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Autistic people demonstrate speech rhythm differences that are consistent across languages, study finds

Findings from a machine learning study suggest that some of the speech differences associated with autism are consistent across languages, while others are language-specific. The study, published in the journal PLOS One, was conducted among separate samples of English speakers and Cantonese speakers.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is often accompanied by differences in speech prosody. Speech prosody describes aspects of speech, like rhythm and intonation, that help us express emotions and convey meaning with our words. Atypical speech prosody can interfere with a person’s communication and social abilities, for example, by causing a person to misunderstand others or be misunderstood themselves. The reason these speech differences commonly present among autistic people is not fully understood.

Study author Joseph C. Y. Lau and his team wanted to shed light on this topic by studying prosodic features associated with autism across two typologically distinct languages.

South Korea is building stealth drones that could take out North Korea’s air defenses

This is just one of many military advancements the nation has made against its arch-rival.

Back in July, South Korea undertook a 33-minute flight of its homegrown KF-21 fighter jet for the first time flaunting its military might and perhaps sending a message to North Korea.


South Korea is pursuing stealth drones that could take out North Korean air defenses as part of a “manned-unmanned teaming system.”

Solve the problem of unstructured data with machine learning

Were you unable to attend Transform 2022? Check out all of the summit sessions in our on-demand library now! Watch here.

We’re in the midst of a data revolution. The volume of digital data created within the next five years will total twice the amount produced so far — and unstructured data will define this new era of digital experiences.

Unstructured data — information that doesn’t follow conventional models or fit into structured database formats — represents more than 80% of all new enterprise data. To prepare for this shift, companies are finding innovative ways to manage, analyze and maximize the use of data in everything from business analytics to artificial intelligence (AI). But decision-makers are also running into an age-old problem: How do you maintain and improve the quality of massive, unwieldy datasets?

The Brain’s Secret to Lifelong Learning Can Now Come as Hardware for Artificial Intelligence

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — When the human brain learns something new, it adapts. But when artificial intelligence learns something new, it tends to forget information it already learned.

As companies use more and more data to improve how AI recognizes images, learns languages and carries out other complex tasks, a paper published in Science this week shows a way that computer chips could dynamically rewire themselves to take in new data like the brain does, helping AI to keep learning over time.

“The brains of living beings can continuously learn throughout their lifespan. We have now created an artificial platform for machines to learn throughout their lifespan,” said Shriram Ramanathan, a professor in Purdue University’s School of Materials Engineering who specializes in discovering how materials could mimic the brain to improve computing.

A US Propaganda Operation Hit Russia and China With Memes

It’s rare that Western disinformation efforts are discovered and exposed. This week, the Stanford Internet Observatory and social media analysis firm Graphika detailed a five-year operation that was pushing pro-Western narratives. The research follows Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as they remove a series of accounts from their platforms for “coordinated inauthentic behavior.” The propaganda accounts used memes, fake news websites, online petitions, and various hashtags in an attempt to push pro-Western views and were linked to both overt and covert influence operations. The accounts, some of which appear to use AI-generated profile pictures, targeted internet users in Russia, China, and Iran, among other countries. The researchers say the accounts “heavily criticized” Russia following its nvasion of Ukraine in February and also “promoted anti-extremism messaging.” Twitter said the activity it saw is likely to have originated in the US and the UK, while Meta said it was the US.

#WesternPropaganda


Plus: An Iranian hacking tool steals inboxes, LastPass gets hacked, and a deepfake scammer targets the crypto world.

TIMELAPSE OF FUTURE SPACECRAFT: 2025 — 3000+

A sci fi documentary looking at a timelapse of future spacecraft. From the future of AI spaceships, Starship orbital refuelling, and space station worlds, to Mars colonization and in-space manufacturing.

Other topics include: SpaceX and the launch of their fleet of Starships — waiting in parking orbit around Earth, ready for the launch window to open to Mars. NASA and the mission of landing on the Martian Moon Phobos. Advances in spacecraft technology for protecting humans during multi-year interstellar journeys.

While the year 2100 and beyond, brings wormhole exploration, artificial intelligence based planets, and the possible need for a stellar engine — to protect the solar system.

Main narration by: Alexander Masters (www.alexander-masters.com)

Starship Artwork – used with permission and licensed from:
Erc X: https://twitter.com/ErcXspace.
Caspar Stanley: https://twitter.com/Caspar_Stanley.
Alex Svan: https://twitter.com/AlexSvanArt.

Additional footage sourced from: SpaceX, NASA, ESO, Ken Crawford, Nick Risinger, Northrop Grumman, SpinLaunch, Redwire Space.

The uses of ethical AI in hiring: Opaque vs. transparent AI

Were you unable to attend Transform 2022? Check out all of the summit sessions in our on-demand library now! Watch here.

There hasn’t been a revolution quite like this before, one that’s shaken the talent industry so dramatically over the past few years. The pandemic, the Great Resignation, inflation and now talk of looming recessions are changing talent strategies as we know them.

Such significant changes, and the challenge of staying ahead of them, have brought artificial intelligence (AI) to the forefront of the minds of HR leaders and recruitment teams as they endeavor to streamline workflows and identify suitable talent to fill vacant positions faster. Yet many organizations are still implementing AI tools without proper evaluation of the technology or indeed understanding how it works — so they can’t be confident they are using it responsibly.

Is Google’s New AI As Smart As A Human? 🤖

❤️ Check out Fully Connected by Weights & Biases: https://wandb.me/papers.

📝 The paper “Minerva — Solving Quantitative Reasoning Problems with Language Models” is available here:
https://arxiv.org/abs/2206.

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Quantum computing is an even bigger threat than artificial intelligence

Given the potential scope and capabilities of quantum technology, it is absolutely crucial not to repeat the mistakes made with AI—where regulatory failure has given the world algorithmic bias that hypercharges human prejudices, social media that favors conspiracy theories, and attacks on the institutions of democracy fueled by AI-generated fake news and social media posts. The dangers lie in the machine’s ability to make decisions autonomously, with flaws in the computer code resulting in unanticipated, often detrimental, outcomes. In 2021, the quantum community issued a call for action to urgently address these concerns. In addition, critical public and private intellectual property on quantum-enabling technologies must be protected from theft and abuse by the United States’ adversaries.

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.youtube.com/watch?v=5…MexaVnE%24

There are national defense issues involved as well. In security technology circles, the holy grail is what’s called a cryptanalytically relevant quantum computer —a system capable of breaking much of the public-key cryptography that digital systems around the world use, which would enable blockchain cracking, for example. That’s a very dangerous capability to have in the hands of an adversarial regime.

Experts warn that China appears to have a lead in various areas of quantum technology, such as quantum networks and quantum processors. Two of the world’s most powerful quantum computers were been built in China, and as far back as 2017, scientists at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei built the world’s first quantum communication network using advanced satellites. To be sure, these publicly disclosed projects are scientific machines to prove the concept, with relatively little bearing on the future viability of quantum computing. However, knowing that all governments are pursuing the technology simply to prevent an adversary from being first, these Chinese successes could well indicate an advantage over the United States and the rest of the West.