Tech: Is there a human hiding behind that AI?

April 23—A spiderlike robot designed to explore caves, cutting-edge AI that runs on quantum computers, and the human labor that actually makes some "automated" tools work. This week we're covering all that and more. -Ben Guarino, Associate Editor, Technology

Top Stories

Low-Earth Orbit Faces a Spiraling Debris Threat Millions of human-made objects travel at high speeds in low-Earth orbit, polluting space and increasing the chance of collision with satellites and other spacecraft Aneli Bongers, expert writer; José L. Torres , expert writer

Pay No Attention to the Person behind the Algorithm: A Brief History of Automatons That Were Actually People When human labor is hidden under the veneer of a robot or AI tool, that's "fauxtomation" Brian Contreras

AI Report Shows 'Startlingly Rapid' Progress—And Ballooning Costs A new report finds that AI matches or outperforms people at tasks such as competitive math and reading comprehension Nicola Jones; Nature magazine

How Jeff Koons's Lunar Artwork Could Outlast All of Humanity How long can humanity's artifacts endure on the lunar surface? A new installation from artist Jeff Koons is inadvertently putting this question to the test David W. Brown

AI Can Transform the Classroom Just Like the Calculator AI can better education, not threaten it, if we learn some lessons from the adoption of the calculator into the classroom Michael M. Crow; Nicole K. Mayberry , expert writer; Ted Mitchell , expert writer; Derrick Anderson

What Philosopher Ibn Sina Can Teach Us about AI A philosopher who lived centuries before artificial intelligence might be able to help us understand the field's personhood questions Abigail Tulenko

How a New AI Model Helps Volcanic History Rise from the Ashes Volcano detectives use artificial intelligence to sleuth out ancient secrets in Alaska.  Emily Schwing

Quantum Computers Can Now Run Powerful AI That Works like the Brain The influential AI design that makes chatbots tick now runs on quantum computers Rahul Rao

SpaceX's Starship Could Save NASA's Beleaguered Mars Sample Return Mission Facing budgetary pressure for its Mars Sample Return program, NASA has turned to private industry for ideas—perhaps with one specific company in mind Jonathan O'Callaghan

New Minecraft 'Heat Dragon' Quest Has Gamers Fight Climate Villain A new video game puts climate solution tools in the hands of up to 80 million Minecraft players Daniel Cusick; E&E News

Follow Us Instagram  |  X/Twitter  |  Threads  |  Facebook  |  YouTube Manage your email preferences  |  Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy  |  Contact Us Scientific American One New York Plaza, New York, NY, 10010