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Magazine
In the April 14 SN: Killer heat, mass insect migrations, the latest Saturn updates, rethinking the Nobel Prize, tectonics on Venus, the science of mass shootings, ancient tool trends and more.
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Reviews & Previews
‘Weird Math’ aims to connect numbers and equations to the real world
04/16/2018 - 07:00 Numbers, Computing, Science & SocietyWeird MathDavid Darling and Agnijo BanerjeeBasic Books, $27
Weird Math sets out to “reveal the strange connections between math and everyday life.” The book fulfills that laudable goal, in part. At times, teenage math prodigy Agnijo Banerjee and his tutor, science writer David Darling, find ways to make complex math relatable, like linking chaos theory to weather forecasting and...
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Science & the Public
Are computers better than people at predicting who will commit another crime?
02/20/2018 - 09:00 Computing, Science & SocietyIn courtrooms around the United States, computer programs give testimony that helps decide who gets locked up and who walks free.
These algorithms are criminal recidivism predictors, which use personal information about defendants — like family and employment history — to assess that person’s likelihood of committing future crimes. Judges factor those risk ratings into verdicts on...
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Reviews & Previews
‘Machines That Think’ predicts the future of artificial intelligence
02/02/2018 - 15:20 Artificial Intelligence, Computing, Science & SocietyMachines That ThinkToby WalshPrometheus Books, $16
Movies and other media are full of mixed messages about the risks and rewards of building machines with minds of their own. For every manipulative automaton like Ex Machina’s Ava (SN: 5/16/15, p. 26), there’s a helpful Star Wars droid. And while some tech titans such as Elon Musk warn of the threats artificial intelligence presents...
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Feature
Your phone is like a spy in your pocket
01/23/2018 - 12:00 Computing, TechnologyConsider everything your smartphone has done for you today. Counted your steps? Deposited a check? Transcribed notes? Navigated you somewhere new?
Smartphones make for such versatile pocket assistants because they’re equipped with a suite of sensors, including some we may never think — or even know — about, sensing, for example, light, humidity, pressure and temperature.
Because...
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The List
Ask AI: How not to kill online conversations
01/03/2018 - 09:00 Artificial Intelligence, Networks, ComputingA new artificial intelligence could tell whether your next post to an online forum will engage others or fall flat.
Computer scientist Qiaozhu Mei of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and colleagues trained a machine-learning program on about 63,000 Reddit threads to learn what dialog-ending responses look like.
This kind of chat-savvy computer code, described in a paper...
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News
New setup for image recognition AI lets a program think on its feet
12/04/2017 - 08:00 Artificial Intelligence, Computing, TechnologyArtificial intelligence is getting some better perspective. Like a person who can read someone else’s penmanship without studying lots of handwriting samples, next-gen image recognition AI can more easily identify familiar sights in new situations.
Made from a new type of virtual building block called capsules, these programs may cut down the enormous amount of data needed to train...
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Science Ticker
Quantum computers take a step forward with a 50-qubit prototype
11/10/2017 - 09:00 Quantum Physics, ComputingBit by qubit, scientists are edging closer to the realm where quantum computers will reign supreme.
IBM is now testing a prototype quantum processor with 50 quantum bits, or qubits, the company announced November 10. That’s around the number needed to meet a sought-after milestone: demonstrating that quantum computers can perform specific tasks that are beyond the reach of traditional...
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News in Brief
Quantum computing steps forward with 50-qubit prototype
11/10/2017 - 09:00 Quantum Physics, ComputingBit by qubit, scientists are edging closer to the realm where quantum computers will reign supreme.
IBM is testing a prototype quantum processor with 50 quantum bits, or qubits, the company announced November 10. That’s about the number needed to meet a sought-after milestone: demonstrating that quantum computers can perform specific tasks that are beyond the reach of traditional...
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News
The newest AlphaGo mastered the game with no human input
10/18/2017 - 13:00 Artificial Intelligence, Computing, TechnologyAlphaGo just leveled up.
The latest version of the computer program, dubbed AlphaGo Zero, is the first to master Go, a notoriously complex Chinese board game, without human guidance. Its predecessor — dubbed AlphaGo Lee when it became the first computer program with artificial intelligence, or AI, to defeat a human world champion Go player (SN Online: 3/15/16) — had to study millions of...
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Feature
M. Ehsan Hoque develops digital helpers that teach social skills
M. Ehsan Hoque, 35Computer scientistUniversity of Rochester10/04/2017 - 13:51 Computing, Technology, Psychology, Science & SocietyA growing band of digital characters that converse, read faces and track body language is helping humans to communicate better with one another. While virtual helpers that perform practical tasks, such as dealing with customer service issues, are becoming ubiquitous, computer scientist M. Ehsan Hoque is at the forefront of a more...