Using a powerful text- or image-generating artificial intelligence can feel like witnessing the mythical birth of Athena as she strides, fully formed and dressed in armor, out of Zeus’ forehead. Write a short prompt, and an instant later, lucid paragraphs or realistic images appear on the screen (joined, possibly soon, by convincing video). Those first… Continue reading This Computer Scientist Seeks a Future Where AI Development Values Copyright
Greenwashing Kamala Harris: How the Veep Casts Herself as an Environmental Justice Crusader
SAN FRANCISCO—Vice President Kamala Harris has long cast herself as a fearless pioneer of efforts to fight for social and environmental justice. “When I was elected DA of San Francisco,” Harris told a gathering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta last year, “I started the first environmental justice unit of any DA’s office… Continue reading Greenwashing Kamala Harris: How the Veep Casts Herself as an Environmental Justice Crusader
The Question of What’s Fair Illuminates the Question of What’s Hard
The trio ended up establishing a kind of dictionary translating between fairness tools and ideas in complexity theory. They showed that any population — whether it’s days to be forecast or applicants awaiting loans — could be translated into a landscape of possible inputs for a computational problem. With the connections established, the researchers showed… Continue reading The Question of What’s Fair Illuminates the Question of What’s Hard
The Honest Truth About Health Policy
As a frail President Biden walks onto the debate stage this week with the considerable challenge of defending a disastrous record on foreign policy, inflation, and border policies, he is certain to try to use healthcare as an area to score points against President Trump. The campaign is already airing ads on the subject. The… Continue reading The Honest Truth About Health Policy
The New Math of How Large-Scale Order Emerges
Would Rosas’ scheme help to understand the emergence of robust, large-scale structure in a case like Jupiter’s Great Red Spot? The huge vortex “might satisfy computational closure” Rosas said, “but we’d need to do a proper analysis before being able to claim anything.” As for living organisms, they seem sometimes to be emergent but sometimes… Continue reading The New Math of How Large-Scale Order Emerges
Will a Crime Wave in this PA City Shape the Election Outcome?
Scranton, the Electric City and boyhood home of President Joe Biden, will likely figure in the political headlines throughout the 2024 election season. That’s largely because it’s located in Northeastern Pennsylvania – one of the swingiest areas of arguably the most important swing state. The city received visits from both major party candidates during the… Continue reading Will a Crime Wave in this PA City Shape the Election Outcome?
Titanosaurs—The Biggest Land Animals in Earth’s History—Thrived by Combining Reptilian and Mammalian Traits
Titanosaurs—The Biggest Land Animals in Earth’s History—Thrived by Combining Reptilian and Mammalian Traits The secret to titanosaurs’ remarkable biological success may be how they merged the best of both reptilian and mammalian characteristics to form a unique way of life By Kristi Curry Rogers & The Conversation US The Titanosaur, the largest dinosaur ever displayed… Continue reading Titanosaurs—The Biggest Land Animals in Earth’s History—Thrived by Combining Reptilian and Mammalian Traits
Computation Is All Around Us, and You Can See It if You Try
In the movie Oppenheimer, Niels Bohr challenges the physicist early in his career: Bohr: Algebra is like sheet music. The important thing isn’t “can you read music?” It’s “can you hear it?” Can you hear the music, Robert? Oppenheimer: Yes, I can. I can’t hear the algebra, but I feel the machine. I felt the machine even… Continue reading Computation Is All Around Us, and You Can See It if You Try
The Brainstem Fine-Tunes Inflammation Throughout the Body
Last month, researchers discovered cells in the brainstem that regulate inflammation throughout the body. In response to an injury, these nerve cells not only sense inflammatory molecules, but also dial their circulating levels up and down to keep infections from harming healthy tissues. The discovery adds control of the immune system to the brainstem’s core… Continue reading The Brainstem Fine-Tunes Inflammation Throughout the Body
The Truth About Unicorns
Podcast: Download MYS317: After reviewing the history of unicorns from pre-history to today, Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli discuss the reality that unicorns have existed and still exist; the basis for the historical accounts; and what the future holds for them. Get all new episodes automatically and for free: Follow by Email | Watch this… Continue reading The Truth About Unicorns