By BEN BRUBAKER in Quanta: An open secret about artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT is that they all have an unsettling quirk: Not even the researchers who build them fully understand how they work. These large language models, or LLMs, are special computer programs based on mathematical structures called neural networks. Although neural networks are nowContinue reading “AI Systems Still Confound Researchers”
Category Archives: Insight
The Math Hiding in Plain Sight
Sarah Hart, the professor of geometry at Gresham College, sees symmetry everywhere–humans are detectors of hidden math. Read related Article here.
2024 Solar Eclipse
The word “eclipse” actually comes from the Greek word meaning “abandonment”. A once-in-a-lifetime event, the total solar eclipse happens when the moon’s shadow illuminates a narrow stretch of land during the day. Ancient Greeks believed that eclipses were a sign the gods were angry with humans and that the Sun would abandon Earth, bringing untoldContinue reading “2024 Solar Eclipse”
AI and the Future of Work
The new Claude that was just released defines itself as self-aware. Tomas Pueyo in Uncharted Territories: Of course, Claude and similar LLMs are just next-word predictors. They are not self-aware. They were just fed all the science-fiction about AIs and their takeover, and they regurgitate that. For a real LLM to become self-aware, it wouldContinue reading “AI and the Future of Work”
The Story Behind the New York Times October 7 Exposé
Jeremy Scahill, Ryan Grim, and Daniel Boguslaw at The Intercept: Anat Schwartz had a problem. The Israeli filmmaker and former air force intelligence official had been assigned by the New York Times to work with her partner’s nephew Adam Sella and veteran Times reporter Jeffrey Gettleman on an investigation into sexual violence by Hamas onContinue reading “The Story Behind the New York Times October 7 Exposé”
The Voynich Manuscript (Video)
This manuscript from Middle Ages has not been decyphered since 400 years, and modern AI models can not understand it as well. It is an illustrated codex, hand-written in an unknown script referred to as ‘Voynichese.’ The vellum on which it is written has been carbon-dated to the early 15th century. Stylistic analysis has indicatedContinue reading “The Voynich Manuscript (Video)”
AI Is Everywhere—Including Countless Applications You’ve Likely Never Heard Of
By Niusha Shafiabady at Singularity Hub: Artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere. Right now, generative AI in particular—tools like Midjourney, ChatGPT, Gemini (previously Bard), and others—is at the peak of hype. But as an academic discipline, AI has been around for much longer than just the last couple of years. When it comes to real-world applications,Continue reading “AI Is Everywhere—Including Countless Applications You’ve Likely Never Heard Of”
How Much Life Has Ever Existed on Earth, and How Much Ever Will?
Peter Crockford in Singularity Hub: All organisms are made of living cells. While it is difficult to pinpoint exactly when the first cells came to exist, geologists’ best estimates suggest at least as early as 3.8 billion years ago. But how much life has inhabited this planet since the first cell on Earth? And how much lifeContinue reading “How Much Life Has Ever Existed on Earth, and How Much Ever Will?”
UFO Belief
Even when it’s not explicitly religious, belief in alien visitors resembles our oldest ways of making sense of the world Francesco Dimitri at Psyche: The Raëlians are not the only UFO religion born in the 20th century. They are the most laid-back, with their dancing nights and their ‘sensual meditation’, a far cry from theContinue reading “UFO Belief”