More than half a trillion hours of work lost in 2023 due to ‘heat exposure’
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A record 512bn of work hours were lost around the world in 2023 because of the risk of heat exposure, says a new report from the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change. Agricultural workers in low-income countries were disproportionately affected, the authors say, costing countries around 8% of their GDP in 2023. The findings […]
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Guest Blog: Powering Data Centers with Clean Energy: Google’s Clean Transition Tariff
The rising interest in artificial intelligence and data centers has sparked discussions on how to meet the immense power demand from data centers in a carbon-responsible manner. Many data center operators have 100% clean energy pledges, but regulatory barriers can make meeting these goals challenging. This is particularly true in states restricting the ability […]
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MIT Schwarzman College of Computing launches postdoctoral program to advance AI across disciplines
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The MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing has announced the launch of a new program to support postdocs conducting research at the intersection of artificial intelligence and particular disciplines. The Tayebati Postdoctoral Fellowship Program will focus on AI for addressing the most challenging problems in select scientific research areas, and on AI for music […]
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GMI Cloud Secures $82M in Series A Funding to Drive Global AI Infrastructure Expansion with Advanced GPU Solutions
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In a strategic move to address the growing demands for advanced AI infrastructure, GMI Cloud, a Silicon Valley-based GPU cloud provider, has raised $82 million in Series A funding. Led by Headline Asia and supported by notable partners like Banpu Next and Wistron Corporation, this round brings GMI’s total capital to over $93 million. The […]
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Tackling Misinformation: How AI Chatbots Are Helping Debunk Conspiracy Theories
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Misinformation and conspiracy theories are major challenges in the digital age. While the Internet is a powerful tool for information exchange, it has also become a hotbed for false information. Conspiracy theories, once limited to small groups, now have the power to influence global events and threaten public safety. These theories, often spread through social […]
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AI to enable autonomous underwater robots to perform precision offshore wind farm repairs
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One of the underwater robot undergoing trials in Heriot Watt Universitys wave tank facility. Technology could reduce the use of large maintenance vessels in wind farm repairs, reducing fuel consumption by 97%. That’s according to the National Robotarium – an innovation hub based at Heriot Watt University’s Edinburgh campus – which is supporting the development […]
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AI’s Growing Role in Combating Deforestation
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Deforestation has been an ongoing problem for decades. Even as technology has advanced, offenders have held the advantage because there’s simply too much land to cover — until now. Could artificial intelligence be the key to putting an end to illegal deforestation? Both its potential and real-world use cases show promise. 1. Identify Optimal Reforestation […]
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Alex de Vigan, Founder and CEO at Nfinite – Interview Series
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Nfinite, a company he established in 2016 after encountering challenges while decorating his first apartment. Nfinite transforms the online shopping experience by offering retailers and brands AI-powered, immersive, engaging, and personalized visual content at scale. What inspired you to transition from law and financial services to founding Nfinite, a company focused on e-merchandising and spatial […]
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SonicSense Gives Robots Human-Like Sensing Abilities Through Acoustic Vibrations
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Duke University researchers have unveiled a groundbreaking advancement in robotic sensing technology that could fundamentally change how robots interact with their environment. The innovative system, called SonicSense, enables robots to interpret their surroundings through acoustic vibrations, marking a significant shift from traditional vision-based robotic perception. In robotics, the ability to accurately perceive and interact with […]
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Generating Better AI Video From Just Two Images
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Video frame interpolation (VFI) is an open problem in generative video research. The challenge is to generate intermediate frames between two existing frames in a video sequence. https://www.unite.ai/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/FILM-example.mp4 Click to play. The FILM framework, a collaboration between Google and the University of Washington, proposed an effective frame interpolation method that remains popular in hobbyist and […]
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Closing Pandora’s box: A new book explores the science of sewage
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(Above) Interior of Crossness Pumping station, built in 1865 at one of two main sewer outfalls in London (image credit: Peter Scrimshaw, CC BY-SA 4.0 license). Sewage: It’s a subject whose complexities are not to be underestimated, but which are increasingly in need of being communicated to the public. A new book provides a helpful […]
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Analysis: No growth for China’s emissions in Q3 2024 despite coal-power rebound
China’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions stayed at, or just below, last year’s levels in the third quarter of 2024, after a fall in the second quarter. The new analysis for Carbon Brief, based on official figures and commercial data, leaves open the possibility that China’s emissions could fall this year. However, recent record-high temperatures caused […]
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William Falcon, Founder and CEO of Lightning AI – Interview Series
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Lightning AI is the creator of PyTorch Lightning, a framework designed for training and fine-tuning AI models, as well as Lightning AI Studio. PyTorch Lightning was initially developed by William Falcon in 2015 while he was at Columbia University. It was later open-sourced in 2019 during his PhD at NYU and Facebook AI Research, under […]
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Microsoft’s Inference Framework Brings 1-Bit Large Language Models to Local Devices
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On October 17, 2024, Microsoft announced BitNet.cpp, an inference framework designed to run 1-bit quantized Large Language Models (LLMs). BitNet.cpp is a significant progress in Gen AI, enabling the deployment of 1-bit LLMs efficiently on standard CPUs, without requiring expensive GPUs. This development democratizes access to LLMs, making them available on a wide range of […]
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Pop psychology: Appraising the options for hydrogen storage in transport
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Hydrogen presents significant challenges when it comes to storage, given its molecular size and highly corrosive nature. A number of potential approaches are coming into view. Leakage has certainly been a bête noire in the natural gas sector, and something that happens far more frequently than was assumed, as reports of recent years seem to […]
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Time to speed up UK emissions cuts, says CCC
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Image credit: Cal F / Shutterstock.com. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has recommended that the UK commit to cutting its greenhouse gas emissions by 81% from 1990 levels by 2035. Presented in a letter, the advice was offered to assist determination of the country’s 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in the forthcoming period, following a […]
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Flooding programmes deliver big results, says the Environment Agency
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Repurposed military drone from ISS Aerospace, equipped with ground penetrating radar to remotely record groundwater tables (Project Groundwater Buckinghamshire) The Environment Agency has published its mid-programme report, detailing the benefits the agency says are accruing from various schemes undertaken to support flood and coastal resilience. Published on 28 October, the report reviews the EA’s £200 […]
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A faster, better way to train general-purpose robots
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In the classic cartoon “The Jetsons,” Rosie the robotic maid seamlessly switches from vacuuming the house to cooking dinner to taking out the trash. But in real life, training a general-purpose robot remains a major challenge. Typically, engineers collect data that are specific to a certain robot and task, which they use to train the […]