Artificial Intelligence
AI Is Starting to Build Better AIMatthew Hutson | IEEE Spectrum
“In 1966, the English mathematician IJ Good wrote that ‘an ultraintelligent machine could design even better machines; there would then unquestionably be an “intelligence explosion,” and the intelligence of man would be left far behind.’ AI researchers have long seen recursive self-improvement, or RSI, as something to both desire and fear. Today, advances in AI are raising the question of whether parts of that process are already underway.”
Robotics
This Driverless Chinese Mining Truck Is Giant, Agile, and Shows the Industrial Future of AIJesus Diaz | Fast Company
“If 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 allows it to operate with no human intervention, this massive robot on four wheels can literally move on a dime, rotating 360 degrees on its own 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 produce two cooperative enzymes: one to snip the polymer chain and another 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 ($)
“If we don’t shape AI for good, in our government and in our daily lives, it will be shaped by people who don’t know or care about our problems. If we don’t teach it what matters, someone else will teach it what’s profitable. The choice isn’t between a world with AI and a world without it. The choice is between AI designed by people who think fixing things is worth the trouble, and AI designed by people who think breaking things is more efficient.”
Future
Forget Expensive Carbon Capture—Renewables Are the Cheaper Climate FixEllyn Lapointe | Gizmodo
“The findings, published Monday in Communications Sustainability, show that renewable energy is far more cost-effective than direct air capture—a growing carbon removal strategy—at reducing atmospheric carbon. Across nearly every US region through 2050, money spent deploying wind or solar power will deliver a greater combined climate and public health benefit than if it is spent on direct air capture, according to the study.”
Space
Here’s What Has to Happen if NASA Wants to Land on the Moon Every MonthStephen Clark | Ars Technica
“NASA’s goal of reaching the moon’s surface as many as 21 times over the next two and a half years will require an overhaul of the agency’s approach to buying lunar landers and success in rectifying the myriad problems that have, so far, caused three of the last four US landing attempts to falter.”
Future
Pentagon Think Tank Tests Ingenious Plan to Protect Coasts From Hurricanes—and It’s WorkingMatthew Phelan | Gizmodo
“DARPA-developed hybrid reefs installed between October 2024 and March 2025 at Tyndall AFB have cut ocean wave power to shore by more than 90% in tests, according to the agency’s university collaborators at Rutgers, all while supporting local reef growth and coastal habitat.”
Tech
Meta’s Embrace of AI Is Making Its Employees MiserableKalley Huang, Eli Tan, and Kate Conger | The New York Times ($)
“Meta is pushing its 78,000 employees to adopt AI tools and factoring their use of the technology in performance reviews. The company is also tracking employees’ computer work to feed and train its AI models. And it is cutting jobs to offset its AI spending, saying last month that it would slash 10 percent of its work force.”
Future
There’s a Long-Shot Proposal to Protect California Workers From AIMakena Kelly | Wired ($)
“The plan, which builds on a broader AI policy framework Steyer released in March, promises to make California ‘the first major economy in the world’ to ensure ‘good-paying’ jobs to workers impacted by AI. To do so, Steyer tells Wired he plans to build off a previous proposal to introduce a ‘token tax’ which would tax big tech companies ‘a fraction of a cent for every unit of data processed’ for AI.”
Space
Scientists Have Found a Hidden Galaxy Inside the Milky Way, and They’re Calling It LokiManisha Priyadarshini | Digital Trends
“Our home galaxy has a secret buried inside. A new study published in 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 remains are still embedded within ours.”
Future
In This Machine Age We Must Hold On to Imperfect Writing. It Is Not Flawed. It Is HumanAlex Reszelska | The Guardian
“‘There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed’ is a quote often attributed to Ernest Hemingway. We need that blood, that pulse of synapses. We need the mess of it all. Because without it what remains are sentences that are technically flawless but emotionally vacant. Perfectly polished. Entirely forgettable.”
