness, but they are increasingly able to do intelligent things. In some cases, they already do them at a level beyond us, which is a trend that will likely continue. Christina Maher: Computational Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering AI will achieve human-level intelligence, but perhaps not anytime soon. Human-level intelligence allows us to reason, solve problems and make decisions. It requires many cognitive abilities including adaptability, social intelligence and learning from experience. AI already ticks many of these boxes. What’s left is for AI models to learn inherent human traits such as critical reasoning, and understanding what emotion is and which events might prompt it. As humans, we learn and experience these traits from the moment we’re born. Our first experience of “happiness” is too early for us to even remember. We also learn critical reasoning and emotional regulation throughout childhood, and develop a sense of our “emotions” as we interact with and experience the world around us. Importantly, it can take many years for the human brain to develop such intelligence. AI hasn’t acquired these capabilities yet. But if humans can learn these traits, AI probably can too – and maybe at an even faster rate. We are still discovering how AI models should be built, trained, and interacted with in order to develop such traits in them. Really, the big question is not if AI will achieve human-level intelligence, but when – and how. Seyedali Mirjalili: AI and Swarm Intelligence I believe AI will surpass human intelligence. Why? The past offers insights we can't ignore. A lot of people believed tasks such as playing computer games, image recognition and content creation (among others) could only be done by humans – but technological advancement proved otherwise. Today the rapid advancement and adoption of AI algorithms, in conjunction with an abundance of data and computational resources, has led to a level of intelligence and automation previously unimaginable. If we follow the same trajectory, having more generalised AI is no longer a possibility, but a certainty of the future. It is just a matter of time. AI has advanced significantly, but not yet in tasks requiring intuition, empathy and creativity, for example. But breakthroughs in algorithms will allow this. Moreover, once AI systems achieve such human-like cognitive abilities, there will be a snowball effect and AI systems will be able to improve themselves with minimal to no human involvement. This kind of “automation of intelligence” will profoundly change the world. Artificial general intelligence remains a significant challenge, and there are ethical and societal implications that must be addressed very carefully as we continue to advance towards it. Dana Rezazadegan: AI and Data Science Yes, AI is going to get as smart as humans in many ways – but exactly how smart it gets will be decided largely by advancements in <a href="https://thequantuminsider.com/2020/01/23/four-ways-quantum-computing-will-change-artificial-intelligence-forever/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quantum computing</a>. Human intelligence isn’t as simple as knowing facts. It has several aspects such as creativity, emotional intelligence and intuition, which current AI models can mimic, but can’t match. That said, AI has advanced massively and this trend will continue. Current models are limited by relatively small and biased training datasets, as well as limited computational power. The emergence of quantum computing will transform AI’s capabilities. With quantum-enhanced AI, we’ll be able to feed AI models multiple massive datasets that are comparable to humans’ natural multi-modal data collection achieved through interacting with the world. These models will be able to maintain fast and accurate analyses. Having an advanced version of continual learning should lead to the development of highly sophisticated AI systems which, after a certain point, will be able to improve themselves without human input. As such, AI algorithms running on stable quantum computers have a high chance of reaching something similar to generalised human intelligence – even if they don’t necessarily match every aspect of human intelligence as we know it. Marcel Scharth: Machine Learning and AI Alignment I think it’s likely AGI will one day become a reality, although the timeline remains highly uncertain. If AGI is developed, then surpassing human-level intelligence seems inevitable. Humans themselves are proof that highly flexible and adaptable intelligence is allowed by the laws of physics. There’s no <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church%E2%80%93Turing_thesis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fundamental reason</a> we should believe that machines are, in principle, incapable of performing the computations necessary to achieve human-like problem solving abilities. Furthermore, AI has <a href="https://philarchive.org/rec/SOTAOA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">distinct advantages</a> over humans, such as better speed and memory capacity, fewer physical constraints, and the potential for more rationality and recursive self-improvement. As computational power grows, AI systems will eventually surpass the human brain’s computational capacity. Our primary challenge then is to gain a better understanding of intelligence itself, and knowledge on how to build AGI. Present-day AI systems have many limitations and are nowhere near being able to master the different domains that would characterise AGI. The path to AGI will likely require unpredictable breakthroughs and innovations. The median predicted date for AGI on <a href="https://www.metaculus.com/questions/5121/date-of-artificial-general-intelligence/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Metaculus</a>, a well-regarded forecasting platform, is 2032. To me, this seems too optimistic. A 2022 <a href="https://aiimpacts.org/2022-expert-survey-on-progress-in-ai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expert survey</a> estimated a 50% chance of us achieving human-level AI by 2059. I find this plausible. Image credits: Shutterstock This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-ai-ever-reach-human-level-intelligence-we-asked-5-experts-202515" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Technology

Humans are still hunting for aliens. Here’s how astronomers are looking for life beyond Earth

We have long been fascinated with the idea of alien life. The earliest written record presenting the idea of “aliens” is seen in the satiric work of Assyrian writer <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/life-unbounded/the-first-alien/">Lucian of Samosata</a> dated to 200 AD. In one novel, Lucian <a href="https://www.yorku.ca/inpar/lucian_true_tale.pdf">writes of a journey to the Moon</a> and the bizarre life he imagines living there – everything from three-headed vultures to fleas the size of elephants. Now, 2,000 years later, we still write stories of epic adventures beyond Earth to meet otherworldly beings (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Hitchhikers-Guide-to-the-Galaxy-novel-by-Adams">Hitchhiker’s Guide</a>, anyone?). Stories like these entertain and inspire, and we are forever trying to find out if science fiction will become science fact. <h2>Not all alien life is the same</h2> When looking for life beyond Earth, we are faced with two possibilities. We might find basic microbial life hiding somewhere in our Solar System; or we will identify signals from intelligent life somewhere far away. <div data-id="17"> </div> Unlike in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Star-Wars-film-series">Star Wars</a>, we’re not talking far, far away in another galaxy, but rather around other nearby stars. It is this second possibility which really excites me, and should excite you too. A detection of intelligent life would fundamentally change how we see ourselves in the Universe. In the last 80 years, programs dedicated to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) have worked tirelessly searching for cosmic “hellos” in the form of radio signals. The reason we think any intelligent life would communicate via radio waves is due to the waves’ ability to travel vast distances through space, rarely interacting with the dust and gas in between stars. If anything out there is trying to communicate, it’s a pretty fair bet they would do it through radio waves. <h2>Listening to the stars</h2> One of the most exciting searches to date is <a href="https://breakthroughinitiatives.org/initiative/1">Breakthrough Listen</a>, the largest scientific research program dedicated to looking for evidence of intelligent life beyond Earth. This is one of many projects funded by US-based Israeli entrepreneurs Julia and Yuri Milner, with some serious dollars attached. Over a ten-year period a total amount of <a href="https://breakthroughinitiatives.org/initiative/1">US$100 million</a> will be invested in this effort, and they have a mighty big task at hand. Breakthrough Listen is currently targeting the closest one million stars in the hope of identifying any unnatural, alien-made radio signals. Using telescopes around the globe, from the 64-metre Murriyang Dish (Parkes) here in Australia, to the 64-antenna MeerKAT array in South Africa, the search is one of epic proportions. But it isn’t the only one. Hiding away in the Cascade Mountains north of San Francisco sits the <a href="https://www.seti.org/ata">Allen Telescope Array</a>, the first radio telescope built from the ground up specifically for SETI use. This unique facility is another exciting project, able to search for signals every day of the year. This project is currently upgrading the hardware and software on the original dish, including the ability to target several stars at once. This is a part of the non-profit research organisation, the SETI Institute. <h2>Space lasers!</h2> The SETI Institute is also looking for signals that would be best explained as “space lasers”. Some astronomers hypothesise that intelligent beings might use massive lasers to communicate or even to propel spacecraft. This is because even here on Earth we’re investigating <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/the-future-of-laser-communications/">laser communication</a> and laser-propelled <a href="https://www.insidescience.org/news/new-light-sail-design-would-use-laser-beam-ride-space">light sails</a>. To search for these mysterious flashes in the night sky, we need speciality instruments in locations around the globe, which are currently being developed and deployed. This is a research area I’m excited to watch progress and eagerly await results. As of writing this article, sadly no alien laser signals have been found yet. <h2>Out there, somewhere</h2> It’s always interesting to ponder who or what might be living out in the Universe, but there is one problem we must overcome to meet or communicate with aliens. It’s the speed of light. Everything we rely on to communicate via space requires light, and it can only travel so fast. This is where my optimism for finding intelligent life begins to fade. The Universe is big – really big. To put it in perspective, humans started using radio waves to communicate across large distances in 1901. That <a href="https://ethw.org/Milestones:Reception_of_Transatlantic_Radio_Signals,_1901">first transatlantic signal</a> has only travelled 122 light years, reaching just 0.0000015% of the stars in our Milky Way. Did your optimism just fade too? That is okay, because here is the wonderful thing… we don’t have to find life to know it is out there, somewhere. When we consider the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-many-stars-are-there-in-space-165370">trillions of galaxies</a>, septillion of stars, and likely many more planets just in the observable Universe, it feels near impossible that we are alone. We can’t fully constrain the parameters we need to estimate how many other lifeforms might be out there, as famously proposed by Frank Drake, but using our best estimates and <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-astrobiology/article/numerical-testbed-for-hypotheses-of-extraterrestrial-life-and-intelligence/0C97E7803EEB69323C3728F02BA31AFA">simulations</a> the current best answer to this is tens of thousands of possible civilisations out there. The Universe <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-space-infinite-we-asked-5-experts-165742">might even be infinite</a>, but that is too much for my brain to comprehend on a weekday. <h2>Don’t forget the tiny aliens</h2> So, despite keenly listening for signals, we might not find intelligent life in our lifetimes. But there is hope for aliens yet. The ones hiding in plain sight, on the planetary bodies of our Solar System. In the coming decades we’ll explore the moons of Jupiter and Saturn like never before, with missions hunting to find traces of basic life. Mars will continue to be explored – eventually by humans – which could allow us to uncover and retrieve samples from new and unexplored regions. Even if our future aliens are only tiny microbes, it would still be nice to know we have company in this Universe. Images: Getty <em style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, 'system-ui', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji'; font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff;">This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/humans-are-still-hunting-for-aliens-heres-how-astronomers-are-looking-for-life-beyond-earth-197621" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Technology

"His door remains open": King Charles "eager" to reconcile with Prince Harry

King Charles is reportedly "eager" to reconcile the fractured relationship with Prince Harry, despite the Duke of Sussex's recent claims. A source close to the monarch shared that King Charles has always shown a willingness to have a healthy and supportive relationship with both Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, regardless of the rumours that have frequently been shared. “Those close to the King insist that he has always made clear how much he loves both of his sons, keeping communication channels open throughout the last few years, despite the many barbs from California,” the UK <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2023/01/03/duke-sussex-wrong-claim-king-charles-has-shown-no-willingness/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Telegraph</a> said, citing sources close to the royal family. Insiders told the British newspaper that Harry’s side of the story was “wrong” adding that Charles, 74, and his younger son, 38, have remained in contact and met up several times during Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022. Their relationship has “occasionally been tense” but the monarch has “reiterated that his door remains open and that the Duke and [Meghan Markle] are welcome at any time,” according to the report. In a recently released trailer for an upcoming interview with Prince Harry, he <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/family-pets/i-would-like-to-get-my-father-back-prince-harry-s-desperate-plea-to-his-family" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> the royal family have shown "no willingness to reconcile" the fractured relationship. Harry told ITV’s Tom Bradby in the explosive trailer, “It never needed to be this way. The leaking, the planting, I want a family – not an institution.” “They feel as though it’s better to keep us, somehow, as the villains. I would like to get my father back. I would like to have my brother back.” Image credits: Getty Images

Family & Pets

We can pretty accurately tell when a human or dog is happy, but not so much with aggression

Humans are terrible at understanding aggressive characteristics in dogs — and unfortunately, in other humans. Being able to correctly interpret social interactions is an important skill that allows humans to react appropriately in different situations. But, research from the Dog Studies Research group at the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology in Germany shows while we’re generally clued in to distinguishing the nature of social interactions between children, dogs, and monkeys, we suck at identifying negative behaviour in dogs and humans. Researchers presented 96 adults with short video clips of aggressive, neutral, and playful interactions between two individuals in three different species: human children, dogs, and macaques. The clips included clues, such as body postures and facial expressions, but ended before the interaction took place. Half the study participants were asked to categorise the interaction as aggressive, neutral, or playful, while the other half were asked to predict the outcome from three sentences prepared by the experimenters describing the three possible outcomes. The researchers found that people performed better than chance for both tasks, even without prior experiences with the non-human species. They selected the correct choice of the three outcomes in 50–80% of interactions and were most accurate in categorising playful interactions, which they correctly identified 70% of the time. This wasn’t the case for predicting aggressive outcomes in humans and in pooches in particular. Participants rated aggressive contexts among dogs at chance level, and predicted outcomes below chance level. “It is possible that we are biased to assume good intentions from other humans and from ‘man’s best friend’,” says first author Dr Theresa Epperlein the DogStudies Research group in the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Germany. “Perhaps this bias prevents us from recognising aggressive situations in these species.” “Our results underscore the fact that social interactions can often be ambiguous and suggest that accurately predicting outcomes may be more advantageous than categorising emotional contexts,” adds senior author Dr Juliane Bräuer, DogStudies Research Group Leader. The research has been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277783" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a> in the journal PLOS ONE.  <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=227826&title=We+can+pretty+accurately+tell+when+a+human+or+dog+is+happy%2C+but+not+so+much+with+aggression" width="1" height="1" data-spai-target="src" data-spai-orig="" data-spai-exclude="nocdn" />  <div id="contributors"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/human-dogs-aggressive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on Cosmos Magazine and was written by Imma Perfetto. Image: Getty Images </div>

Family & Pets

Watching Casablanca on its 80th anniversary, we remain in awe of its simplicity – and profound depth

In November 1942, a romantic drama directed by a Hungarian immigrant and starring an ex-naval officer and an obscure Swedish actress was released. The film began shooting without a finished script. Many at Warner Brothers Studios thought the film would quickly disappear into obscurity. It would end up winning three Academy Awards (for best picture, director Michael Curtiz, and screenplay), starred the iconic pair Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman alongside a host of recognisable supporting players, featured a lush score and evocative set design, and contained endlessly quotable lines. Its reputation grows and grows. Casablanca has become one of Hollywood’s most beloved films. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MF7JH_54d8c?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> A film of vivid moments Casablanca is a heady mix of romance, cynicism, thrills and danger. Based on an unproduced play, Everybody Comes to Rick’s, the film mainly takes place in a night-club run by Bogart in the Moroccan city during the second world war. Rick’s Café is where desperate refugees try to get hold of illegal exit visas to America. Complications – with Nazi officials and officious French bureaucrats – ensue. One night, Rick’s old flame Ilsa (Bergman) turns up with her resistance leader husband in search of safe passage to the States. Cue the famous line: <blockquote> Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine. </blockquote> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3vvlmh_xVRQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> It is full of vivid moments: Bogart and Bergman drinking champagne in Paris, Sydney Greenstreet in a fez, Peter Lorre trying to escape, Dooley Wilson sitting at the piano and singing THAT song. Its production was fast-tracked to <a href="https://nypost.com/2017/12/04/an-accidental-classic-casablanca-turns-75/">take advantage</a> of the recent Allied invasion of North Africa. Casablanca was originally scheduled for an early 1943 release, but Warner Brothers capitalised on the resounding success of the US-led invasion, which in turn boosted box office receipts. Casablanca would go into wide release on January 23 1943, to coincide with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casablanca_Conference">Casablanca Conference</a>, a strategic meeting between Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt. A political allegory Casablanca’s clearest theme is that neutrality – whether in war or in love – is difficult to maintain. At the outset, Rick is staunchly apolitical: he is jaded, unmoved by the refugee crisis unfolding around him. But we also learn Rick has been involved in political causes, supporting losing sides against the Fascists in Spain and Ethiopia. The film traces that ambivalence through Bogart’s masterful performance. His cynicism gradually softens once Ilsa turns up, and his animosity to the Nazi chief Strasser grows. This political about-face comes to a head in one of the greatest scenes in Hollywood cinema: the singing of La Marseillaise at Rick’s Café in full defiance of the Nazi officers belting out a German anthem. It is a deeply patriotic and uplifting scene, and reminds us of cinema’s power to engage us, move us and make us cheer. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SEJHJ_WfNgU?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> It also turns the night-club into a microcosm for the war, with it multinational clientele and the competing strands of partisanship, neutrality, aggression and political commitment. For an America wary of entering the European theatre, scenes like this reminded audiences of the need to fight injustice, intolerance and belligerence. Remembering Ingrid Bergman It is worth dwelling on Ingrid Bergman’s <a href="http://mercurie.blogspot.com/2016/08/ingrid-bergman-in-casablanca.html">luminescent performance</a>. She plays the role of a woman who never displays where her romantic allegiances lie. Should she leave with Lazslo to America, or should she go back to Rick, and rekindle a love affair that ended abruptly in Paris? The ambiguity in Bergman’s performance is due in large part to both a script that was constantly being rewritten and Curtiz’s indecision on how the film should end. But it is also a reminder of Bergman’s greatness. The critic Roger Ebert <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/elena-and-her-men-1987">once noted</a>: <blockquote> [Bergman] doesn’t simply gaze at [a man’s] eyes, as so many actresses do, their thoughts on the next line of dialogue. She peers into the eyes, searching for meaning and clues, and when she is in a close two-shot with an actor, watch the way her own eyes reflect the most minute changes in his expression. </blockquote> Her scenes with Bogart exemplify this approach. Many film historians argue Casablanca’s greatness is due to <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/The_ABCs_of_Classic_Hollywood/GDppAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=casablanca+invisible,+style&pg=PA58&printsec=frontcover">its “invisible” style</a>: there are no flashy camera movements, or ostentatious cuts, or “look at me” acting. French film critic André Bazin once famously attributed the success of Hollywood studio films to “<a href="http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/2010/09/22/what-makes-hollywood-run/">the genius of the system</a>”. Films like Casablanca succeeded because they were made within a thriving ecosystem that placed storytelling, creative expertise, and cast and crew competence at the heart of its artistic practice. And Casablanca’s script remains unbeatable. It’s worth remembering the lines of dialogue that have stayed with us ever since: “Here’s looking at you, kid”; “This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship”; “We’ll always have Paris”; and “Round up the usual suspects”. Casablanca’s afterlife Casablanca’s legacy is long-lasting. Today, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFI%27s_100_Years...100_Movies_(10th_Anniversary_Edition)">it ranks third</a> on the American Film Institute’s 100 best movies of the last 100 years, and it is <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ReferencedBy/Casablanca">one of the most referenced films</a> of all time. Scholars love the film for its <a href="http://www.nihonbunka.com/blog/archives/000118.html">Freudian intertexts</a>, while others see the title casa blanca – “white house” in Spanish – <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3814999">as a symbol</a> for American foreign policy. The Italian novelist Umberto Eco <a href="https://biblioklept.org/2013/05/26/casablanca-or-the-cliches-are-having-a-ball-umberto-eco/">wrote</a> Casablanca was “not just one film. It is many films […] it is a phenomenon worthy of awe”. Watched today, we remain in awe of its simplicity, but also of its profound depth.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192186/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> Writen by Ben McCann. Republished with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/watching-casablanca-on-its-80th-anniversary-we-remain-in-awe-of-its-simplicity-and-profound-depth-192186" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: Getty Images

Movies

‘This case has made legal history’: young Australians just won a human rights case against an enormous coal mine

In a <a href="https://www.sclqld.org.au/caselaw/QLC/2022/21" target="_blank" rel="noopener">historic ruling</a>, a Queensland court has said the massive Clive Palmer-owned Galilee Basin coal project should not go ahead because of its contribution to climate change, its environmental impacts, and because it would erode human rights. <a href="https://theconversation.com/these-young-queenslanders-are-taking-on-clive-palmers-coal-company-and-making-history-for-human-rights-138732" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The case</a> was mounted in 2020 by a First Nations-led group of young people aged 13 to 30 called Youth Verdict. It was the first time human rights arguments were used in a climate change case in Australia. The link between human rights and climate change is being increasingly recognised overseas. In September this year, for example, a United Nations <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-violated-the-rights-of-torres-strait-islanders-by-failing-to-act-on-climate-change-the-un-says-heres-what-that-means-191329" target="_blank" rel="noopener">committee decided</a> that by failing to adequately address the climate crisis, Australia’s Coalition government violated the human rights of Torres Strait Islanders. Youth Verdict’s success today builds on this momentum. It heralds a new era for climate change cases in Australia by youth activists, who have been frustrated with the absence of meaningful federal government policy. <h2>1.58 billion tonnes of emissions</h2> The Waratah Coal mine operation <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/the-first-nations-group-fighting-clive-palmers-mining-project/6xbg2e81w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposes to</a> extract up to 40 million tonnes of coal from the Galilee Basin each year, over the next 25 years. This would <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/nov/25/court-finds-clive-palmers-queensland-coalmine-will-harm-future-generations-in-landmark-climate-ruling?CMP=share_btn_tw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">produce</a> 1.58 billion tonnes of carbon emissions, and is <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-05/galilee-basin-farmers-object-to-palmer-mine/11764540" target="_blank" rel="noopener">four times more</a> coal extraction than Adani’s operation. While the project has already received approval at the federal government level, it also needs a state government mining lease and environmental authority to go ahead. Today, Queensland land court President Fleur Kingham has recommended to the state government that both entitlements be refused. In making this recommendation, Kingham reflected on how the global landscape has changed since the Paris Agreement in 2015, <a href="https://theconversation.com/carmichael-mine-jumps-another-legal-hurdle-but-litigants-are-making-headway-69423" target="_blank" rel="noopener">and since the last major challenge</a> to a mine in Queensland in 2016: Adani’s Carmichael mine. She drew a clear link between the mining of this coal, its ultimate burning by a third party overseas, and the project’s material contribution to global emissions. She concluded that the project poses “unacceptable” climate change risks to people and property in Queensland. The Queensland <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/asmade/act-2019-005" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Human Rights Act</a> requires a decision-maker to weigh up whether there is any justifiable reason for limiting a human right, which could incorporate a consideration of new jobs. Kingham decided the importance of preserving the human rights outweighed the potential A$2.5 billion of economic benefits of the proposed mine. From a legal perspective, I believe there are four reasons in particular this case is so significant. <h2>1. Rejecting an entrenched assumption</h2> A major barrier to climate change litigation in Queensland has been the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/landmark-rocky-hill-ruling-could-pave-the-way-for-more-courts-to-choose-climate-over-coal-111533" target="_blank" rel="noopener">market substitution assumption</a>”, also known as the “perfect substitution argument”. This is the assertion that a particular mine’s contribution to climate change is net zero, because if that mine doesn’t supply coal, then another will. Kingham rejected this argument. She noted that the economic benefits of the proposed project are uncertain with long-term <a href="https://www.iea.org/news/world-energy-outlook-2022-shows-the-global-energy-crisis-can-be-a-historic-turning-point-towards-a-cleaner-and-more-secure-future" target="_blank" rel="noopener">global demand</a> for thermal coal set to decline. She observed that there’s a real prospect the mine might not be viable for its projected life, rebutting the market substitution assumption. This is an enormous victory for environmental litigants as this was a previously entrenched argument in Australia’s legal system and policy debate. <h2>2. Evidence from First Nations people</h2> <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/on-country-evidence-in-landmark-case-against-clive-palmers-coal-project/6eiueghuy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">It was also the first time</a> the court took on-Country evidence from First Nations people in accordance with their traditional protocols. Kingham and legal counsel travelled to Gimuy (around Cairns) and Traditional Owners showed how climate change has directly harmed their Country. As Youth Verdict co-director and First Nations lead Murrawah Johnson <a href="https://www.edo.org.au/2022/04/20/landmark-hearing-into-clive-palmers-galilee-coal-project-legal-challenge-begins/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">put it</a>: We are taking this case against Clive Palmer’s Waratah Coal mine because climate change threatens all of our futures. For First Nations peoples, climate change is taking away our connection to Country and robbing us of our cultures which are grounded in our relationship to our homelands. Climate change will prevent us from educating our young people in their responsibilities to protect Country and deny them their birth rights to their cultures, law, lands and waters. This decision reflects the court’s deep engagement with First Nations’ arguments, in considering the impacts of climate change on First Nations people. <h2>3. The human rights implications</h2> In yet another Australian first, the court heard submissions on the human rights implications of the mine. The Land Court of Queensland has a unique jurisdiction in these matters, because it makes a recommendation, rather than a final judgment. This recommendation must be taken into account by the final decision-makers – in this case, the Queensland resources minister, and the state Department of Environment and Science. <a href="https://archive.sclqld.org.au/qjudgment/2020/QLC20-033.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In an earlier proceeding</a>, Kingham found the land court itself is subject to obligations under Queensland’s Human Rights Act. This means she must properly consider whether a decision to approve the mine would limit human rights and if so, whether limits to those human rights can be demonstrably justified. Kingham found approving the mine would contribute to climate change impacts, which would limit: <ul> <li>the right to life</li> <li>the cultural rights of First Nations peoples</li> <li>the rights of children</li> <li>the right to property and to privacy and home</li> <li>the right to enjoy human rights equally.</li> </ul> Internationally, there are <a href="https://theconversation.com/mass-starvation-extinctions-disasters-the-new-ipcc-reports-grim-predictions-and-why-adaptation-efforts-are-falling-behind-176693" target="_blank" rel="noopener">clear links</a> made between climate change and human rights. For example, climate change is worsening heatwaves, risking a greater number of <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-hot-is-too-hot-for-the-human-body-our-lab-found-heat-humidity-gets-dangerous-faster-than-many-people-realize-185593" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deaths</a>, thereby affecting the right to life. <h2>4. A victory for a nature refuge</h2> Kingham also considered the environmental impacts of the proposed mine on the <a href="https://bimblebox.org/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bimblebox Nature Refuge</a> – 8,000 hectares semi-arid woodland, home to a recorded 176 bird species, in the Galilee Basin. She deemed these impacts unacceptable, as “the ecological values of Bimblebox [could be] seriously and possibly irreversibly damaged”. She also observed that the costs of climate change to people in Queensland have not been fully accounted for, nor have the costs of mining on the Bimblebox Nature Refuge. Further, she found the mine would violate Bimblebox Alliance’s right to family and home. <h2>Making history</h2> This case has made legal history. It is the first time a Queensland court has recommended refusal of a coal mine on climate change grounds, and the first case linking human rights and climate change in Australia. As Kingham concluded: <blockquote> Approving the application would risk disproportionate burdens for future generations, which does not give effect to the goal of intergenerational equity. </blockquote> The future of the project remains unclear. But in a year marked by climate-related disasters, the land court’s decision offers a ray of hope that Queensland may start to leave coal in the ground. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/this-case-has-made-legal-history-young-australians-just-won-a-human-rights-case-against-an-enormous-coal-mine-195350" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: The Conversation

Legal

Drop that bass (below the level of human hearing) to get bodies on the dance floor moving

People dance nearly 12% more when music includes very low frequency bass but researchers have found that it may be the sounds we don’t hear that gets our toes tapping. This is interesting news for those who’ve had an experience at a party, celebration or club when the music’s groove just isn’t making your body move and who might be tempted to reach for the nearest beverage to lubricate our joints. But maybe there’s a solution which is more subtle – and less liable to cause headaches the next day… It seems, as Meghan Trainor correctly observed in 2014, that it really is “All About That Bass.” Now, it is no revelation that bass-driven music is good for a boogie. Trainor certainly wasn’t the first to discover this critical component of the rhythm section. Researchers from Canada and Germany turned a live electronic music concert into a lab study, to find out how different qualities of music influence the body. Their results are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.09.035%20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a> in Current Biology. The researchers introduced over speakers levels of bass below human hearing levels. This super low pitch infrasound is made up of wavelengths of sound too long for our ears to pick up. Infrasound is common in whale song and other parts of the animal and natural world. Monitoring the crowd’s movements, the scientists found that people danced 11.8% more when the very low frequency bass was present. “I’m trained as a drummer, and most of my research career has been focused on the rhythmic aspects of music and how they make us move,” says first author Daniel Cameron, a neuroscientist from Canada’s McMaster University. “Music is a biological curiosity – it doesn’t reproduce us, it doesn’t feed us, and it doesn’t shelter us, so why do humans like it and why do they like to move to it?” Cameron and colleagues treated participants in the study to a 45-minute live set by electronic musical duo Orphx at LIVELab, a research theatre at the University. Donning motion-sensing headbands, the concert-goers’ dance moves were monitored. They were also asked to fill out survey forms before and after to ensure they didn’t detect the infrasound, to measure their enjoyment, and examine how the music felt physically. Turning the ultra-low bass playing speakers on and off every two minutes, the researchers found movement increased by 12% when the speakers were on. Vibrations experienced through touch and interactions between the inner ear and brain are closely linked to the motor system. The researchers theorise that there is a neurological link between these physiological processes and music. They believe that our anatomy can pick up on low frequencies, affecting our perception of “groove”, spontaneous movement and rhythm. Cameron suggests that the super-low frequencies may influence the vestibular system which controls body position and movement through the inner ear. “Very low frequencies may also affect vestibular sensitivity, adding to people’s experience of movement. Nailing down the brain mechanisms involved will require looking the effects of low frequencies on the vestibular, tactile, and auditory pathways,” says Cameron. Image credits: Getty Images  <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=222462&title=Drop+that+bass+%28below+the+level+of+human+hearing%29+to+get+bodies+on+the+dance+floor+moving" width="1" height="1" />  <div id="contributors"> This article was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/bass-dance-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Evrim Yazgin. </div>

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Aussie billionaire's ambitious mission to recover family remains

9/11 victim’s remains identified nearly 23 years after terror attack

"It feels like losing her all over again": Missing woman's remains identified

If the world were coming to an end, what would be the most ethical way to rebuild humanity ‘off planet’?

Human remains found in search for missing teenager

10 reasons humans kill animals – and why we can’t avoid it

"Possibly carcinogenic to humans": WHO's dire warning over common ingredient

Human remains found in search for missing actor

MP proposes schools remain open until night-time

Three Aussie regions set to be unliveable

Will AI ever reach human-level intelligence? We asked 5 experts

Humans are still hunting for aliens. Here’s how astronomers are looking for life beyond Earth

"His door remains open": King Charles "eager" to reconcile with Prince Harry

We can pretty accurately tell when a human or dog is happy, but not so much with aggression

Watching Casablanca on its 80th anniversary, we remain in awe of its simplicity – and profound depth

‘This case has made legal history’: young Australians just won a human rights case against an enormous coal mine

Drop that bass (below the level of human hearing) to get bodies on the dance floor moving

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Hope: A double-edged sword in the human experience

"An insult to human dignity": Mother of Bondi stabbing victim hits out at the media

Elephant tourism often involves cruelty – here are steps toward more humane, animal-friendly excursions

Aussie billionaire's ambitious mission to recover family remains

9/11 victim’s remains identified nearly 23 years after terror attack

"It feels like losing her all over again": Missing woman's remains identified

If the world were coming to an end, what would be the most ethical way to rebuild humanity ‘off planet’?

Human remains found in search for missing teenager

10 reasons humans kill animals – and why we can’t avoid it

"Possibly carcinogenic to humans": WHO's dire warning over common ingredient

Human remains found in search for missing actor

MP proposes schools remain open until night-time

Three Aussie regions set to be unliveable

Will AI ever reach human-level intelligence? We asked 5 experts

Humans are still hunting for aliens. Here’s how astronomers are looking for life beyond Earth

"His door remains open": King Charles "eager" to reconcile with Prince Harry

We can pretty accurately tell when a human or dog is happy, but not so much with aggression

Watching Casablanca on its 80th anniversary, we remain in awe of its simplicity – and profound depth

‘This case has made legal history’: young Australians just won a human rights case against an enormous coal mine

Drop that bass (below the level of human hearing) to get bodies on the dance floor moving

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