Links for 2022-07-02
Date AIs Capable of Developing AI Software? Community Prediction: Dec 6, 2030 https://www.metaculus.com/questions/406/when-will-ais-program-programs-that-can-program-ais/
Radiologists: “Variation in skill can explain 39% of the variation in diagnostic decisions, and policies that improve skill perform better than uniform decision guidelines.” https://academic.oup.com/qje/article/137/2/729/6513421
"Largest study on longevity and aging in reptiles provides first comprehensive evidence that turtles in the wild age slowly and have long lifespans, and identifies several species that essentially do not age." https://psu.edu/news/research/story/secrets-reptile-and-amphibian-aging-revealed/
Humans Can Learn to 'Echolocate' in Just 10 Weeks, Experiment Shows https://www.sciencealert.com/most-humans-can-learn-how-to-echolocate-in-just-10-weeks-experiment-shows
New battery from market leader CATL (35% global market share) reaches energy density of 255 Watt-hours/kg, said to enable 1,000 km (621 mile) range & fast charge to 80% (~500 miles range) in 10 mins. Mass production 2023. https://cnevpost.com/2022/06/23/catl-unveils-qilin-battery/
“In every society, contemporary and historic, for which adequate accounts exist, infants have been killed or abandoned to die. And not just the occasional infant here or there. By some estimates, as many as 10 to 15 percent of newborns throughout history have been killed.” https://quillette.com/2022/06/24/the-tragedy-of-the-unwanted-child-what-ancient-cultures-did-before-abortion/
“I look into the evidence trying to quantify just how bad crime is, and find that it's pretty awful. Society should probably be willing to spend several million dollars to prevent a murder” https://bensouthwood.substack.com/p/how-bad-is-crime
Two recently published papers explore how artificial sensing technology could help researchers develop robot hands with human-like dexterity. https://royalsociety.org/blog/2022/06/developing-artificial-afferents-for-tactile-sensing/
Scientists Discover “Holy Grail of Catalysis” – Converting Methane Into Methanol Using Light https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-discover-holy-grail-of-catalysis-converting-methane-into-methanol-using-light/
“a key element in the struggle of progressive groups 'is the elevation of emotion and the personal over reason, generalizable data and process.'” [The New York Times] https://archive.ph/oUVnv
If progress continues like this then the singularity is near. It could possibly happen within this decade: