Artificial Intelligence
This Recent Benchmark Could Expose AI’s Biggest WeaknessMark Sullivan | Fast Company
“The influential AI researcher François Chollet has long argued that the sphere measures intelligence incorrectly, that popular benchmarks reward a model’s ability to memorize vast amounts of knowledge somewhat than navigate novel situations and learn latest skills. …The test, called ARC-AGI-3, may offer the clearest measurement yet of how close today’s AI agents are to human-level intelligence.”
Computing
You Can Now Buy a DIY Quantum ComputerKarmela Padavic-Callaghan | Recent Scientist ($)
“EduQit features a chip constructed from tiny superconducting circuits, which is the center of the quantum computer. There may be also a special refrigerator that the chip is installed and wired into, together with a set of electronic devices that use radio waves and microwaves for controlling the chip and reading the outcomes of its computations. All of that is combined with a smattering of racks, power cables and other devices that help complete the quantum computer.”
Biotechnology
Scientists Create ‘Living Pharmacy’ Implant That Doses 3 Drugs at OnceEd Cara | Gizmodo
“These tiny devices are jam-packed with genetically engineered cells that produce the specified medication. Once implanted contained in the body, often just underneath the skin, the cells can deliver the drug as needed with none fuss, while the device’s structure is meant to guard the cells from any immune response.”
Computing
The CPU Was Left for Dead by AI. Now AI Is Bringing It Back.Robbie Whelan | The Wall Street Journal ($)
“For the past few years, central processing units, or CPUs…have been something of an afterthought on this planet of artificial-intelligence computing. Now, because of how briskly AI is changing, they’re the belles of the ball. The explosion of so-called agentic AI has driven a wave of demand for CPUs, and chip corporations are moving quickly to capitalize on it.”
Future
What Happens If AI Makes Things Too Easy for Us?Vanessa Bates Ramirez | IEEE Spectrum
“Psychological research has long shown that effortful engagement can deepen understanding and strengthen memory, sometimes described as ‘desirable difficulties.’ The authors worry that AI systems able to immediately producing polished answers or highly responsive conversation may bypass these processes of learning and motivation.”
Science
Computer Finds Flaw in Major Physics Paper for First TimeMatthew Sparkes | Recent Scientist ($)
“A pc language designed to robustly confirm mathematical theorems and expose logical flaws has been turned towards a physics paper—and spotted an error. …The researcher behind the invention says it’s the primary physics paper he has analyzed in this fashion, which raises a worrying query: what number of more contain mistakes?”
Biotechnology
‘Zombie’ Cells Created by Transplanting Genomes Into Dead BacteriaChris Simms | Recent Scientist ($)
“A number of the bacteria began to grow and divide normally and genetic tests showed they carried the synthetic genome. This makes them the primary living, synthetic bacterial cells constructed from non-living parts, claim the researchers, who call them ‘zombie cells’ because they’ve been revived after death.”
Future
We Could Protect Earth From Dangerous Asteroids Using a Huge MagnetLeah Crane | Recent Scientist ($)
“The spacecraft itself would consist of a giant magnet constructed from a coil of superconducting wire, about 20 meters in diameter, powered by a nuclear fission reactor. Small boosters would control its orbit across the asteroid, keeping it about 10 to fifteen meters from the rock, so the magnet could act on the iron inside the asteroid.”
Biotechnology
A Billionaire-Backed Startup Desires to Grow ‘Organ Sacks’ to Replace Animal TestingEmily Mullin | Wired ($)
“R3 Bio has a daring idea for replacing lab animals: genetically-engineered whole organ systems that lack a brain. The long-term goal, says a cofounder, is to make human versions. …Growing human organs from scratch has been a longtime goal of regenerative medicine, but the thought of body sacks raises various ethical questions on how these entities could be created, stored, and maintained—and in the event that they could be capable of getting awareness or feeling pain.”
Future
The Hardest Query to Answer About AI-Fueled DelusionsJames O’Donnell | MIT Technology Review ($)
“Recent research can’t yet say whether AI causes delusions or amplifies them, a distinction that may shape the whole lot from high-profile court cases to safety rules for chatbots. …Many such cases have led to lawsuits against AI corporations which are still ongoing. But that is the primary time researchers have so closely analyzed chat logs—over 390,000 messages from 19 people—to reveal what actually goes on during such spirals.”
Biotechnology
This Scientist Rewarmed and Studied Pieces of His Friend’s Cryopreserved BrainJessica Hamzelou | MIT Technology Review ($)
“‘This brain shouldn’t be alive,’ says John Bischof, who works on ways to cryopreserve human organs on the University of Minnesota. Still, Fahy’s research could help provide a tool to neuroscientists searching for latest ways to review the brain. And while human reanimation after cryopreservation stands out as the stuff of science fiction, using the technology to preserve organs for transplantation is close by.”