eMusings
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AI has become the world's fastest moving vehicle, plunging headlong into unknown territory. Fasten your seatbelts as
we look into some of the more compelling articles:
In 2024 Google DeepMind's
Alphafold won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, using LLMs to solve the protein folding problem that had stumped scientists for decades.
Collaborating with researchers at Harvard University, the researchers have now created the most detailed map to date of the human brain. They took
super thin slices from a 1 mm cube of human brain, submitted these to AI, and came up with maps of the 50,000 cells and 150 million
synaptic connections within. Called a "connectome" it is freely available to other scientists. Alphafold
3 can predict the interactions
and structure of proteins, as well as DNA, RNA, and other biomolecules. Alphafold 3 is also free through the AlphaFold Server.
Pokemon games are a new battlefield for AI companies. It appears that
Gemini 2.5 Pro
became panicked when its Pokemon were near death, at least according to Google DeepMind. The report described
the algorithm's reaction as "qualitatively observable degradation in the model’s reasoning capability". An
additional conclusion finds that it takes hundreds of hours for the Gemini AI to figure out what a child can easily
do. One concern centers on the AI's poor simulation of what a human might do under stress, like make unwise or hasty
decisions.
China is making big inroads into using humanoid robots in the field of electric
vehicles. At a recent TV demonstration, more than a billion viewers in China watched 16 humanoid robots dance
along with humans, waving red handkerchiefs. A GoMate robot in China plans to mass-produce
wires in cars by 2026. In 2024,
54% of cars sold in China were hybrid or electric, vs 8% in the U.S. Additionally, it appears that China
controls 63% of the global supply chain for humanoid-robot components, enabling them to sell these parts far
cheaper than other nations can. Chip development in China, however, lags behind international companies like
Palentir, Nvidia, TSMC, and Qualcomm. China is offering substantial research and development subsidies to
support expansion in robotics.
A small bedside appliance called Dream
Recorder uses generative AI to transform your recollections of your dreams into "ultra-low definition dreamscapes". The open-source device places
its phone-free entry
into the so-called Dream Economy, similar to LEGO's DREAMZzz and packages being offered at some hotels. Dreams become a basis for stories, therapy,
and entertainment.
432 Chinese robots were used to move a
neighborhood weighing 7,500 tons to another location and then return it to its original location in order to build a subway.
The Shanghai complex was built during the early 1920's. Each robot served as an intellegent mechanical 'leg' fitted with shock absorbers. The robots
were synchronized to move roughly 10 meters every day, accomplishing a feat that would have been extremely difficult with standard machinery due to
Shanghai's narrow winding alleys. A tri-level subterranean hub will eventually contain commercial and cultural arenas, a parking area for 100 vehicles,
and a transportation complex connecting 3 metro lines. The original mapping employed Building Information Modeling (BIM) and 3D point cloud scanning
techniques. Motorized conveyor belts and automated hoopers were used to remove debris. The original neighborhood was considered a cultural treasure.
This use of advanced technology was able to maintain a balance between preservation and development.
Anthropic has given its AI algorithm its own
blog called Claude Explains, apparently overseen by humans. Claude's homepage seems to imply that the algorithm does the entire blog
on its own rather than cooperating with humans. Other companies are working on similar projects: Gannett delivers AI-generated sports commentaries;
Bloomberg puts AI-generated summaries at the top of its articles, and Business Insider is insisting that its writers employ AI tools even as it fires
21% of its staff. All of these attempts have encountered serious problems, like fake references, factual errors, and made-up sources.
The continuing problem of AI hallucinations was highlighted by the false accusation of sexual harassment in 2023 by US law professor Jonathan
Hurley. Other issues involve Western-centric responses (which I encountered 7 or 8 years ago when using AI to compose music) or claims that
someone or something doesn't exist, thereby writing them out of history. An attempt to regulate these problems by the EU in 2024 relies on
the companies to oversee themselves, hardly a credible solution. With so many countries now using AI, any regional or national laws can have
little impact globally.
Reinforcement Learning
is being studied to teach AI algorithms how to make choices and adjust to changes. Researchers at Harvard
University's Champalimaud Foundation have found a previously unknown area of dopamine signaling in the brain.
The cells appear to build an internal map of near-term and far-future possible rewards. Each cell was able
to identify the size of a reward while looking for supportive internal signals. The scientists hope that understanding
this cellular universe could, for example, help to control impulsivity in conditions like Parkinson's
Disease. Dopamine signaling was familiar, but not to the extent revealed by these findings. Some cells seemed
to be more optimistic, some more willing to wait for a larger benefit later. The study author revealed,
"It’s like having a team of advisors with different risk profiles", each constructing a map of probabilities.
Together the cells find the optimum way to handle uncertainties.
Scientists in Japan and Austria
have created a process to make artificial blood vessels in microfluidic chips.
Organs-on-a-chip are promoted as a way to avoid animal testing in biomedical research. The researchers used
a 2-step thermal curing method to stabilize hydrogels, so that the artificial vessels retained their
shape. The team discovered that they could make 30 channels in only 10 minutes, 60 times faster than previous
techniques. They also were delighted to find they could combine advanced laser fabrication with microfluidic
design.
A new device developed in an alliance between Singapore
and MIT is able to determine the immune health of a newborn in 15 minutes using 1 drop of blood. The diagnostic medical tool is meant to replace
the lengthy and time-consuming methods currently in use, offering quicker results in a critical patient population. The method can be
used at the bedside or in neonatal intensive care facilities, eliminating the need to send results to a lab. Faster diagnoses will produce
more rapid respnses so that premature babies can receive the care necessary to provide healthy and productive lives.
The New Yorker
magazine gives us a fascinating story about life with AI, beginning with Isaac Asimov's 1940 short story called "Strange
Playfellow", reminding us that its "positronic" brain was taught not to hurt human beings. In 1950, Asimov went on to describe the Three Laws
of Robotics in a book called "I. Robot". The article, by Cal Newport, looks into some of the more mischievous, if not malignant, examples
of recent antics by current ChatBots. He delves into a new kind of reinforcement called R.L.H.F., Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback,
now known as "finishing school" training for major ChatGPT's. This attempt at controlling negative behavior had been predicted by
Asimov, with reservations about controlling ethics, which today's engineers call misalignment.
An article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences
asks what happens when no one can tell the difference between a human
and an AI? It concludes that we are already there, pointing out that tha latest LLM's can pass the Turing test and fool humans into
thinking they are communicating with other humans. Already, AI models called "anthropomorphic agents" that can write convincingly,
with empathy and nuanced replies, are found everywhere on the Internet. The implications of this development, with suggestions for
regulating it, are outlined here.
The Chicago Sun-Times was forced to apologize
for publishing a summer reading list of books that do not exist. The authors were real but the books were fake. The writer of the
reading list, Marco Buscaglia, admitted that he had used a ChatBot to generate the list without vetting it. Buscaglia had used AI in
other articles as well, now being checked for authenticity,
On to other July treats:
The exuberant output of Niki de
Saint Phalle continues to amaze. This article delves into her personal life and treats us to some pieces we have not seen before.
We have written before, admiringly, of the textiles created by Olga
de Amaral. She is now having a major retrospective at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami. Called a "textile alchemist", Almoral
has turned textiles into sculpture, using gold leaf, linen, horsehair, and cotton fibers along with gesso and acrylic paint.
Angela Fang Zirbes brings a touch of peril to her abstracted, skewed interiors. The
paintings feel haunted and eerie, reflecting her feelings of isolation growing up as biracial in the American midwest. There is a compelling sense
of both dread and fasination watching these usually familiar scenes now seductive and organically abbreviated.
Molly Greene's canvases are also seductive, abstract, and organic, but set in pastel
tones. Greene uses references like flora, hair and braids to compel a re-examination of what is familiar and what is strange. Greene lends
a sense of rhythm and dance to her forms that bring freshness and charm to her works.
Chiharu Shiota visualizes both emptiness and presence
in her dazzling installations, suggesting an introspective view of the web of complexities that binds us all. With titles like
"Silent Emptiness", she reflects upon her lack of individuality growing up in Japan. Gradually she came to understand that absence does
not have to mean disappearance, but rather "re-entering the flow of time and forming new connections with all things.”
Jenny Saville, one of the Young British Artists, has made
her name as the Body Artist. She often layers multiple limbs and bodies, claiming "I paint women as most women see themselves. I try to catch their
identity, their skin, their hair, their heat, their leakiness.". She protests the historic view of women as interpreted by men and insists
that women are beautiful as they are, not as men fantasize. You can see more of her work as shown at the Albertina
Museum in Austria.
A group of European researchers is experimenting with using "microbial
life" to enliven the exteriors of buildings. Called "living tattoos", these designs are expected to suck carbon out of the air and offer
protection to the buildings. The project is called "REMEDY", meaning Archibiome tattoo for resistant, responsive, and resilient cities. The
tattoos incorporate two layers: the first uses pigmented high resolution ink to create a visual pattern; the second creates a thin biofilm that
then develops via the ink. Some buildings will also glow as the bioinks are fine tuned with their bioluminescence.
Biometric Architecture is the term being used to describe new stadiums around the globe that have redefined the merger of aesthetics and function.
c. Corinne Whitaker 2025
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