Have third-agers turned their backs on the future? Artificial intelligence is getting smarter by leaps and bounds — within this century, research suggests, a computer AI could be as "smart" as a human being. And then, says Nick Bostrom, it will overtake us: "Machine intelligence is the last invention that humanity will ever need to make."

A philosopher and technologist, Bostrom asks us to think hard about the world we're building right now, driven by thinking machines. Will our smart machines help to preserve humanity and our values — or will they have values of their own? learn more on his website and see his TED talk >>>

Also recommended on this subject is http://futureoflife.org/about which has recently issued a letter from top AI researchers expressing concerns that offensive autonomous weapons beyond meaningful human control should be banned. It got over 10000 new signatories during the first day after publication!

What's the best way to fight memory loss? A BBC programme.

"There are some fairly obvious things to avoid if you want to maintain good brain health. These include smoking, becoming overweight and developing Type 2 diabetes. But what can you positively do to enhance your brain? With the help of Newcastle University we recruited 30 volunteers to find out.

Before we began our experiment all our volunteers were subjected to a barrage of tests that measured things like memory, ability to problem solve and general psychomotor speed (reaction times). Everyone was then fitted with an activity monitor to measure how much and when they were moving. The volunteers were then randomly allocated to three groups and asked to do a particular activity for the next eight weeks". To learn more click here >>>

Free health check for Elderly citizens: Continuing their policy of providing services to senior citizens in the community, J.R. Gupta, President of U3A Delhi Seniors (seen on the left) in association with SharpSight Center organised a free"Eye Check-up Camp" for elderly people.

More than 100 Senior Citizens from the local community took advantage of this free programme.

Walking Groups: The Ramblers Association of UK are asking for a concerted effort to map all 140,000 miles of the UKs footpaths.

"As guardians of the footpath network, we want to find out the current state of our path network (the envy of the world) to find out what makes it great and what stops people in their tracks. We know that our paths connect communities, help people stay healthy, are cherished by walkers and bring money into the economy; so we want to celebrate it, and find out what problems walkers face. We'll then work to fix those problems with our volunteers, to make our path network even better.

By using a consistent approach to collect survey data across England and Wales we will gain a reliable picture of the condition of the entire network. As well as gathering useful data, we want to use this project as an opportunity to engage a much wider audience with our work and encourage many more people to care about our precious paths.
- See more at: http://www.ramblers.org.uk/get-involved/join-the-big-pathwatch/got-a-question-about-the-big-pathwatch/general-questions-about-the-campaign.aspx#sthash.Ay6RmucM.dpuf "

COHOUSING - A new approach? Cohousing started to develop in the UK at the end of the 1990s.They are intentional communities, created and run by their residents. Each household has a self-contained, personal and private home but residents come together to manage their community, share activities, eat together. Cohousing is a way of combating the alienation and isolation many experience today, recreating the neighbourly support of the past.

The Older Womens Cohousing group is an entirely new approach,"We meet monthly in North London; visitors are invited to join us for a sociable lunch and the occasional workshop". .You can contact them and learn more about them here >>>

Economics/Current Affairs Groups: The following article in the Guardian may be useful to promote discussion. "The end of capitalism has begun.Without us noticing, we are entering the postcapitalist era. At the heart of further change to come is information technology, new ways of working and the sharing economy. The old ways will take a long while to disappear, but it’s time to be utopian". To read it click here >>>

An interesting point of view which chimes with the WorldU3A policy document "What We Do", which also points out the effects of the "Information Revolution" on the growth of the U3A movement worldwide.

U3A Online: A complete GEMs Archive - Rick Swindell's newsletter - pdf printouts of all prior editions can be found at www.u3aonline.org.au