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Is Your Car a Threat to National Security? It Can Be – Regardless of Where It’s Made
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Is Your Car a Threat to National Security? It Can Be – Regardless of Where It’s Made

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...

New Research Has Potential to Speed Up Forensic Analysis in Sexual Assault Cases
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New Research Has Potential to Speed Up Forensic Analysis in Sexual Assault Cases

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...

Pilot Study Uses Recycled Glass to Grow Plants for Salsa Ingredients
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Pilot Study Uses Recycled Glass to Grow Plants for Salsa Ingredients

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...

China Leans into Using AI − Even as the U.S. Leads in Developing It
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China Leans into Using AI − Even as the U.S. Leads in Developing It

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...

The Risks of Artificial Intelligence in Weapons Design
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The Risks of Artificial Intelligence in Weapons Design

Researchers outline dangers of developing AI-powered autonomous weapons For decades, the military has used autonomous weapons such as mines, torpedoes, and heat-guided missiles that operate based on simple reactive feedback without human control. However, artificial intelligence (AI) has now entered the arena of weapons design. According to Kanaka Rajan, associate professor of neurobiology in the Blavatnik...

AI Will Displace American Workers—When, How, and To What Extent Is Less Certain
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AI Will Displace American Workers—When, How, and To What Extent Is Less Certain

Policymakers have tools available to mitigate the resulting economic instability and insecurity, whenever and wherever it arises. There’s a tussle over the future of AI regulation. One camp insists that “x-risk,” or existential risk, warrants the preponderance of regulatory focus. Another camp demands that privacy be the primary concern. A third cohort wants climate impacts...

AI Found to Boost Individual Creativity – at the Expense of Less Varied Content
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AI Found to Boost Individual Creativity – at the Expense of Less Varied Content

Stories written with AI assistance have been deemed to be more creative, better written and more enjoyable. A new study published in the journal Science Advances finds that AI enhances creativity by boosting the novelty of story ideas as well as the ‘usefulness’ of stories – their ability to engage the target audience and potential for publication....

‘A History of Contact’: Princeton Geneticists Are Rewriting the Narrative of Neanderthals and Other Ancient Humans
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‘A History of Contact’: Princeton Geneticists Are Rewriting the Narrative of Neanderthals and Other Ancient Humans

Ever since the first Neanderthal bones were discovered in 1856, people have wondered about these ancient hominins. How are they different from us? How much are they like us? Did our ancestors get along with them? Fight them? Love them? The recent discovery of a group called Denisovans, a Neanderthal-like group who populated Asia and...