The SETI Artist in Residency (AIR) program announced Algorithmic Imaginings, a new residency that explores how AI technologies affect science and society. The residency focuses on creative research topics such as imaginary life, human-AI collaboration, AI futures, posthumanism, AI and consciousness, and the ethics of AI data. It also connects with current SETI Institute research, including...
Stories written by the latest version of ChatGPT were nearly as good as those written by human authors, according to new research on the narrative skills of artificial intelligence. But when people were told a story was written by AI — whether the true author was an algorithm or a person — they rated the...
Climate change has caused an increase in the semi-arid climate region in Brazil. Data from the National Center for Monitoring and Warning of Natural Disasters (CEMADEN) and the National Institute of Space Research (INPE) in the South American country indicate an expansion of 7,500 square kilometers per year since 1990, which is equivalent to five...
America’s obsession with grades is failing students and jeopardizing the future of education, a University of Mississippi professor argues in his new book. Josh Eyler, director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, recently released “Failing Our Future: How Grades Harm Students, and What We Can Do About It” (Johns Hopkins University Press), in which he argues...
Magic tricks make the impossible seem possible. Magicians have long captivated audiences with visual tricks, such as pulling a bunny from a hat or sawing someone in half, but tricks that rely on sound are scarce. A new article published in the Cell Press journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences on October 4 explores why creating a magical...
Humans and dogs have been birds of a feather for millennia. But how can such distant species understand each other? A recent study published in PLOS Biology by researchers from the University of Geneva and the Hearing Institute, an Institut Pasteur Center, reveals that the pair meets halfway between their differences to communicate together. From their findings,...
In April, US lawmakers urged President Joe Biden to ban Chinese-built electric vehicles (EVs), labelling them an “existential threat to the American auto industry”. The proposed ban arose from concerns that Chinese car makers have an unfair advantage due to government financial support. Following a months-long investigation into digital connections that could enable Chinese spying...
A team of researchers has developed a radical new technique for analyzing evidence in sexual assault cases. The new approach could streamline the forensics pipeline and reduce delays in the processing of DNA evidence. The research is described in a paper published today in the journal Advanced Science. There are almost half a million sexual assaults in...
Tortilla chips and fresh salsa are tasty in themselves, but they could be even more appealing if you grow the ingredients in a sustainable way. Researchers report that cilantro, bell pepper and jalapeño can be cultivated in recycled glass from discarded, pulverized bottles like those from beer or soda. The pilot study found that partially...
In the competitive arena of global technology, China’s ambitions in artificial intelligence stand out – not just for their scale but for their distinct strategic approach. In 2017, the Chinese Communist Party declared its intent to surpass the United States to become the world leader in AI by 2030. This plan, however, is less about...
