> Instead of investing in this sort of research, we should invest more money in protecting oceans and habitats and living sustainably. We can and should do bot

> Instead of investing in this sort of research, we should invest more money in protecting oceans and habitats and living sustainably. We can and should do both. Remember, you can't just take an astronaut and ask them to farm crops. I mean, you can, but that's not the best use of resources. If we want to use our talent pool appropriately, we need to invest in several different areas. > The problem behind this sort of technology is that it's just an intellectual exercise that is fun for researchers and is trendy because it's about AI, but I sincerely doubt it will contribute any good to the world. That's what's always been said about any sort of research that doesn't immediately produces results. Lasers were at some point considered a novelty with zero practical application. Look at what we are now, there's a fiber optic cable right at my home (that's probably using LEDs instead of laser diodes; LEDs were another once very theoretical area of research). Even Einstein's work was completely theoretical with no know practical applications... for a time. Research has a way of bleeding through other fields. Many technologies that are required to colonize Mars are also useful right here.