Lifeboat Foundation

Living things act with purpose. But where does purpose come from? How do humans make sense of their relation to the world and realize their ability to effect change? These fundamental questions of “agency”—acting with purpose—have perplexed some of the greatest minds in history including Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Erwin Schrödinger and Niels Bohr.

A Florida Atlantic University (FAU) study reveals groundbreaking insight into the origins of agency using an unusual and largely untapped source— human babies. Since goal-directed action appears in the first months of human life, the FAU research team used young infants as a test field to understand how spontaneous movement transforms into purposeful action.

Continue reading “New study uncovers origin of ‘conscious awareness’” »

Some 2,000 years ago in ancient Rome, glass vessels carrying wine or water, or perhaps an exotic perfumes, tumble from a table in a marketplace, and shatter to pieces on the street. As centuries passed, the fragments were covered by layers of dust and soil and exposed to a continuous cycle of changes in temperature, moisture, and surrounding minerals.

Now these tiny pieces of glass are being uncovered from construction sites and archaeological digs and reveal themselves to be something extraordinary. On their surface is a mosaic of iridescent colors of blue, green and orange, with some displaying shimmering gold-colored mirrors.

These beautiful glass artifacts are often set in jewelry as pendants or earrings, while larger, more complete objects are displayed in museums.

We’ve highlighted a lot of bright innovators over the years, usually before they become household names. Sergey Brin of Google was on the list in 2002. JB Straubel was honored in 2008 when he was CTO of Tesla. That year also saw Andrew Ng make the list (he’s one of the biggest names in AI right now, and he came back this year to write an intro essay, which I highly recommend.)

As I looked through the folks who made the list in the climate and energy category in 2023, I noticed a few trends. In particular, there was a concentration in two areas I think a lot about: batteries and fuels. So let’s take a closer look at a few of this year’s innovators and consider what their work could mean for the future of climate action.

Continue reading “Meet the climate innovators of tomorrow” »

While semiconductor lithography gets the bulk of the attention in chipmaking, other processes are equally important in producing working integrated circuits (ICs). Case in point: packaging. An IC package provides the electrical, thermal, and mechanical transition from the semiconductor die or chip to the circuit board, which is often called a motherboard. One key element of the IC package is the substrate, which is essentially a miniature circuit board with copper traces that bonds to the input/output (I/O), power and ground pads on the chip and electrically connects these pads to the circuit board. The substrate provides a solid mechanical home for the chip and is also thermally matched to… More.

The release also quotes Babak Sabi, Intel senior vice president and general manager of Assembly and Test Development, who said: “After a decade of research, Intel has achieved industry-leading glass substrates for advanced packaging. We look forward to delivering these cutting-edge technologies that will benefit our key players and foundry customers for decades to come.”

Research into using glass substrates for chipmaking is nothing new. As Intel’s release says, the company has been working on this technology for at least a decade, as have other organizations such as the 3D Systems Packaging Research Center located at Georgia Tech, which was founded in 1994 – nearly 30 years ago. Last year, the Georgia Tech PRC launched an industry advisory board with Intel Fellow Ravi Mahajan as one of the initial board members. Intel has already spent more than a billion dollars to develop a glass-substrate manufacturing facility at its site in Chandler, Arizona.

Continue reading “Intel’s Glass Substrates Are Essential For Future IC Development” »

As instructors settle into a new academic year, AI technologies like ChatGPT offer new dimensions for teaching and student engagement. While the allure of AI is captivating, the chatbots are still in their formative stages and thus imperfect, sometimes producing a mix of facts and fiction and raising an array of questions about academic integrity.

Many higher education institutions have recently changed their stances on the tools, from banning them last spring to allowing instructors to use the technology in their classes this fall. While the overwhelming majority of higher education institutions lack formal policies on the use of AI, according to research by Tayton Partners, some have… More.

Opportunities and challenges AI presents in academia, and how educators can navigate this emerging landscape. Discussing guides offered by OpenAI and universities.

Continue reading “OpenAI And Others Help Educators Navigate AI” »

New advances were made from LHC Run 2 data obtained between 2015 and 2018 but the scientists are yet to spot the monopoles.

Researchers at the European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN) are among those physicists who have been looking for magnetic monopoles. A recently published paper from the ATLAS Collaboration at CERN has confirmed that it continues to look for the elusive particle, a press release said.

The ATLAS Collaboration is one of science’s most significant collaborative efforts. Its webpage states that it consists of 0 members and 3,000 scientific authors comprised of physicists, engineers, technicians, students, and support staff from around the world.

The 30-minute flight was operated by Dronery using Ehang’s EH216-S aircraft.

In a first, an eVTOL (Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing) aircraft flew over Jerusalem, which takes Israel to the verge of opening up its airspace to air taxi providers.

Continue reading “Autonomous eVTOL air taxi flown over Jerusalem by Israel” »

Japanese researchers hope that a made-in-Japan AI chatbot could help to accelerate science.

Best known for automobiles and consumer electronics, Japan has fallen behind on recent technology trends like artificial intelligence. Its scientists believe that as the country’s population shrinks, Japan will have a strong incentive to make great leaps in AI and robotics to maintain productivity.

Although ChatGPT is being used by Japanese municipalities to carry out governmental work, Japanese scientists say that the country needs to come up with its own version of ChatGPT.

Our hope is for COVID-19 to never repeat itself,’ said the new program’s executive director.

A program run by a Canadian university is seeking to improve global health care for the most vulnerable by examining how artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance readiness for infectious disease epidemics in the Global South.

This is according to a report by CTV News published on Wednesday.

Continue reading “AI now used in the fight against global infectious diseases” »