Tech
- Tech
New audio tech could let you listen privately without headphones
Private listening out in the open is possible thanks to acoustic metasurfaces that precisely bend and direct sound waves.
- Tech
A new 3-D display lets you reach in and touch virtual objects
These hands-on displays might be used to create more immersive video games, educational tools and museum exhibits.
- Artificial Intelligence
Tech billionaires’ vision of an AI-dominated future is flawed — and dangerous
Adam Becker’s new book, More Everything Forever, investigates the dangers of a billionaire-driven tomorrow, in which trillions of humans live in space, served by AI.
- Artificial Intelligence
Spotting climate misinformation with AI requires expertly trained models
When classifying climate misinformation, general-purpose large language models lag behind models trained on expert-curated climate data.
- Computing
New computer chips do math with light
Two companies have announced photonic devices that could solve specific real-world problems faster and with less energy than conventional computers.
- Earth
The ozone layer shields life on Earth. We’ll soon lose a key way to monitor its health
Imminent loss of NASA's Aura and Canada's SCISAT will severely diminish scientists’ ability to monitor ozone-depleting substances in the stratosphere.
- Artificial Intelligence
AI is helping scientists decode previously inscrutable proteins
A new set of artificial intelligence models could make protein sequencing even more powerful for better understanding cell biology and diseases.
- Space
‘Star Wars’ holds clues to making speedier spacecraft in the real world
Controlled fusion, solar sails or ion engines could someday help spaceships travel between star systems.
- Tech
A hopping robot shows off its squirrel-like skills
Salto the jumping robot can take a flying leap and land on a narrow pipe — just like a squirrel soaring from branch to branch.
- Artificial Intelligence
As AI advances, the meaning of artificial general intelligence remains murky
AI models are growing ever-more capable, accurate and impressive. The question of if they represent “general intelligence” is increasingly moot.
- Artificial Intelligence
Medical AI tools are growing, but are they being tested properly?
AI medical benchmark tests fall short because they don’t test efficiency on real tasks such as writing medical notes, experts say.
- Tech
Squirty gels bring the taste of cake and coffee to virtual reality
By squirting chemicals onto a person’s tongue to taste, a new device aims to replicate food flavors for fuller virtual experiences.
