Plus: Hackers use Meta’s AI bots to hack Instagram accounts, Anthropic helps NSA hackers, a decades-long GPS satellite mystery may have been solved, and more.
Crypto-Funded Chinese Peptide Labs Are Booming
The Moons of Uranus May Hold the Key to Finding Missing Planets
New simulations reveal that the moons of Uranus may retain traces of giant planets.
The crucial human component in computing and AI
On April 30, the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing’s Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing (SERC) initiative hosted a full-day research symposium examining how artificial intelligence is shaping the world and its implications for society.
Anthropic urges industry coordination to allow for a 'pause' in AI development if risks grow
Anthropic is proposing that the world's top artificial intelligence companies come up with a coordinated way to pause development of advanced AI systems, warning the technology is improving so quickly there's a risk humans would lose control.
Grounded in reality, new AI model spots fake images with less training
Artificial intelligence (AI)-generated images have become increasingly more sophisticated than early ones that showed humans with more than five fingers on a hand, making it even harder to determine whether photos are authentic. Now, a team of computer…
Q&A: How organic glass scintillators could improve nuclear security
As the demand for nuclear security solutions grows, distinguishing a benign medical isotope from a potential threat is critical. Organic glass scintillators can help meet the need for accurate, cost-effective radiation detectors.
Video Friday: Watch This Running Robot Not Fall Down Stairs
Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclusion.
Startup helps retailers track their products in real-time
When you picture a worker at a retail store, you probably think of someone at a cash register or helping a customer. But employees also spend a lot of their time combing through stockrooms and shop floors, fulfilling requests or online orders and generally…
Developing innovative alternatives to conventional carbon capture methods
Carbon capture is an important climate change mitigation strategy, but it faces technological barriers and can be energy-intensive and expensive. To help make necessary advances in this area, a team of MIT researchers, with support from the MIT Climate and…
After 20 years, scientists finally shrink a powerful laser onto a chip
Researchers at EPFL have developed a chip-scale ultrafast laser that performs on par with traditional tabletop femtosecond lasers. The innovation could make advanced laser technologies far smaller, cheaper, and more accessible for applications ranging from…
7 Ways New Engineers Can Flourish in the Age of AI
New graduates’ careers are unfolding in an era when AI is not optional. The most successful engineers treat artificial intelligence as leverage, not competition.
New light-powered chip could accelerate AI and quantum computing
Scientists have created a tiny chip that can generate, steer, and read light-based information all in one device, marking a major leap toward ultra-fast, energy-efficient computing. The breakthrough uses atomically thin materials and nanoscale structures to…
The forgotten organ that could predict how long you live
A long-overlooked organ may hold surprising clues to healthy aging and cancer survival. Researchers at Mass General Brigham used AI to analyze CT scans from tens of thousands of adults and found that people with healthier thymuses—a small immune-system organ…
This DIY Bipedal Robot Used Pneumatic “Air-Muscles” Instead of Motors
In 1987, Richard Greenhill, a British photographer who was fascinated by (but had no actual training in) robotics, decided he wanted to build a life-size humanoid that could do useful things, like carrying luggage. He was working at a startup called…
Forget electrons, this breakthrough uses light-matter particles to power AI
Researchers at Penn have created a hybrid light-matter particle that could dramatically speed up AI computing while using far less energy. The breakthrough may help replace some electronic computing processes with ultra-efficient light-based technology.