As G7 leaders convened in Alberta, Canada last week, the agenda encompassed pressing geopolitical developments in the Middle East, Ukraine, trade, and energy security. But mostly absent from discussions was the topic of governance for leading artificial intelligence models and systems, a notable omission given that the G7 previously pioneered the voluntary guidelines leading AI… Continue reading The G7 Summit Missed an Opportunity for Progress on Global AI Governance
Is Gravity Just Entropy Rising? Long-Shot Idea Gets Another Look.
Isaac Newton was never entirely happy with his law of universal gravitation. For decades after publishing it in 1687, he sought to understand how, exactly, two objects were able to pull on each other from afar. He and others came up with several mechanical models, in which gravity was not a pull, but a push.… Continue reading Is Gravity Just Entropy Rising? Long-Shot Idea Gets Another Look.
Redressing the Nuclear Imbalance in Europe
Russia has a vast lead over the United States in nuclear forces in and around Europe and exploits it with frequent nuclear bullying. An overconfident Kremlin could miscalculate or think superiority might bring strategic advantage. At its June 24–25 summit in The Hague, NATO might weigh how to lessen the imbalance. In intercontinental-range nuclear forces,… Continue reading Redressing the Nuclear Imbalance in Europe
Lawmakers Form First Extreme Heat Caucus, Citing ‘Deadly Risk’
Lawmakers Form First Extreme Heat Caucus, Citing ‘Deadly Risk’ The House of Representatives’ first caucus to address extreme heat is being launched by a Democrat from the Southwest and a Republican from the Northeast By Ariel Wittenberg & E&E News A construction worker in Folsom, Calif., during a July 2024 heatwave that brought daytime highs… Continue reading Lawmakers Form First Extreme Heat Caucus, Citing ‘Deadly Risk’
What Is Europe’s Strategy for Success Against Russia?
Europe is finally taking its security seriously again, but it lacks a “theory of success” regarding the ultimate goal of its policy towards Russia and how the announced significant increase in defense spending will contribute to that goal. At the NATO summit in The Hague, discussions will focus on increasing defense spending to 3.5 percent… Continue reading What Is Europe’s Strategy for Success Against Russia?
The Ecosystem Dynamics That Can Make or Break an Invasion
The approach has been fruitful. In 2022, Gore and colleagues discovered that ecological communities undergo phase transitions — a core organizing principle in physics that describes, for example, water’s change from solid ice to liquid to gas. As the researchers increased either the number of species in their experimental ecosystems or the strength of the… Continue reading The Ecosystem Dynamics That Can Make or Break an Invasion
The Uncertainty in the Aftermath of the U.S. Bombing in Iran
The U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear sites Sunday had a concrete strategic objective: thwart Iran’s ability to enrich nuclear material and potentially build nuclear weapons. It was intended to make the world a safer place. At the moment, however, the world remains a dangerous place. This is the case despite a ceasefire between Iran and… Continue reading The Uncertainty in the Aftermath of the U.S. Bombing in Iran
What Causes Glaciers to Collapse like the Event That Buried a Swiss Village?
What Causes Glaciers to Collapse like the Event That Buried a Swiss Village? Climate change and thawing permafrost play a role in destabilizing glaciers By Jen Schwartz edited by Dean Visser The small village of Blatten in the Swiss Alps was largely destroyed by a landslide that occurred as a result of the partial collapse… Continue reading What Causes Glaciers to Collapse like the Event That Buried a Swiss Village?
Five Priorities for Advancing NATO’s Space Mission
NATO has been throttling up its efforts in the space domain. In relatively fast order, the alliance has moved from recognizing the growing role of space—developing a formal Space Policy and defining space as an operational domain—to operationalizing NATO’s role in space. This latter stage has focused on efforts to improve the alliance’s space domain… Continue reading Five Priorities for Advancing NATO’s Space Mission
How AI Models Are Helping to Understand — and Control — the Brain
For Martin Schrimpf, the promise of artificial intelligence is not in the tasks it can accomplish. It’s in what AI might reveal about human intelligence. He is working to build a “digital twin” of the brain using artificial neural networks — AI models loosely inspired by how neurons communicate with one another. That end goal… Continue reading How AI Models Are Helping to Understand — and Control — the Brain