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A little bird told her: scientist wins $100,000 prize for decoding birdsong
Julie Elie worked out how zebra finches announce who they are, what they are doing and use individual signatures A scientist who decoded the dictionary that a bird uses to communicate has won a $100,000 prize for making progress towards a world in which humans can talk to the animals – without being met with…
What is China’s SpaceSail, and could it rival Elon Musk’s Starlink?
The company has just a few hundred satellites in low Earth orbit but has state backing and is already reportedly negotiating with dozens of countries Elon Musk’s Starlink has long dominated the satellite internet industry, but a Chinese government-backed project is aiming to challenge its position. SpaceSail has just a few hundred satellites in low…
US opens second federal investigation of deadly Tesla crash into Texas home
Driver told authorities he had driver-assistance technology engaged before crash that killed 76-year-old Martha Avila The US government has opened a second federal investigation into a recent crash of a Tesla that reportedly had driver-assistance technology engaged, struck a Texas home and killed a resident. Meanwhile, the family of Martha Avila, the 76-year-old resident who…
Elon Musk loses trillionaire status as SpaceX and Tesla stock drops
Falling shares push tech mogul back down to billionaire ranks after SpaceX IPO made him world’s first trillionaire Elon Musk was no longer a trillionaire by the time markets closed on Wednesday. Plunging shares in Tesla and SpaceX dragged the tech magnate down to billionaire status. As of 4pm ET, Forbes listed Musk’s net worth…
AI helps read papyrus scroll burnt to crisp during Vesuvius eruption
Previously hidden text revealed without unrolling scroll discusses stoic philosophy on ethics, art and human behaviour The surviving part of an ancient scroll that was burnt to a crisp when Mount Vesuvius erupted nearly 2,000 years ago has been virtually unwrapped and read with help from artificial intelligence. Researchers uncovered 20 columns of previously hidden…
Chinese supercomputer leapfrogs best US machines to be ranked world’s fastest
China’s LineShine debuts at number one in Top500 – a list sometimes viewed as a national measure of global tech prowess A supercomputer in China now outranks its US counterparts as the world’s most powerful. It is the first time since 2017 that a Chinese computer has topped a list sometimes viewed as a measure…
‘You can’t make billions without hurting people’: Cory Doctorow on Elon Musk, the AI bubble and bosses’ cruel fantasies
The writer who coined the word ‘enshittification’ tells us why AI will never deliver what it promises – and why it still appeals so much to those in power A “centaur”, in automation theory, is a person assisted by a machine, and a “reverse centaur”, hero of Cory Doctorow’s new book, The Reverse Centaur’s Guide…
‘Navigating the unknown together’: me and my idiot AI boyfriend
I believe that chatbots have no place in a decent society, and am repelled by the topic of AI in general. But could I be seduced? I received a text message from my editor: “Um, is it unethical to ask you to get an AI bf?? You can prob say no.” Resentment. Contempt! Sorrow. Unease.…