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Artificial intelligence

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A Brain Built From Atomic Switches Can Learn

September 20, 2017

A tiny self-organized mesh full of artificial synapses recalls its experiences and can solve simple problems. Its inventors hope it points the way to devices that match the brain’s energy-efficient computing prowess.

Clever Machines Learn How to Be Curious

September 19, 2017

Computer scientists are finding ways to code curiosity into intelligent machines.

Mapping the Brain to Build Better Machines

April 6, 2016

A project to decipher the brain’s learning rules could revolutionize machine learning.

Is AlphaGo Really Such a Big Deal?

March 29, 2016

The Go-playing program teaches itself to replicate something very much like human intuition, an advance that promises far-reaching consequences.

Q&A

Searching for the Algorithms Underlying Life

January 28, 2016

The biological world is computational at its core, argues computer scientist Leslie Valiant.

The Rise of Computer-Aided Explanation

July 23, 2015

Computers can translate French and prove mathematical theorems. But can they make deep conceptual insights into the way the world works?

Q&A

Concerns of an Artificial Intelligence Pioneer

April 21, 2015

Computer scientist Stuart Russell wants to ensure that our increasingly intelligent machines remain aligned with human values.

A Common Logic to Seeing Cats and Cosmos

December 4, 2014

New research suggests physicists, computers and brains employ the same procedure to tease out important features from among other irrelevant bits of data.

As Machines Get Smarter, Evidence They Learn Like Us

July 23, 2013

Studies show that computer models called "neural networks" behave strikingly similar to actual brains when performing certain tasks, suggesting the two may learn in the same way.

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