Artificial Intelligence
What the New GPT-4 AI Can Do
OpenAI just released an updated version of its text-generating artificial intelligence program. Here’s how GPT-4 improves on its predecessor
Language964 articles archived since 1845
Animals
How Scientists Are Using AI to Talk to Animals
Portable sensors and artificial intelligence are helping researchers decode animal communication—and begin to talk back to nonhumans
Artificial Intelligence
Research Summaries Written by AI Fool Scientists
Scientists cannot always differentiate between research abstracts generated by the AI ChatGPT and those written by humans
Language
The Linguistics of Swearing Explain Why We Substitute Darn for Damn
Languages from Hindi to Korean tone down swear words by inserting gentler consonants into speech. Here’s how “Let’s go Brandon” got started
Artificial Intelligence
How Language-Generation AIs Could Transform Science
An expert in emerging technologies warns that software designed to summarize, translate and write like humans might exacerbate distrust in science
Artificial Intelligence
AI Sommelier Generates Wine Reviews without Ever Opening a Bottle
A new algorithm writes wine and beer reviews that sound like they were penned by human critics. Is that a good thing?
Language
What Is the Shape of This Word?
What shape do you see when you hear “ bouba ”? What about “ kiki ”? It turns out that nonsense words that evoke certain shapes have something to say about the origins of language...
Language
Climate Change Is Creating New Vocabulary, from Eco-Anxiety to Kaitiakitanga
Lexicographers at the Oxford English Dictionary have added new words and definitions to reflect the rapidly evolving discourse about our hot planet
Language
It Isn’t Just What You Say about Science; It’s Also How You Say It
Teaching scientists to talk to policy makers
Language
Made-Up Sounds Convey Meaning across Cultures
Newly created vocalizations can convey concepts remarkably well
Mind & Brain
Is It Your Turn to Speak? Watch My Eyes
We signal our intention to speak or pause for a reply by where we direct our eyes
Mind & Brain
Women Candidates Face Implicit Bias Hurdle
Volunteers taking an "implicit bias" test who were unlikely to associate images of women with leadership titles like executive or president were far less likely to vote for a woman in a race against a man of equal qualification ...
The Sciences
Female Vocalists Are in the (Mouse) House
Careful recordings of mouse interactions find that females vocalize, overturning the long-held view that only males sing during courtship
Mind & Brain
How to Rhyme Like a Rapper
Hip-hop artists understand what our ears forgive
Mind & Brain
The Science of Baby Talk [Video]
A leading researcher talks about what has been learned about how children learn language
Mind & Brain
Does an M Sound Round to You?
Research shows that some consonants evoke certain shapes no matter what language you speak
Mind & Brain
Why Screams Are So Upsetting
Rapid fluctuations in volume—mimicked by sirens—trigger the brain’s fear centers
How Does Poverty Affect the Brain?
Can neuroscience provide unique insights to help struggling children growing up in lower income families?
Mind & Brain
Some Rules of Language are Wired in the Brain
In fascinating study involving synesthesia, people make good guesses at meanings of foreign words
Mind & Brain
Babies Move Tongue to Learn New Tongues
Infants seemed to be able to differentiate between two different "D" sounds in Hindi—but only when their tongue movements weren't blocked by a teething device. Christopher Intagliata reports...
