Rockenbach says these sociograms are crucial tools to detect social isolation and might even help identify children who are vulnerable to bullying. He points to testimonial reports from schools as an indicator that the platform helps improve well-being. But, he adds, “we haven’t conducted a full-on research project that might compare, for example, a school […]
Monthly Archives: April 2023
Hype grows over “autonomous” AI agents that loop GPT-4 outputs
Enlarge / An AI-generated image of a “self-improving robot.” Midjourney reader comments 28 with Share this story Since the launch of OpenAI’s GPT-4 API last month to beta testers, a loose group of developers have been experimenting with making agent-like (“agentic”) implementations of the AI model that attempt to carry out multistep tasks with as […]
The Download: cancer-fighting bacteria, and ChatGPT in the classroom
The news: There are trillions of microbes living in and on our bodies—and we might be able to modify them to help us treat diseases. Scientists have altered the genomes of some of these bacteria, essentially engineering microbes that can prevent or treat cancer. How they did it: The team chose a microbe that’s commonly […]
A test told me my brain and liver are older than they should be. Should I be worried?
I was 35 when I took the test. And my results suggested that my biological age was 35 too. That indicates I’m aging at a normal rate compared with other people we have data for. But the company that ran the test has updated its offering since then. A couple of months ago, it reanalyzed […]
Banning ChatGPT will do more harm than good
That’s a shame. If educators actively engage with students about the technology’s capabilities and limitations—and work with them to define new academic standards—ChatGPT, and generative AI more broadly, could both democratize and revitalize K–12 education on an unprecedented scale. A bold claim, I know. But after a few months of putting generative AI to the test (a nerdy case […]
What is a Code of Ethics?
In today’s digital age, ethics play an increasingly critical role in the digital technology space. As technology advances, so do the opportunities for unethical behaviour. Unethical practices such as data breaches, cyberbullying, and spreading misinformation can harm individuals and society as a whole. As an industry we design and develop software, hardware, and systems that […]
Griffin on Tech: Cybercrime treaties must not become tools of oppression
The international nature of cybercrime can make it very difficult to track down the perpetrators of devastating hacking attacks and misinformation campaigns that can damage democracy. Hackers are increasingly sophisticated, hiding their tracks with onion routers and clever masking techniques. Organisations like the Waikato District Healthboard and its patients had their data stolen in 2021 […]
“A really big deal”—Dolly is a free, open source, ChatGPT-style AI model
Databricks reader comments 9 with Share this story On Wednesday, Databricks released Dolly 2.0, reportedly the first open source, instruction-following large language model (LLM) for commercial use that’s been fine-tuned on a human-generated data set. It could serve as a compelling starting point for homebrew ChatGPT competitors. Databricks is an American enterprise software company founded […]
Generative AI comes to Amazon Web Services
Enlarge / An AI generated image of a “colorful data center.” Midjourney reader comments 8 with Share this story On Thursday, Amazon released a new suite of AI technologies, including foundational large language models (LLMs) called Titan and a cloud computing service called Bedrock, reports Reuters. The move comes as competitors Microsoft and Google integrate […]
Bacteria can be engineered to fight cancer in mice. Human trials are coming.
Most research into the microbiome has focused on the trillions of bugs that live in our guts. But our skin is also home to multiple microbial ecosystems. The community that lives in your armpit could look quite different from the community that lives on your eyelids. We are still figuring out exactly what these microbes […]