Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Creating robots to safely aid disaster victims is one challenge; executing flexible robot control that takes advantage of the material’s softness is another. The use of pliable soft materials to collaborate with humans and work in disaster areas has drawn much recent attention. However, controlling soft dynamics for practical applications has remained a significant challenge.

In collaboration with the University of Tokyo and Bridgestone Corporation, Kyoto University has now developed a method to control pneumatic artificial muscles, which are soft robotic actuators. Rich dynamics of these drive components can be exploited as a computational resource.

Artificial muscles control rich soft component dynamics by using them as a computational resource. (Image: MEDICAL FIG.)

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Blood test detects stroke quickly:

The Testing for Identification of Markers of Stroke trial shows the accuracy of a new blood test for identifying stroke.

A team of scientists has developed a new test by combining blood-based biomarkers with a clinical score. The main goal was to identify patients experiencing large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke.

LVO strokes, a severe form of stroke, are often characterized by a sudden onset of symptoms and significant neurological damage. They occur when an artery in the brain is blocked, depriving the brain of essential oxygen.

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Our approach to analyzing and mitigating future risks posed by advanced AI models.

Google DeepMind has consistently pushed the boundaries of AI, developing models that have transformed our understanding of what’s possible. We believe that AI technology on the horizon will provide society with invaluable tools to help tackle critical global challenges, such as climate change, drug discovery, and economic productivity. At the same time, we recognize that as we continue to advance the frontier of AI capabilities, these breakthroughs may eventually come with new risks beyond those posed by present-day models.

Today, we are introducing our Frontier Safety Framework — a set of protocols for proactively identifying future AI capabilities that could cause severe harm and putting in place mechanisms to detect and mitigate them. Our Framework focuses on severe risks resulting from powerful capabilities at the model level, such as exceptional agency or sophisticated cyber capabilities. It is designed to complement our alignment research, which trains models to act in accordance with human values and societal goals, and Google’s existing suite of AI responsibility and safety practices.

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In organisms, fluid is what binds the organs, the and the musculoskeletal system as a whole. For example, hemolymph, a blood-like fluid in a spider’s body, enables muscle activation and exoskeleton flexibility. It was the cucumber spider inhabiting Estonia that inspired scientists to create a complex , where soft and rigid parts are made to work together and are connected by a liquid.

According to Indrek Must, Associate Professor of Soft Robotics, the designed soft robot is based on real reason. “Broadly speaking, our goal is to build systems from both natural and artificial materials that are as effective as in wildlife. The robotic leg could touch delicate objects and move in the same complex environments as a living spider,” he explains.

In a published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, the researchers show how a robotic foot touches a primrose stamen, web, and pollen grain. This demonstrates the soft robot’s ability to interact with very small and delicate structures without damaging them.

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Although the Tesla Cybertruck has only been available for about six months, it is already making a major splash in the electric pickup scene.

According to data from S&P Global Mobility, Tesla’s first all-electric pickup had more registrations in March than one of its most notable foes, the Rivian R1T.

March was the fourth month the Tesla Cybertruck was available for purchase. Production is still ramping, and after Tesla built 1,000 units in a single week during Q1, it is evident the company is starting to get the hang of things.

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But out of everything Meta announced, one particular demo blew my mind. Meta AI comes with its own image-generation tool called Imagine, which is available in beta to some WhatsApp and web users. The new Meta AI feature can do something OpenAI’s ChatGPT can’t: It creates images instantly with no waiting necessary.

This is the second time an AI product has blown my mind this week. Earlier, I showed you Microsoft’s VASA-1 tool, which generates talking video clips out of a portrait image and a voice recording. VASA-1 isn’t made for the public though, and we might never get access to this particular AI. Anyone could create misleading fakes with it, so Microsoft is only showing off a proof of concept.

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