CHOOSE AND PERISH

[andrewducker]

[Poll #1606301]

Comments

[spacelem.livejournal.com]

Nuclear power has never worried me in the slightest. And don't forget that if anything bad does happen, then we all get cool superhero powers from the radioactivity. It's a win-win situation!

Also, don't forget fusion power, which (as far as I'm aware) results in no radioactive waste.

I can never resist a Red Dward reference

[andrewducker]

Useful fusion power has two major drawbacks:
1) It's not likely to exist in the next thirty years.
2) It's not likely to exist in the next thirty years.

I realise that this is technically only one drawback, but it's so large that I thought I'd mention it twice.

Re: I can never resist a Red Dward reference

[marrog.livejournal.com]

And last I heard thirty years was optimistic.

Re: I can never resist a Red Dward reference

[andrewducker]

Fusion Power is like Artificial Intelligence. They've both been "Coming in 30 years" since work on them started.

Re: I can never resist a Red Dward reference

[pseudomonas.livejournal.com]

I heard "forty years after you start funding it properly"

Re: I can never resist a Red Dward reference

[andrewducker]

Well, we'll find out in 2035!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEMO

Re: I can never resist a Red Dward reference

[nmg.livejournal.com]

On the other hand, when (weak) Artificial Intelligence works we stop calling it AI.

For example, we used to refer to rule-based systems as expert systems and treat them as AI magic. Nowadays, there are rule-based systems at the heart of many software projects - and noone thinks twice about them.

Re: I can never resist a Red Dward reference

[andrewducker]

Absolutely. As soon as we can do X, X stops being artificial intelligence. I remember when "beating humans at chess" was considered to be a mark of AI. Nowadays I can search billions of documents with the help of a computer system that will correct my spelling, be recommended movies based on prior purchases, and face opponents who can command armies much more effectively than me, but apparently none of this is AI any more :->

Re: I can never resist a Red Dward reference

[0olong.livejournal.com]

'AI of the Gaps'

Re: I can never resist a Red Dward reference

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

Heh, yeah, they seem to have been saying it's 20-30 years away for the last... 50 years?

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

I ~think~ that while fusion itself doesn't result in radioactive waste, it will however strongly irradiate the machinery and containment apparatus of the reactor itself, resulting in a problem when it comes time to decommission.

But, compared to the fission byproducts, this is a drop in the ocean.