Thinking Allowed

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Introducing Gemini: our largest and most capable AI model

Gemini is our most capable and general model, built to be multimodal and optimized for three different sizes: Ultra, Pro and Nano.
Source: blog.google

Jeff Sebo on digital minds, and how to avoid sleepwalking into a major moral catastrophe

"The general case for extending moral consideration to AI systems is that they might be conscious or sentient or agential or otherwise significant. And if they might have those features, then we should extend them at least some moral consideration in the spirit of caution and humility."
Source: 80000hours.org

Egypt becomes the first country to achieve WHO validation on the path to elimination of hepatitis C


Source: who.int

Large Language Models: Don't Believe the Hype

We've reached the Skynet moment for AI, it would seem. GPT-4, cast in the role of Terminator, has not only achieved consciousness, but it's coming for
Source: datanami.com

News: Basel to become Europe’s Silicon Valley of biotech

Silicon Valley is synonymous with technology and innovation. On the other side of the Northern Hemisphere, Basel in Switzerland draws parallels, edging the city closer to becoming Europe’s Silicon Valley of biotech.
Source: baselarea.swiss

Gender differences in individual variation in academic grades fail to fit expected patterns for STEM - Nature Communications

Fewer women than men pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), despite girls outperforming boys at school in the relevant subjects. According to the ‘variability hypothesis’, this over-representation of males is driven by gender differences in variance; greater male...
Source: nature.com

From Health Care Workforce Recuperation to Regeneration

“educators and health care leaders must intentionally train in teamwork and collaboration, have a growth mindset, and create environments of psychological safety on purpose rather than by chance.” “The Executive Vice Dean and Vice Dean for Education at the UCSF School of Medicine and the Assistant...
Source: nejm.org

Remembering the people

blog post image Please suggest some technology that might help ... but remind me who you are first. What do you use to keep track of everyone that you work with, live near, party with, study with, or just share time with? Mere humans can only maintain about 150 close relationships (Dunbar's number) so just wondering...
Source: wikipedia.org

Life-threatening infections on the rise due to drug-resistant bacteria, new WHO report reveals 

Over 50 per cent of life-threatening bacterial infections are becoming resistant to treatment, a new World Health Organization (WHO) report published on Friday reveals. 
Source: news.un.org

Spem in alium nunquam habui (Hope in any other, never did I have)

This piece of music is probably like nothing you have ever heard. Maybe because it is nearly 500 years old it feels like it is from another world. Maybe because it is written for eight choirs with five voices each the forty parts it's so complex you'd be pressed even to hum some of the tune afterwards....
Source: wikipedia.org

FDA approves most expensive drug ever, a $3.5 million-per-dose gene therapy for hemophilia B

The single-dose medicine "represents important progress" as the first-ever gene therapy for the rare disorder, the FDA said. ”The Food and Drug Administration cleared Hemgenix, an IV treatment for adults with hemophilia B, the less common form of the genetic disorder which primarily affects men.”
Source: cbsnews.com

Unchecked Carbon Dioxide Is Shrinking Earth’s Upper Atmosphere - ExtremeTech

The resulting domino effect could make it difficult for ships and satellites to deorbit in the future.
Source: extremetech.com

The International Code of Medical Ethics of the World Medical Association Ramin Walter Parsa-Parsi. JAMA.

"One of the central missions of the World Medical Association (WMA) in its role as the global organization of physicians is to ensure the highest possible standard of ethical practice of the medical profession. Since its establishment in 1947 in the aftermath of one of the most egregious breaches of...
Source: jamanetwork.com

Mind-controlled wheelchairs let people dodge obstacles with ease Nature 2022.

A brain—machine interface allows people with paralysis in all four limbs to navigate a real-world environment. A brain—machine interface allows people with paralysis in all four limbs to navigate a real-world environment.
Source: nature.com

Infographic: Africa’s Booming Startup Scene

This chart shows the latest stats from Google's Africa Developer Ecosystem 2021 on the startup scene report.
Source: statista.com

Landmark EU General Court Google Android decision signals tougher antitrust enforcement

Google's biggest legal loss to date with a fine of € 4.125 billion - for how it exclusively bundled Google Search and other advertising into Android phones. Encouraging competition and innovation in markets requires determined work by regulators. "On 14 September, the General Court of the European...
Source: hausfeld.com

Taste of the future? Vertical farming is finally growing up in the UK

Vertical farming promises to boost food security, reduce emissions and eliminate fertilisers – and the industry is growing fast in the UK
Source: positive.news

Video: Bison roam England again for the first time in thousands of years

European bison were released in Kent this morning to boost biodiversity and tackle the climate crisis. The timing is pertinent
Source: positive.news

Rogers network resuming after major outage hits millions of Canadians

Rogers Telecommunications said its network was beginning to recover late on Friday after a 19-hourservice outage at one of Canada's biggest telecom operators shut banking, transport and government access for millions, drawing outrage from customers and adding to criticism over its industry dominance.
Source: reuters.com

British Science Festival: The fight against microplastics

The British Science Festival is coming up In September, and one of the topics being explored across different events is microplastic pollution and how to tackle it. We discuss the events and why taking action now matters.
Source: britishscienceassociation.org