Lifeboat Foundation

Inspired by the tetromino shapes in the classic video game Tetris, researchers in the US have designed a simple radiation detector that can monitor radioactive sources both safely and efficiently. Created by Mingda Li and colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the device employs a machine learning algorithm to process data, allowing it to build up accurate maps of sources using just four detector pixels.

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Wherever there is a risk of radioactive materials leaking into the environment, it is critical for site managers to map out radiation sources as accurately as possible.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints published some statements about artificial intelligence (AI). The Church is by far the largest Mormon denomination – and that of which I’m a member. Its statements influence the perspectives and actions of millions of Mormons worldwide. Friends called the Church’s statements to my attention, asking for my thoughts.

As the AI bubble continues inflating at lightning speed, the people doing the industry’s grunt work are feeling the churn.

In interviews with CNBC, AI engineers from giant companies including Amazon, Google, and Microsoft say that they’ve been under immense pressure to build new products for their employers — except that on many occasions, the features they work tirelessly to deliver are shelved at the finish line.

One Amazon AI engineer, who spoke to CNBC anonymously over concerns of retaliation, said that he was assigned an urgent project on a Friday night that was due Monday morning by 6 am. Despite having out-of-town company, he blew them off to spend the entire weekend working on the project — only to learn later that it had been “deprioritized.”

A new robotic hand can withstand being smashed by pistons or walloped with a hammer. It was designed to survive the trial-and-error interactions required to train AI robots.

By Jeremy Hsu

Researchers in the emerging field of spatial computing have developed a prototype augmented reality headset that uses holographic imaging to overlay full-color, 3D moving images on the lenses of what would appear to be an ordinary pair of glasses. Unlike the bulky headsets of present-day augmented reality systems, the new approach delivers a visually satisfying 3D viewing experience in a compact, comfortable, and attractive form factor suitable for all-day wear.

“Our headset appears to the outside world just like an everyday pair of glasses, but what the wearer sees through the lenses is an enriched world overlaid with vibrant, full-color 3D computed imagery,” said Gordon Wetzstein, an associate professor of electrical engineering and an expert in the fast-emerging field of spatial computing.

Wetzstein and a team of engineers introduce their device in a new paper in the journal Nature (“Full-colour 3D holographic augmented-reality displays with metasurface waveguides”).

Developing strong, pragmatic and principled national security and defense policies.

Autonomous, AI-based players are coming to a gaming experience near you, and a new startup, Altera, is joining the fray to build this new guard of AI agents.

The company announced Wednesday that it raised $9 million in an oversubscribed seed round, co-led by First Spark Ventures (Eric Schmidt’s deep-tech fund) and Patron (the seed stage fund co-founded by Riot Games alums).

The funding follows Altera’s previous raising a pre-seed $2 million from a16z SPEEDRUN and others in January of this year. Now, Altera wants to use the new capital to hire more scientists, engineers, and team members to help with product development and growth.

Researchers are using generative AI and other techniques to teach robots new skills—including tasks they could perform in homes.

Shopify’s head count has remained flat since last year, and executives say they have AI to thank.