Most people have nothing to hide aside from embarrassing Google searches. But that’s not always the case. We cheered when Elliot Alderson brought illegal activity to light in Mr. Robot. But what about scenarios that aren’t as nightmarish as the ones depicted in shows like Black Mirror? Do we deserve privacy online if we aren’t dealing in the dark corners of the web?
Back in October, 2016, lawmakers seemed to think so. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) set privacy requirements that internet service providers (ISPs) would need to follow before they could share or sell their consumers’ private and sensitive data.Now, though, everything you’ve ever put online could become available to your ISP. In a 215-205 vote on Tuesday, March 28, members of the United States House of Representatives passed a Congressional Review Act that overturns the above internet privacy regulation. The White House has confirmed in a statement that President Donald Trump will sign the regulation rollback.
If Trump signs the legislation, ISPs will be able to monitor customers’ behavior online and use their personal and financial data to sell targeted ads. They could even sell user information directly to companies that mine personal data. All of this can happen without needing the consumers’ consent. In addition the FCC would be forbidden from issuing similar rules in the future.
Protect Yourself
So what’s the best way to protect yourself? Get a Virtual Private Network (VPN). Futurism has forged a partnership with Express VPN, the world’s largest premium VPN service provider, to bring Futurists the best solution for online privacy.The company, known as the number one trusted leader in VPN, has more than 1,000 servers in 145 VPN server locations spanning 94 countries. It works on every device, with easy to use apps for Windows, Max, Android, iOS, Linux, and Routers. Setup is easy, whether you’re using a computer, tablet, smartphone, or router. The user-friendly apps let you secure your connection and access any website in one click. Just sign up, install, and connect.
All ExpressVPN apps use a 4096-bit CA, AES-256-CBC encryption, TLSv1.2, SHA512, and strong ciphers. What does that mean exactly? It would take supercomputers trillions of years to brute-force this level of encryption. What’s more, ExpressVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands. Competitors based in the U.S. and Europe might be pressured by government officials to reveal user information and forced to comply with data-retention laws, but not ExpressVPN.
People
have traditionally used VPNs as a way to get around websites that are
blocked in their country or to watch movies that aren’t available in
their location. But VPNs are extremely useful for privacy, too. They
allow users to access any website or app without geographic restrictions
or censorship.
ExpressVPN
encrypts your data and protects your online activity, passwords, and
sensitive information. When connected to ExpressVPS, your ISP only sees
encrypted traffic passing to our VPN servers, but they cannot decipher
the data or know the websites you have visited. You can even change your
IP address and location to get better deals on flights, rental cars,
and more.
The government is making moves to weaken internet privacy. Don’t wait.Reclaim your internet privacy with Futurism + ExpressVPN now at futurism.com/vpn
Quantum physics is one of the most exciting and innovative areas
of scientific research. By funding further research and development in
quantum physics, great technological advancements will be made.
Scientists are now able to isolate and work with single atoms and photons, and this has opened up a world of possibility, ripe for use at grander scales. The race to miniaturize computer components has all but ended, because at tiny enough sizes, particles and solids exhibit Einstein’s “spooky” behaviors and act in strange ways. Quantum technologies accept these realities, and embrace the spooky, harnessing those behaviors for use and scaling them up. There are applications for these technologies in almost every industry existing today—and new industries born out of the tremendous power of this technology are also sure to come.
Quantum mechanics has always been known for its spookiness, because it turns everything we perceive about how the universe works on its head. Cause and effect, here or there, the inevitable sequential nature of time—all of these things that simply “feel” instinctively accurate to us as we muddle through the world are challenged by quantum mechanics. The idea that a particle is here and there until I pin it down, and that my act of measurement changes the result—these are difficult ideas to live with. Add to all this the strange linking between particles, no matter how far apart, that means acting on one changes the other instantaneously, and it’s easy to feel that “entanglement” is aptly named.
Once we agree to be practical and accept the spooky spaces of quantum mechanics, though, we realize how to put them to revolutionary use. Computers that exploit entanglement and superposition can do far more than binary machines. Thanks to quantum mechanics, we are about to do the previously impossible.
Thus far, possible work within the project has touched on the obvious choices, including unbreakable encryption, quantum computing, and an unhackable internet. However, new focus areas were also discussed, including quantum simulation, quantum imaging, quantum sensors, quantum clocks, and quantum algorithms and software.
Startups and blue-chip firms are also investing in quantum technologies. Facebook’s dream of a telepathic social network is definitely a quantum project. The social media giant’s recent investment into its Building 8 project signals its longterm commitment to developing physical technologies and devices.
For quantum technologists, the remaining hurdles toward devices that make use of quantum mechanics are mostly engineering challenges. As these hurdles are cleared, we can expect to see developments such as an unhackable global network and a nuclear submarine spotting sensor. A bathing cap that monitors individual neurons for the purposes of mind reading will make its debut—on a runway, in a business meeting, or maybe both. And a next generation computer that tests millions of designs for new materials simultaneously and seeks out new drugs by parsing billions of possible chemical combinations will be developed.
The only real question is where. These breakthroughs will need funding, and private industry can’t do it alone. Governments all over the world are strategically investing in quantum science and other cutting edge R&D, because the free market doesn’t always make pure scientific work possible. In this new atmosphere of extreme austerity towards anything related to science and technology, it is difficult to see how these amazing innovations will continue to happen in the U.S. over time.
Spooky Subatomic Space
Think of every amazing future technology you’ve seen or read about in science fiction, or imagined yourself. Big innovations that change the world and cure disease or end war, and littler ones too, things that help us “think” a quick message to a friend without saying a word or share an experience from a distance. Quantum physics is enabling the creation of all of these futuristic technologies and some that didn’t even occur to most of us, making our sci-fi dreams part of our reality.Scientists are now able to isolate and work with single atoms and photons, and this has opened up a world of possibility, ripe for use at grander scales. The race to miniaturize computer components has all but ended, because at tiny enough sizes, particles and solids exhibit Einstein’s “spooky” behaviors and act in strange ways. Quantum technologies accept these realities, and embrace the spooky, harnessing those behaviors for use and scaling them up. There are applications for these technologies in almost every industry existing today—and new industries born out of the tremendous power of this technology are also sure to come.
Quantum mechanics has always been known for its spookiness, because it turns everything we perceive about how the universe works on its head. Cause and effect, here or there, the inevitable sequential nature of time—all of these things that simply “feel” instinctively accurate to us as we muddle through the world are challenged by quantum mechanics. The idea that a particle is here and there until I pin it down, and that my act of measurement changes the result—these are difficult ideas to live with. Add to all this the strange linking between particles, no matter how far apart, that means acting on one changes the other instantaneously, and it’s easy to feel that “entanglement” is aptly named.
Once we agree to be practical and accept the spooky spaces of quantum mechanics, though, we realize how to put them to revolutionary use. Computers that exploit entanglement and superposition can do far more than binary machines. Thanks to quantum mechanics, we are about to do the previously impossible.
Funding the Future
Right now, quantum technologies are exploding, and not just in laboratories. European quantum physicists have made incredible discoveries, and now their engineering cousins are ready to catch up. In 2016, 3,400 scientists in the EU signed the “Quantum Manifesto,” calling for a huge, unified European push for funded, coordinated quantum-tech R&D. The European Commission responded by creating a €1 billion, 10-year-long superproject to begin in 2018: the Quantum Technology Flagship.Thus far, possible work within the project has touched on the obvious choices, including unbreakable encryption, quantum computing, and an unhackable internet. However, new focus areas were also discussed, including quantum simulation, quantum imaging, quantum sensors, quantum clocks, and quantum algorithms and software.
Startups and blue-chip firms are also investing in quantum technologies. Facebook’s dream of a telepathic social network is definitely a quantum project. The social media giant’s recent investment into its Building 8 project signals its longterm commitment to developing physical technologies and devices.
For quantum technologists, the remaining hurdles toward devices that make use of quantum mechanics are mostly engineering challenges. As these hurdles are cleared, we can expect to see developments such as an unhackable global network and a nuclear submarine spotting sensor. A bathing cap that monitors individual neurons for the purposes of mind reading will make its debut—on a runway, in a business meeting, or maybe both. And a next generation computer that tests millions of designs for new materials simultaneously and seeks out new drugs by parsing billions of possible chemical combinations will be developed.
The only real question is where. These breakthroughs will need funding, and private industry can’t do it alone. Governments all over the world are strategically investing in quantum science and other cutting edge R&D, because the free market doesn’t always make pure scientific work possible. In this new atmosphere of extreme austerity towards anything related to science and technology, it is difficult to see how these amazing innovations will continue to happen in the U.S. over time.
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