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In Ray Kurzweil's New York Times bestseller The Singularity is Near, the futurist and entrepreneur describes the Singularity, a likely future utterly different than anything we can imagine. The Singularity is triggered by the tremendous growth of human and computing intelligence that is an almost inevitable outcome of Moore's Law. Since the book's publication, the coming of the Singularity is now eagerly anticipated by many of the leading thinkers in Silicon Valley, from PayPal mastermind Peter Thiel to Google co-founder Larry Page. The formation of the Singularity Universit

Study region: United Kingdom (UK). Study focus: Climate change and urbanization pose significant threats for flooding and water quality in urban areas. This paper reviews the evidence concerning the combined impacts of urbanisation and climate on the urban water environment of inland catchments of the United Kingdom and assesses the degree of confidence in reported directions of change and response. It also assesses the utility of the evidence for setting environmental legislation and managing the urban water environment in the future and identifies knowledge gaps that limit effective and management interventions. New hydrological insights: There is a lack of nationally research focused on the dual impacts of climate change and urbanisation on flooding and water quality in UK urban areas. This is despite there being a clear acceptance that flood risk is increasing, water quality is generally not meeting desirable levels, and that combined population and climate change projections pose a pressing challenge. The available evidence has been found to be of medium-high confidence that both pressures will result in (i) an increase in pluvial and fluvial flood risk, and (ii) further reduction in water quality caused by point source pollution and altered flow regimes. Evidence concerning urban groundwater flooding, diffuse pollution and water temperature was found to be more sparse and was ascribed a low-medium confidence that both pressures will further exacerbate existing issues. The confidence ascribed to evidence was also found to reflect the utility of current science for setting policy and urban planning. Recurring factors that limit the utility of evidence for managing the urban environment includes: (i) climate change projection uncertainty and suitability, (ii) lack of sub-daily projections for storm rainfall, (iii) the complexity of managing and modelling the urban environment, and (iv) lack of probable national-scale future urban landuse projections. Suitable climate products are increasingly being developed and their application in applied urban research is critical in the wake of a series of extreme flooding events across the UK and timely for providing state-of-the-art evidence on which to base possible future water quality legislation in a post Brexit-WFD era.

This paper presents eight stories from classical Greek mythology which illustrate economic theories of truth inducement and separating equilibria. Since many students already have some familiarity with Greek mythology, these stories make ideal classroom examples.

Abstract
Literature notes many factors as affecting capital flows, but the effects of these flows over the recipient economies and the overall effect over growth are highly debatable. This study claims that although capital flows may be required for the increase in output, other forces are causing this growth and creating the demand for capital. We construct a model in which growth requires both decisions of firms regarding training of managers in order to expand, representing the absorption capacity of the firms, and capital for the firms' expansion. The model shows that in early stages of development when output is low, capital inflows are increasing with an increase in the output, but are not the cause for the output growth. However, when output is higher, an increase in the output is associated with financial outflows since the local savings are increasing by more than the local demand for capital. Although we cannot empirically test the model, we use cross-country regressions to show that capital flows are in-line with the predictions of the model and manage to explain half of the variations in net FDI flows per capita using the stage of development. Many policies regarding capital flows may be, therefore, irrelevant.

This article shows how a state could design a lottery that absorbs some of the financial market's systematic risk. Under this lottery, prizes would be positively correlated with the stock market. This lottery could be a profitable complement to existing state lotteries.

Foreword -- References -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- 1 Introduction to the Technological Singularity -- 1.1 Why the "Singularity" Is Important -- 1.2 Superintelligence, Superpowers -- 1.3 Danger, Danger! -- 1.4 Uncertainties and Safety -- References -- Risks of, and Responses to, the Journey to the Singularity -- 2 Risks of the Journey to the Singularity -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Catastrophic AGI Risk -- 2.2.1 Most Tasks Will Be Automated -- 2.2.2 AGIs Might Harm Humans -- 2.2.3 AGIs May Become Powerful Quickly -- 2.2.3.1 Hardware Overhang -- 2.2.3.2 Speed Explosion -- 2.2.3.3 Intelligence Explosion -- References -- 3 Responses to the Journey to the Singularity -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 Post-Superintelligence Responses -- 3.3 Societal Proposals -- 3.3.1 Do Nothing -- 3.3.1.1 AI Is Too Distant to Be Worth Our Attention -- 3.3.1.2 Little Risk, no Action Needed -- 3.3.1.3 Let Them Kill Us -- 3.3.1.4 "Do Nothing" Proposals-Our View -- 3.3.2 Integrate with Society -- 3.3.2.1 Legal and Economic Controls -- 3.3.2.2 Foster Positive Values -- 3.3.2.3 "Integrate with Society" Proposals-Our View -- 3.3.3 Regulate Research -- 3.3.3.1 Review Boards -- 3.3.3.2 Encourage Research into Safe AGI -- 3.3.3.3 Differential Technological Progress -- 3.3.3.4 International Mass Surveillance -- 3.3.3.5 "Regulate Research" Proposals-Our View -- 3.3.4 Enhance Human Capabilities -- 3.3.4.1 Would We Remain Human? -- 3.3.4.2 Would Evolutionary Pressures Change Us? -- 3.3.4.3 Would Uploading Help? -- 3.3.4.4 "Enhance Human Capabilities" Proposals-Our View -- 3.3.5 Relinquish Technology -- 3.3.5.1 Outlaw AGI -- 3.3.5.2 Restrict Hardware -- 3.3.5.3 "Relinquish Technology" Proposals-Our View -- 3.4 External AGI Constraints -- 3.4.1 AGI Confinement -- 3.4.1.1 Safe Questions -- 3.4.1.2 Virtual Worlds -- 3.4.1.3 Resetting the AGI -- 3.4.1.4 Checks and Balances

Background: The concept of nature-based solutions (NBS) has evolved as an umbrella concept to describe approaches to learning from and using nature to create sustainable socio-ecological systems. Furthermore, NBS often address multiple societal challenges that humans are facing in the medium to long-term and as such can enhance human well-being (HWB). This study was commissioned to fulfil the need for a targeted systematic evidence map on the linkage between NBS and HWB to support focused research going forward that addresses the key knowledge needs of policy makers in the UK and beyond. Methods: A consultation with policy makers and government agency staff (n = 46), in the four component parts of the UK (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland) was conducted in spring 2019. This identified four key societal challenges of operational experience lacking a scientific evidence base. Three of these challenges related to management issues: NBS cost-efficacy, governance in planning, environmental justice. The fourth challenge related to the acoustic environment (soundscape). Using systematic methods, this study searched for and identified studies that assessed NBS on HWB with regard to these four selected societal challenges. Review findings: A total of 7287 articles were returned from the systematic search and screened for suitability at the level of title and abstract. A total of 610 articles passed screening criteria to warrant full text screening. Of these, 115 studies met the full text criteria for eligibility in the final systematic map database. Included studies were coded for twelve NBS interventions and ten HWB related outcome categories. Most of the evidence reviewed referred to natural, blue or green infrastructure in the urban environment and focused on economic, material and health aspects of HWB. Less than 2% of studies identified in the searches robustly reported the role of NBS actions or interventions on HWB compared with non-NBS actions or interventions. Conclusion: This systematic map found the evidence base is growing on NBS-HWB linkages, but significant biases persist in the existing literature. There was a bias in favour of the urban environment and restoration studies focused on conservation aspects, with only a few studies investigating the full suite of advantages to HWB that can be delivered from NBS actions and interventions. The soundscape was the least studied of the societal challenges identified as being of key importance by policy makers, with cost-efficiency the most reported. There was a lack of robust long-term studies to clearly test the potential of NBS regarding the HWB outcomes compared with non-NBS alternatives. This lack of robust primary knowledge, covering all four key societal challenges identified, confirms that the knowledge gaps identified by the policy makers persist, and highlights a clear research need for long-term, transdisciplinary studies that focus on comparisons between NBS and non-NBS alternatives.