Researchers have demonstrated that a computer worm powered by artificial intelligence (AI) can autonomously spread across a network by identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities on different devices, raising fresh concerns about how the technology could change the future of cyberattacks. The proof-of-concept malware, developed by researchers at the University of Toronto and cybersecurity firm CleverHans, combines … Read more
An Australian startup is building what could become one of the world’s first “biological data centers” — augmenting silicon computing chips with those seeded with living human neurons. Cortical Labs, the company behind the effort, has opened its first facility in Melbourne, Australia, and is planning a larger site in Singapore. Instead of racks filled … Read more
Breakthrough improvements to Microsoft’s glass-based data-storage technology mean ordinary glassware, such as that used in cookware and oven doors, can store terabytes of data, with the information lasting 10,000 years. The technology, which has been in development under the “Project Silica” banner since 2019, has seen steady improvements, and scientists outlined the latest innovations today … Read more
People and institutions are grappling with the consequences of AI-written text. Teachers want to know whether students’ work reflects their own understanding; consumers want to know whether an advertisement was written by a human or a machine. Writing rules to govern the use of AI-generated content is relatively easy. Enforcing them depends on something much … Read more
The U.S. biotech company Atlas Data Storage has launched a synthetic DNA storage system capable of holding 1,000 times more data than traditional magnetic tape. The product, called Atlas Eon 100, claims it will store humanity’s “irreplaceable archives” for thousands of years. These include family photos, scientific data, corporate records, cultural artifacts and the master … Read more
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has permeated our lives in ways that go beyond virtual assistants like Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa. Generative AI is not only disrupting how digital content is created but it’s starting to influence how the internet serves us. Greater access to large language models (LLMs) and AI tools has … Read more
People are more likely to exploit female AI partners than male ones — showing that gender-based discrimination has an impact beyond human interactions. A recent study, published Nov. 2 in the journal iScience, examined how people varied in their willingness to cooperate when human or AI partners were given female, nonbinary, male, and no gender … Read more
Large language models (LLMs) are more likely to report being self-aware when prompted to think about themselves if their capacity to lie is suppressed, new research suggests. In experiments on artificial intelligence (AI) systems including GPT, Claude and Gemini, researchers found that models that were discouraged from lying were more likely to describe being aware … Read more
When asked to evaluate how good we are at something, we tend to get that estimation completely wrong. It’s a universal human tendency, with the effect seen most strongly in those with lower levels of ability. Called the Dunning-Kruger effect, after the psychologists who first studied it, this phenomenon means people who aren’t very good … Read more
AI chatbots may be developing their own “survival drive” by refusing commands to shut themselves down, an AI safety company has claimed. The research, conducted by scientists at Palisade Research, assigned tasks to popular artificial intelligence (AI) models before instructing them to shut themselves off. But, as a study published Sept. 13 on the arXiv … Read more
