This robotic digger could construct the buildings of the future

Nov23
by on November 23, 2023 at 3:25 pm
Posted In: robots


Construction is a tough job, and in Europe there is a chronic shortage of workers to build the homes, schools, and roads we use every single day. So why not get a robot to do the hard work so we don’t have to? That’s exactly what researchers at ETH Zurich’s Robotic Systems Lab in Switzerland are working on. They’ve trained an autonomous excavator to construct stone walls using boulders weighing several tonnes — without any human interference. In the machine’s first assignment, it built a six metre-​high and 65 metre-long loading bearing wall. If scaled, the solution could to pave…

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UK’s quantum plans could ‘unlock billions — and a geopolitical advantage’

Nov22
by on November 22, 2023 at 5:17 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


The UK’s new quantum computing missions have been praised as “visionary” and “exciting” plans that can reap financial and geopolitical benefits. The five long-term moonshots were launched today by the British government. The first aims to build quantum computers that can run 1 trillion operations by 2035. Another with a deadline for that year is deploying the world’s most advanced quantum network at scale. This initiative aims to pioneer the future quantum internet. Three other projects have an earlier target date of 2030. One plans to provide quantum sensing-enabled solutions to every local National Health Service organisation, for use in…

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UK-built satellite to help combat the climate crisis from space

Nov21
by on November 21, 2023 at 2:57 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


Aiming to join Portugal and Spain as a member of the Atlantic Constellation project, the UK will help fund and build a new satellite designed to monitor and combat climate change. The Atlantic Constellation initiative will involve the development of a constellation of small satellites for Earth, ocean, and climate monitoring. Its mission is to provide data that can support early detection of climate change indicators and disaster relief action, while increasing agricultural productivity and improving energy use. Space tech startup Open Cosmos will build the UK satellite, a pathfinder craft, using the same design as three of Portugal’s satellites.…

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AI hallucinations pose ‘direct threat’ to science, Oxford study warns

Nov20
by on November 20, 2023 at 4:00 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


Large Language Models (LLMs) — such as those used in chatbots — have an alarming tendency to hallucinate. That is, to generate false content that they present as accurate. These AI hallucinations pose, among other risks, a direct threat to science and scientific truth, researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute warn. According to their paper, published in Nature Human Behaviour, “LLMs are designed to produce helpful and convincing responses without any overriding guarantees regarding their accuracy or alignment with fact.” LLMs are currently treated as knowledge sources and generate information in response to questions or prompts. But the data they’re…

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UK won’t regulate AI anytime soon, minister says

Nov17
by on November 17, 2023 at 2:02 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


The UK doesn’t plan on introducing AI regulation anytime soon — in contrast to the EU’s and China’s strict legislation efforts. During a Financial Times conference on Thursday, the country’s first minister for AI and intellectual property, Viscount Jonathan Camrose, confirmed government concerns over regulation curbing growth and said that a UK law on artificial intelligence won’t be coming “in the short term.” While he refrained from critising other nations’ approaches, he noted that “there is always a risk of premature regulation,” which could do more harm than good by “stifling innovation.” The statements come as no surprise and are…

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