Welcome to the April 28, 2023, edition of ACM TechNews, providing timely information for IT professionals three times a week.
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Genome Project Cracks Mysteries of Evolution
The Washington Post
Mark Johnson; Gino Grandoni
April 27, 2023
A collaboration of more than 100 scientists participating in the international Zoonomia Project yielded insights into evolution and other processes by analyzing the genomes of 240 mammals. The findings, published Thursday in the journal Science, can help reveal how long-ago populations diversified. The data may also predict extinctions to come. Even a single organism’s genome contains traces of its species’ past population size; that information can be used to assess which animals are at risk today, said San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance researcher Aryn Wilder. Wilder’s team trained computer programs on the genomes o orcas, Upper Galilee Mountains blind mole-rats, and the Java mouse-deer; their findings suggested orcas are at greatest risk of the three.
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Knitted Robotic Textile Promising for Hand Edema Patients
Cornell Chronicle
Tom Fleischman
April 26, 2023
A knitted wearable technology developed by Cornell University researchers for people with hand edema uses small robotic actuators to massage the swollen area. KnitDema aims to eliminate the need for patients to receive manual edema massage from a trained therapist, which is inaccessible and too costly for some. Worn over one finger, KnitDema features thread-like shape memory alloy (SMA) springs woven into the material. Activated by a small printed circuit board, the springs sequentially compress to move fluid out of the swollen area. Users can personalize the duration and intensity of the SMA spring compression.
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Copyright Protection Struggles to Fend Off AI-Generated Works
The Japan News
Yasuhiro Kobayashi; Shin Watanabe
April 27, 2023
The thorny issue of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated works infringing on copyrighted material is compounded by a lack of clarity about the extent to which such works are vetted for infringement. In January, three U.S. artists sued U.K. startup Stability AI, arguing its Stable Diffusion image generator used elements of their work without permission. They said the AI should not use copyrighted work without artists' consent, adding that credit and compensation should be duly allocated. No precedent exists in U.S. Copyright law as to whether the learning and creation of works by AI constitutes fair use of copyright, leaving little guidance concerning intellectual property violations. U.K. authorities are aggressively regulating material that AI systems can collect and analyze, out of concern the systems' training violates copyright.
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One in Four Internet Users Overwhelmed by Clutter in Their Browser
Aalto University (Finland)
April 25, 2023
Researchers at Finland's Aalto University found about 25% of Internet users consider browser clutter to be a serious problem. In reviewing the results of an online survey and interviews, the researchers observed an increase in clutter-related stress among individuals who have a large number of open tabs and browser windows. The researchers looked at browsing habits that contribute to clutter, and determined that problem-focused solutions, such as setting an upper limit for the number of tabs open at one time, are most successful in reducing browser clutter. The researchers also found that emotion-focused strategies, like changing one's attitude toward browser clutter, could prevent users from taking advantage of solutions that actually could eliminate the problem, and that organizing techniques, like tab management tools, do not address the issue.
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Self-Driving Cars Must Learn the Language of Cyclists to Keep Roads Safe
University of Glasgow (U.K.)
April 25, 2023
A study of communications between drivers and cyclists by researchers at the U.K.'s University of Glasgow suggests new autonomous vehicle (AV) systems must be able to replicate those social interactions to ensure safety on the road. The researchers said integrated displays on the exterior of AVs, or traffic-light-colored LEDs on the edges of the vehicles, could help indicate their intentions, while cyclists could wear smart glasses that allow direct communications from AVs in the form of vibrations. The researchers found cyclists rely on road signs and traffic signals in controlled intersections, but look at cars to assess drivers' intentions in roundabouts, uncontrolled intersections, and construction areas.
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Commerce Dept. Outlines Plans to Fund Chip Research
The New York Times
Ana Swanson; Don Clark
April 25, 2023
The Biden administration defined its strategy to drive cutting-edge microchip research, with the U.S. Commerce Department saying its new National Semiconductor Technology Center would bring together stakeholders to partner on next-generation chips. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the organization would help "regain America's leadership in research and development and technologies of the future and, importantly, make sure we stay there for decades to come." She said the center would commit some research facilities to end-to-end manufacturing of new chip designs, while others would experiment with new materials, equipment, or new power-boosting assembly methods. Commerce is tasked with allocating $50 billion toward this effort, including $11 billion earmarked for R&D.
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Simulations Probe Impacts of Air Pollution on Premature Deaths
NASA Center for Climate Simulation
Jarrett Cohen
April 26, 2023
Researchers at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) and Denmark's Aarhus University (AU) collaborated on a computational study of the impact of air pollution on premature mortality. Using the GISS ModelE climate model and AU's Economic Valuation of Air Pollution model, the researchers simulated future changes in global and regional mortality from exposure to surface particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3) pollutants under high-to low-mitigation emission scenarios, and incorporated the role of population and age distribution changes in premature deaths as well. The simulations indicated over 7 million premature deaths across the globe are related to surface PM2.5 and O3 pollutants and showed a 70% reduction by 2050 with emissions mitigation efforts.
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Transparent Labeling of Training Data May Boost Trust in AI
Penn State News
Matt Swayne
April 24, 2023
A study by Pennsylvania State University researchers found that trust in artificial intelligence (AI) could be improved by allowing users to see that visual data used to train AI systems was labeled correctly. The study involved 430 participants tasked with interacting with a prototype Emotion Reader AI website, which they were told had been trained on a dataset of nearly 10,000 labeled facial images. The emotions in half of the images were mislabeled. The study found a decline in trust among participants who believed the system's performance of biases. However, there was no decrease in emotional connection with or desire to use the system among those who witnessed a biased performance by the AI.
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AR Art Takes Over British City
Wired
Elissaveta M. Brandon
April 24, 2023
The U.K. city of Sheffield has transformed its rooftops into an augmented reality (AR)-based art display. Launched in February, the "Look Up!" project is an "art trail" comprised of four buildings in the city's center, each coupled to a quick response (QR) code on the sidewalk below. Viewers can use a free smartphone application to scan the codes and follow animated arrows directing their gaze upward, to watch a stick figure made of multicolored balloons, a giant cat, and other whimsical animated characters onscreen. U.K. company Megaverse created the app and platform in partnership with U.S.-based AR developer Niantic, while local firms Universal Everything and Human Studio supplied the artworks. More than 1,500 people had downloaded the app and nearly 2,000 QR codes had been scanned in the week following the trail's launch.
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How to Land on a Planet Safely
AIP Publishing
April 25, 2023
Researchers at South Korea's Chungnam National University, Gyeongsang National University, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, and the U.K.'s University of Edinburgh developed a model for landing a spacecraft safely on a planet, asteroid, or comet. Using information about the rocket and its engines, as well as the landing site's surface composition, topography, atmospheric conditions, and gravitational forces, the computational framework can simulate the interaction between a rocket plume and the surface of a planetary body in near-vacuum conditions. Said Chungnam's Byoung Jae Kim, "Understanding the interaction between the rocket plume and the surface is important for the safety and success of space missions in terms of contamination and erosion, landing accuracy, planetary protection, and engineering design, as well as for scientific understanding and future exploration."
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Counting Photons for Quantum Computing
Jefferson Lab
Tamara Dietrich
April 26, 2023
A photon-number detection system developed by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson Natural Accelerator Facility was shown to resolve over 100 photons accurately. This could help pave the way for quantum generation of truly random numbers, which could facilitate the development of unbreakable encryption techniques. The researchers demonstrated a count of around 35 photons per single detector, exceeding the previous record of 16. Using a three-detector system, they were able to resolve 100 photons. Jefferson Lab's Robert Edwards said, "It's super accurate—and that has never been achieved. The lack of detection has been a major limitation to this approach of quantum computing. The new photon number resolution is the necessary step to implementing a universal instruction set."
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Miniscule Device Could Help Preserve Battery Life of Tiny Sensors
MIT News
Adam Zewe
April 24, 2023
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, and the Indian Institute of Science have constructed a wake-up receiver that could help preserve the battery life of tiny sensors or robots. The researchers were able to build a 1.54-square-millimeter chip that is less than one-tenth the size of previous devices while running on only 3 microwatts. The chip amplifies terahertz signals and renders analog data as digital signals for processing. The researchers used the receiver to facilitate wireless communication with a signal source several meters away; an authentication block allows only trusted senders to utilize the receiver. Potential applications include incorporating the receiver in microrobots that track environmental changes in areas other robots cannot access, or within field-deployable radio networks that gather localized data in swarms.
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'Smart' Tech Coming to a City Near You
Duke Today
RA Smith
April 25, 2023
Surveys and qualitative interviews conducted by Duke University researchers reveal that many Americans are concerned about the use of smart city technologies. Many respondents expressed concerns about the ethical implications of the data collected by these devices. For instance, respondents said while gunshot detection systems could benefit public safety, they also could exacerbate racial disparities in policing if disproportionately implemented in marginalized communities. Respondents also worried the installation of such technology in a neighborhood could scare home buyers and businesses away, due to safety concerns. Additionally, respondents voiced concerns about the potential for higher insurance rates in poorer neighborhoods that are shown to have higher levels of pollution based on data from air quality sensors.
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