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Neural networks have a remarkable ability to learn specific tasks, such as identifying handwritten digits. However, these models often experience "catastrophic forgetting" when taught additional tasks: They can successfully learn the new assignments, but "forget" how to complete the original. For many artificial neural networks, like those that guide self-driving cars, learning additional tasks thus requires being fully reprogrammed.

A recently developed electronic tongue is capable of identifying differences in similar liquids, such as milk with varying water content; diverse products, including soda types and coffee blends; signs of spoilage in fruit juices; and instances of food safety concerns.

John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton received the Nobel Prize in physics on Oct. 8, 2024, for their research on machine learning algorithms and neural networks that help computers learn. Their work has been fundamental in developing neural network theories that underpin generative artificial intelligence.

Artificial Intelligence has learned to master language, generate art, and even beat grandmasters at chess. But can it crack the code of abstract reasoning—those tricky visual puzzles that leave humans scratching their heads?

We have grown accustomed to seeing many aspects of our everyday world depicted using computer graphics, but some phenomena remain difficult for even the most experienced animators. Hair, specifically the highly coiled hair that is most common to Black characters, remains a notoriously difficult digital challenge.

For long periods of its history, artificial intelligence has lurked in the hinterland of science, often unloved and unfunded—but two Nobel prizes in one week suggest its time in the sunshine has finally arrived.

Industries such as chemical manufacturing, fertilizer production and hydrogen generation could significantly cut emissions, improve efficiency and lower costs using a newly developed electrified reactor as an alternative to high-temperature industrial processes.

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Researchers have created a new modeling tool that can be used to help develop ocean-based hydrokinetic energy projects. The tool can be used both to help design more robust marine hydrokinetic technologies and to inform risk assessments that are essential for securing financing and permitting of commercial projects. The paper, "Bayesian Modeling and Mechanical Simulations for Fragility Curve Estimation of The Mooring System of Marine Hydrokinetic Devices," is published in the journal Applied Ocean Research.

Researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China have developed a soft robotic "finger" with a sophisticated sense of touch that can perform routine doctor's office examinations, including taking a patient's pulse and checking for abnormal lumps. This work was published October 9 in Cell Reports Physical Science.

Super Mario Snooze.

Everything you need to know about the two-day deal blitz.

Some October Prime Day deals for stuff we use at home.

What they lack in originality, they make up for in sound.

Elon Musk’s X is getting unblocked in Brazil.

As pedestrian fatalities in the United States reach a 40-year high, a novel approach to measuring crosswalk lengths across entire cities could provide urban planners with crucial data to improve safety interventions.

That long-held Wimbledon tradition of line judges dressed in elegant uniforms is no more.

British-Canadian Geoffrey Hinton and American John Hopfield won the Nobel physics prize on Tuesday for their pioneering work on the foundations of artificial intelligence, with both sounding the alarm over the technology they helped bring to life.

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Does this mean the end of itch.io and greenhouse.io?