eMusings
Your eyes and ears on the worlds of art, culture, technology, philosophy - whatever stimulates the mind and excites the imagination. We remind you that 20 years of
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Is there any doubt - about - AI's intrusion into your life? Some interesting links follow:
Stanford University
researchers have created what they are calling "an AI-powered biomedical co-scientist". They tell us that this
AI agent, Biomni, is able to respond well to casual language and turn it into extensive scientific workflow - ie
analyze the data, create visualizations, find possible hypotheses, and identify patterns. It also offers full citations
and tracking of its work. What would have taken a human 60+ hours was accomplished in 40 minutes. Biomni is already
being used by more than 10,000 labs.
It appears that the U.S. is thinking of banning leading Chinese AI
models in order to give sway to American companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. Chinese open-source models are cheaper,
apparently equally effective, and already being used by U.S. companies themselves. One suggested ploy would be to emphasize
the lack of security in Chinese offerings.
Meet
GPT-Red, an LLM super-hacker built by OpenAI to tighten the defenses of its other models against cyberattacks. The method
involves finding loopholes or weak spots that could allow hijacking and then patching them before launching the new
version. The increasing complexity of new models and their spread allows for what is called an ever-growing blast-radius.
Anthropic's job openings are creating
dismay. The listings include 32 openings for jobs that could stop people from using AI to harm, destroy, or exterminate
the human population. The fields mentioned are chemicals and explosives, nuclear weapons, financial scams, and cybercrimes.
Anthropic has been accused of being too negative but the company insists that the dangers are too worrying to ignore.
Earlier this year Anthropic disengaged from the U.S. defense department over issues of mass surveillance and autonomous
weapons.
For the first
time a robot has performed live surgery under the guidance of a human. A pig's gallbldder was removed with the usual
surgical tools in a standard operating room. The human surgeons at UC San Diego were on standby but the robot, named
Surgie, needed only minimal intervention. One problem identified was the need to reposition the robot repeatedly.
A team at MIT has
developed portable ultrasound mammogram detectors that make it easier to spot not only
tumors but cysts and microcalcifications as well. (Unfortunately the complete article
is restricted to subscribers.)
In another MIT
development, a team built a wearable robot system that allows AI to take control
of your body briefly. Called Human Operator, it sees what you see, listens to a voice
command from you, and lets Anthropic's Claude decide on the necessary movement and map it
to your body. Small electrical impulses into your fingers and wrist push your hand into
the required motions. The system was built as a prototype by 6 students in a competition.
The prototype also played the piano and made gestures in sign language.
Complaints are being reported about Anthropic's Claude
Sonnet 5. It seems that the model refuses to follow orders, argues, and tells
users to go to sleep. Apparently it also invents things, makes incoherent arguments,
and picks apart what you say.
MIT has designed a tiny origami robot that folds itself and one day might work
inside the human body. For now, you can watch a flat piece of warmed plastic make
itself into a working robot without the use of humans, motors, or complicated
assembly. The original plastic is made of 3 layers of material: the layer in the center
is made of PVC, while the top and bottom layers contain patterned laser-cut slits
that command the folding.
Now on to July art treats:
Patricia
Piccinini brings us eerie hyperrealist sculptures of figures in a distopian world. Anthropomorphic
figures fill her world and our field of vision. Find out more about her at her
studio online.
Architect lovers will want to see the the new House of the
Arts performing Arts Center in Abu Dhabi designed by the inimitable Frank Gehry. The new venue
will have over 6,000 seats meant to accommodate ballet, opera, theater, and other live performances.
Daniel Richter
paints figures in an otherwise world, based on ambiguity and movement. These personae seem very active
although we are not quite sure why or where they are rushing.
This charming video will introduce you to the career of Tim Foster.
How many craftsmen do you know that have dedicated their lives to hand painting thousands of shoes
for the New York City ballet?
Toots
Zynsky is a much-admired artist in the field of glass art. Her colorful, wave-like forms have
delighted us for many years
Fantasy with a touch of whimsy characterizes the work of
Benzilla, a street artist from Thailand. Pop culture fills these colorful scenes, reminding us
that a world of childhood is there to enjoy.
Hanna Lee Joshi uses color, abstraction
and fantasy to ruminate about the female figure. There is grace and mystery to these figures, inviting
us to speculate about their lives.
TRUF
Creative is the collective name of a studio based in Santa Monica, California. A strong
sense of graphic design combined with humor fills these pieces, with titles like
"Animals Strike Curious Poses".
Strong graphic design also describes the work of Pard
Morrison, with totemic-like columns. Lines, squares and splashes of color enliven the world
these sculptures occupy. They would certainly brighten many a drab urban environment.
A fresh view of ceramics occurs in the colorful designs of Janny
Baek. Playful, inventive, and engaging, these works bring a smile and a sense that life can be fun.
c. Corinne Whitaker 2026
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