|
Supercomputer Set to Map the Universe; Hate-Speech Filters Need Work
|
|
|
|
|
|
Welcome back. Artificial intelligence offers the ability to tackle massive amounts of data. And what is more massive than the universe? A group of researchers and scientists in California are using an AI-powered supercomputer to process data from tens of thousands of celestial objects captured every night by the Mayall telescope, near Tucson, Ariz. The goal of the effort is to generate an interstellar map of millions of galaxies and quasars. It also provides further evidence that the influence of AI is boundless.
|
|
|
|
|
A team of international scientists working with the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument survey project will use the Perlmutter supercomputer (pictured above) to analyze tens of thousands of astronomical objects observed each night by the Mayall telescope in Arizona.
PHOTO: THOR SWIFT/BERKELEY LAB
|
|
|
|
How do you capture light from more than 30 million galaxies and quasars to create a three-dimensional map of the universe? The National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center in Berkeley, Calif., built an AI-powered supercomputer, WSJ’s John McCormick reports.
What it is. The center’s researchers installed a customized HPE Cray EX supercomputer from Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., dubbed Perlmutter, to analyze tens of thousands of astronomical objects observed each night by the Mayall telescope, part of the Kitt Peak National Observatory outside Tucson, Ariz.
A giant leap. Previous projects that mapped the universe analyzed sky surveys that totaled just a few million objects, said Stephen Bailey, a physicist at Berkeley Lab.
|
|
|
|
University of Oxford researchers in a recent study gave failing grades to a number of AI-enabled software platforms designed to detect hate speech in social media posts, saying the tools are either too restrictive or too lenient, The Wall Street Journal reports.
|
|
Data matters. The Oxford team created a dataset of thousands of racial slurs, derogatory statements, threats and other language targeting protected groups, running the terms through commercially available detection tools.
|
|
|
Haters gonna hate. Developers say a big challenge with developing detection software is keeping up with ever-changing terms and other tricks employed by users to camouflage hate speech and slip past even the best filters.
|
|
|
|
6,000
|
The number of Nvidia Corp. A100 Tensor Core graphics processing units used by the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center’s Perlmutter supercomputer to count stars and quasars.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wind-turbine operators are encouraged to take migratory birds, including these American white pelicans, into consideration when building and operating facilities.
PHOTO: ANDY NEWMAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
|
|
|
|
As President Biden takes steps to restore criminal penalties for accidental killing of migratory birds, wind-farm developers working to fulfill a separate mandate to boost clean energy are stuck in the middle. Artificial intelligence may be the answer, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Sky-scanning robots. IdentiFlight, an AI-powered tool, can identify approaching birds and alert wind-farm operators to stop 200-foot blades spinning up to 180 miles per hour in as little as 15 seconds.
How effective? Duke Energy installed the IdentiFlight technology at a 110-turbine wind farm in Wyoming. Independent researchers determined it reduced eagle deaths by 82%.
|
|
|
|
An autonomous car by General Motors subsidiary Cruise on a test drive in San Francisco in 2019.
PHOTO: ANDREJ SOKOLOW/DPA/PICTURE ALLIANCE/GETTY IMAGES
|
|
|
|
Tech-sector luminaries have declared the arrival of self-driving vehicles for years, while AI developers say algorithms will need to get much smarter before human drivers take a back seat. The Wall Street Journal’s Christopher Mims offers a short history of robot-car makers revving their engines.
-
2015: Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk said self-driving cars that could drive “anywhere” would be here within two or three years.
-
2016: Lyft Inc. CEO John Zimmer predicted they would “all but end” car ownership by 2025.
-
2018: Waymo CEO John Krafcik warned autonomous robocars would take longer than expected.
-
2021: “A major part of real-world AI has to be solved to make unsupervised, generalized full self-driving work,” Elon Musk in an April 29 tweet.
|
|
|
|
"AI is actually the fastest path to communism.”
|
— Singer Claire Boucher, aka Grimes, in a TikTok video last week with more than 1.4 million views.
|
|
|
|
|
|
President Joe Biden speaking in Cleveland last month. His budget includes $9.8 billion for cybersecurity.
PHOTO: NICHOLAS KAMM/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
|
|
|
White House pushes tech upgrade. President Biden last week unveiled a $6 trillion budget proposal that included $58.4 billion in federal information-technology spending largely aimed at modernizing the government’s aging technology systems, a move experts said could enable agencies to pursue AI and other advanced capabilities. (The Wall Street Journal)
China’s hot tech firms cool. Once high-flying emerging technology startups in China, including many that develop AI and other advanced capabilities, are grappling with losses after spending heavily in a bid to spur new market segments. (The Wall Street Journal)
Real computer bugs. Researchers are using machine learning software to identify and catalog insects and other small creatures plucked by a robotic arm from lab trays and compared with known specimens. (Science)
Better weather forecasts in space. Led by scientists at Austria’s University of Graz, researchers have developed a neural network that can reliably detect coronal holes from space-based observations, an application that may provide more reliable space weather predictions while improving studies of the solar activity cycle. (Phys.org)
Pentagon unveils AI plans. The Defense Department says it plans to invest $874 million next year on AI and machine learning technologies, spread across more than 600 projects, a 50% increase over the number of current-year projects. (Intelligent Aerospace)
Iowa State launches AI degree. A new program at Iowa State University will offer the state’s first two-year master's of science degree in artificial intelligence, the school announced last week. (The Ames Tribune)
China to track UFOs. China’s military says it plans to use AI to investigate multiple sightings of unknown objects in the sky, what officials are calling “unidentified air conditions,” a phrase similar to the U.S. military’s “unidentified aerial phenomena.” (The South China Morning Post)
Elder care goes digital. The use of software powered by AI to care for the elderly is on the rise, with tools for tracking everything from toilet visits to whether a patient has bathed, help that is enabling caregivers to be more efficient. (The Guardian)
|
|
|
Dozens of websites in the U.S. and Europe flicked back on after being offline for roughly an hour early Tuesday, following an internal glitch at a major cloud-services provider. (The Wall Street Journal)
The chief executive of the pipeline company hit in a multimillion-dollar ransomware attack last month is expected to testify Tuesday on Capitol Hill about the company’s cybersecurity practices and its decision to pay the hackers. (The Wall Street Journal)
Tesla Inc.’s sales in China rebounded in May after a short slump, a boost for the electric-vehicle maker as it looks to overcome its first major stumble in one of its most important markets. (The Wall Street Journal)
|
|
|
|