Notable

The Japanese company Hitachi wants to continuously optimize work processes with a system that permanently monitors them

In Japan, robots are treasured. Their development has also been called for in the rapidly aging country to keep immigration to a minimum. In Japan, only about 2 percent of the population are foreigners, no more than 50.000 immigrants admitted. In 2013, the government decided to invest $20 million a year in the development of robots to cater for the growing proportion of the aging population, including toilet robots, robots to help people move around or locate dementia patients. According to a survey, elderly Japanese were more likely to be cared for by robots than by an expatriate caregiver.

But it may be one thing to have robot dogs, to have robots bury guests or communicate with them, to be cared for by robots or to work alongside them, as long as the master-servant relationship is – or at least appears to be – in favor of humans. But this could also change soon.

In Amsterdam and nationwide, the tails are tightened again. Photo:djedj on Pixabay (Public Domain)

New infections increase eightfold within a week. This is not yet evident in the country’s intensive care units. The government, however, has tightened the measures again

Only two weeks lasted the rough corona freeze in the Netherlands, now the government is massively tightening the levers again. The reason: The infection figures are rising massively less than three weeks after the widespread openings in June. On Sunday, the National Institute for Health and the Environment (RIVM) paid 9.398 new infections – eight times as many as a week earlier.

Uwe Knop on the various health hype about food

Whether fat-free, cholesterol-free, vegan, paleo or low-carb: Consumers are constantly being informed about new eating trends that are supposed to make life longer. The promulgators of the new food culture are supported by research results that consistently fail to live up to their promises. At least that’s what nutritionist Uwe Knop says in his book Ernahrungswahn (Food Craze). In the end, the current food hysteria is more a sociological than a biological phenomenon? Telepolis asked.

Mr. Knop, you epistemologically subsume the currently rampant food mania under the category of "Belief instead of knowledge". Is the current phobia of pleasure in eating the religion of today??

Uwe Knop: For some among the people with certainty. This is supported by the fact that the churches have already joined the discussion. They have noticed how this hype about healthy eating is stealing their sheep away from the confessional. So the clerics warn openly "Self-annihilation through nutrition" and that healthy food is a "Substitute religion" can become, in extreme cases "religious fundamentalism" resembles.