Thursday, December 5

TECHNOLOGY

Making Machines That Learn — Spotlights Key Breakthroughs In AI Revolution
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AI, TECHNOLOGY, VIDEO REELS

Making Machines That Learn — Spotlights Key Breakthroughs In AI Revolution

Nobel Prize in physics spotlights key breakthroughs in AI revolution − making machines that learn. If your jaw dropped as you watched the latest AI-generated video, your bank balance was saved from criminals by a fraud detection system, or your day was made a little easier because you were able to dictate a text message on the run, you have many scientists, mathematicians and engineers to thank. But two names stand out for foundational contributions to the deep learning technology that makes those experiences possible: Princeton University physicist John Hopfield and University of Toronto computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton. The two researchers were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics on Oct. 8, 2024, for their pioneering work in the field of artificial neural networks. Though artificia...
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Changing The Way We Explore The Solar System “CubeSats” The Tiniest Of Satellites
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TECHNOLOGY, TOP FOUR, VIDEO REELS

Changing The Way We Explore The Solar System “CubeSats” The Tiniest Of Satellites

CubeSats, the tiniest of satellites, are changing the way we explore the solar system. Most CubeSats weigh less than a bowling ball, and some are small enough to hold in your hand. But the impact these instruments are having on space exploration is gigantic. CubeSats – miniature, agile and cheap satellites – are revolutionizing how scientists study the cosmos. A standard-size CubeSat is tiny, about 4 pounds (roughly 2 kilograms). Some are larger, maybe four times the standard size, but others are no more than a pound. As a professor of electrical and computer engineering who works with new space technologies, I can tell you that CubeSats are a simpler and far less costly way to reach other worlds. Rather than carry many instruments with a vast array of purposes, these Lilliputian-siz...
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The Astronauts Are Still In Space — Why The Boeing Starliner Returned Without The Crew
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TECHNOLOGY, TOP FOUR

The Astronauts Are Still In Space — Why The Boeing Starliner Returned Without The Crew

The Boeing Starliner has returned to Earth without its crew – a former astronaut details what that means for NASA, Boeing and the astronauts still up in space. Boeing’s crew transport space capsule, the Starliner, returned to Earth without its two-person crew right after midnight Eastern time on Sept. 7, 2024. Its remotely piloted return marked the end of a fraught test flight to the International Space Station which left two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams, on the station for months longer than intended after thruster failures led NASA to deem the capsule unsafe to pilot back. Wilmore and Williams will stay on the International Space Station until February 2025, when they’ll return to Earth on a SpaceX Dragon capsule. The Conversation U.S. asked former commander ...
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Airborne Communications Stations Could Change Internet Connectivity For A Third Of The World’s Population
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TECHNOLOGY

Airborne Communications Stations Could Change Internet Connectivity For A Third Of The World’s Population

A third of the world’s population lacks internet connectivity − airborne communications stations could change that. An experimental aircraft like this solar-powered airship could someday play a role in providing internet access to rural areas or disaster zones. Thales Alenia Space via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA  About one-third of the global population, around 3 billion people, don’t have access to the internet or have poor connections because of infrastructure limitations, economic disparities and geographic isolation. Today’s satellites and ground-based networks leave communications gaps where, because of geography, setting up traditional ground-based communications equipment would be too expensive. High-altitude platform stations – telecommunications equipment positioned...
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Without Skimping On Energy Usage — The Load On The Electrical Grid Can Be Helped By AI
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TECHNOLOGY

Without Skimping On Energy Usage — The Load On The Electrical Grid Can Be Helped By AI

AI helps lighten the load on the electric grid – without skimping on people’s energy use. My colleagues and I have developed an artificial intelligence system that helps buildings shift their energy use to times when the electric grid is cleaner. I’m an engineer who studies and develops smart buildings. My lab created Merlin, which learns how people use energy in their homes and adjust energy controls like thermostats to meet their needs while at the same time minimizing the impact on the grid. The system can learn on one set of buildings and occupants and be used in buildings with different controls and energy use patterns. We dubbed it Merlin after King Arthur’s legendary magician to reflect the magical nature of the system: It automatically collects data on how people use energy in...
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Some App Settings Are A Real Threat To User Privacy
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TECHNOLOGY, TOP FOUR, VIDEO REELS

Some App Settings Are A Real Threat To User Privacy

Complicated app settings are a threat to user privacy. Default privacy settings in popular mobile apps seem like a convenience, allowing you to use a single setting to control the level of privacy – who can see which actions you take – across all of the app’s functions. But default privacy settings are also a potential risk to your privacy. The U.S. app market generated US$44.9 billion in 2023, with smartphone users spending 217 billion hours on their apps. The growing popularity of mobile apps can be attributed to their convenience, ease of use, connectivity and flexibility. For instance, Venmo, a popular peer-to-peer payment app for iPhone and Android users, lets users send and receive money from anyone with a Venmo account. It is particularly convenient when dealing with transactio...
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The Challenges Of Digital Inaccessibility For Blind And Low-Vision People
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TECHNOLOGY, VIDEO REELS

The Challenges Of Digital Inaccessibility For Blind And Low-Vision People

Digital inaccessibility: Blind and low-vision people have powerful technology but still face barriers to the digital world. Imagine that you have low vision and you’re completing an online job application using screen reader software. You get through half the form and then come to a question with drop-down options the screen reader cannot access because the online form doesn’t conform to accessibility standards. You’re stuck. You can’t submit the application, and your time has been wasted. Assistive technologies like screen readers go a long way toward closing the gap between people who are blind or have low vision and their sighted peers. But the technologies often hit roadblocks because the information they are designed to work with – documents, websites and software programs – don’t w...
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Can You Prove That You’re A Human And Not A Bot
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TECHNOLOGY, TOP FOUR, VIDEO REELS

Can You Prove That You’re A Human And Not A Bot

CAPTCHAs: The struggle to tell real humans from fake. CAPTCHAs are those now ubiquitous challenges you encounter to prove that you’re a human and not a bot when you go to log in to many websites. Websites and mobile apps have long been attacked by bots on a massive scale. Those malicious bots are programmed to automatically consume a large amount of computing resources, post spam messages, collect data from websites and even register and perform user authentication. This state of affairs led to the introduction of CAPTCHA, which stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. As a computer scientist, I see CAPTCHAs as an effective shield for websites to prevent automated attacks, enhance cybersecurity and improve user experience – at least in the...
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Even Though Most Of The Cars Around Them Are Driven By People, Study Finds Robocars Promise To Improve Traffic
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TECHNOLOGY

Even Though Most Of The Cars Around Them Are Driven By People, Study Finds Robocars Promise To Improve Traffic

Robocars promise to improve traffic even when most of the cars around them are driven by people, study finds. Robotic vehicles can optimize the flow of traffic in cities even when mixed in with vehicles driven by humans, thereby improving traffic efficiency, safety and energy consumption, my colleagues and I found. Robot vehicles are no longer a sci-fi concept: Cities around the world have been testing autonomous robotaxis since 2016. With the increasing presence of robot vehicles in traffic and the foreseeable long period of transitioning from mixed traffic to fully autonomous traffic, my team and I wondered whether robot vehicles and their interactions with human-driven vehicles can alleviate today’s notorious traffic problems. I am a computer scientist who studies artificial intell...
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How Good Are You At Detecting Fake Videos
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TECHNOLOGY, TOP FOUR

How Good Are You At Detecting Fake Videos

No, you’re not that good at detecting fake videos − 2 misinformation experts explain why and how you can develop the power to resist these deceptions. Someone tracking the conflict raging in the Middle East could have seen the following two videos on social media. The first shows a little boy hovering over his father’s dead body, whimpering in Arabic, “Don’t leave me.” The second purports to show a pregnant woman with her stomach slashed open and claims to document the testimony of a paramedic who handled victims’ bodies after Hamas’ attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Even though these videos come from different sides of the Israel-Hamas war, what they share far exceeds what separates them. Because both videos, though real, have nothing to do with the events they claim to represent. The...
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