The allure of Mars travel and settlement has captured widespread interest, leading to the sale of Martian land by various companies. While many envision a future where humans can travel to and live on Mars, renowned astronomer Martin Rees presents a contrasting perspective. He contends that our current human capabilities will not suffice for space travel and settlement.

VIENNA – The diffusion of artificial intelligence (AI) across the economy has raised the possibility—and for many, the fear—that machines will eventually replace human work. They will not only perform an ever-larger share of mechanical operations, as we have been observing since the first Industrial Revolution, but will also coordinate work by establishing direct communication among machines (the so-called Internet of Things).

LONDON – The following account should sound familiar. Over the course of decades, feats of innovation re-engineer society, diffuse across countries and regions, and fundamentally alter every facet of life. Politicians, slow to respond to new challenges, centralize power and pursue older, more familiar forms of control, be it traditional statism, aggressive nationalism, or both. But technology continues to force change, and inevitably re-orders the political, economic, and social settlement.