每日三篇英语新闻随记131
2019年7月27日
A futurist reveals the biggest ways tech will transform our lives in the next 5 years
In the not too distant future, your next checkup could be conducted by a virtual doctor. And your smartphone will not only have access to digital assistants like Alexa and Siri, but also vastly intelligent artificial intelligence systems that are capable of doing much more than reciting the weather or fetching answers to questions.
For years, large tech firms like Facebook and Google have been emphasising the impact that emerging fields like AI and augmented reality could have on our everyday lives. But because these technologies are still in their early stages, it can be difficult to appreciate how significant they will really be. There’s always a lag between the innovation breakthroughs and the actual application in the marketplace.
Reality will be a “blend” of the physical environment and data streams: The AI sector is set to grow financially in the coming years too. Market research firm Gartner predicts that the global business value derived from artificial intelligence could hit $US3.9 trillion in 2022. Another area that’s likely to boom in the coming years is what Canton calls “blended reality,” which is a convergence of augmented reality, virtual reality, and telepresence. This type of technology would make it possible to view digital information in the real world without having to wear glasses or rely on your smartphone.
Hundreds of startups going to space: The new space race, which involves nations around the globe as well as billionaire-backed private companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, will also be a catalyst of change over the next five years – potentially resulting in a new startup scene.
The emergence of supercomputers: Quantum computing is another game-changer, with the ability to process data at blazing fast speeds.
SpaceX's launch of an experimental rocket ship set fire to about 100 acres of wildlife refuge in south Texas
Late Thursday night, SpaceX launched an experimental rocket ship known as Starhopper into the air for the first time – but the launch produced more fiery excitement than anyone bargained for. Starhopper is a test-bed for a much larger launch system called Starship, which the company is designing to send people to the moon and Mars. SpaceX is building and testing the vehicle near a small, remote beach community called Boca Chica at the southern tip of Texas.
Company founder Elon Musk hailed the test flight, which sent the rocket soaring to about 65 feet (20 meters). However, flaming debris spread by Starhopper’s powerful rocket engine almost immediately started brush fires near the launch pad. Emergency workers used a firetruck and other tools to control the flames over the next couple of hours. Despite their efforts, some of the fire spread into the nearby Las Palomas Wildlife Management Area.
Maria Pointer, who lives within 2 miles of SpaceX’s launch site, said she went to bed after the excitement of the launch, but woke up around 1 a.m. CT (2 a.m. ET) on Friday morning to the smell of fire. The fire department assured her the fire was contained in the marshlands, Pointer said. The fire has scorched about 100 acres and was “still not extinguished” as of late afternoon on Friday.
An environmental impact study of SpaceX’s launch site plans, which the Federal Aviation Administration signed off on in July 2014, downplayed the risk of brush fires caused by rocket launches in the area. The FAA is reportedly working with SpaceX to assess potential revisions to that agreement, since the company has deviated from the plan it originally pitched for the area.
An upshot of the recent brush fire, Winton said, is that it will make it harder for another launch to start a similar blaze, since a lot of dry material has already burned. The fire may also spur SpaceX and government authorities to revisit local fire-management procedures.
US stocks surge to a record on blockbuster tech earnings
US stocks climbed to new highs on Friday after better-than-expected earnings from Alphabet and Twitter. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes both reached all-time records. Google parent Alphabet rose as much as 12% after posting second-quarter sales that were higher than Wall Street anticipated. Revenue came in at $US31.7 billion, compared to the $US30.84 billion analysts predicted. The company also announced a $US25 billion stock repurchase program.
Twitter jumped as much as 11% after its second-quarter financial results beat sales estimates and the company posted its strongest user growth in two years. The social-media platform generated $US841 million in revenue during the quarter, outpacing analyst forecasts of $US829 million.
Starbucks climbed 9% to a record high after the coffee chain raised its full-year earnings outlook for the second quarter in a row. The company expects to generate between $US2.80 and $US2.82 in earnings per share in 2019, up from a range of $US2.75 to $US2.79.
Within the S&P 500, these were the largest gainers:
Universal Health Services: 10.89%
Alphabet:10.45%
Starbucks: 9.62%
And the largest decliners:
Mohawk Industries: (-17.60%)
Cabot Oil & Gas: (-12.07%)
Xilinx: (-5.35%)
