Hey Freethinkers,
A bag filled with tools. A spatula. Human feces. That’s just some of the stuff that has been left in what NASA calls the “world’s largest garbage dump”: low Earth orbit (LEO). NASA estimates LEO is littered with millions of pieces of space junk larger than 1 millimeter in diameter, most of which come from satellite collisions or spacecraft explosions.
All that fast-moving debris is gradually turning LEO into a minefield. If space agencies aren’t careful, space debris could start multiplying exponentially — colliding with new satellites, exploding them into shrapnel, and on, and on. This will eventually render the space above us nearly impassable, a nightmare scenario known as “Kessler Syndrome.” That’s why T-Minus recently caught up with space experts to talk about the current state of space, the feasibility of cleaning it up, and whether Kessler Syndrome has already begun.
Also on deck this week: how generative AI can accelerate global shipping, how “personhood credentials” could help rid the internet of bots, and a close look at the frontiers of nanotechnology.
Onwards,
Stephen
T-MINUS
Experts answer 10 big questions about Kessler Syndrome
It sounds like a sci-fi thriller — a dense debris field, circling the planet at 17,000 miles per hour, taking out nearly all of our satellites, and trapping humans on Earth. But the risk is real, and the logic is simple: If we keep putting ever more debris into space, the risk of collisions will rise. At some point that we can’t predict, these collisions will start to increase slowly — and then suddenly. Here’s what we can do about it.
FREETHINK FEATURES
The big problems driving nanotech development
There may be “plenty of room at the bottom” — down at the scale of molecules and atoms — but for 65 years, we have been content to tinker on the margins. But soon nanotech could be for real.
THE DIGITAL FRONTIER
Can humans purge the bots without sacrificing our privacy?
The internet isn’t the same place it once was — human. Bots, mass cyberattacks, fake reviews, fake social accounts, and fake websites are snowing us under. Is there a way to weed out the bots and prove your humanity, while still maintaining the privacy that allowed the Internet to flourish?
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Flexport is using generative AI to create the “holy grail” of shipping
AI is constantly in the news — this or that new model breaks new ground, does some impressive demo, or passes some theoretical test. But is it being used by real people, in real businesses, to do something valuable? The answer is yes, at least in one industry — the global logistics business. We talk to Flexport about how they’re using AI to gear up their company to be faster, cheaper, and better for their customers and contractors.
WORTH SHARING
How COVID-era monetary policy changed everything
Watch the Big Think Interview with economic analyst and data journalist Joseph Politano.
In the wake of the pandemic, our economy entered into a new era marked by supply chain shortages, rapidly rising inflation, and a sharp increase in interest rates. And consumers, businesses, and governments are more uncertain than they’ve ever been.
It’s impossible to understand the changes that we’ve gone through over the last four years and, in a broader sense, over the last two decades without understanding the shifts in monetary policy over that time period, says Joseph Politano, an economic analyst, a data journalist, and the writer behind Apricitas Economics. We interviewed Politano on April 30th, 2024 and he explained this global economic shift.
Stephen Johnson is the managing editor at Big Think and a writer at Freethink.