To Educate Students about AI, Make Them Use It

ChatGPT’s ability to produce humanlike text on command has caused a crisis in higher education. Teachers and professors have been left bewildered, wondering what to do about a technology that could enable any student to fabricate assignments without actually learning. Although there is an understandable temptation to simply ban it from the classroom, I (C.W.

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How Did Nuclear Weapons Get on My Reservation?

This article is part of “The New Nuclear Age,” a special report on a $1.5-trillion effort to remake the American nuclear arsenal. Air Force Member (tape): Yeah, unfortunately, right now we can’t have anybody on the access road because they’ll just, like, come out and monitor. I’m sorry. Ella Weber (tape): Gotcha. Ryo Morimoto (tape):

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The State of Large Language Models

LAUREN LEFFER: At the end of November, it’ll be one year since ChatGPT was first made public, rapidly accelerating the artificial intelligence arms race. And a lot has changed over the course of 10 months. SOPHIE BUSHWICK: In just the past few weeks, both OpenAI and Google have introduced big new features to their AI

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How AI Can Help Save Endangered Species

An increasing number of researchers is turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor biodiversity and bolster efforts to help endangered species. Unlike conventional methods that can disrupt ecosystems or require considerable time, labour and resources, AI has the potential to quickly and effectively analyse vast quantities of real-world data. “Without AI, we’re never going to

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What It Takes to Grow Crystals in Space

When I first learned about a material called silicon carbide, it blew my mind. It is one of the hardest synthetic materials, nearly as hard as diamond, and difficult to corrode. Its inner structure can take the form of more than 200 different crystal types. And here’s the really cool part: at atmospheric pressure, it

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AI Needs Rules, but Who Will Get to Make Them?

About 150 government and industry leaders from around the world, including Vice President Kamala Harris and billionaire Elon Musk, descended on England this week for the U.K.’s AI Safety Summit. The meeting acted as the focal point for a global conversation about how to regulate artificial intelligence. But for some experts, it also highlighted the

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