Giant chips approach supercomputers
Gina Genkina | IEEE Spectrum
“[Cerebras recently] The company has demonstrated that its second-generation wafer-scale engine, WSE-2, is significantly faster at molecular dynamics calculations than Frontier, the world’s fastest supercomputer. [And] Cerebras, in collaboration with machine learning model optimization company Neural Magic, has demonstrated that sparse, large-scale language models can run inference at one-third the energy cost of full models, without compromising accuracy.”
Apple proves that AI is a feature, not a product
Will Knight | Wired
“Rather than standalone devices or experiences, Apple has focused on ways that generative AI can improve the functionality of apps and the OS in small but meaningful ways. Early adopters have certainly flocked to generative AI programs like ChatGPT to help with things like rewriting emails, summarizing documents and generating images, but this typically meant opening a separate browser window or app, cutting and pasting, and trying to make sense of the chatbot’s ravings. For generative AI to be truly useful, it needs to infiltrate the technologies we already use in ways that are easier to understand and trust.”
Lung-targeted CRISPR therapy offers hope for cystic fibrosis
Christa Leste-Lasserre | New Scientist
“CRISPR gene editing therapy overcomes major challenges that have hindered previous gene therapies and has the potential to provide an effective, long-term treatment for cystic fibrosis. The approach successfully edited the DNA of hard-to-reach lung stem cells in mice, and the changes persisted for at least 22 months — essentially the life of the animals,” says Daniel Siegwart of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
Politics
AI Bot Runs for Mayor in Wyoming (Sort of)
Vittoria Elliott | Wired
Victor Miller is running for mayor of Cheyenne, Wyoming, and he’s making an unusual campaign promise: If elected, do not have AI bots are taking the lead: VIC (Virtual Integrated Citizen), a ChatGPT-based chatbot that Miller created. Miller says the bot has better ideas and understanding of the law than many people currently working in government. “I realized this organization is a lot smarter than me, and more importantly, a lot better than the outward-looking civil servants I see,” he says.
Biotech companies are trying to make milk without cows
Antonio Regalado | MIT Technology Review
“The FDA says commercial milk is safe [from avian influenza] “Milk is pasteurized, so all the bacteria is killed. But it’s enough to get us thinking about life outside of milk, like drinking black coffee or oat milk. But for those of us who can’t live without the real thing, it turns out genetic engineers are researching ways to preserve milk and cull cows instead.”
Can Apple save the Vision Pro?
Kevin Roose | The New York Times
“The Vision Pro just needs a little more love, and a little more vision, to realize its potential. Apple needs better answers to fundamental questions like: What is it for? How will this improve my life or make me more productive than something I could buy for $3,500? What can it do that a laptop or big TV can’t? Otherwise, the Vision Pro may become obsolete, and I and my fellow Vision Bros may emerge as the Google Glassholes of 2024 – a brave but ultimately foolish bunch of nerds who bet on a new technology of the future and lost.”
OpenAI’s revenues are soaring
Laura Bratton | Quartz
“OpenAI has more than tripled its annual revenue in the past year,” the company said. informationAnnualized revenue estimates use partial data to estimate a company’s annual revenue — in other words, multiply the previous month’s revenue by 12. OpenAI’s annualized revenue was about $1 billion last summer, $1.6 billion in late 2023, and is now at $3.4 billion, according to the media.
Robot taxis of the future will have humanoid drivers in the driver’s seat
Paul Lidden | New Atlas
“Musashi is, [a Japanese] The robot was developed by the Information Systems Engineering Research Group in 2019 as a testbed for learning control systems. Not only does the form factor have human-like proportions, but it also has a “joint and muscle structure” inspired by the human body. The robot is currently being used in an autonomous driving project, where it is being trained by members of the Information Systems Engineering Laboratory to learn to drive just like a human would, with varying degrees of success, as you can see in the video below.
Gadgets
AI upgrade cycle arrives
Jay Peters | The Verge
“AI has quickly become the latest entrant in the technology industry’s never-ending desire to drive upgrade cycles. A few years ago, every smartphone manufacturer was racing toward 5G, and over a decade ago the TV industry was pushing 3D TV. Now, every tech company clearly sees the opportunity in AI, and as a result, they’re adding limited AI capabilities to their latest and greatest devices. But like the race to 5G, the mad rush toward AI is happening rapidly, and before the technology has proven its usefulness and problems have been solved.”
Image credit: SIMON LEE / Unsplash
