Artificial Intelligence
AI Is Beginning to Construct Higher AIMatthew Hutson | IEEE Spectrum
“In 1966, the English mathematician IJ Good wrote that ‘an ultraintelligent machine could design even higher machines; there would then unquestionably be an “intelligence explosion,” and the intelligence of man can be left far behind.’ AI researchers have long seen recursive self-improvement, or RSI, as something to each desire and fear. Today, advances in AI are raising the query of whether parts of that process are already underway.”
Robotics
This Driverless Chinese Mining Truck Is Giant, Agile, and Shows the Industrial Way forward for AIJesus Diaz | Fast Company
“In the event you thought that embodied AI was all about humanoids and robotic good boys, allow me to introduce you to the Shuanglin K7. Equipped with a Level 4 driving brain that enables it to operate with no human intervention, this massive robot on 4 wheels can literally move on a dime, rotating 360 degrees by itself vertical axis and moving sideways like a crab, operating 24/7.”
Future
This ‘Living’ Plastic Comes With a Built-in Kill SwitchGayoung Lee | Gizmodo
“The goal was to engineer the bacterium Bacillus subtilis to supply two cooperative enzymes: one to snip the polymer chain and one other to chew up these smaller bits into smaller molecules—essentially nothing. …’By embedding these microbes, plastics could effectively ‘come alive’ and self-destruct on command,’ Dai said.”
Artificial Intelligence
The Secret to Understanding AIJosh Tyrangiel | The Atlantic ($)
“If we don’t shape AI for good, in our government and in our day by day lives, it can be shaped by individuals who don’t know or care about our problems. If we don’t teach it what matters, another person will teach it what’s profitable. The alternative isn’t between a world with AI and a world without it. The alternative is between AI designed by individuals who think fixing things is definitely worth the trouble, and AI designed by individuals who think breaking things is more efficient.”
Future
Forget Expensive Carbon Capture—Renewables Are the Cheaper Climate FixEllyn Lapointe | Gizmodo
“The findings, published Monday in Communications Sustainability, show that renewable energy is much more cost effective than direct air capture—a growing carbon removal strategy—at reducing atmospheric carbon. Across nearly every US region through 2050, money spent deploying wind or solar energy will deliver a greater combined climate and public health profit than whether it is spent on direct air capture, in accordance with the study.”
Space
Here’s What Has to Occur if NASA Desires to Land on the Moon Every MonthStephen Clark | Ars Technica
“NASA’s goal of reaching the moon’s surface as many as 21 times over the following two and a half years would require an overhaul of the agency’s approach to purchasing lunar landers and success in rectifying the myriad problems which have, thus far, caused three of the last 4 US landing attempts to falter.”
Future
Pentagon Think Tank Tests Ingenious Plan to Protect Coasts From Hurricanes—and It’s WorkingMatthew Phelan | Gizmodo
“DARPA-developed hybrid reefs installed between October 2024 and March 2025 at Tyndall AFB have cut ocean wave power to shore by greater than 90% in tests, in accordance with the agency’s university collaborators at Rutgers, all while supporting local reef growth and coastal habitat.”
Tech
Meta’s Embrace of AI Is Making Its Employees MiserableKalley Huang, Eli Tan, and Kate Conger | The Recent York Times ($)
“Meta is pushing its 78,000 employees to adopt AI tools and factoring their use of the technology in performance reviews. The corporate can also be tracking employees’ computer work to feed and train its AI models. And it’s cutting jobs to offset its AI spending, saying last month that it could slash 10 percent of its work force.”
Future
There’s a Long-Shot Proposal to Protect California Staff From AIMakena Kelly | Wired ($)
“The plan, which builds on a broader AI policy framework Steyer released in March, guarantees to make California ‘the primary major economy on this planet’ to make sure ‘good-paying’ jobs to employees impacted by AI. To accomplish that, Steyer tells Wired he plans to construct off a previous proposal to introduce a ‘token tax’ which might tax big tech firms ‘a fraction of a cent for each unit of information processed’ for AI.”
Space
Scientists Have Found a Hidden Galaxy Contained in the Milky Way, and They’re Calling It LokiManisha Priyadarshini | Digital Trends
“Our home galaxy has a secret buried inside. A brand new study published within the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society suggests that the Milky Way swallowed an ancient dwarf galaxy billions of years ago, and its stellar stays are still embedded inside ours.”
Future
In This Machine Age We Must Hold On to Imperfect Writing. It Is Not Flawed. It Is HumanAlex Reszelska | The Guardian
“‘There may be nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed’ is a quote often attributed to Ernest Hemingway. We want that blood, that pulse of synapses. We want the mess of all of it. Because without it what stays are sentences which are technically flawless but emotionally vacant. Perfectly polished. Entirely forgettable.”