A language generation program’s ability to write articles, produce code and compose poetry has wowed scientists
Prasenjit Mitra, Pennsylvania State University Seven years ago, my student and I at Penn State built a bot to write a Wikipedia article on Bengali Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s play “Chitra.” First it culled information about “Chitra” from the internet. Then it looked at existing Wikipedia entries to learn the structure for a standard…
How the coronavirus spreads through the air: 5 essential reads
Stacy Morford, The Conversation Scientists have been warning for months that the coronavirus could be spread by aerosols – tiny respiratory droplets that people emit when they talk or sneeze and that can linger in the air. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention appeared to acknowledge that risk on Sept. 18. It posted…
How and when will we know that a COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective?
William Petri, University of Virginia With COVID-19 vaccines currently in the final phase of study, you’ve probably been wondering how the FDA will decide if a vaccine is safe and effective. Based on the status of the Phase 3 trials currently underway, it is unlikely that the results of these trials will be available…
Trump’s Terrifying Election Strategy: Will This Be America’s First Fascist Administration?
Trump has refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power, thus implying that he supports violence. He says “there won’t be a transfer, frankly. There’ll be a continuation.” But his willingness to support violence is not even the worst possibility. It is no longer hyperbole to suggest that we are facing the death…