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Computers

The four-color theorem is simple to state: Given a contiguous map, is it possible to color each region with one of four colors such that no neighboring regions share a color?

The Four-Color Theorem Has Haunted Mathematicians for Decades. It Just Got a Rare New Proof, but Some Still Long for a Simpler Solution

The famous problem asks whether a map can be filled in with only four colors such that the same color never borders itself. It has been solved with the help of computers, but some experts suggest an elusive, short answer is out there

Margaret Hamilton in the Apollo Command Module

Margaret Hamilton, a Pioneering Software Engineer Who Made the First Human Moon Landing Possible, Dies at 90

Hamilton popularized the term “software engineer” and created computer programs that could anticipate problems. She received a Presidential Medal of Freedom and was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame

Most previous brain-computer interfaces have focused on speech or movement, rather than both simultaneously.

This Brain Implant Allows People With Paralysis to Speak and Gesture at the Same Time Via a Mind-Controlled Virtual Avatar

The experimental technology is still in the early stage and was fully tested in just two participants. But it could one day help people with motor problems communicate with more nuance or help them control robotic prosthetic limbs

The view from low-Earth orbit

Google Wants to Send Data Centers to Space—and Just Launched an Experimental Satellite to Test Whether Its Ambitious Plan Will Work

The tech giant aims to use the near-constant sunlight available in low-Earth orbit to power data centers. The experimental satellite, launched October 1, holds four computer chips that can run Google’s Gemini A.I. for 15 minutes at a time

Researchers prompted around 950 A.I. agents to search through a massive DNA database.

Anthropic Says Its A.I. Discovered a New Enzyme System That Resembles the Revolutionary Gene-Editing Tool CRISPR

Experts at the company don’t know what the newfound system does, so its potential utility in biology—if any—remains unclear. But the work marks a major advancement because the A.I. made this discovery mostly on its own

MixFont's Decoy Font layers two messages on top of one another: The A.I. model reads "Sorry Robot," while the human can also read "Happy Human" behind it. 

Designers and Computer Scientists Create New Decoy Fonts That Humans Can Read but A.I. Bots Cannot

To prevent the trawling and theft of human writing, font-makers are employing both old and new illusions to outsmart large language models

The Navier-Stokes problem concerns equations of fluid motion, illustrated here as dye moving in liquid.

A.I. May Have Solved a Longstanding Math Problem With a Million-Dollar Prize. It Ignited a Controversy Over Who Gets Credit

OpenAI announced a solution to the Navier-Stokes problem. But could its A.I. models have used data from two mathematicians working on a similar breakthrough?

The total solar eclipse on August 12, 2026, will be the first time totality has occurred on Earth in 28 months.

How to Watch the Total Solar Eclipse on a Livestream, Witnessing the Rare View of the Sun’s Corona From Your Own Home

Wednesday’s eclipse will bring dark skies to parts of Russia, Greenland, Iceland, Portugal and Spain. But with these online broadcasts, you can view the spectacle from anywhere

Bayreuth Festspielhaus

A.I. Went to the Opera, Creating Images for an Anniversary Production of Wagner’s ‘Ring Cycle’ at the Theater Where He First Staged the Masterpiece

It took Richard Wagner a quarter-century to complete the four-part opera. The new production, called “10010110,” uses generative artificial intelligence to explore the artwork’s evolution

Overall, the 16 participants of the study were “largely positive” about their interactions with griefbots, the scientists write in the paper.

Would You Chat With an A.I. ‘Ghost’ of a Deceased Loved One? New Research Suggests That the Tech Can Provide Comfort and Closure

Commercial “griefbots” are becoming more popular, and many experts have questions about their psychological and ethical impacts. A new study aims to ensure that the bots are designed responsibly

A team of researchers put out information about a fake disease, and A.I.-powered chatbots fell for it.

Scientists Invented a Disease to Test Whether A.I. Knew It Was Fake. Then, Chatbots Started Saying It Was Real

The eye condition bixonimania doesn’t exist, but neither bots nor some researchers caught that the content was fabricated—despite obvious clues

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America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

In the Early Days of Machine Learning, Massive Computers Said George Harrison Was a Woman. A.I. Has Come a Long Way

A Cornell professor designed a room-size network of sensors that represented a single neuron. He claimed it would grow wiser as it gained experience, and it has never stopped

A replica of the rare Apple I is on display at the museum.

See a Colorful Wall of Vintage iMacs and a Re-creation of Steve Jobs’ Garage at a New Apple Museum in the Netherlands

The tech world changed forever when two college dropouts founded Apple on April 1, 1976. Fifty years later, a museum dedicated to the company’s history and evolution has opened in the city of Utrecht

While the cells can play the game, they’re not very good at it.

A Clump of Human Brain Cells on a Computer Chip Learned to Play the Nostalgic Video Game ‘Doom’

The technology could one day help researchers develop drugs and tailor treatments to individual patients

The human genome is made up of about three billion pairs of DNA units called nucleotides.

Google Researchers Say Their New A.I. Tool AlphaGenome Can Help Decode the Human Genetic Instruction Book

The computer model might help scientists better understand the biological impacts of typos in DNA

MIT professor Joseph Weizenbaum developed Eliza in the mid-1960s. His views on artificial intelligence were often at odds with many of his fellow pioneers in the field.

Why the Computer Scientist Behind the World’s First Chatbot Dedicated His Life to Publicizing the Threat Posed by A.I.

Joseph Weizenbaum realized that programs like his Eliza chatbot could “induce powerful delusional thinking in quite normal people”

ChatGPT Health is a new function designed to provide users with personalized medical insights based on medical records and health data uploaded by users. 

OpenAI Says ChatGPT Health Can Understand Users’ Medical Data and Provide Personalized Answers to Their Questions

The new feature can give tailored responses based on medical records and wellness app data, according to ChatGPT’s maker. But some experts are concerned about privacy and worry that people may over-trust the chatbot

The Strutt EV1 electric motorized chair is marketed to everyone, whether they have mobility challenges or simply want a cool, voice-controlled ride.

Seven Fascinating Inventions Unveiled at the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show

A smart wheelchair, an A.I.-powered tennis ball launcher, a mirror that reports on your health and more were on display at the annual Las Vegas trade show

Students learn anatomy from an Asclepius AI Table, which merges interactive elements and artificial intelligence.

Medical Students Are Learning Anatomy From Digital Cadavers. Can Technology Ever Replace Real Human Bodies?

From interactive diagrams to A.I. assistants, virtual tools are beginning to supplant physical dissections in some classrooms

Some computer vision programs have been thrown off by tricks such as manipulating the pixels in an image.

Computers Are Getting Much Better at Image Recognition

The machine-learning programs that underpin their ability to “see” still have blind spots—but not for much longer

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