Slashdot Mirror


With MS Research Help, UN Attempts To Model All of Earth's Ecosystems

An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft Research and UN scientists have teamed up to build the first general-purpose computer model of whole ecosystems across the entire world. The project was detailed in a recent Nature article [note: yet another expensively paywalled original article] titled 'Ecosystems: Time to model all life on Earth.'"

20 of 39 comments (clear)

  1. UN kickstarter project for modernized SimEarth? by Freddybear · · Score: 1

    The original came complete with volcanoes and hurricanes and other "extreme weather".
    Maybe they should just download it from some abandonware site. Save a lot of money.

  2. And? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Then do what - tell every country on earth what they should be doing? Let them stick to their original agenda, which they incidentally suck at - making sure that wars don't happen, and that human rights are not violated anywhere, so that Hamas rockets don't land on Israel, so that Pakistan doesn't host Jihad groups, newly Islamic countries don't institute discrimination against non-Muslims and so on. Of course, that's tough to do when the biggest bloc in the UN is the 50+ member OIC.

    1. Re:And? by TapeCutter · · Score: 1

      We can probably disband the UN, you seem to have " telling every country on earth what they should be doing" covered,

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
  3. Re:YABSFMS - yet another buggy system from MS by durrr · · Score: 2

    They'll just put politicians as apex predators and key to preserving biodiversity, then claim they've filled in all the important spots and only have to add some minor details to finalize it.

  4. Re:It'll just be blue by SeaFox · · Score: 2

    And then we'll get the message that it was caused by a global warming overflow and be prompted to reboot and start over again

    ... but we wont be able to reboot.

  5. Nobody listens. Into the handbasket with ye! by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

    DO NOT FORGET to include the part where it is used as a meme vector for increased control over the economy. This is completely independent of its validity, though the downside of same is not.

    --
    (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
  6. Wow! by elabs · · Score: 1

    I would LOVE to be on that effort. I wonder if they are hiring.

    1. Re:Wow! by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 1

      Just use some chutzpah. Contact them, and specifically ask about this project:

      http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/jobs/default.aspx

      --
      Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
  7. Re:YABSFMS - yet another buggy system from MS by SomePgmr · · Score: 1

    I'll wait for the first service pack.

  8. Re:Agenda21 by LifesABeach · · Score: 1

    I'm curious, can you site a reference?

  9. Re:It'll just be blue by LifesABeach · · Score: 1

    And at the bottom of the dialog box will be a button labeled, "OK"

  10. Already done... by hsthompson69 · · Score: 1

    ...haven't they heard of Minecraft?

  11. Re:YABSFMS - yet another buggy system from MS by MightyYar · · Score: 1

    That was my first thought as well... with the incredible success MS has in new product development along with strong, effective leadership of the UN, how could this go wrong?

    --
    W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
  12. Re:Useless... by gadget+junkie · · Score: 1

    The mice are quite puzzled, why build a computer to simulate another one?

    --
    "If a boss demands loyalty, give him integrity. But if he demands integrity, give him loyalty." (John Boyd, 1927-1997)
  13. According to the latest data runs..... by CyberRacer · · Score: 1

    God has rebooted the world a total of 17 times. There have been 4 BSODs (Blue Skies of Death). Only 3 species were accidently deleted, though there are several billion empty folders where some species used to reside. There are currently only 3 life forms on planet earth: MS engineers, U.N. workers, and viruses. (there are no bugs.. never have been , never will be.) The world is slowing down as more data accumulates. Currently it takes about 10 minutes of processing per 1 sec of real-time, but once the algorithms are fully engaged we expect this figure to rise exponentially. Since it is impossible to achieve real-time performance, our engineers are guaranteed lifetime salaries. On a side note: As a result of these studies, MS now holds the patent on breathing. Pay up MFs!

  14. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  15. Oh, joy. by dtmancom · · Score: 1

    They don't even have the simpler models working yet, and now they want to make a gigantic one capable of generating even more flawed conclusions which will be used to generate even more idiotic laws.

  16. yet another expensively paywalled original article by CuteSteveJobs · · Score: 1

    Academic publishers business plan:


    1. Have some academic write a paper using public funding
    2. Have academics peers volunteer to check the paper for free
    3. Publisher won't publish paper unless academic gives up their copyright
    4. Academic gives up copyright FOR FREE to publisher
    5. Publisher prints journal article
    6. Academic gets acclaim from being featured in journal
    7. Universities have to pay $$$ for journal subscriptions so they can see paper
    8. Public who paid taxes for the academic to write the paper see nothing at all - Enter Aaron Swartz, and we all know what happened next...


    George Monbiot: Academic publishers make Murdoch look like a socialist
    Academic publishers charge vast fees to access research paid for by us. Down with the knowledge monopoly racketeers
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/29/academic-publishers-murdoch-socialist

  17. Bill Gates quote by 3seas · · Score: 1

    "You know how you survive? You make people need you. You survive because you make them need what you have. And then they have no where else to go" - Bill Gates.

    Agenda 21 is not a conspiracy, its real and you can google it and read it and for ecology there is the wildlands project as well.

  18. Blame God by Gallomimia · · Score: 1

    I suppose they will Blame God when their data comes back from cluster farms completely out of the range of scientific possibility because he made the Eco system and it's not Windows fault that things don't run properly. (Obvious commentary on today's other Microsoft story of Blaming PC makers)

    --
    Sadly, a Libertarian cannot force his views on another, and freedom cannot spread as does the cancer known as religion.