Welcome to the April 24, 2023, edition of ACM TechNews, providing timely information for IT professionals three times a week.
ACM TechNews mobile apps are available for Android phones and tablets (click here) and for iPhones (click here) and iPads (click here).
To view "Headlines At A Glance," hit the link labeled "Click here to view this online" found at the top of the page in the html version.
The online version now has a button at the top labeled "Show Headlines."
|
|
|
AI-Driven Robots Hunt for Novel Materials Without Help from Humans
Science
Robert F. Service
April 20, 2023
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) researchers are using artificial intelligence (AI) and robots to automate the process of predicting new materials and creating physical samples. In LBNL's A-Lab, the AI uses its understanding of chemistry to determine a plausible method for synthesizing a material, then guides robotic arms to choose from around 200 powdery starting materials. Another robot distributes the mixture into crucibles that are put into furnaces and mixed with different gases. The baking time, temperature, and drying times are calculated by the AI. After the new material is ground into a power and transferred to a slide, the samples are moved by a robotic arm to other equipment for analysis. The process begins again if the results do not match the prediction.
|
Quantum Computer Applied to Chemistry
Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden)
April 20, 2023
Martin Rahm and colleagues at Sweden's Chalmers University used a quantum computer to make chemical calculations. The researchers applied the Reference-State Error Mitigation (REM) method for correcting noise-induced errors by using calculations from both quantum and conventional computers. REM considers a molecule's reference state by describing and addressing the problem on both types of computers, then comparing results to estimate the amount of error caused by noise in order to correct the solution to the original problem when run on a quantum processor. The researchers calculated the intrinsic energy of molecules like hydrogen and lithium hydride by combining REM with data from Chalmers' Särimner quantum processor. Said Rahm, "The study is a proof of concept that our method can improve the quality of quantum-chemical calculations."
|
Organoid Intelligence: Computing on the Brain
IEEE Spectrum
Michael Nolan
April 23, 2023
Researchers have proposed using brain organoids—spherical masses cultured from neural tissue—as computational systems. Underlying the so-called organoid intelligence initiative are induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs) and three-dimensional (3D) cell culturing methods. Biologists can use new 3D-scaffolding techniques to grow IPSC-derived neural tissues vertically and horizontally, allowing organoids to evolve the interneuronal networks observed in animal brains. The University of California, San Diego's Alysson Muotri believes organoids' mimicry of the network and cellular architecture of specific cortical and subcortical structures may facilitate the information processing capabilities of brain tissue. Multielectrode arrays wrapped around organoids can record neuron activity so researchers can deduce neuronal communication mechanisms via causal modeling.
|
3D-Printed Biodegradable Seed Robot Changes Shape in Response to Humidity
Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (Italy)
April 19, 2023
A team of scientists from the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Italy's University of Trento have three-dimensionally (3D)-printed a biodegradable seed robot to monitor soil for humidity changes. The robot is the product of the European project I-Seed, launched in 2021 with the objective of designing seed-inspired robots that function as sensors for monitoring soil quality and air metrics. The researchers modeled the robotic prototype after the South African geranium seed, replicating its humidity-sensitive, shape-shifting hygromorphic structure. Said IIT’s Barbara Mazzolai, the researchers proved "that it is possible to create innovative solutions that not only have the objective of monitoring the well-being of our planet, but that do so without altering it."
|
Reddit Wants to Get Paid for Helping Teach Big AI Systems
The New York Times
Mike Isaac
April 18, 2023
Reddit announced that it will begin charging for access to its application programming interface. Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, and other tech companies have long used Reddit chats to train their artificial intelligence (AI) systems at no cost to them. This comes amid a rise of AI systems like OpenAI's ChatGPT and the importance of large language models (LLLs) in developing new AI technology. Additionally, there are concerns new AI systems could be used to create conversation forums that would compete with Reddit. Reddit's Steve Huffman said new and relevant data is needed by LLM algorithms, which makes Reddit's continuously updated data especially valuable. However, Huffman said, "We don't need to give all of that value to some of the largest companies in the world for free."
*May Require Paid Registration
|
Researchers Develop Safety Monitoring System for Construction Sites
University of Houston News
Rebeca Hawley
April 20, 2023
Computer scientists at the University of Houston (UH), working with colleagues at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, have developed a monitoring system to promote worker and equipment safety at construction sites. The ViPER+ system upgrades the researchers' previous ViPER system by automatically tracking safety policies defined during a project’s planning stages and detecting violations while workers and equipment are operating. ViPER+ enables location tracking with ultra-wideband technology, which provides more accurate monitoring than other wireless radios, according to UH's Alireza Ansaripour. The researchers deployed a correction process in their localization algorithm to reduce non-line-of-sight errors and tracked locations of workers and vehicles through ultra-wideband tags and anchors. They compiled data from the anchors to their computer server, in order to track the locations of workers and vehicles on-site.
|
Used Routers Often Loaded with Corporate Secrets
Ars Technica
Lily Hay Newman
April 19, 2023
Scientists from Slovak security firm ESET will present research at this week's RSA security conference indicating more than half of used routers its researchers purchased for testing were loaded with sensitive corporate information. The researchers bought 18 secondhand routers manufactured by Cisco, Fortinet, and Juniper Networks; nine were fully intact and accessible, but just five had been properly wiped of data. All nine intact routers carried credentials for the organization's virtual private network, credentials for another secure network communication service, or hashed root administrator passwords. This and other information on the devices could be exploited by cybercriminals, as well as state-supported hackers. The ESET team warned contracting with third-party companies to wipe enterprise devices for resale offers no assurance such firms actually do so.
|
Limited Resources Leave Youth Vulnerable to Digital Abuse
Cornell Chronicle
Louis DiPietro
April 18, 2023
A group of researchers from Cornell University, Google, and the U.S. National Science Foundation found U.S. youths are being targeted for cross-platform digital abuse. Peers, intimate partners, acquaintances, and strangers are among those abusing young people online, they said, with the forms of abuse they experience including harassment, sexual violence, and financial fraud. Said Cornell's Natalie Bazarova, "The porousness of barriers between digital platforms and online and physical worlds underscores how easily threats can escalate by crossing social contexts and amplifying harms." The researchers recommend providing better educational resources to online users aged 10 to 17, and better communication and coordination among adult stakeholders for deploying protective practices. They also urge human-computer interaction (HCI) scholars to develop better tools to shield youth online.
|
Soccer-Playing Robot Is Ready for the Pitch
Reuters
Jorge Garcia; Alan Devall
April 19, 2023
The soccer-playing Advanced Robotic Technology for Enhanced Mobility and Improved Stability (ARTEMIS) robot created by University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) mechanical engineers is unique in its ability to kick a ball using custom-designed actuators that function like biological muscles. The flexible, force-controlled actuators behave like biological muscles, unlike the rigid, position-controlled actuators used by most robots. The electrically-driven actuators also are quieter, more efficient, and cleaner than hydraulic systems. Using the new actuators, ARTEMIS can run, maintain balance against heavy kicks and shoves, and withstand objects being thrown at it. UCLA’s Dennis Hong said the technologies used in the robots also are being adapted for other applications, including firefighting and disaster relief.
|
Online Tool Effective at Assessing Dementia Risk
UNSW Sydney Newsroom (Australia)
Lilly Matson
April 20, 2023
An online tool developed by researchers at Australia's University of New South Wales, Sydney (UNSW Sydney) and Neuroscience Research Australia can evaluate an individual’s risk of dementia. UNSW Sydney's Kaarin Anstey said the CogDRisk tool was developed to fill the gap between knowledge of dementia risk and the ability to determine its presence. Patients can complete a risk assessment in about 20 minutes with CogDRisk, which generates a personalized report they can discuss with physicians. The researchers based the tool on a statistical model that combined all dementia risk factors cited in existing literature. Anstey said the new tool “works across different countries and different datasets. And it's also quite comprehensive, it includes a lot of the newer risk factors that weren't previously included.”
|
Snap Launches AR Mirrors in Stores
MIT Technology Review
Tanya Basu
April 19, 2023
Camera and social media company Snap Inc. plans to roll out augmented reality (AR) mirrors at some U.S. Nike stores and the Men's Wearhouse in Paramus, NJ, in the coming months as part of its AR Enterprise Services, which permits brands to purchase the company's AR technology for use in their apps, websites, and stores. The AR mirrors will allow shoppers to see how clothing will look on them without the need to physically try it on; they also can play an AR game to win discounts. Snap also has partnered with Coca-Cola on hand-gesture-operated AR vending machines that will allow customers to access a portal to purchase a drink, browse merchandise, earn rewards, and play games. It also will allow attendees of 16 live music festivals this year to access new AR features in Snapchat, including an AR compass and a three-dimensional map of the venue.
|
Tool Facilitates Clinical Interpretation of Genetic Information
Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (Germany)
April 21, 2023
The Deciphering Mutations in Actionable Genes (DeMAG) open source model developed by researchers at Germany's Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG), the Center for Systems Biology Dresden, and Harvard Medical School can interpret mutations in disease genes. The researchers trained the model on known pathogenic and benign mutations, while its "partners score" feature identifies amino acid clusters in a protein that exhibit the same clinical effect. The partners score enables DeMAG to leverage amino acid relationships based on evolutionary information from the genomes of many organisms, and the AlphaFold algorithm's ability to predict three-dimensional protein shapes. MPI-CBG's Agnes Toth-Petroczy said, "We hope that our tool and web server will ease variants effect assessment and clinical decision-making."
|
|
