Are We Seeing the First Steps Toward AI Superintelligence?
Today’s leading AI models can already write and refine their own software. The question is whether that self-improvement can ever snowball into true superintelligence
Each Time AI Gets Smarter, We Change the Definition of Intelligence
As AI systems exceed one benchmark after another, our standards for “humanlike intelligence” keep evolving
Humans Aren’t as Special as We Once Thought
Other species exhibit capabilities that were once thought to be exclusive to Homo sapiens
Are Octopuses Too Smart to Be Farmed?
A planned octopus farm is facing opposition. Here’s why
Games Rule the World—And Always Have
Why we’re fascinated by solving mind-bending puzzles, pitching faster fastballs, embodying new characters, playing ancient games, and much more
See Why Everyone Gets the Monty Hall Puzzle Wrong
How to finally wrap your mind around the uniquely counterintuitive Monty Hall dilemma
Why the Mystery of Consciousness Is Deeper Than We Thought
Despite great progress, we lack even the beginning of an explanation of how the brain produces our inner world of colors, sounds, smells and tastes. A thought experiment with “pain-pleasure” zombies illustrates that the mystery is deeper than we thought
In the Race to Artificial General Intelligence, Where’s the Finish Line?
Claims of artificial general intelligence are increasingly common. But can anyone agree on what it is?
Elephants Call Individuals’ Names across the Savanna
Female elephants address one another with individualized rumbles
Do Plants ‘Think’? We Might Not Know Enough about Consciousness to Be Certain
Zoë Schlanger’s new book The Light Eaters explores the surprising science of plant intelligence.
Meeting Developmental Milestones Early Doesn’t Always Predict Success
Developmental milestones help us understand when a child needs help, but meeting them early doesn’t necessarily predict long-term success
A Camera-Wearing Baby Taught an AI to Learn Words
Most machine-learning models rely on mountains of data to replicate human text, but new research suggests the recipe for learning language might be simpler