Artificial Intelligence

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Artificial Intelligence

Rapid advancements in AI today have the potential to change everything about everything. But will they? We’re exploring what will change, how, and whether we’re building digital gods or stochastic parrots.
Featured
Three founders look to the future at Freethink’s inaugural Great Progression event
The tech community came together for the launch of the Great Progression event series, curated by Peter Leyden and produced by Freethink.
Why AI today is more toddler than Terminator
In “Raising AI,” author De Kai argues that AIs are more like society’s children than machines under our control.
How proof-of-human tech could save the internet
Sam Altman’s World Network uses iris-scanning Orbs to give people a way to prove that they are people — and not AIs — online.
A tool, a rival, or a collaborator?
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Disney’s new robot is a cartoon came to life
A highly expressive new Disney robot developed in a fraction of the time it usually takes could be the first of many expressive bots to come.
MIT study shows AI conversations are more positive if users think AI is empathetic, negative if they think it’s nefarious
Study shows users can be primed to believe certain things about an AI chatbot’s motives, which influences their interactions with it.
See inside a first-of-its-kind smart gym, staffed by AI personal trainers
Lumin Fitness’s first-of-its-kind smart gym in Texas features AI trainers, motion-tracking sensors, and “gamified” classes.
New AI algorithm transforms 2D photos into 3D maps
A new method named MonoXiver uses AI to build up reliable 3D maps of a camera’s surroundings based only on 2D photos.
Is human uncertainty the key to improving AI?
AI systems assume humans are always certain. Teaching them to anticipate and understand uncertainty may help them reduce human error.
GPT-4 scores in the top 1% of test-takers for creative thinking
New AI tools are increasingly part of creative production, and are scoring surprisingly high in creative thinking tests.
ChatGPT forces us to ask: how much of “being human” belongs to us?
Large language models have been trained on massive amounts of “natural” human language — just like us. Does this make the robots part human?
You can now talk to ChatGPT and show it pictures
OpenAI is rolling out new features that let subscribers talk to ChatGPT and show it pictures, enabling more intuitive interactions.
AIs accurately predicted path of Hurricane Lee a week out
AI-based weather forecasting models developed by Google, Nvidia, and Huawei accurately predicted where Hurricane Lee would make landfall.
AI narrates 5,000 free audiobooks for Project Gutenberg
A new text-to-speech system developed by Microsoft and MIT was used to create nearly 5,000 audiobooks for Project Gutenberg.
Why Toyota is building a “kindergarten for robots”
Toyota is using a generative AI-based method to teach robots to peel veggies, prepare snacks, and perform other dexterous tasks.
UT med students can now get a dual degree in AI
The University of Texas at San Antonio has launched what it says is the US’s first dual degree in medicine and AI.
Self-driving cars can now tell passengers what they’re thinking
AV startup Wayve has given its self-driving cars the ability to explain their decisions in conversational language.
First-of-its-kind robot receptionist is like ChatGPT with a face
Engineers have combined the AI model powering ChatGPT with a humanoid bust to create a robot receptionist for the UK National Robotarium.
Meta’s first-of-its-kind AI can translate between any of 100 languages
Meta’s SeamlessM4T AI puts it a step closer to creating a universal translator that eliminates the language barrier for good.
NASA partner unveils the “iPhone” of robots
Texas-based robotics company Apptronik has unveiled Apollo, a humanoid robot that could revolutionize the workforce.
Why aliens are likely to be AI
Fundamental biological limitations will make long-distance space travel all but impossible for organisms. AI is more suitable.
A robot pilot is ready to fly a real plane — are you onboard?
PIBOT, a humanoid robot pilot developed in South Korea, is ready to take control of a real plane for the first time.
Hackers get AI to share credit card info and endorse hate speech
At DEFCON 2023, ethical hackers targeted generative AIs by OpenAI, Google, and other tech leaders to aid responsible AI development.
With “thanabots,” ChatGPT is making it possible to talk to the dead
ChatGPT is making it possible to digitally resurrect the dead in the form of thanabots: chatbots trained on data of the deceased.
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