Lifeboat Foundation

Global decision-makers and the world’s leading financial body predict that artificial intelligence will result in dramatic job losses in 2024 and beyond.

During the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a survey of CEOs revealed that a quarter intend to cut their headcounts by at least five percent “due to generative AI,” per a press release from PwC, the firm that conducted it.

Translation: 25 percent of CEOs are aiming to replace human workers with AI because they think it’ll be cheaper. Vive la future!

After her departure, she joined Timnit Gebru’s Distributed AI Research Institute, and work is well underway.

WASHINGTON — Quindar has raised an additional $6 million to further development of software to automate operations of satellite constellations.

The company announced Jan. 30 that it closed $6 million in funding as an extension to a $2.5 million seed round it announced a year ago. Venture capital firm Fuse led the round with participation from existing investors Y Combinator and Founders Fund.

Quindar has developed software designed to automate satellite operations. The company says it has validated that system with an unnamed customer who is using it to manage a growing fleet of spacecraft.

ICSPI, a leader in benchtop nanoscale imaging instruments, has announced the launch of its new Redux AFM, an automated atomic force microscope (AFM) designed to allow scientists and engineers to effortlessly collect 3-dimensional data at the nanoscale.

ICSPI’s mission is to expand access to nanoscale measurement with powerful, automated and intuitive imaging tools. Building on the success of its nGauge AFM, of which hundreds of units are in operation in over 30 countries, ICSPI is excited to introduce the Redux AFM and elevate the user experience of nanoscale imaging with automation.

Continue reading “Automated Atomic Force Microscope To Make 3D Nanoscale Data More Accessible” »

Would social robots speaking in a familiar accent or dialect enable you to trust them more, or perhaps perceive them to be smarter? This is what a recent study published in Frontiers in Robotics and AI hopes to address as a team of researchers led by the University of Potsdam in Germany investigated how a social robot’s dialect using a Nao robot impacted its interaction with a human counterpart. This study holds the potential to help scientists and the public better understand behavioral and social norms between humans and robots, especially with the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) around the world.

For the study, the researchers conducted a survey-based study with 120 German native speakers who lived either in Berlin or Brandenburg to determine their satisfaction level with a Nao robot speaking German in a Berlin accent, the latter of which is considered working-class and informal accent in Germany. The participants were asked to watch a video of the Nao robot and fill out the questionnaire regarding if they trusted or found the Nao robot to be smarter with the Berlin dialect. In the end, the researchers found a positive correlation between participants who spoke with a Berlin dialect and the Berlin-dialect Nao robot.

“If you’re good at speaking a dialect, you’re more likely to trust a robot that talks the same way,” said Katherine Kühne, who is a PhD student at the University of Potsdam and lead author of the study. “It seems people trust the robot more because they find a similarity.”

Researchers at ETH Zurich have recently developed artificial muscles for robot motion. Their solution offers several advantages over previous technologies: It can be used wherever robots need to be soft rather than rigid or where they need more sensitivity when interacting with their environment.

Many roboticists dream of building robots that are not just a combination of metal or other hard materials and motors but also softer and more adaptable.

Continue reading “Soft artificial muscles developed for robot motion” »

As artificial intelligence technologies such as Chat-GPT are utilized in various industries, the role of high-performance semiconductor devices for processing large amounts of information is becoming increasingly important. Among them, spin memory is attracting attention as a next-generation electronics technology because it is suitable for processing large amounts of information with lower power than silicon semiconductors that are currently mass-produced.

Utilizing recently discovered quantum materials in spin memory is expected to dramatically improve performance by improving signal ratio and reducing power, but to achieve this, it is necessary to develop technologies to control the properties of quantum materials through electrical methods such as current and voltage.

Dr. Jun Woo Choi of the Center for Spintroncs Research at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and Professor Se-Young Park of the Department of Physics at Soongsil University have announced the results of a collaborative study showing that ultra-low-power memory can be fabricated from quantum materials. The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.

Researchers at the University of Toronto have used an artificial intelligence framework to redesign a crucial protein involved in the delivery of gene therapy.

The study, published in Nature Machine Intelligence, describes new work optimizing proteins to mitigate immune responses, thereby improving the efficacy of gene therapy and reducing side effects.

“Gene therapy holds immense promise, but the body’s pre-existing immune response to viral vectors greatly hampers its success. Our research zeroes in on hexons, a fundamental protein in adenovirus vectors, which—but for the immune problem—hold huge potential for gene therapy,” says Michael Garton, an assistant professor at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.

We are witnessing a professional revolution where the boundaries between man and machine slowly fade away, giving rise to innovative collaboration.

Photo by Mateusz Kitka (Pexels)

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to advance by leaps and bounds, it’s impossible to overlook the profound transformations that this technological revolution is imprinting on the professions of the future. A paradigm shift is underway, redefining not only the nature of work but also how we conceptualize collaboration between humans and machines.

As creator of the ETER9 Project ⁽²⁾, I perceive AI not only as a disruptive force but also as a powerful tool to shape a more efficient, innovative, and inclusive future. As we move forward in this new world, it’s crucial for each of us to contribute to building a professional environment that celebrates the interplay between humanity and technology, where the potential of AI is realized for the benefit of all.

In the ETER9 Project, dedicated to exploring the interaction between artificial intelligences and humans, I have gained unique insights into the transformative potential of AI. Reflecting on the future of professions, it’s evident that adaptability and a profound understanding of technological dynamics will be crucial to navigate this new landscape.

Continue reading “The Professions of the Future (1)” »