Category Physics

LLMs are becoming more Brain-like as they advance, researchers discover

LLM representations mirror human brain responses more closely as LLMs become more advanced
The methodology for predicting brain responses to speech from LLM embeddings, to assess the similarity of various LLMs to the brain. Credit: Gavin Mischler (Figure adapted from Mischler et al., Nature Machine Intelligence, 2024).

Large language models (LLMs), the most renowned of which is ChatGPT, have become increasingly better at processing and generating human language over the past few years. The extent to which these models emulate the neural processes supporting language processing by the human brain, however, has yet to be fully elucidated.

Researchers at Columbia University and Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research Northwell Health recently carried out a study investigating the similarities between LLM representations on neural responses...

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Tiny Particle, Huge Potential: Scientists discover New Type of Quasiparticle Present in all Magnetic Materials

Researchers recently made a groundbreaking discovery on the nanoscale: a new type of quasiparticle found in all magnetic materials, no matter their strength or temperature. These new properties shake up what researchers previously knew about magnetism, showing it’s not as static as once believed.

“Emergent topological quasiparticle kinetics in constricted nanomagnets,” was published in Physical Review Research. The researchers include Deepak Singh and Carsten Ullrich from the University of Missouri’s College of Arts and Science, along with their teams of students and postdoctoral fellows.

“We’ve all seen the bubbles that form in sparkling water or other carbonated drink products,” said Ullrich, Curators’ Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy...

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Harnessing Spin: New Electrocatalysts could Transform Hydrogen Production Efficiency

Using chiral topological semimetals as electrocatalysts to enhance the oxygen evolution reaction
Credit: OpenAI Dall-E.

Electrocatalytic water splitting, a process that entails breaking down water into hydrogen and oxygen, is a promising approach to produce clean hydrogen for fuel cells, which could in turn be used to power large electric vehicles. So far, the real-world use of this process has been limited by the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), a key chemical reaction occurring at the anode.

Researchers at Max-Planck-Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, Weizmann Institute of Science and other institutes recently introduced an innovative approach to accelerate this reaction, using topological chiral semimetals as electrocatalysts.

Their findings, published in Nature Energy, demonstrate that spin-orbit coupling (SOC) inherent in these materials ...

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Simulation Sheds Light on Earth’s Magnetic Field Generation while Advancing Neuromorphic Computing

New simulation method sharpens our view into the Earth’s interior—method could advance neuromorphic computing for AI
Structure of the Earth. Credit: B. Schröder/HZDR/NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

How does the Earth generate its magnetic field? While the basic mechanisms seem to be understood, many details remain unresolved. A team of researchers from the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Sandia National Laboratories (U.S.) and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission has introduced a simulation method that promises new insights into the Earth’s core.

The method, presented in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, simulates not only the behavior of atoms, but also the magnetic properties of materials...

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