Tech
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Genetics
AI generated its first working genome: a tiny bacteria killer
Bacteriophages designed with AI kill E. coli faster than a well-studied strain, but the tech needs regulation before moving beyond lab dishes.
- Health & Medicine
Can AI spot harmful health side effects on social media?
A new AI tool discovers harmful side effects of cannabis products from Reddit posts. Public health workers could use this info to help keep people safe.
- Tech
This experimental computer chip reuses energy
A first-of-its-kind test shows that reusing energy within a computer chip can work, thanks to two techy tricks.
- Earth
20 years after Hurricane Katrina, is the U.S. better prepared?
Hurricane forecasts have improved since Katrina, but risks from climate change and budget cuts loom.
- Artificial Intelligence
Can fake faces make AI training more ethical?
Demographic bias gaps are closing in face recognition, but how training images are sourced is becoming the field’s biggest privacy fight.
- Physics
Sunlight is all that’s needed to keep these tiny aircraft aloft
Sun-powered fliers could use photophoretic forces to hover in the mesosphere, gathering data from a region off limits to planes and balloons.
- Artificial Intelligence
The U.S. government wants to go ‘all in’ on AI. There are big risks
Government agencies are rapidly adopting AI, but experts warn the push may outpace privacy safeguards and leave data vulnerable to leaks and attacks.
- Artificial Intelligence
Can AI ‘feel’ guilt?
Research based on game theory suggests if we program AI agents with a sense of guilt, they could behave more cooperatively, much like humans do.
- Health & Medicine
AI is designing proteins that could help treat cancer
A team used generative AI to enhance T cells’ ability to fight melanoma. The immunotherapy approach needs more testing before use in cancer patients.
- Archaeology
AI reveals new details about a famous Latin inscription
An analysis of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti using AI reveals its legal tone and imperial messaging, offering new insights missed by historians.
- Artificial Intelligence
Does the AI industry operate like a modern colonial empire?
In Empire of AI, journalist Karen Hao investigates OpenAI and the social and environmental costs of a multinational tech arms race.
- Artificial Intelligence
How much energy does your AI prompt use? It depends
AI models such as ChatGPT consume serious power. Experts break down where that energy goes, and what you can do to help.
