Signals

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rarely out of the news or the public imagination. Images of red-eyed Terminators illustrate press accounts of incremental advances in medical diagnosis, facial recognition, natural language processing, and robotics. Such advances are transforming society through measurable impacts on people’s decisions and opportunities. Religion and Artificial Intelligence: An Introduction explores an emerging field with a religious studies approach, drawing on cultur

The feat could enable large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers

In the single largest equipment deal in the Liebherr Group's 75-year history, Liebherr and Australian mining company Fortescue have announced a massive expansion of their electric vehicle collaboration. This includes the delivery of 475 new Liebherr electric vehicles with Fortescue technology to Fortescue's mining operations in Western Australia.

The popular ski resort of Zermatt is in the affected area.

Weight loss drugs appear to be having an effect at the population level

New research documents accelerating plant growth on the Antarctic Peninsula and nearby islands.

Artificial intelligence used to help researchers plan experiments and better predict outcomes

The technology, which marries Meta’s smart Ray Ban glasses with the facial recognition service Pimeyes and some other tools, lets someone automatically go from face, to name, to phone number, and home address.

The impact of climate change on human societies is now well recognised. However, little is known about how climate change alters health conditions over time. National level data around climate shocks and subsequent rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) could have relevance for resilience policy and programming. We hypothesise that climate shocks are associated with a higher national prevalence of IPV two years following a shock, and that this relationship persists for countries with different levels of economic development. We compiled national data for the prevalence of IPV from 363 nationally representative surveys from 1993 to 2019. These representative data from ever-partnered women defined IPV incidence as any past-year act of physical and/or sexual violence. We also compiled data from the Emergency Events Database (EM DAT) on the national frequency of eight climate shocks from 1920 to 2022 within 190 countries. Using exploratory factor analysis, we fit a three-factor latent variable composed of climate shock variables. We then fit a structural equation model from climate shocks (lagged by two years) and IPV incidence, controlling for (log) national gross domestic product (GDP). National data representing 156 countries suggest a significant relationship between IPV and a climate factor (Hydro-meteorological) composed of storms, landslides and floods (standardised estimate = 0·32; SE = 0·128; p = 0·012). GDP has a moderately large cross-sectional association with IPV (estimate = -0·529; SE = 0·047; p = 0·0001). Other climate shocks (Geological: earthquakes/volcanos; Atmospheric: wildfire/droughts/extreme temperature) had no measurable association with IPV. Model fit overall was satisfactory (RMSEA = 0·064 (95%CI: 0·044–0·084); CFI = 0·91; SRMR = 0·063). Climate shocks have a longitudinal association with IPV incidence in global population-based data. This suggests an urgent need to address the higher prevalence of IPV likely to come about through climate shocks due to climate change. Our analysis offers one way policy makers could track national progress using existing data.

New York design studio Oxman has devised a system called "ecological programming" to optimise green architecture, demonstrated through a conceptual skyscraper with multiple planted platforms.

Code analysis firm sees no major benefits from AI dev tool when measuring key programming metrics, though others report incremental gains from coding copilots with emphasis on code review.

Ancient traditions meet modern technology.

US researchers working with SHoP Architects have created a potential alternative to steel and concrete as a structural floor material.

Samsung has unveiled a new solid-state battery with 20-year lifespan, 600-mile range, and 9-minute charging time.

Will the price of coffee, a crop hurt by rising temperatures and drought, jolt American politicians and voters into paying attention to global warming?

From Dhaka to São Paulo, already crowded cities are unprepared to absorb people fleeing the effects of climate change.

With electricity scarce, Africa’s most populated country struggles to provide lifesaving cooling without worsening the very crisis causing the heat.

But will anyone pay for it?

Barcelona is using the regenerative braking of its subways to power trains, stations, and neighborhood EV chargers. Could New York do it too?

A year-and-a-half-long study on Chartwatch, an artificial intelligence system in use at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, shows the tool led to a striking 26 per cent drop in the number of unexpected deaths.

If the FarView radio telescope is built, it would double as a demonstration of two unprecedented activities: mining and manufacturing in space.

The best of blogging meets the best of social media.

AI training costs are growing exponentially year after year.

This is why you need to narrow your AI's scope before deploying it.

Opponents mobilize against a California bill to regulate police use of face recognition technology, saying it won't stop wrongful arrests.