Lifeboat Foundation

Both A4 and LEARN suffered from several methodological hiccups, to the extent that one might consider A4, at least, a failed study. In 2017, after A4 was well underway, the leaders decided to up the solanezumab dosage substantially, from 400 mg to 1,600 mg per dose, and also to extend the follow-up period from the originally planned 3.2 years to 4.5 years, so that effects of the dosage increase could be captured adequately.

Meanwhile, LEARN commenced at about the same time. That meant that less than 3 years later, both studies were hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated disruptions. Many study sites shut down, and the investigators had to resort to home infusions in some places to keep the study going. Aisen and Sperling acknowledged that these issues complicated data collection, analysis, and interpretation. But there was no suggestion that these problems might have obscured a genuine beneficial effect from solanezumab.

Taken together, said Sperling, the results from A4 and LEARN indicate that “amyloid reduction may be necessary to slow progression even at the stage of preclinical [Alzheimer’s disease].”

Italian architecture studio Renzo Piano Building Workshop has completed the landmark Istanbul Modern museum, which is its first project in Turkey.

Over 10,000 square metres in size, Istanbul Modern is an art museum on Karaköy waterfront, a historic area in Istanbul where the Bosphorus and Golden Horn waterways meet.

It has a top-heavy form made up of three stacked rectilinear volumes, designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop to evoke the shape of a ship.

Vani Kannan and her husband Balaji were living in England for 16 years when the birth of their first child caused them to return to India and build an eco-friendly, mud home.

Why aren’t there more robots in homes? This a surprising complex question — and our homes are surprisingly complex places. A big part of the reason autonomous systems are thriving on warehouse and factory floors first is the relative ease of navigating a structured environment. Sure, most systems still require a space be mapped prior to getting to work, but once that’s in place there tends to be little in the way of variation.

Homes, on the other hand, are kind of a nightmare. Not only do they vary dramatically from unit to unit, they’re full of unfriendly obstacles and tend to be fairly dynamic, as furniture is moved around or things are left on the floor. Vacuums are the most prevalent robots in the home, and they’re still being refined after decades on the market.

This week, researchers at MIT CSAIL are showcasing PIGINet (Plans, Images, Goal, and Initial facts), which is designed to bring task and motion planning to home robotic systems. The neural network is designed to help streamline their ability to create plans of action in different environments.

YouTube is experimenting with AI-generated quizzes on its mobile app for iOS and Android devices, which are designed to help viewers learn more about a subject featured in an educational video. The feature will also help the video-sharing platform get a better understanding of how well each video covers a certain topic.

The AI-generated quizzes, which YouTube noted on its experiments page yesterday, are rolling out globally to a small percentage of users that watch “a few” educational videos, the company wrote. The quiz feature is only available for a select portion of English-language content, which will appear on the home feed as links under recently watched videos.

Not all of YouTube’s experiments make it to the platform, so it will be interesting to see if this one sticks around. We’re not sure how many people — especially if they’re no longer in school — want to take a quiz while they scroll through videos.

How to build large language models? Checkout our guide on the steps involved in building large language models from scratch.

Four individuals have agreed to be sequestered inside a 1,700-square-foot simulated Mars habitat at NASA’s Johnson Space Center to study what it would be like to live on the Red Planet and how humans can learn to cope in that extreme environment.

During their 378-day stay, which officially kicked off earlier this week, they’ll have a surprisingly busy schedule, including a strict exercise regimen as well as a lengthy list of duties, from performing simulated spacewalks to growing crops.

In other words, it’s a demanding job that’s bound to be tough on the crew of four.

Serious Safety Questions about the first paying space tourism flight of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo while wishing them the best.

Congratulations to Virgin Galactic for a successful mission today! I looked great! But there are still serious safety questions about the missions going forward about paying space tourism flights on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo. I do wish Virgin Galactic the best on their venture going forward!

Continue reading “Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo Safety Questions” »

With generative AI taking over the artificial intelligence world, it was only a matter of time before it came to the smart home. Josh.ai, a home automation system for the connected home, has officially launched JoshGPT.

Josh is here to replace your smart home automation system as your all-in-one solution — it says it’s got the brains that your current voice assistant can’t offer you.

Continue reading “The first GPT-powered smart home platform is here” »