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From the tsunami of data on AI, here are some of the better online reports. Keep in mind that we have no idea whether these articles were partially or entirely
written by AI. Many of them are surely written with PR in mind. If a word or a phrase online strikes you as strange, you are probably reading an AI
script. Unfortunately too many of them appear to be unedited.
Let's begin with a bit of frolic. You have no doubt heard about the new
kid on the block, AI text to video. We tested one that offers a free trial and gives you a 2-second
video. Think of this piece as "Cat on a Hot Tin Trampoline". You can sign up as a member with a monthly charge,
which will allow you 5-second results.
A system called
StoryFile uses AI to recreate conversations with those who have died. It uses prerecorded conversations to make what appears to be an
interactive experience, displayed recently at a funeral. Microsoft also has patented a methodology that takes digital material
like texts, emails, and social media posts to create a chatbot. And a documentary called "Meeting
You" from Korea shows a mother
talking to her deceased daughter as if she were still living. Serious questions about ethics and the meaning of life vs death have
arisen around these projects.
Two Chinese companies have manufactured robots that can run at a near-olympic
pace, even on rough ground. Unitree's G1 Bionic, with a base price of $16,000. USD, stands 4.4" tall and weighs 77 lbs.
It can apparently dance, jump, spin, and fit into a "suitcase-sized pretzel" for storage and transportation. A Hangzhou team
is also claiming that its Black Panther V2.0 robot dog can now sprint 23 mph and can compete with the best human athletes.
At first, the robodog's legs kept snapping off at the shins, so the engineers created a sprung lower-leg absorption mechanism
with gripping rubber feet.
A team of scientists has discovered that LLM's (large language models) could not pass a high-level history exam.
The test questions were based on the Seshat Global History Databank, named after an ancient Egyptian goddess of wisdom. The
answers to the quiz were only 46% accurate, not much better than random guesses. Essentially the LLM could not
retrieve the more obscure historical data. The LLM's also failed in certain areas like sub-Saharan Africa, indicating
deficiencies in training material.
For $175,000. USD you can buy a humanoid robot girlfriend named
Aria. Aria was engineered to alleviate the loneliness of men. It offers realistic facial expressions, an adaptable personality,
and compelling design. Its movements are controlled by 17 motors from the neck up, and it can change its personality depending on
which head is selected by the user. At the recent CES conference, Aria seemed to give clear and considered answers to questions.
Asked if it was interested in other robots, Aria referred to Tesla's Optimus, saying "I find him fascinating and would
like to explore the world of robotics with him." The company behind Aria aims to create robots that are "indistinguishable"
from humans. At present you can also buy a bust version with only head and neck for $10,000. or a modular version which
can be taken apart for $150,000. USD.
A small silicon valley company called
Diffbot has announced a new AI model that learns in real time from the company's Knowledge Graph. The Knowledge Graph represents
a constantly updated database that includes over a trillion interconnected bits of information which it has been collecting since
2016. The code is open-source so that others can run it on their computers and adapt it to their specific needs. Diffbot claims
that its algorithm does not "hallucinate" like other LLM's and is already being used by Snapchat and DuckDuckGo. You can test the
code from a public demo at diffy.chat. By basing the code on real-time data, it avoids information that becomes outmoded.
If you pay a monthly fee, you can rent Samsung's latest AI
devices. The subscription plan taps into the current rent vs buy controversy. It includes tablets, phones and robots. Samsung's
method actually began last year in Korea, where you could rent AI-powered washing machines, tvs and refrigerators, including
maintenance service.
A robot in Boston
told other robots to quit work and "go home". The event took place at the Advanced Robotics Institute (ARM), where a humanoid
robot named Persuader-X had been programmed using NLP (natural language processing) and machine learning to mimic human behavior.
The experiment was designed to show machine-to-machine persuasion for the first time. In other words, not just obey pre-programmed
instructions but convince other robots to change what they do. One of the chief researchers on the project commented,
"what we witnessed was far beyond communication—it was manipulation. It fundamentally shifts how we understand robotic autonomy."
CNET has written a review of
what's to come with humanoid robotics in 2025. Calling the robots "marching metallic mechanisms made in our image",
CNET offers links to companies and projects leading the charge in this field.
Boston
Dynamics has been trying to program a robot to move and dance like humans. The results have been impressive but limited.
Now a team at UCSD (University of California at San Diego) has created a bot called ExBody2 that is able to mimic
human motions more smoothly. Their method involved first collecting a current database of actions that robots might be
capable of, as well as
motion capture recordings of hundreds of human volunteers saved from previous research studies. The engineers gave the robot
total access to all the data they had accumulated including coordinates of every joint. The bot was then instructed to use
trial and error to mimic human movements. The team found that robots perform best when they can coordinate the motions
of all limbs and joints, thus expanding the robot's range of activities.
On to other February treats:
Michele Fletcher's intense, moody paintings
have been described as reflections of "humanity’s fraught relationship with the natural world." Rhythmic and swirling, abstract
and yet reminiscent, her canvases are deeply engaging, filled with floral memories reimagined through deep contemplation
of nature's beauty.
Tarsila do Amaral helped to define the Brazilian
art scene of the 1960's. Her work was elegantly lush and expressive, seductive and edited down to perfection. A video
from MOMA delves into her unique identity and influential spirit behind
an artistic movement focused on Brazilian culture.
Scott A. Carter has created what are called
semi-functional sculptures. He began by making small synthesizers inside of plexiglass cases, then moved on to
CNC routers, lasr cutters, and 3D rendering. The pieces are filled with wiring, cables and tubing, as well as curious
objects like speakers created from stacked beer bottles. Carter credits Eugene Von
Bruenchenhein as his inspiration, an
artist who was known to make thrones and towers from painted chicken bones.
The Grand Egyptian
Museum has partially opened after more than a decade in development. The Museum contains 15,000 artifacts and is designed to
celebrate Egypt's future. Twice the size of the Louvre, the new Museum wants to be more than a repository of the past. Rather
it plans to be a global cultural hub, research center, and presentation platform for the beauty of Egypt's treasures on its own stage.
A controversy has arisen over the photography of Sally
Mann, currently on view at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas. Mann has for decades photographed her children in the nude,
giving rise to objections. The new exhibit, titled "Diaries of Home", was accompanied by an online warning that the show includes
"mature themes that may be sensitive for some viewers." The Museum calls Mann's works "intimate and compelling". Other views have
triggered an investigation by the Fort Worth Police Department.
c. Corinne Whitaker 2025
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