Many people think that the world is about to step into the fourth industrial revolution. This time, machines can do a lot of work in the charge of human beings, even better than human beings. In the future, the world can be more efficient and enjoy cheaper services, but unemployment will become more common.

It raises a troubling question for all of us — when will a machine be able to do my job? Katja Grace, a research associate at the University of Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute, and her colleagues from the AI Impacts project and the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, have surveyed 352 scientists and compiled (汇编) their answers into predictions about how long it may take for machines to outperform humans on various tasks.

The good news is that many of us will probably be safe in our jobs for some time to come. The researchers predict there is a 50% chance that machines will be capable of taking over all human jobs in 120 years.

“One of the biggest surprises was the overall lateness of the predictions,” says Grace. “I expected the amazing progress in machine learning in recent years, plus the fact that we were only talking to machine learning researchers, to make the estimates earlier.”

“I am a bit sceptical of some of the timelines given for tasks that involve physical manipulation (操纵),” says Jeremy Wyatt, professor of robotics and artificial intelligence at the University of Birmingham. “It is one thing doing it in the lab, and quite another having a robot that can do a job reliably in the real world better than a human.”

Manipulating physical objects in the real world — figuring out what to manipulate, and how, in a random, changing environment — is an incredibly complex job for a machine. Tasks that don’t involve physical manipulation are easier to teach.

Perhaps the hardest jobs for machines to perform are those that take years of training for humans to excel at. These often involve intuitive (直觉的) decision making, complex physical environments or abstract thinking — all things that computers struggle with.

Should humans explore space? If you ask me, I’ll definitely give a positive answer.

The space exploration has a direct impact on the lives of humans, as well as the state of our world. Satellites moving around the earth enable communication across the world, connecting people of different continents and broadcasting information worldwide. The Global Positioning System(GPS) can identify our location anywhere. Furthermore, weather satellites can forecast harmful weather conditions, which allows humans to prepare for deadly natural disasters and save lives.

Space programs can also indirectly lead to the solution to poverty and world hunger. For example, large plots of land could be used far better if humans applied technologies. The most effective tool is the artificial earth satellite. It can screen areas of land within a very short time, indicating useful measures, such as the condition of crops, soil, rainfall, and droughts. It can then transmit this information to ground stations on the earth for better use.

In recent years, space-based technologies have become an important factor to reach and expand global health objectives. Information provided by remote technologies can be applied to study the epidemiology(流行病学).This data provided by space technologies can monitor disease patterns, understand the environmental causes that spread it, make predictions about where it can spread in the future, and make plans to fight it efficiently.

Furthermore, space exploration is something we can do for future generations. Mankind is using the resources provided on the planet, but these will run out one day. Overpopulation can be an existential threat for all mankind. With the advancement of space technology, it will be wise to use and explore the vast potential of other planets, such as the availability of mining resources on asteroids or other planets.

For the exploration of the universe, perhaps the most advantageous of all is that it will unite us to work together for a common purpose, regardless of our differences.

I'm not impressed with VR, or at least that was my first impression as my first foray lasted about 60 minutes. At the end of that time, I decided that it wasn't for me and Is old my headset for more than I paid for it. Experienced users say that you soon forget as you get involved in the experience. I knew that I wouldn't be able to.

That was a few years ago and the headset used was the PSVR. Yes, I could have gone for one of the more upmarket headsets but, at the time, my PC wasn't fit for it. I thought that quick win with a PSVR could satisfy my curiosity, but I was wrong.

Roll on to 2019, and with the appearance of a lot of new headsets, I decided that, maybe, it was time to try VR again. I chose to use the Bigscreen app, designed for watching movies as if you were at the cinema.What was interesting for me was not to see what the actual quality was like but, importantly, what kind of experience you could have. Yes, for someone who doesn't always like the movie-going experience, this could have turned out to be the best of both worlds. I didn't have to spend money on expensive snacks and parking and I didn't have to put up with bad smells.

I have to say that the whole VR experience has improved quite a bit. Yes, things have improved, but it's not perfect. In fact, I don't think we've reached the "good enough" stage yet. As for other VR apps, after seeing Minority Report some years ago, I told a well-known editor that cutting in VR was going to be possible. He just looked at me with a look that said, ''Never gonna happen" Well, the time has come, and you can actually do this now.

VR isn't for everyone, I understand, but it can be a choice for some. I'd like to think will that the next generation of headsets improve some of the problems that we're still seeing.