Tuesday, October 31, 2023

New Training Method Helps AI Generalize like People Do

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October 31, 2023

Today's large language models can produce human-sounding text, but they do not actually understand the rules of grammar underlying the sentences they spit out. Now researchers have tested out a new training method that enables their AI model to generalize about the rules of a made-up language—just like humans do.

Sophie Bushwick, Associate Editor, Technology
@sophiebushwick

Artificial Intelligence

New Training Method Helps AI Generalize like People Do

To improve machine learning, the answer might be taking a different approach to robot education rather than just feeding models more data

By Lauren Leffer

Mental Health

Here's Why States Are Suing Meta for Hurting Teens with Facebook and Instagram

Researchers have documented that social media can harm teens

By Christia Spears Brown,The Conversation US

Automobiles

'Robo-Taxi Takeover' Hits Speed Bumps

Self-driving cars are expanding their ranges in a handful of U.S. cities, but the reality doesn't yet match the hype

By Lauren Leffer

Artificial Intelligence

Humans Absorb Bias from AI--And Keep It after They Stop Using the Algorithm

People may learn from and replicate the skewed perspective of an artificial intelligence algorithm, and they carry this bias beyond their interactions with the AI

By Lauren Leffer

Conservation

New Wildlife Tracker Powers Itself as Animals Walk, Trot and Run

A battery-free GPS may change the game for tracking elusive animals

By Rachel Crowell

Planetary Science

Space Junk Is Polluting Earth's Stratosphere with Vaporized Metal

Defunct satellites and other pieces of orbital debris are pumping metals into Earth's fragile upper atmosphere, with effects unknown

By Leonard David,Lee Billings

Arts

A Fictional Psychological Thriller about the Rise of AI

Why we're seduced by nature's toxins, horror stories for winter solstice, and more books out this month

By Amy Brady

Robotics

Above-Elbow Bionic Arm Can Control Every Finger

Researchers have created the first nerve-controlled prosthetic hand that can be used in daily life

By Simon Makin

Materials Science

Fungi Make Safer Fireproofing Material

Scientists are now growing mycelium, the fungal root network, into fire-retardant sheets to provide a safer, nontoxic way to protect buildings

By Timmy Broderick

Materials Science

Some Metals Mysteriously Heal Their Own Cracks

Scientists accidentally discover metals that mend themselves without human intervention

By Lucy Tu

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"NASA, together with the European and Canadian space agencies, is already executing a program to return humans to the moon after a half-century gap in its exploration. This laudable goal comes with no small risk, but one simple threat is perhaps not taken seriously enough: What if someone on one of these flights is stricken with lycanthropy?"

Phil Plait, Scientific American

FROM THE ARCHIVE

How AI Knows Things No One Told It

Researchers are still struggling to understand how AI models trained to parrot Internet text can perform advanced tasks such as running code, playing games and trying to break up a marriage

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