Science and Technology

Friday, 22 December 2023 04:43

Cargo plane flies with no pilot on board

One of the world’s most widely used cargo planes completed an entire flight with no one on board for the first time. Lasting approximately 12 minutes in total, the flight departed from Hollister Airport, in Northern California, and was operated by Reliable Robotics, which has been working since 2019 on a semi-automated flying system in which the aircraft is controlled remotely by a pilot. The company recently announced that the 50-mile flight took place in November. The plane was a Cessna Caravan, a robust single-engine aircraft that is a popular choice for flight training, tourism, humanitarian missions and regional cargo.…
Researchers from Google AI have unveiled Translatotron 3, an innovative AI model that revolutionizes speech-to-speech translation, promising to turn users into real-time polyglots. This breakthrough technology eliminates the need for vast amounts of parallel speech data, making it accessible for languages with limited resources. Overcoming language barriers Language barriers have long been a hindrance to effective communication, both in everyday life and across global borders. While speech-to-speech translation (S2ST) models have emerged to address this challenge, they traditionally rely on extensive parallel speech data, limiting their utility for many languages where such data is scarce or entirely unavailable. Enter Translatotron…
Drone swarms shown to talk, collaborate and split up duties using human language, making it easier for operators to understand the machines' behaviour The technology has potential for use in security patrols, rescue operations and aerial logistics and transport, research team says A team of Chinese scientists has developed drones that can engage in "group chats" to discuss and assign tasks among themselves, much like human teams. The technology could be used to improve security patrols, disaster rescueand aerial logistics, the researchers said. While communication strategies for drone swarms are typically designed to simulate bee and ant colonies, the Chinese…
Ahead of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s four days in exile, several staff researchers wrote a letter to the board of directors warning of a powerful artificial intelligence discovery that they said could threaten humanity, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The previously unreported letter and AI algorithm were key developments before the board's ouster of Altman, the poster child of generative AI, the two sources said. Prior to his triumphant return late Tuesday, more than 700 employees had threatened to quit and join backer Microsoft (MSFT.O) in solidarity with their fired leader. The sources cited the letter as…
Apple intends to adopt a popular encryption standard promoted by Google, which may finally eliminate green bubbles on the iPhone. The company announced on Thursday that it will add support for Rich Communication Services, the preferred encryption standard used by Android devices, sometime in 2024. The difference in encryption limited functionality between iPhones and Androids and colors texts green and blue, a distinction that has held social notoriety for years. "Later next year, we will be adding support for RCS Universal Profile," an Apple spokesperson told 9to5Mac. "We believe RCS Universal Profile will offer a better interoperability experience when compared…
Geoffrey Hinton, the computer scientist known as a “Godfather of AI,” says artificial intelligence-enhanced machines “might take over” if humans aren’t careful. Rapidly-advancing AI technologies could gain the ability to outsmart humans “in five years’ time,” Hinton, 75, said in a Sunday interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes.” If that happens, AI could evolve beyond humans’ ability to control it, he added. “One of the ways these systems might escape control is by writing their own computer code to modify themselves,” said Hinton. “And that’s something we need to seriously worry about.” Hinton won the 2018 Turing Award for his decades…
OpenAI announced its new, more powerful GPT-4 Turbo artificial intelligence model Monday during its first in-person event, and revealed a new option that will let users create custom versions of its viral ChatGPT chatbot. It's also cutting prices on the fees that companies and developers pay to run its software. OpenAI's announcements show that one of the hottest companies in tech is rapidly evolving its offerings in an effort to stay ahead of rivals like Anthropic, Google and Meta in the AI arms race. ChatGPT, which broke records as the fastest-growing consumer app in history months after its launch, now…
Elon Musk revealed his own artificial intelligence bot to challenge ChatGPT, claiming the prototype is already superior to ChatGPT 3.5 across several benchmarks. Dubbed Grok, it’s the first product of Musk’s xAI company and is now in testing with a limited group of US users. Grok is being developed with data from Musk’s X, formerly Twitter, and is thus better informed on the latest developments than alternative bots with static datasets, the company’s website said. It’s also designed to answer “with a bit of wit and has a rebellious streak,” according to the announcement. Earlier this year, Musk was among…
X owner Elon Musk has floated the idea that the social network formerly known as Twitter may no longer be a free site. In a live-streamed conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, Musk said the company was “moving to a small monthly payment” for the use of the X system. He suggested that such a change would be necessary to deal with the problem of bots on the platform. “It’s the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots,” explained Musk. “Because a bot costs a fraction of a penny — call it…
Nearly two decades ago, then-30-year-old Ann Johnson had a brain stem stroke, and though she survived, she was left paralyzed and unable to speak with a condition known as locked-in syndrome. Johnson slowly regained the ability to breathe independently, move her neck, and wink, but after 18 years, her brain hasn't recovered its ability to move the muscles required for her to speak more than a few words. With the help of a new AI-driven brain implant, she has become the first patient to successfully use a groundbreaking neurotechnology that synthesizes speech and facial expressions from brain signals, the researchers…
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