Category Physics

As AI becomes increasingly realistic, our trust in those with whom we communicate may be compromised. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have examined how advanced AI systems impact our trust in the individuals we interact with.

In one scenario, a would-be scammer, believing he is calling an elderly man, is instead connected to a computer system that communicates through pre-recorded loops. The scammer spends considerable time attempting the fraud, patiently listening to the “man’s” somewhat confusing and repetitive stories. Oskar Lindwall, a professor of communication at the University of Gothenburg, observes that it often takes a long time for people to realize they are interacting with a technical system.

He has, in collaboration with...

No matter where we go in the universe, we’re going to need water. Thus far, human missions to Earth orbit and the moon have taken water with them. But while that works for short missions, it isn’t practical in the long term. Water is heavy, and it would take far too much fuel to bring sufficient water to sustain long-term bases on the moon or Mars. So we’ll have to use the water we can extract locally.

Fortunately, water is a common molecule in the universe. Even the moon has plenty of water to sustain a lunar colony. The only real challenge is how to extract it. As a recent study published in Acta Astronautica shows, that might be as easy as popping things into a microwave oven.

Although wate...

Photovoltaics, the conversion of light to electricity, is a key technology for sustainable energy. Since the days of Max Planck and Albert Einstein, we know that light as well as electricity are quantized, meaning they come in tiny packets called photons and electrons. In a solar cell, the energy of a single photon is transferred to a single electron of the material, but no more than one. Only a few molecular materials like pentacene are an exception, where one photon is converted to two electrons instead.

“When pentacene is excited by light, the electrons in the material rapidly react,” explains Prof. Ralph Ernstorfer, a senior author of the study...

University of California, Berkeley, researchers have measured brain waves in participants and artificial intelligence systems – a comparison they say provides a window into what is considered a black box of AI.

New research from the University of California, Berkeley, shows that artificial intelligence (AI) systems can process signals in a way that is remarkably similar to how the brain interprets speech, a finding scientists say might help explain the black box of how AI systems operate.

Using a system of electrodes placed on participants’ heads,...