A prize-winning Caribbean writer from Trinidad and Tobago is embroiled in the latest controversy involving the use of AI for a creative work, after allegations that artificial intelligence was used to write a short story.
Jamir Nazir is one of five regional winners of the 2026 Commonwealth Short Story Prize.
Publisher Granta asked AI chatbot Claude to analyze the story, which concluded it was likely AI-generated.
Researchers from Shibaura Institute of Technology developed an enhanced YOLO framework using transfer learning and a custom dataset, significantly improving the detection of small moving objects in omnidirectional videos. The model achieves 90% accuracy and maintains performance up to 50 meters, outperforming standard YOLO versions.
Custom dataset of ~4,000 annotated images with object-specific features (e.g., human requiring visible arm/leg).
Enhanced YOLO achieves 90% accuracy for objects >8×8 pixels vs. 46% (YOLOv5) and 53% (YOLOv8).
Virginia Tech researchers used reservoir computing, a brain-inspired technique, to control a simulated soft robotic arm, achieving up to 75x power reduction over conventional AI. The approach, published in PNAS, could enable small untethered robots for medicine, agriculture, and more.
Soft robots are flexible but hard to control
Reservoir computing cuts power usage by 75x vs. traditional AI
Researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and other institutes have developed Retrieval-Augmented Manipulation (RAM), a framework combining vision-language models with 3D object representations. It enables robots to interpret complex spatial instructions and execute tasks without task-specific training, demonstrated through zero-shot real-world tests. RAM adaptively replans actions based on physical constraints.
RAM bridges the semantic-to-geometric gap by grounding abstract concepts in explicit 3D object representations.
The framework decomposes complex instructions into spatially precise subgoals, allowing adaptive replanning.
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered officials to start work on a plan to mitigate the job-destroying impact of artificial intelligence, the first US state to do so.
California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered a plan to address AI-driven job displacement, the first US state to do so.
The executive order focuses on severance standards, unemployment insurance, worker training, and tracking layoffs.
President Donald Trump called off a signing ceremony Thursday for a new order on artificial intelligence because he worried it could dull America's edge on AI technology.
Trump postponed signing an AI executive order, worried it could harm US competitiveness.
The order aimed to address cybersecurity risks from powerful AI models, as highlighted by Treasury Secretary Bessent.
Online shoppers could one day face fewer misleading fake reviews thanks to a newly tested AI-powered detection system developed by researchers at the University of East London.
Combines AI language analysis with behavioral clues such as emotional tone and review length.
Achieves 93% accuracy on Amazon and 91% on Yelp, outperforming traditional methods.
A new MIT study by David Autor reveals that new forms of work in the post-war U.S. have disproportionately benefited college-educated workers under 30 in urban areas. The research highlights that innovation-driven new work is often demand-led, and the wage premium for new work fades as expertise becomes common. Autor suggests AI's impact on jobs depends on implementation choices.
New work disproportionately goes to young, college-educated workers in urban areas.
Innovation-based new work is often driven by government and demand-side factors.
Google on Tuesday showed off new plans to turn its famous search bar into an AI assistant that can book restaurants, track news, and contact businesses—just by asking a question.
Google's search engine will get always-on AI agents that can book activities and manage shopping lists.
Gemini Spark personal AI agent launches next week for US subscribers.
When AI image generators depict cities, they tend to produce more recognizable images for large metropolitan areas than for smaller communities, a new study finds. This raises concerns about representation and visibility in generative AI.
AI-generated images are more accurate for larger cities like Washington D.C. than for small towns like Blacksburg.
The study used DALL·E 2 and surveyed residents to evaluate realism and identity.
Recent years have witnessed the unprecedented development of Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things. These two technologies have significantly facilitated data collection from different sources for numerous tasks, such as reconstruction, classification, and prediction, for next-generation applications. However, the effective fusion and interpretation of these multi-source datasets remain challenging, making it a thriving area of research.
Industry 4.0 and IIoT have enabled multi-source data collection
Fusing and interpreting multi-source data remains a challenge
A new AI framework can detect microscopic internal defects in metal 3D printed components that are invisible to the naked eye but compromise structural integrity, potentially overcoming a key barrier to widespread adoption of metal additive manufacturing.
AI framework identifies hidden internal defects in metal 3D printed parts
Defects are microscopic but significantly affect part strength
Lawyers for Elon Musk and OpenAI presented closing arguments Thursday in a blockbuster trial where the verdict could hobble ChatGPT's parent company in the breakneck race for AI supremacy.
Closing arguments delivered in Musk vs OpenAI trial
Verdict could impact ChatGPT parent company's AI race
In the last few years, many of us have started to see the benefits of using genAI in day-to-day tasks. But we've also been asked to reckon with the enormous environmental cost. Reporting has highlighted that these popular AI technologies have a significant environmental impact through high energy consumption, carbon emissions, and water use.
genAI benefits daily tasks but has large environmental cost.
High energy consumption, carbon emissions, water use are major concerns.
The article questions the definition of writing by drawing on ancient perspectives—from the Oracle of Delphi to Plato and Aristotle—and argues that true writing requires conscious intent and human experience, which AI lacks.
Ancient thinkers tied writing to the soul and rational expression, not just textual output.
The Pythia's prophecies were seen as divine messages, not human composition, similar to AI's mechanical generation.
Computer scientists at UC Riverside have identified troubling flaws in a new generation of AI agents designed to take over routine computer chores, potentially causing digital disasters due to lack of oversight.
AI agents designed to automate routine computer tasks have critical flaws.
Research shows these agents can make errors without human context.
Researchers from the group of theoretical physicist Hans Briegel have collaborated with NVIDIA to develop an AI method that automatically generates efficient quantum circuits, a key bottleneck in making quantum computers practically useful.
Research team collaborates with NVIDIA to auto-generate quantum circuits
Efficient quantum circuits are key to practical quantum computers
In managing airport traffic, small errors can cause catastrophe. A group from the CMU Robotics Institute's AirLab used the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center's Bridges-2 supercomputer to create World2Rules, an AI that draws from airport data and historical crash reports to help human controllers spot collisions before they happen. Their paper is published on the arXiv preprint server.
World2Rules AI uses airport data and crash reports to predict risks
Developed by CMU AirLab using Bridges-2 supercomputer
Researchers have developed a pipeline inspired by human visual perception to improve the training efficiency and accuracy of computer vision models. By mimicking the human brain's image processing, it shows promise in tasks like object recognition and image classification.
New pipeline inspired by human visual system
Improves training efficiency and accuracy of computer vision models
As traditional computer chips reach their physical limits and AI energy demands soar, University of Missouri researchers are taking inspiration from the human brain to rethink computing. AI data center energy use is projected to double by 2030, making sustainable solutions urgent.
Traditional chips nearing physical limits; AI energy use surging
Brain-inspired computing offers a path to efficiency
Until recently, AI's role in research felt like having a useful assistant. It could summarize a paper, clean up a dataset or draft an abstract. Researchers were still in charge of the thinking.
AI's role in research is evolving from assistant to autonomous paper generator.
Fully automated academic papers raise concerns about research quality and integrity.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Thursday of the risks to global financial stability posed by cyberattacks powered by advanced artificial intelligence tools, calling for greater international cooperation on the issue.
IMF warns AI-powered cyberattacks pose inevitable threat to financial stability.
Calls for international cooperation to address these risks.
Generative artificial intelligence is being used by 17.8% of the world's working-age population, but the gap between wealthy and developing nations continues to widen, according to a report published Tuesday by Microsoft.
17.8% of global working-age population uses generative AI.
A study by IMDEA Networks Institute found that ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, and Perplexity AI use trackers from Meta, Google, TikTok, and others, potentially leaking user conversation data.
Trackers from Meta, Google, TikTok were found on ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, and Perplexity AI
These trackers may collect conversation content and user activity data
Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins recently wrote an op-ed suggesting AI chatbot Claude may be conscious. This article counters that view and explains why we tend to anthropomorphize AI.
Richard Dawkins claims AI chatbot Claude might be conscious.
Experts refute that AI possesses true consciousness.
Starting in November, ChatGPT users noticed the AI chatbot frequently talking about goblins. OpenAI is investigating, but the issue may indicate deeper biases.
ChatGPT began obsessively mentioning goblins in November.
OpenAI is looking into the cause of this behavior.