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Ray Kurzweil explores how and when we might create human-level artificial intelligence at the January 2017 Asilomar conference organized by the Future of Life Institute.

The Beneficial AI 2017 Conference: In our sequel to the 2015 Puerto Rico AI conference, we brought together an amazing group of AI researchers from academia and industry, and thought leaders in economics, law, ethics, and philosophy for five days dedicated to beneficial AI. We hosted a two-day workshop for our grant recipients and followed that with a 2.5-day conference, in which people from various AI-related fields hashed out opportunities and challenges related to the future of AI and steps we can take to ensure that the technology is beneficial.

For more information on the BAI ‘17 Conference:

AI-principles

Continue reading “Creating Human-Level AI: How and When | Ray Kurzweil” | >

Researchers have discovered a new structure of telomeric DNA, which could be key to living longer.

Researchers have discovered a new structure of telomeric DNA

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a molecule composed of two long strands of nucleotides that coil around each other to form a double helix. It is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms that carries genetic instructions for development, functioning, growth, and reproduction. Nearly every cell in a person’s body has the same DNA. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA).

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Links:
https://www.pnas.org/content/118/49/e2112672118
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenobot.

Team builds first living robots—that can reproduce


http://syntheticyeast.org/
https://www.buildacell.org/

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Continue reading “Scientists Create Artificial Life That Reproduces In a Strange Way” | >

Researchers at Toshiba Corporation have achieved a breakthrough in quantum computer architecture: the basic design for a double-transmon coupler that will improve the speed and accuracy of quantum computation in tunable couplers. The coupler is a key device in determining the performance of superconducting quantum computers.

Tunable couplers in a superconducting quantum computer link two qubits and perform quantum computations by turning on and off the coupling between them. Current technology can turn off the coupling of transmon qubits with close frequencies, but this is prone to crosstalk errors that occur on one of the qubits when the other qubit is irradiated with for control. In addition, current technology cannot completely turn off coupling for qubits with significantly different frequencies, resulting in errors due to residual coupling.

Toshiba has recently devised a double-transmon coupler that can completely turn on and off the coupling between qubits with significantly different frequencies. Completely turning on enables high-speed quantum computations with strong coupling, while completely turning off eliminates residual coupling, which improves quantum computation speeds and accuracy. Simulations with the new technology have shown it realizes two-qubit gates, basic operations in quantum computation, with an accuracy of 99.99% and a processing time of only 24 ns.

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Stellar nurseries are a hotbed for heists.

These stellar nurseries are densely populated places, where hundreds of thousands of stars often reside in the same volume of space that the Sun inhabits on its own. Violent interactions, in which stars exchange energy, occur frequently, but not for long. After a few million years, the groups of stars dissipate, populating the Milky Way with more stars.

Our new paper, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, shows how massive stars in such stellar nurseries can steal planets away from each other — and what the signs of such theft are.

Almost immediately after young stars are born, planetary systems begin to form around them. We have had indirect evidence of this for more than 30 years. Observations of the light from young stars display an unexpected excess of infrared radiation. This was (and still is) explained as originating from small dust particles (100th of a centimeter) orbiting the star in a disc of material. It is from these dust particles that planets are (eventually) formed.

Continue reading “Astronomers discover how naughty baby stars steal each others’ planets” | >

The real-world applications are limitless.

A group of researchers from the University of Washington has engineered a new AI tool that can identify and design new proteins. This could lead to more efficient vaccines, better cures for cancer, or new materials, according to a report published by MIT Technology Review.

University of Washington scientists have invented an AI tool called ProteinMPNN that allows them to design any proteins they can conceive of. The tool could lead to new cures and new materials.

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‘The way it works is similar to how a robotic arm might reach out and clean a surface.’

The future of dental care could have new robotic allies. A group of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania has developed an automated, hands-free oral hygiene system that adapts to the shape of your teeth.

The researchers claim this system can clean teeth more efficiently than the toothbrush and dental floss, according to an article published by the university in July.

Wildpixel/iStock.

Continue reading “These shape-shifting microrobots can brush and floss your teeth” | >

They are hard to spot underneath all the space dust.

Astronomers today understand the basics of how planets are born but have struggled to witness the process thus far, even with the use of advanced tools. Now, a group of astronomers at the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian have engineered a new way to detect these elusive newborn planets, according to a press release by the institution published Thursday.

The findings are described in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Buradaki/iStock.

Continue reading “Astronomer develops new method for spotting elusive newborn planets” | >

Researcher are now looking to make the most of this new discovery.

Did you know that bacteria in the natural world breathe by exhaling excess electrons, causing an intrinsic electrical grid? In a new study, Yale University researchers discovered that light could supercharge this electronic activity within biofilm bacteria, yielding an up to a 100-fold increase in electrical conductivity, according to a press release published by the institution earlier this month.

Yale researchers have found that bacteria buried underground have developed a way to respire by “breathing minerals” through tiny protein filaments called nanowires. This process can be amplified by light producing electricity.

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The algorithm correctly associated a whoop bout with its hyena around 54 percent of the time.

Scientists from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, U.S. have discovered that Hyenas’ whoops have specific signals unique to each individual animal.

The researchers determined that hyena whoops have specific characteristics that can be attributed to each individual animal by using machine learning on audio files collected from a field trip, according to a press release published by EurekAlert on Saturday.

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