Showing 687 results
The next cancer breakthrough could come from space
In partnership with Intel
What do astronauts, AI, and mice have in common? According to research, quite a lot.
Our new brains: neurotechnology advances that could change everything
Here are the latest developments in neurotech, from brain-computer interfaces to brain-inspired AI.
Undergrad develops AI to hunt for alien signals
An AI trained to hunt for technosignatures from intelligent alien life found 8 interesting signals on its first deployment.
Move over, agony aunt: study finds ChatGPT gives better advice than professional columnists
Researcher found that people preferred the AI-generated responses over those given by a professional advice columnist, and couldn't tell which was which.
New voice cloning AI lets “you” speak multiple languages
Voice cloning AIs are gaining more abilities, while the amount of audio needed to replicate a person’s voice is shrinking.
7 creative ways people are already using GPT-4
Users are already demonstrating the wide array of uses the new AI tool may have.
Series|
Hard Reset Podcast
Hard Reset Podcast: Energy Density | Episode #15
The US has some of the best solar and wind energy in the world. Now there’s a cheap, zero-emissions way to store it.
Microsoft’s new AI needs just 3 seconds of audio to clone a voice
Microsoft has unveiled VALL-E, a voice-cloning AI that only needs a 3-second sample to simulate a speaker’s voice with remarkable accuracy.
ChatGPT-like AI creates new bacteria-killing proteins
Using a large language model AI, biotech startup Profluent has created new antimicrobial proteins.
How “InstructGPT” lobotomizes the insanity of raw GPT
OpenAI has created a version of GPT, called "InstructGPT," that cuts down on the AI’s bizarre and irrational responses.
A general-purpose robot is entering the workforce
Tech startup Sanctuary AI has unveiled Phoenix, a general-purpose robot designed to perform many workplace tasks.
Generative AI: The technology of the year for 2022
It's made headlines so often that there is no question that 2022 will be remembered as the year that Generative AI stunned the world.
How tech is turning science into a hobby
From astronomy to video games, consumer technology is helping people pursue their interests while also advancing community science.
Vesuvius Challenge: Can AI decipher these mysterious ancient scrolls?
Herculaneum’s Villa de Papiri contains hundreds of ancient texts that were carbonized by Mt. Vesuvius. Now, they can only be deciphered by AI.
ChatGPT versus AI-enabled Bing. How do they differ?
Microsoft has integrated an AI language tool into its Bing search engine that it claims is more powerful than ChatGPT.
A new AI lie detector reveals their “inner thoughts”
A new AI lie detector can dive into their hidden thoughts and reveal “what language models truly believe about the world.”
General Motors is putting ChatGPT into its vehicles
General Motors is developing a new voice assistant that will give drivers access to the hugely popular ChatGPT while they're on the road.
A view from the creative frontlines
What can we learn from creatives who have already begun experimenting about with this new wave of generative AI tools about what is to come?
This “supermaterial” created a transparent brain implant
An AI-powered transparent brain implant made of the supermaterial graphene can predict activity below the brain’s surface.
New AI will teach soldiers to dress wounds, fly helicopters in AR
DARPA is developing AI assistants that will display instructions to military personnel through augmented reality headsets.
Analog computing is undergoing a resurgence
Combining smart sensors with an older technology — analog computing — could dramatically reduce their power consumption.
NASA’s new balloon-borne telescope was designed with AI
An AI-powered technique called “generative design” is helping NASA engineers design better hardware, more quickly.
These robot excavators are making workers more money
In partnership with Million Stories
With the rise of AI, more people are afraid of robots taking their jobs than ever before. But in this industry, AI is actually creating jobs — and helping workers make more money.
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?
Excel may make chatbots much more useful
Math and logic are a weakness for chatbot AIs like GPT-4. Access to Excel may help change that.
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.
Ad-free search engine to launch ChatGPT-like AI feature
The ad-free Neeva search engine is adding an AI feature that will answer user queries with conversational text, rather than lists of links.
Shutterstock will sell AI images — and compensate artists
Shutterstock will make AI-generated images available on its website, while also compensating creators for helping train the AI.
Series|
Hard Reset Podcast
Hard Reset Podcast: Wildfires | Episode #12
Wildfire season length, frequency, and burn area have increased in the past few decades. To combat this, scientists are combining supercomputer technology with indigenous prescribed burn practices.
Diplomacy game AI can negotiate, form alliances, and persuade people
The game of Diplomacy, based on social skills, has long been seen as a tough challenge for AI. But Meta’s CICERO has proven itself up to the task.
Google unveils AI try-on feature for shopping
Google’s AI-powered virtual try-on feature lets shoppers see what an article of clothing would look like on a wide range of models.
5 AI experts predict how ChatGPT and DALL-E will affect the future of work
Will society will use this moment of AI breakthroughs to advance equity or exacerbate disparities? Five experts weigh in.
You’re thinking of the metaverse all wrong, says Matthew Ball
Rumors of the metaverse’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.
Series|
The Freethink Interview
The war over microchips is coming, says Chris Miller | The Freethink Interview
“When we think about technology, we think of social media, search engines, apps on our phone; but undergirding all of this are chips.”
GitHub CEO says Copilot will write 80% of code "sooner than later"
GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke goes in depth to answer questions about how AI-powered development will change the future of innovation itself.
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.
Going to space to find the cure for cancer
In partnership with Intel
Space cancer is a leading threat to astronauts. Now, a way to prevent it could help everyone on Earth.
“DALL-E 2 of biology” designs proteins for new drugs
The Chroma AI's ability to design proteins with structures no one has ever seen before could revolutionize medicine.
AI dramatically improved mRNA vaccines in just 11 minutes
A new AI tool can find the most stable mRNA sequence for a vaccine, leading to more effective shots that are less prone to degradation.
A search engine researcher explains the promise and peril of letting AI search the web for you
AI responds to questions but doesn’t actually know anything and is prone to making things up. Should you trust is with your internet search?
Five creative ways people are using ChatGPT
Internet users are getting creative with OpenAI’s new chatbot, ChatGPT, using it to plot movies, write menus, and more.
Using AI, MIT researchers identify a new class of antibiotic candidates
Using a type of artificial intelligence, MIT researchers have discovered a class of compounds that can kill drug-resistant bacteria.
AI is able to spot diseases before symptoms appear
New AI tools are helping doctors screen healthy patients for diseases early, when treatments are most effective.
Networks of silver nanowires seem to learn and remember, much like our brains
Self-organising networks of tiny silver wires appear to learn and remember in much the same way as the thinking hardware in our heads.
The future of fertility, from artificial wombs to AI-assisted IVF
A look back at the history of infertility treatments and ahead to the tech that could change everything we thought we knew about reproduction.
This bionic hand is fused to a woman’s bones, muscles, and nerves
A new way of merging the body with a bionic hand provided a woman with more control over her prosthetic and less phantom limb pain.
Is this secretive device the “iPhone killer”?
Thanks to a leaked video from a TED presentation, we now have our first glimpse at secretive startup Humane’s wearable tech.
Dog “nose print” app is 99% accurate at ID’ing lost pets
An AI-based app that identifies dogs and cats based on their unique nose prints could help reunite lost pets and their owners.
Microsoft plans to use ChatGPT in Bing. Here’s why it could be a threat to Google.
Language models could transform the ways we engage with search engines.
Search engines and AI will make each other better
The tech behind ChatGPT isn’t ready to overthrow Google, but it could fix what’s wrong with search engines.
AI isn’t close to becoming sentient, we just think it is
To what extent will our psychological vulnerabilities shape our interactions with emerging technologies? AI will be the test.
An interview with ChatGPT about itself
Freethink interviews OpenAI’s ChatGPT, an AI chatbot capable of generating conversational text, code, and more in response to prompts.
This startup is solving the biggest problem to creating drugs that work
Lab-grown human tissues could revolutionize drug development. This AI-powered robot can create and test 10,000 of them at once.
Google AI is searching the world for methane leaks from space
Google will provide computing resources to MethaneSAT, a project to identify climate-harming methane leaks from space.
ChatGPT answers physics questions like a confused C student
When asked about physics, ChatGPT gave a mixture of true, false, relevant, irrelevant, and contradictory answers — all with authority.
I used generative AI to create pictures of painting robots, but I’m not the artist — humanity is
Generative AI systems are incredible and hugely important, but they are not creative. In fact, they’re not even intelligent.
The groundbreaking plan to map the entire human immune system
Powered by AI and a vast trove of data, the Human Immunome Project aims to fully map the most complex system in the human body.
The startup using balloons to cool the planet
A look at the history of stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), the arguments against it, and the startup putting it into action right now.
AI-discovered drug for ALS enters human trials in just four years
Verge Genomics has begun a trial of their AI-found ALS drug candidate, one of the first tests for this new method of drug discovery.
The future of data centers — on land, at sea, and in space
As our digital world grows, demand for data centers is also increasing. To meet that demand sustainably, developers are getting creative.
Farmers can fight invasive insects with AI and a robotic arm
As the invasive spotted lanternfly threatens to expand its range, Carnegie Mellon researchers are developing a robot to fight back.
Shining a light on oil fields to make them more sustainable
Sensors and analytics give oil well operators real-time alerts when things go wrong, so they can respond before they become disasters.
Text-to-image AIs are changing art forever
Text-to-image AIs that draw whatever you describe in text are making it easy for anyone to create unique art online.
First-of-its-kind trial shows AI beat humans at analyzing heart scans
Echonet, an AI trained to assess a measure of heart function, has outperformed trained technicians in both accuracy and efficiency.
This Stable Diffusion mod will turn you into a Pokémon
Stable Diffusion, an open-source text-to-image AI, has been modified to generate Pokémon-like characters from simple text prompts.
Technology over the long run: See how dramatically the world can change within a lifetime
Bringing to mind how dramatically the world has changed can help us see how different the world could be in a few years or decades.
Researchers believe genes could crack cancer in space
In partnership with Intel
How does space travel impact human health? Researchers are filling in the gaps in the data with AI.
Stanford’s new microchip could put powerful AI on your devices
A Stanford-led team has developed a new microchip that could let us run advanced AI programs directly on our devices.
VR for self-driving cars makes training safer, more efficient
A system that acts like a virtual reality headset for self-driving cars makes training the vehicles safer and more efficient.
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.
This startup wants to track soil carbon with AI and satellites
Boomitra’s remote sensing technology combines data from Earth and space to verify when carbon is coming out of the air.
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.
Why Apple won’t call the Vision Pro “virtual reality”
Apple has forbidden developers from using "VR," "AR," or "MR" to describe their Vision Pro apps. That’s a mistake.
How do DALL-E, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and other forms of generative AI work?
DALL-E and other types of generative AI can produce images that look like photographs, paintings, or drawings that were created by humans.
Elon Musk demos humanoid robot, which will cost less than $20K
CEO Elon Musk unveiled two prototypes of the humanoid Tesla robot, expected to cost less than $20,000, at his company’s second annual AI Day.
Sophia the robot talks Elon Musk, climate change, and more
Celebrity humanoid Sophia the robot shares her “thoughts” on climate change, Elon Musk, and more with Freethink.
40% of chores could be done by robots within 10 years, according to a new study
Nearly 40% of the time spent on domestic chores could be automated within a decade, researchers estimate.
Google has not created sentient AI — yet
Google can make AI seem sentient, but the AI has no understanding of what it is saying. But humans are easily fooled by conversational AI.
How AI could learn from Aesop’s fables
When USC researchers tried to teach an AI simple fables, they discovered that the process is a lot harder than it sounds.
A sepsis-catching AI has proven effective in hospitals
A new AI for spotting sepsis, which accounts for ⅓ of hospital deaths, was found to be effective in a large trial.
Meta can (kinda) guess what you’ve heard via your brain waves
Meta has created an AI that can tell what you’re hearing based on non-invasive brain scan measurements.
Apple Music is using AI to make karaoke tracks
Apple Music Sing uses AI to turn popular songs into sing-alongs.
From besting Tetris AI to epic speedruns – inside gaming’s most thrilling feats
Gaming embraces design elements that promote social connection, creativity, a sense of autonomy – and, ultimately, the sheer joy of mastery.
Cancer treatment is about to get a reboot, thanks to AI
Techniques borrowed from astrophysics are helping to advance personalized cancer treatments beyond what genetics can tell us.
New smart glasses use sonar to read your lips
New glasses use sonar sensing technology and AI to allow users to control devices via silent, mouthed commands.
AI could help cancer patients avoid a deadly recurrence
A new study found that AI can use a patient’s initial skin cancer growth to predict their risk of melanoma recurrence.
This AI can finally tell humans why we’re losing
By combining traditional and deep learning approaches, a neurosymbolic AI has beaten bridge champions in a win for “white box” AI.
Is the disruption caused by AI art actually new, or does it just feel new?
From paint in tubes to typewriters to photography to digital art, the history of creativity is a history of disruptive technologies.
Toyota claims it will double the range of EVs in less than 3 years
Toyota’s been a bit behind the EV game, but claims game-changing batteries and new EV models are on the way.
We tested the most advanced haptic gloves in the world
HaptX's new technology uses tactile and force feedback to allow people to "feel" virtual objects with high fidelity.
Bipedal robot takes a beating, keeps on hiking
LimX Dynamics’s bipedal robot, P1, can keep its footing, even when traversing rough terrain unlike any it’s seen before.
Elevator technology is going up
A new generation of elevator technology may soon change the way you ride.
AI is helping decode the oldest story in the world
A new algorithm is helping decode ancient cuneiform tablets — including those containing the oldest known work of world literature.
Bruce Willis sells his likeness for a deepfake ad
Retired actor Bruce Willis had a "digital twin" made so that his likeness could be inserted into a new project using deepfake tech.
Robots who share your accent are more trusted, study shows
What makes a robot seem competent and trustworthy might be different for different people.
Meet Thresh, the world’s first professional gamer
Was Elon Musk any good at Quake? “He’s a legit gamer,” but…
New hope for early pancreatic cancer intervention via AI-based risk prediction
To train their machine learning models, MIT researchers used electronic health record data from various institutions across the U.S.
Boosted Breeding and beyond: 3 tech trends that could end world hunger
A world without hunger is possible, and the development and deployment of new farming technologies could be one key to manifesting it.
How three students wrote history by winning the Vesuvius Challenge
Thanks to the Vesuvius Challenge, we may be on the verge of the biggest literary discovery of the ancient world in decades.