That prompt was one of 204 tasks chosen last year to test the ability of various large language models (LLMs) — the computational engines behind AI chatbots such as ChatGPT. The simplest LLMs produced surreal responses. “The movie is a movie about a man who is a man who is a man,” one began. Medium-complexity models came closer, guessing The Emoji Movie. But the most complex model nailed it in one guess: Finding Nemo.
“Despite trying to expect surprises, I’m surprised at the things these models can do,” said Ethan Dyer, a computer scientist at Google Research who helped organize the test. It’s surprising because these models supposedly have one directive: to accept a string of text as input and predict what comes next, over and over, based purely on statistics. Computer scientists anticipated that scaling up would boost performance on known tasks, but they didn’t expect the models to suddenly handle so many new, unpredictable ones.
Recent investigations like the one Dyer worked on have revealed that LLMs can produce hundreds of “emergent” abilities — tasks that big models can complete that smaller models can’t, many of which seem to have little to do with analyzing text. They range from multiplication to generating executable computer code to, apparently, decoding movies based on emojis. New analyses suggest that for some tasks and some models, there’s a threshold of complexity beyond which the functionality of the model skyrockets. (They also suggest a dark flip side: As they increase in complexity, some models reveal new biases and inaccuracies in their responses.)
Having quality relationships is the top predictor of happiness and overall health, according to an 85-year longitudinal study from Harvard University. But as you get older, maintaining these connections and making new ones can be challenging.
Earlier this month, journalist Josie Duffy Rice asked her Twitter followers about ways that people over 60 can make friends or build community after a pal of hers expressed that their parent was feeling “very isolated.”
Her question reflects the struggles with loneliness that people face throughout their lives, but particularly as they age. One study found that 43% of Americans over 60 reported feeling lonely. Research has shown that loneliness and social isolation are linked with an increased risk of negative health outcomes like dementia, heart disease, stroke, depression, and even premature death.
Loneliness is a state of mind in which you feel alone. Social isolation means you have few social contacts or people to interact with regularly. “Social isolation can lead to loneliness in some people, while others can feel lonely without being socially isolated,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Crispin la Valiente via Getty Images “I’ve hit my 60s, and my social circle is the size of a Cheerio,” one man told HuffPost.
Last week, the White House released a “National Preparedness Strategy and Action Plan for Near-Earth Object (NEO) Hazards and Planetary Defense.” The document addresses the hazard of NEO impacts by leveraging and enhancing existing national and international assets and adding important capabilities across government.
Sixty-six million years ago, a 10-kilometer rock impacted Earth and caused mass extinction of 75% of all plant and animal species on Earth, including all non-avian dinosaurs. In 2005, the US Congress tasked NASA to find 90% of all NEOs bigger than 140 meters that could hit the Earth. With its 3.2 billion-pixel camera, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory aims to identify two-thirds of these objects within a decade, complementing the work of the Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii, which discovered the first interstellar object, `Oumuamua, after flagging it as an NEO. This discovery, ushering the research frontier of interstellar objects, was highlighted in the White House document.
Dear smartphone, You are undoubtedly one of the most revolutionary inventions of our time. From communication to entertainment, you have become an integral part of our lives. You have made our lives easier, more efficient, and more connected than ever before. It’s no secret that you (smartphones) have taken over our lives. You are our […]
On April 9, 1939, after being denied the use of every indoor auditorium in Washington, D.C. because of her race, world-renowned Black opera singer Marian Anderson instead performed for an audience gathered outside the Lincoln Memorial. Ms. Anderson, a contralto, had been invited to sing at the nation’s capital on this day as part of […]
Last year I was looking for medical advice online, which most medical professionals would deem a bad idea, but is common practice within rare disease and “invisible” illness communities. When a new symptom appears out of the blue, people turn to forums, Instagram pages, and internet communities to avoid a trip to accident and emergency for the third time that month. It is a risk chronically ill people often take to put off medical intervention out of fear of acquiring further medical trauma. For me at least, crowdsourcing for advice often yields better results than the doctors who believe I am wasting their time.
What started as seeking help from others who had experienced debilitating pain and worrying symptoms, led me into a dark pattern of late-night meltdowns after hours of online scrolling, I now know that repeated desire to make myself feel awful was a form of self-harm — just digitally.
As I trawled the internet in search of others who were experiencing periodic numbness of their hands and leg, I fell into Reddit. The forum plays host to thousands of micro-communities talking about everything from electric bikes to raising picky eaters, as well as large gatherings of people supporting each other through chronic illness and disability. This time, however, I didn’t find myself in communion with other sick people, instead, I was exposed to R/illnessfakers, a place with hundreds of people who have made it their job to prove that sick people, just like me, are always lying.
Two weeks after my husband, E., was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease that has no treatment or cure, he left me. At the time, we were preparing to depart on a long-planned family trip to Washington, D.C. Without warning, he declined to join us. He insisted that I take the kids without him, saying he preferred to stay back and clean out the garage. Objecting and pleading accomplished nothing, so I acquiesced. Maybe he just needed time alone to process what the diagnosis meant: His career was essentially over, and in some unknown period of time, life as he knew it would end too.
While we toured museums and national monuments, E. called, texted, and emailed daily to offer love and assurances. As we waited for him outside baggage claim after a long day of flying, I couldn’t wait to fall asleep in his arms. He arrived in my car rather than his van — weird, considering we had so much luggage, but I was too tired to care. He hesitated briefly before stepping out to hug us warmly. My children from a previous marriage, 9 and 11 at the time, adored him and chatted nonstop while I held his hand, which trembled slightly as his thumb stroked my palm.
At home, my spirits lifted with the garage door. The interior was sparkling. He beamed when I kissed and complimented him. Together, we pulled the suitcases toward the porch to greet our German shepherd.
One step inside changed everything. My eyes scanned the living room, taking inventory before I could process what it meant. Missing furniture? He didn’t even allow me to set down the bags before he said, “By the way … I moved out and filed for divorce.”
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Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photo: Getty Images
Mae Jemison isn’t just the first African American woman who orbited into space aboard the shuttle Endeavour. She’s also a physician, teacher, and Peace Corps volunteer; after her work with NASA, she founded the Jemison Group, which develops scientific and technological advancements. Jemison continues to work toward helping young women of color get more involved in technology, engineering, […]
In the world, human beings are facing various problems. People who are full of greed, anger, and ignorance are seen to be fighting with each other in words and deeds. As the fighting continues, various problems such as civil wars, wars of aggression, and wars of aggression are occurring. As world peace is being destroyed, humans are facing unbearable problems. Innocent children and women are not getting the rights they deserve and deserve. I can't think of one thing every time. What is it? The United Nations. If we look at the responsibilities and duties of the United Nations, I think it is not suitable for solving the problems that are happening in the world today. In fact, the United Nations and the World Security Council, such an organization must rule the world, must be able to give orders, and must have various ways to obey orders. There must be no organization that can influence more than that organization. There should be experts from each country. They can even dominate the superpowers like the US, China, and Britain. Only then will global peace be achieved quickly. Now, if a country with power develops more militarily, economically, or socially than its own country, then powerful countries will jealously seek out enemies and wage war. Or they will attack with fighter jets. In this, innocent people are losing their lives. No one understands the value of a life. You should think about how to achieve global peace by controlling these. If the US continues to be the permanent president of the UN, world peace will never be achieved. If you think carefully, no one sees that they are working for the common good, but for their own benefit, for the benefit of their own country. The permanent president of the UN and the Security Council has rejected this, As a young Rohingya, I have come to realize that only by electing the president and secretary from among the countries in the world through a secret ballot system and governing the world fairly can we achieve global peace. The United Nations and the Security Council are organizations in which any country must govern, give orders, and make them obey their orders. For example, only when a defendant is tried in court can we hold the leaders of the countries in check and control them, can we achieve global peace smoothly. Otherwise, it will not be easy for powerful countries to use various excuses to end this war every year, every year, for the benefit of themselves and their countries. No country's leaders pay any attention to the words of the United Nations and the Security Council. If we look at it in practice, look at the Rohingya issue. Myanmar is a small country. Even that country has been under siege for 8 years. What action can be taken? Why is the UN and the Security Council Powerless? Without such Power, how can the organization bring about global peace? Everyone should think about it. Whether there is a veto or a strong one, all countries in the world can only achieve global peace if they are subject to the UN and the Security Council. Seek peace in the quiet embrace of nature. Peace is an indispensable need of the human race. It is not as if one person can kill another person, and it is as if one country can attack another country, but instead of trying to build peace, we must try to destroy the peace now, and the world is getting hotter and is on the verge of collapse. I especially appeal to all the world experts to urgently try to bring about peace in all parts of the world. Mr, Noor Muhamed Arkhan Rohingya Youth Myanmar
Film and Writing Festival for Comedy. Showcasing best of comedy short films at the FEEDBACK Film Festival. Plus, showcasing best of comedy novels, short stories, poems, screenplays (TV, short, feature) at the festival performed by professional actors.
Paul Chaikin/Quanta Magazine
Large NEO hit
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