A new cancer drug candidate developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), BBOT (BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics) and the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR) has demonstrated the ability to block tumor growth without triggering a common and debilitating side effect. In early clinical trials, the compound, known as BBO-10203, has shown promise in disrupting a key interaction between two cancer-driving proteins — RAS and PI3Kα — without causing hyperglycemia (high blood-sugar levels), which has historically hindered similar treatments. Published in Science
Can artificial intelligence (AI) potentially transform health care for the better?
Now, rising to the challenge, an Arizona State University team of researchers has built a powerful new AI tool, called Ark+, to help doctors read chest X‑rays better and improve health care outcomes.
“Ark+ is designed to be an open, reliable and ultimately useful tool in real‑world health care systems,” said Jianming “Jimmy” Liang, an ASU professor from the College of Health Solutions, and lead author of the study recently published in Nature.
Anders Sandberg joins me to discuss superintelligence and its profound implications for human psychology, markets, and governance. We talk about physical bottlenecks, tensions between the technosphere and the biosphere, and the long-term cultural and physical forces shaping civilization. We conclude with Sandberg explaining the difficulties of designing reliable AI systems amidst rapid change and coordination risks.
Timestamps: 00:00:00 Preview and intro. 00:04:20 2030 superintelligence scenario. 00:11:55 Status, post-scarcity, and reshaping human psychology. 00:16:00 Physical limits: energy, datacenter, and waste-heat bottlenecks. 00:23:48 Technosphere vs biosphere. 00:28:42 Culture and physics as long-run drivers of civilization. 00:40:38 How superintelligence could upend markets and governments. 00:50:01 State inertia: why governments lag behind companies. 00:59:06 Value lock-in, censorship, and model alignment. 01:08:32 Emergent AI ecosystems and coordination-failure risks. 01:19:34 Predictability vs reliability: designing safe systems. 01:30:32 Crossing the reliability threshold. 01:38:25 Personal reflections on accelerating change.
The attack chains begin when one of these adversary-controlled accounts messages a victim through X, Telegram, or Discord, urging them to test out their software in exchange for a cryptocurrency payment.
Should the target agree to the test, they are redirected to a fictitious website from where they are promoted to enter a registration code provided by the employee to download either a Windows Electron application or an Apple disk image (DMG) file, depending on the operating system used.
On Windows systems, opening the malicious application displays a Cloudflare verification screen to the victim while it covertly profiles the machine and proceeds to download and execute an MSI installer. Although the exact nature of the payload is unclear, it’s believed that an information stealer is run at this stage.
A surgical robot trained on real procedure videos performed a critical phase of gallbladder removal autonomously, adapting to unexpected situations and responding to voice commands.
Quantum Computing Innovation In Pharma — Dr. Thomas Ehmer, Ph.D. — Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
Dr. Thomas Ehmer, Ph.D. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tehmer/) is a seasoned technology strategist with over two decades of experience in IT innovation, business development, and R&D within the pharmaceutical industry, and co-founder of the Quantum Interest Group, at Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany (https://www.emdgroup.com/en).
Dr. Ehmer currently is in the Sector Data Office — AI Governance and Innovation Incubator at Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany, where he scouts emerging and disruptive technologies, demonstrating their potential value for R&D applications, with a focus on quantum technologies.
Throughout his career at Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany, Dr. Ehmer has played a pivotal role in shaping IT strategy, business process optimization, and digital transformation across the entire pharmaceutical value chain, currently focusing on transparent AI and how and where emerging technology can help patients live a better life. His expertise spans technology scouting, business analysis, and IT program leadership, having successfully driven major global projects.
Beyond his corporate career, Dr. Ehmer is an active private seed investor and has contributed to quantum computing research and applications in drug discovery, authoring publications on the potential of quantum computing and machine learning in pharmaceutical R&D (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9783527840748.ch26).
Big News! My New Audiobook The Intelligence Supernova is Now Live! 🎧 I’m thrilled to announce the release of the audiobook edition of The Intelligence Supernova: Essays on Cybernetic Transhumanism, the Simulation Singularity & the Syntellect Emergence. This project has been incredibly close to my heart—it dives deep into the unfolding convergence of advanced AI, consciousness, and our collective evolution beyond biology. In this book, I explore the concept of the “Intelligence Supernova”—a coming explosion of synthetic and post-biological intelligence that may soon give rise to a planetary-scale mind, the Syntellect. It’s a philosophical and scientific journey that challenges you to imagine what lies beyond the Technological Singularity: digital immortality, mind-uploading, the emergence of infomorphs, and the architecture of a conscious Universe. This audiobook is for futurists, technophilosophers, and all curious minds ready to glimpse humanity’s metamorphic future. If you’re drawn to ideas like cybernetic immortality, experiential realism, or the Omega Point Cosmology, I think you’ll find this work especially meaningful.
Now available on Amazon: Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Intelligence-Supernova-Audiobook/B0FGZ3JMPM #IntelligenceSupernova #CyberneticTranshumanism #SimulationSingularity #SyntellectEmergence #SyntellectHypothesis #cybernetics #singularity #transhumanism #posthumanism #AGI #superintelligence
Amazon.com: The Intelligence Supernova: Essays on Cybernetic Transhumanism, The Simulation Singularity & The Syntellect Emergence (Audible Audio Edition): Alex M. Vikoulov, Ecstadelic Media Group, Virtual Voice: Books.
Andrew Ng on June 17, 2025 at AI Startup School in San Francisco.
Andrew Ng has helped shape some of the most influential movements in modern AI—from online education to deep learning to AI entrepreneurship.
In this talk, he shares what he’s learning now: why execution speed matters more than ever, how agentic workflows are changing what startups can build, and why concreteness beats vagueness when turning ideas into products. He reflects on the rise of AI coding assistants, the shifting bottlenecks in product development, and why, despite faster software, it’s still human judgment and responsibility that will shape what comes next.
Chapters: 00:00 — Introduction. 00:31 — The Importance of Speed in Startups. 01:13 — Opportunities in the AI Stack. 02:06 — The Rise of Agent AI 04:52 — Concrete Ideas for Faster Execution. 08:56 — Rapid Prototyping and Engineering. 17:06 — The Role of Product Management. 21:23 — The Value of Understanding AI 22:33 — Technical Decisions in AI Development. 23:26 — Leveraging Gen AI Tools for Startups. 24:05 — Building with AI Building Blocks. 25:26 — The Importance of Speed in Startups. 26:41 — Addressing AI Hype and Misconceptions. 37:35 — AI in Education: Current Trends and Future Directions. 39:33 — Balancing AI Innovation with Ethical Considerations. 41:27 — Protecting Open Source and the Future of AI.
