Modular Robot Self-Heals and Even Redesigns Itself for New Tasks

13 Sep 201712 Sep 2017

The thing before the thing before the thing before the Terminator. By Michael Byrne | MOTHERBOARD The T-1000 blob-terminator seems like a too-easy touchstone, but when it comes to autonomously…

Facebook’s New Algorithm Combs Posts to Identify Potentially Suicidal Users

4 Mrz 20173 Mrz 2017

The site needs to strike a delicate balance between privacy and safety, but experts say it’s the right move. By Kaleigh Rogers | MOTHERBOARD In January, a 14-year old Miami…

Quantum Computing Just Grew Way the Hell Up

4 Aug 20163 Aug 2016

On Wednesday, researchers at the Joint Quantum Institute at the University of Maryland unveiled a first-of-its-kind fully programmable and reconfigurable quantum computer. The five-qubit machine, which is described in the…

Why AI Can Still Hardly Pass an Eighth Grade Science Test

20 Feb 201619 Feb 2016

An artificial intelligence competition that asked AI models to answer eighth-grade science questions announced its winners this week—but it doesn’t look like robots will be graduating junior high any time…

Quipper Is a Language To Program the Nearing Quantum Computing Future

23 Aug 201522 Aug 2015

We like to talk about universality and portability in computer science. Alan Turing gave us his Turing Machine and, with it, the concept of Turing completeness. A complete programming language…

When robots eliminate jobs, humans will find better things to do

4 Aug 20153 Aug 2015

The fear of millions of jobs being automated out of existence by robots and artificial intelligence is real. Here's how it will change the world -- for the better. By…

This New Bionic Leg Makes Stairs and Slopes No Obstacle

10 Jun 20159 Jun 2015

Sculptor Terry Karpowicz was 27 when a motor accident resulted in the loss of his right leg. For years since, Karpowicz has been using computerised C-Leg prosthetic. But now, he's…

The World Is Knapsack Problem and We’re Just Living in It

11 Mai 201510 Mai 2015

In computer science, there are problems that taunt and mock you: the brain mutilating vortex of a difficult recurrence, a sprawling parallel algorithm, anything that almost but doesn't quite work…

The Doomsday Rule: An Algorithmic Classic

6 Apr 20155 Apr 2015

Any budding computer scientist is eventually going to come across this particular problem: given a date sometime in the future (or past), calculate what day of the week it will…

The Simple, Elegant Algorithm That Makes Google Maps Possible

23 Mrz 201522 Mrz 2015

Algorithms are a science of cleverness. A natural manifestation of logical reasoning—​mathematical induction, in particular—a good algorithm is like a fleeting, damning snapshot into the very soul of a problem.…