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Machine learning & AI

Can bigger-is-better 'scaling laws' keep AI improving forever? History says we can't be too sure

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman—perhaps the most prominent face of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom that accelerated with the launch of ChatGPT in 2022—loves scaling laws.

Robotics

BrainBody-LLM algorithm helps robots mimic human-like planning and movement

Large language models (LLMs), such as the model underpinning the functioning of OpenAI's platform ChatGPT, are now widely used to tackle a wide range of tasks, ranging from sourcing information to the generation of texts ...

Engineering

Researchers pioneer pathway to mechanical intelligence by breaking symmetry in soft composite materials

A research team has developed soft composite systems with highly programmable, asymmetric mechanical responses. By integrating "shear-jamming transitions" into compliant polymeric solids, this innovative work enhances key ...

Computer Sciences

Humans and AI models show similar confusion when reading tricky program code

Researchers from Saarland University and the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems have, for the first time, shown that the reactions of humans and large language models (LLMs) to complex or misleading program code significantly ...

Technology news

Engineering

Climate-friendly metals can come from deep-sea ores

The demand for metals will increase significantly in the coming years, primarily because the climate-friendly transformation of the economy is only possible through the electrification of industrial processes, transport and ...

Electronics & Semiconductors

Mirror-image molecules boost organic solar cell performance

Organic solar cells are made from conductive polymers, which makes them cheap, light, and flexible. However, one drawback is that their efficiency lags behind the best silicon devices—but this may soon change—as researchers ...

Engineering

Coffee waste helps make lower carbon concrete

RMIT researchers are advancing new ways to cut the carbon footprint of infrastructure by turning everyday organic waste into useful construction materials.