Author: The Conversation

These days, if you want to visit remarkable archaeological sites such as Great Zimbabwe or Petra in Jordan you don’t even need to leave your house. 3D scanning technology has improved in leaps and bounds in the last two decades and become much more affordable. This has led to numerous archaeological and heritage sites appearing on online interactive 3D platforms such as Sketchfab. Unlike still images and videos, 3D models offer enhanced interaction, enabling users to navigate and perceive a place from various perspectives. But while technology has raced ahead, there is a noticeable lag in the establishment of best practice guidelines within the field.…

How does time spent online, and especially social media, affect the brains and behaviours of children and youth? Social media platforms are seemingly designed to capture the attention of users and produce habitual checking of apps and notifications. In recent years, our lives have become increasingly dominated by social media, either as a source of information, entertainment, or just a way to connect with others. In Canada alone, more than 30 million social media accounts are currently registered, with teenagers one of the highest user groups. During the COVID-19 pandemic, young people were drastically affected by the sudden shift to a digital world…

When NASA attempted to return to the Moon for the first time in 50 years on January 8, more was at risk than just US$108 million worth of development and equipment. The agency earned the ire of the Native American Navajo people, who made a bid to stop the launch because of an unusual inclusion in the payload. The Peregrine lander (which completed its controlled re-entry into the atmosphere late last week) was carrying human ashes, including those of famed science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke. A commercial partnership also allowed paying customers to send their mementos to the Moon. As space exploration becomes…

Sometimes astronomers come across objects in the sky that we can’t easily explain. In our new research, published in Science, we report such a discovery, which is likely to spark discussion and speculation. Neutron stars are some of the densest objects in the universe. As compact as an atomic nucleus, yet as large as a city, they push the limits of our understanding of extreme matter. The heavier a neutron star is, the more likely it is to eventually collapse to become something even denser: a black hole. These astrophysical objects are so dense, and their gravitational pulls so strong, that…

Concern about generative artificial intelligence technologies seems to be growing almost as fast as the spread of the technologies themselves. These worries are driven by unease about the possible spread of disinformation at a scale never seen before, and fears of loss of employment, loss of control over creative works and, more futuristically, AI becoming so powerful that it causes extinction of the human species. The concerns have given rise to calls for regulating AI technologies. Some governments, for example the European Union, have responded to their citizens’ push for regulation, while some, such as the U.K. and India, are taking a more…

Many prominent people in the tech industry have talked about the increasing convergence between humans and machines in the coming decades. For example, Elon Musk has reportedly said he wants humans to merge with AI “to achieve a symbiosis with artificial intelligence”. His company Neuralink aims to facilitate this convergence so that humans won’t be “left behind” as technology advances in the future. While people with disabilities would be near-term recipients of these innovations, some believe technologies like this could be used to enhance abilities in everyone. These aims are inspired by an idea called transhumanism, the belief that we should use…

Cyber-skulduggery is becoming the bane of modern life. Australia’s prime minister has called it a “scourge”, and he is correct. In 2022–23, nearly 94,000 cyber crimes were reported in Australia, up 23% on the previous year. In the latest high-profile attack, around 15,000 customers of alcohol retailer Dan Murphy, Mexican restaurant chain Guzman y Gomez, Event Cinemas, and home shopping network TVSN had their login credentials and credit card details used fraudulently to buy goods and services in what is known as a “credential stuffing” attack. So what is credential stuffing – and how can you reduce the risk of it happening to…

Early on Saturday, January 20 2024, Japan hopes to become the fifth country to successfully land a probe on the Moon. To date, the United States, the Soviet Union, China and India have preceded the East Asian nation. Launched in September 2023 by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Japanese Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is set to touch down around 02:20am AEDT. Trialling a novel landing technique with pinpoint accuracy, it is poised to settle on a gently sloped crater rim – a first in lunar exploration. JAXA celebrates the mission as a technology demonstrator. The agency’s main aim…

Misinformation is the number one risk facing society over the next two years, according to the World Economic Forum. With key elections due in the US, UK and many other nations this year, an onslaught of political misinformation can be expected. Some of this material is distributed through paid advertising on social media, like the AI generated “deep fake” videos of British prime minister Rishi Sunak doing the rounds. However, we know that much of the spread of false material is due to the actions of individual social media users. Many people share political news online. Inevitably some of that news is false. Fake political news…

Have you ever wondered what chickens are talking about? Chickens are quite the communicators — their clucks, squawks and purrs are not just random sounds but a complex language system. These sounds are their way of interacting with the world and expressing joy, fear and social cues to one another. Like humans, the “language” of chickens varies with age, environment and surprisingly, domestication, giving us insights into their social structures and behaviours. Understanding these vocalizations can transform our approach to poultry farming, enhancing chicken welfare and quality of life. Our research at Dalhousie University applies artificial intelligence (AI) to decode the language of…