This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. I’ve recently been feeling heartbroken. A very close friend recently cut off contact with me. I don’t really understand why, and my attempts at fixing the situation [...]

Despite their impressive capabilities, large language models are far from perfect. These artificial intelligence models sometimes “hallucinate” by generating incorrect or unsupported information in response to a query.Due to this hallucination problem, an LLM’s responses are often verified by human fact-checkers, especially if a model is deployed in a high-stakes [...]

The demand for new and improved infrastructure across the world is not being met. The Asian Development Bank has estimated that in Asia alone, roughly $1.7 trillion needs to be invested annually through to 2030 just to sustain economic growth and offset the effects of climate change. Globally, that figure [...]

Meta is releasing a massive data set and models, called Open Materials 2024, that could help scientists use AI to discover new materials much faster. OMat24 tackles one of the biggest bottlenecks in the discovery process: data. To find new materials, scientists calculate the properties of elements across the periodic table [...]

Reaching a consensus in a democracy is difficult because people hold such different ideological, political, and social views.  Perhaps an AI tool could help. Researchers from Google DeepMind trained a system of large language models (LLMs) to operate as a “caucus mediator,” generating summaries that outline a group’s areas of agreement [...]

Researchers develop an AI-driven video analyzer capable of detecting human actions in video footage with precision and intelligence. [...]

In a new study, humans displayed sympathy towards and protected AI bots who were excluded from playtime. [...]

In the current AI zeitgeist, sequence models have skyrocketed in popularity for their ability to analyze data and predict what to do next. For instance, you’ve likely used next-token prediction models like ChatGPT, which anticipate each word (token) in a sequence to form answers to users’ queries. There are also [...]

Most doctors go into medicine because they want to help patients. But today’s health care system requires that doctors spend hours each day on other work — searching through electronic health records (EHRs), writing documentation, coding and billing, prior authorization, and utilization management — often surpassing the time they spend caring for [...]

Researchers have unveiled a vision system inspired by feline eyes to enhance object detection in various lighting conditions. Featuring a unique shape and reflective surface, the system reduces glare in bright environments and boosts sensitivity in low-light scenarios. By filtering unnecessary details, this technology significantly improves the performance of single-lens [...]

A new computer simulation of how our brains develop and grow neurons has been built. Along with improving our understanding of how the brain works, researchers hope that the models will contribute to neurodegenerative disease research and, someday, stem cell research that helps regenerate brain tissue. [...]

A recent award from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) brings together researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), and Lehigh University (Lehigh) under the Multiobjective Engineering and Testing of Alloy Structures (METALS) program. The team will research novel design tools for the simultaneous [...]