To what extent might robots be able to act as extensions of our bodies? Scientists are exploring how to integrate AI agents with A physical form and human-like senses into our lives.
Category: robotics/AI – Page 2
AI matches doctors in mapping lung tumors for radiation therapy
In radiation therapy, precision can save lives. Oncologists must carefully map the size and location of a tumor before delivering high-dose radiation to destroy cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue. But this process, called tumor segmentation, is still done manually, takes time, varies between doctors—and can lead to critical tumor areas being overlooked.
Now, a team of Northwestern Medicine scientists has developed an AI tool called iSeg that not only matches doctors in accurately outlining lung tumors on CT scans but can also identify areas that some doctors may miss, reports a large new study.
Unlike earlier AI tools that focused on static images, iSeg is the first 3D deep learning tool shown to segment tumors as they move with each breath—a critical factor in planning radiation treatment, which half of all cancer patients in the U.S. receive during their illness.
Tesla Responds w/ Huge Hardware Change to Improve Autonomy
Questions to inspire discussion.
🚕 Q: How reliable is Tesla’s robotaxi service based on recent experiences? A: Tesla’s robotaxi service has perfect rides in 9 out of 10 experiences, with one incident of phantom braking due to sun glare.
📱 Q: How do users access and pay for Tesla’s robotaxi service? A: Users access the service through a separate app from the Tesla app, requiring Tesla sign-in and linked credit card information for payment.
Tesla Model Updates and Pricing.
🔋 Q: What changes were made to the refreshed Model S and X? A: The refresh includes new hardware for improved autonomy, new color options, wheel design, and ambient lighting, with a $5,000 price increase and 5–7% range increase.
🛡️ Q: What does Tesla’s new extended warranty plan offer? A: Tesla’s plan extends coverage for 4 years or 100,000 miles at $50–150 per month depending on the model, covering most manufactured parts except the high-voltage battery, tires, and glass.
CNBS Tesla Robotaxi Backfire + Ford CEO Gets OWNED After LiDAR Comment
Tesla’s autonomous driving technology, particularly its vision-only approach, is being showcased and defended in response to criticism from Ford’s CEO and others, who prefer LiDAR-based solutions ## Questions to inspire discussion.
Tesla’s Autonomous Technology.
🚗 Q: How does Tesla’s autonomous vehicle technology differ from competitors? A: Tesla uses a vision-only approach without LiDAR, while competitors like Waymo rely on LiDAR and radar systems.
🔄 Q: What makes Tesla’s approach to autonomous vehicles more scalable? A: Tesla aims to make all 8 million+ vehicles on the road capable of self-driving with a software update, unlike competitors focusing on specific areas.
Market Comparison.
📊 Q: How does Tesla’s autonomous vehicle fleet compare to Waymo’s? A: Tesla has over 8 million vehicles capable of autonomy, while Waymo has less than 2,000 vehicles on the road.
Amazon Is Building a Gigantic Computing Facility to Match the Human Brain
Indiana’s newest cash crop isn’t soybeans or corn; it’s AI data centers — lots and lots of AI data centers.
The New York Times reports that Amazon is building a vast complex of AI infrastructure facilities on top of 1,200 acres of former cropland, all meant for startup Anthropic’s project to build an AI model that is as powerful, complex — and, just possibly, as intelligent — as the human brain.
To that end, Amazon has constructed seven data centers on site, with around 30 slated to be built in total, according to the newspaper. It’s such an outrageously ambitious project, with untold billions in investment, that Amazon has tapped four separate construction firms to get the complex finished as soon as possible.
AI is learning to lie, scheme, and threaten its creators
The world’s most advanced AI models are exhibiting troubling new behaviors—lying, scheming, and even threatening their creators to achieve their goals.
In one particularly jarring example, under threat of being unplugged, Anthropic’s latest creation Claude 4 lashed back by blackmailing an engineer and threatened to reveal an extramarital affair.
Meanwhile, ChatGPT-creator OpenAI’s o1 tried to download itself onto external servers and denied it when caught red-handed.
AI uses too much energy—nanotech is the solution | Dr. Mark Hersam | TEDxChicago
Mark Hersam is a nanotechnologist who believes that understanding materials at the shortest of length scales can provide solutions to the world’s largest problems. Using an interdisciplinary approach at the intersection of neuroscience and nanoelectronics, Hersam presents a solution to the greatest societal threat posed by AI.
Dr. Mark C. Hersam, the Walter P. Murphy Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Director of the Materials Research Center, and Chair of the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Northwestern University, has made major breakthroughs in the field of nanotechnology. His research interests include nanomaterials, additive manufacturing, nanoelectronics, scanning probe microscopy, renewable energy, and quantum information science. Dr. Hersam has received several honors including the Marshall Scholarship, Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, American Vacuum Society Medard Welch Award, U.S. Science Envoy, and MacArthur Fellowship. In addition, he is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and National Academy of Inventors and has founded two companies, NanoIntegris and Volexion, which are suppliers of nanoelectronic and battery materials, respectively.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.
Balaji on AI
A few miscellaneous thoughts.
First, the new bottleneck on AI is prompting and verifying. Since AI does tasks middle-to-middle, not end-to-end. So business spend migrates towards the edges of prompting and verifying, even as AI speeds up the middle.
Second, AI really means amplified intelligence, not agentic intelligence. The smarter you are, the smarter the AI is. Better writers are better prompters.
