Science and Technology in the face of Environmental Challenges

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25 October 2021

Not So Mysterious After All: Researchers Show How to Crack AI’s Black Box

The deep learning neural networks at the heart of modern artificial intelligence are often described as “black boxes” whose inner workings are inscrutable. But new research calls that idea into question, with significant implications for privacy. Unlike traditional software whose functions are predetermined by a developer, neural networks learn how to process or analyze data […]

The Most Powerful Space Telescope Ever Built Will Look Back in Time to the Dark Ages of the Universe

Some have called NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope the “telescope that ate astronomy.” It is the most powerful space telescope ever built and a complex piece of mechanical origami that has pushed the limits of human engineering. On Dec. 18, 2021, after years of delays and billions of dollars in cost overruns, the telescope is […]

This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through October 23)

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE How AI Is Reinventing What Computers Are Will Douglas Heaven | MIT Technology Review “[Today’s computers are] smaller and faster, but they’re still boxes with processors that run instructions from humans. AI changes that on at least three fronts: how computers are made, how they’re programmed, and how they’re used. Ultimately, it will […]

Scientists Are on a Quest to Create the Perfect Cup of Coffee—Without the Beans

Ahh, coffee. Is there anything more delicious, more satisfying? It’s always there when you need it, be it first thing in the morning or for a mid-afternoon pick-me-up. According to the Sustainable Coffee Challenge, global consumption of this vital brew is around 600 billion cups per year (I know—I would have guessed higher, too). But […]

Would We Still See Ourselves as ‘Human’ if Other Hominin Species Hadn’t Gone Extinct?

In our mythologies, there’s often a singular moment when we became “human.” Eve plucked the fruit of the tree of knowledge and gained awareness of good and evil. Prometheus created men from clay and gave them fire. But in the modern origin story, evolution, there’s no defining moment of creation. Instead, humans emerged gradually, generation […]

AI-Savvy Criminals Clone Executive’s Voice in $35 Million Deepfake Bank Heist

Thanks to the advance of deepfake technology, it’s becoming easier to clone peoples’ voices. Some uses of the tech, like creating voice-overs to fill in gaps in Roadrunner, the documentary about Anthony Bourdain released this past summer, are harmless (though even the ethics of this move were hotly debated when the film came out). In […]