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247 articles-
Why AI Needs a Genome
AI could learn and adapt like humans with algorithms that work like genes. -
Why AI Lags Behind the Human Brain in Computational Power
It might be more accurate to think of many of the brain’s 10 billion neurons as being deep networks, with five to eight layers in each one. -
The Math of the Amazing Sandpile
To understand self-organization in nature, behold the sandpile. -
Why You May Have More Friends Than Your Friends Do
There’s a rude charm to the title, “Why Your Friends Have More Friends Than You.” It’s catchy, like the title of an antagonistic explainer: Here are the causes of your lackluster social life. It sounds more like a New York Times op-ed than an academic paper. But in fact, “Why Your Friends Have More Friends […] -
We Already Know How to Stop SolarWinds-Like Hacks
Last year, hackers made headlines after they breached SolarWinds, a software company that specializes in network monitoring software. About 33,000 organizations, including the Pentagon, the U.S. State Department, and some intelligence agencies, use Orion, one of SolarWinds’ products. Orion was designed to monitor the users’ networks to make sure they were functioning properly and, ironically, […]
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The Intelligent Life of Droids
If robots can be devious, self-righteous, and expressive, why not sentient?
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The Doctor Will Sniff You Now
Step aside, Dr. House, Deep Nose will one day be the best diagnostician in medicine.
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How to Fix the Vaccine Rollout
A computational biologist charts a fair and efficient course for vaccine distribution.
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I Built My Own Artificial Neural Network
With a little help from one of the 2024 Nobel Prize Winners in Physics.
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At the Math Olympiad, Computers Prepare to Go for the Gold
Reprinted with permission from Quanta Magazine‘s Abstractions blog. Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now . The 61st International Mathematical Olympiad, or IMO, began yesterday. It may go down in history for at least two reasons: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic it’s the first time the event has been held remotely, and […]
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Welcome to the Next Level of Bullshit
The language algorithm GPT-3 continues our descent into a post-truth world. -
Why Mathematicians Should Stop Naming Things After Each Other
A past generation’s glory can be the next generation’s headache. -
The Bias in the Machine
Why facial recognition has led to false arrests. -
How Rising Education for Women Is Shaping the Global Population
Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now . In their 1968 book The Population Bomb, biologists Paul Ehrlich and his wife Anne foretold a Malthusian future of famine and disease if humanity failed to control its growth. The Ehrlichs’ warning made sense. At the time, the global population sat at […] -
The Contagion Detective
Adam Kucharski explains how diseases like COVID-19 and misinformation spread.