You’ve likely heard that a picture is worth a thousand words, but can a large language model (LLM) get the picture if it’s never seen images before? As it turns out, language models that are trained purely on text have a solid understanding of the visual world. They can write image-rendering code to generate complex…
The use of AI to streamline drug discovery is exploding. Researchers are deploying machine-learning models to help them identify molecules, among billions of options, that might have the properties they are seeking to develop new medicines. But there are so many variables to consider — from the price of materials to the risk of something…
AI is good at lots of things: spotting patterns in data, creating fantastical images, and condensing thousands of words into just a few paragraphs. But can it be a useful tool for writing comedy? New research suggests that it can, but only to a very limited extent. It’s an intriguing finding that hints at the…
The latest release of O’Reilly Answers is the first example of generative royalties in the AI era, created in partnership with Miso. This new service is a trustworthy source of answers for the O’Reilly learning community and a new step forward in the company’s commitment to the experts and authors who drive knowledge across its…
MIT Technology Review’s How To series helps you get things done. If you post or interact with chatbots on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, or WhatsApp, Meta can use your data to train its generative AI models beginning June 26, according to its recently updated privacy policy. Even if you don’t use any of Meta’s platforms, it…
Large language models like those that power ChatGPT have shown impressive performance on tasks like drafting legal briefs, analyzing the sentiment of customer reviews, or translating documents into different languages. These machine-learning models typically use only natural language to process information and answer queries, which can make it difficult for them to perform tasks that…
In the beginning, as one version of the Haudenosaunee creation story has it, there was only water and sky. According to oral tradition, when the Sky Woman became pregnant, she dropped through a hole in the clouds. While many animals guided her descent as she fell, she eventually found a place on the turtle’s back….
Digital technologies, such as smartphones and machine learning, have revolutionized education. At the McGovern Institute for Brain Research’s 2024 Spring Symposium, “Transformational Strategies in Mental Health,” experts from across the sciences — including psychiatry, psychology, neuroscience, computer science, and others — agreed that these technologies could also play a significant role in advancing the diagnosis…
Someday, you may want your home robot to carry a load of dirty clothes downstairs and deposit them in the washing machine in the far-left corner of the basement. The robot will need to combine your instructions with its visual observations to determine the steps it should take to complete this task. For an AI…
At its Worldwide Developer Conference on Monday, Apple for the first time unveiled its vision for supercharging its product lineup with artificial intelligence. The key feature, which will run across virtually all of its product line, is Apple Intelligence, a suite of AI-based capabilities that promises to deliver personalized AI services while keeping sensitive data…