People increasingly rely on artificial intelligence (AI) for medical diagnoses because of how quickly and efficiently these tools can spot anomalies and warning signs in medical histories, X-rays and other datasets before they become obvious to the naked eye. But a new study published Dec. 20, 2024 in the BMJ raises concerns that AI technologies … Read more
In late 2022 large-language-model AI arrived in public, and within months they began misbehaving. Most famously, Microsoft’s “Sydney” chatbot threatened to kill an Australian philosophy professor, unleash a deadly virus and steal nuclear codes. AI developers, including Microsoft and OpenAI, responded by saying that large language models, or LLMs, need better training to give users … Read more
‘I encountered the terror of never finding anything’ The concepts of “sentience” and “agency” in machines are muddled, particularly given that it’s difficult to measure what these concepts are. But many speculate the improvements we are seeing in artificial intelligence (AI) may one day amount to a new form of intelligence that supersedes our now. Regardless, AI … Read more
In the quest for a reliable way to detect any stirrings of a sentient “I” in artificial intelligence systems, researchers are turning to one area of experience — pain — that inarguably unites a vast swath of living beings, from hermit crabs to humans. For a new preprint study, posted online but not yet peer-reviewed, … Read more
Scientists say artificial intelligence (AI) has crossed a critical “red line” and has replicated itself. In a new study, researchers from China showed that two popular large language models (LLMs) could clone themselves. “Successful self-replication under no human assistance is the essential step for AI to outsmart [humans], and is an early signal for rogue … Read more
Scientists have just resurrected “ELIZA,” the world’s first chatbot, from long-lost computer code — and it still works extremely well. Using dusty printouts from MIT archives, these “software archaeologists” discovered defunct code that had been lost for 60 years and brought it back to life. ELIZA was developed in the 1960s by MIT professor Joseph … Read more
Virtual reality (VR) experiences could soon get a lot more realistic thanks to a lickable device that lets you “taste” in virtual environments. The small, lollipop-like interface simulates up to nine flavors and can even be combined with smells to make the sensation of taste feel lifelike, scientists said in a new study published Nov. … Read more
In the 2016 science fiction movie Arrival, a linguist is faced with the daunting task of deciphering an alien language consisting of palindromic phrases, which read the same backwards as they do forwards, written with circular symbols. As she discovers various clues, different nations around the world interpret the messages differently — with some assuming … Read more
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) poses questions not just for technology and the expanded plethora of possibilities it brings, but for morality, ethics and philosophy too. Ushering in this new technology carries implications for health, law, the military, the nature of work, politics and even our own identities — what makes us human and … Read more
In summer 2024, several news outlets chronicled the “nightmarish” impacts Texas communities endured due to the din of noise emanating from nearby cryptocurrency mines. Residents of these communities reported that the unrelenting noise caused them to experience a range of ailments, including high blood pressure, chest pain and tinnitus. The noise levels of the cryptocurrency … Read more
