juni 2016

Technology has developed to the point where a clear distinction between nature and culture seems to be dissolving. Against this background, a broad aspect of social research has emerged that considers an interdependence between the social and the material. So far, the contemporary innovative process is realistic and pragmatic by definition. Throughout history, the human body and mind have inspired artists, engineers, and scientists. The field of humanoid robotics focuses on the creation of robots that are directly inspired by human capabilities. These robots usually share similar kinematics to humans, as well as similar sensing and behavior. The motivations that…

Global growth and progress in human development give us good reasons to believe that we can achieve the goal of eradicating poverty for good. However, the reality of what billions of people in the poorest socio-economic groups have experienced, and what they can expect if current trends continue, is less encouraging. The gap between rich and poor is reaching new extremes. Rising economic inequality also compounds existing inequalities. Countries with higher income inequality also tend to have larger gaps between women and men in terms of health, education, labor market participation, and representation in institutions like parliaments. One of the…

We live amid a global wave of anthropogenically driven biodiversity loss: species and population extirpations and, critically, declines in local species abundance. Particularly, human impacts on animal biodiversity are an under-recognized form of global environmental change. Call of Life is to investigate the threat to Earth’s life support systems from this unprecedented loss of biodiversity. Through interviews with leading biologists, ecologists, social scientists, indigenous leaders, and others, the causes, the scope, and the potential effects of the mass extinction have been explored. The research also looks beyond the immediate causes of the crisis to consider how our cultural and economic…