Links for 2023-12-26
2023: A year of groundbreaking advances in AI and computing https://blog.research.google/2023/12/2023-year-of-groundbreaking-advances-in.html
“2023 has been an extremely productive year at NVIDIA Research. I'm excited to share the official, top 10 highlights!” https://twitter.com/DrJimFan/status/1738613195173159187
The most remarkable AI releases of 2023 https://journal.everypixel.com/2023-the-year-of-ai
Can deep learning models screen individuals for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and symptom severity using retinal photographs? https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2812964
AI's memory-forming mechanism found to be strikingly similar to that of the brain https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231218130031.htm
Hiding viruses from the immune system: “We demonstrate an entirely novel way of shielding AAVs from the neutralizing antibodies found in 30-60% of patients - encapsulating the virus inside of an immunologically invisible hollow protein compartment called vault.” https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.11.29.569229v1
Hepatitis B viruses neutralized with DNA origami nanoshells, showing the potential to create novel antivirals using components that, when used individually, show little to no antiviral effectiveness. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.12.20.572526v1
A Vatican-sponsored clinical trial where they inject stem cells into the brain https://www.cell.com/cell-stem-cell/fulltext/S1934-5909(23)00393-4#%20
These minuscule pixels are poised to take augmented reality by storm https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/12/20/1084518/micro-leds-micro-oleds-augmented-reality-ar/ [https://archive.is/6qeBe]
Pakistan uses artificial rain to battle smog for first time https://news.sky.com/story/pakistan-uses-artificial-rain-to-battle-smog-for-first-time-13033304
If you are looking for some entertainment, here are three SF short stories I enjoyed:
1. A story about what colonizing the universe could realistically look like. https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/CAzntXYTEaNfC9nB6/succession
2. A story about a legal battle between AIs and humans and the potential horrors and philosophical implications of uploading technology. https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/LpF7BBGxbYETxJgYL/the-witness
3. A story about morality and AI alignment. https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/umJMCaxosXWEDfS66/moral-reality-check-a-short-story
Political links:
The True Core Of The Jesus Myth | Christopher Hitchens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMo5R5pLPBE
"The transfer of hundreds of billions of dollars a year (in the US) from men to women artificially harms men’s relative economic status, which in turn harms marriage prospects." https://www.aporiamagazine.com/p/the-baby-boom
Men who have a negative view of masculinity, have poor mental health outcomes. https://www.psypost.org/2023/11/having-a-negative-perception-of-masculinity-is-linked-to-worse-mental-health-study-finds-214570
What is the source of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2)? https://www.rootclaim.com/analysis/What-is-the-source-of-COVID-19-SARS-CoV-2
“The US has a much higher stake in Russia's war on Ukraine than most people think.” https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/high-price-losing-ukraine