Slashdot reader sciencehabit writes: If you’ve ever seen a cow staring vacantly across a field, or a pig rolling around in its own filth, you might not think there’s a lot going on in their head. You wouldn’t be alone. People haven’t given much credence to the intelligence of farm animals, and neither have scientists. But that’s starting to change.

A growing field of research is showing that—when it comes to the minds of goats, cows, and other livestock—we may have been missing something big. Studies published over the past few years have shown that pigs show signs of empathy, goats rival dogs in some tests of social intelligence, and cows can be potty trained.

Much of this work is being carried out at the Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN) in Dummerstorf, Germany, one of the world’s leading centers for investigating the minds of creatures that often end up on our dinner plate. From cows making friends to goats exhibiting signs of altruism, farm animals are upending popular—and scientific—conceptions of what’s going on in their minds.

The work may not just rewrite our thinking about livestock, it might also change how we treat them. As Jan Langbein, an applied ethologist at FBN told says, ‘If we don’t understand how these animals think, then we won’t understand what they need. And if we don’t understand what they need, we can’t design better environments for them.’

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Source: Slashdot – Livestock Surprise Scientists with Their Complex, Emotional Minds

The New Yorker looks at 41-year-old Amabel Holland, an autistic board-game designer who “thinks about the world in terms of systems,” and realized you could make a board game about almost anything, “and, when you did, its rules could both mirror and analyze the subject on which it was based.”

They’ve since designed more than 60 games, and the article notes that Holland’s work, “which is part of a larger turn toward complexity in the industry, often tackles historical and social subjects — death, religion, misinformation — using surprising ‘mechanics,’ or building blocks of game play, to immerse players in an experience.”
“With every game, you build a certain model of the world,” Reiner Knizia, a former mathematician who’s designed more than eight hundred games, told me. Several of his games illustrate market forces: in Modern Art, for instance, you play as auctioneers and buyers, hoping to buy low and sell high. Knizia is a traditional game designer inasmuch as he aims to “bring enjoyment to the people.” But Amabel sometimes aims for the opposite of enjoyment… This Guilty Land, from 2018, is about the struggle to end slavery.”

Holland says their games are “meant to evoke frustration” — specifically to communicate how difficult it can be to actually achieve political progress.

Thanks to Slashdot reader silverjacket for sharing the article.

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Source: Slashdot – World Modelling and ‘The Personal, Political Art of Board-Game Design’

Long-time Slashdot reader schwit1 shared this article from the Atlantic:
For the past few years, parents, researchers, and the news media have paid closer attention to the relationship between teenagers’ phone use and their mental health. Researchers such as Jonathan Haidt and Jean Twenge have shown that various measures of student well-being began a sharp decline around 2012 throughout the West, just as smartphones and social media emerged as the attentional centerpiece of teenage life. Some have even suggested that smartphone use is so corrosive, it’s systematically reducing student achievement. I hadn’t quite believed that last argument — until now.

The Program for International Student Assessment, conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in almost 80 countries every three years, tests 15-year-olds est scores have been falling for years — even before the pandemic. Across the OECD, science scores peaked in 2009, and reading scores peaked in 2012. Since then, developed countries have as a whole performed “increasingly poorly” on average. “No single country showed an increasingly positive trend in any subject,” PISA reported, and “many countries showed increasingly poor performance in at least one subject.” Even in famously high-performing countries, such as Finland, Sweden, and South Korea, PISA grades in one or several subjects have been declining for a while.

So what’s driving down student scores around the world? The PISA report offers three reasons to suspect that phones are a major culprit. First, PISA finds that students who spend less than one hour of “leisure” time on digital devices a day at school scored about 50 points higher in math than students whose eyes are glued to their screens more than five hours a day. This gap held even after adjusting for socioeconomic factors… Second, screens seem to create a general distraction throughout school, even for students who aren’t always looking at them…. Finally, nearly half of students across the OECD said that they felt “nervous” or “anxious” when they didn’t have their digital devices near them. (On average, these students also said they were less satisfied with life.) This phone anxiety was negatively correlated with math scores.

In sum, students who spend more time staring at their phone do worse in school, distract other students around them, and feel worse about their life.

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Source: Slashdot – Are Phones Making the World’s Students Dumber?

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Two lawmakers filed a bill requiring creators of foundation models to disclose sources of training data so copyright holders know their information was taken. The AI Foundation Model Transparency Act — filed by Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Don Beyer (D-VA) — would direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to work with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to establish rules for reporting training data transparency. Companies that make foundation models will be required to report sources of training data and how the data is retained during the inference process, describe the limitations or risks of the model, how the model aligns with NIST’s planned AI Risk Management Framework and any other federal standards might be established, and provide information on the computational power used to train and run the model. The bill also says AI developers must report efforts to “red team” the model to prevent it from providing “inaccurate or harmful information” around medical or health-related questions, biological synthesis, cybersecurity, elections, policing, financial loan decisions, education, employment decisions, public services, and vulnerable populations such as children.

The bill calls out the importance of training data transparency around copyright as several lawsuits have come out against AI companies alleging copyright infringement. It specifically mentions the case of artists against Stability AI, Midjourney, and Deviant Art, (which was largely dismissed in October, according to VentureBeat), and Getty Images’ complaint against Stability AI. The bill still needs to be assigned to a committee and discussed, and it’s unclear if that will happen before the busy election campaign season starts. Eshoo and Beyer’s bill complements the Biden administration’s AI executive order, which helps establish reporting standards for AI models. The executive order, however, is not law, so if the AI Foundation Model Transparency Act passes, it will make transparency requirements for training data a federal rule.

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Source: Slashdot – AI Companies Would Be Required To Disclose Copyrighted Training Data Under New Bill

Scientists have developed a vibrating pill that, when swallowed before eating, can create a feeling of fullness. The Guardian reports: The research, which has yet to be carried out in humans, shows that after 30 minutes of activity by the Vibes pill, pigs ate on average almost 40% less food in the following half hour than they did without the device, and gained weight more slowly. The Vibes name is an acronym derived from the pill’s full title — Vibrating Ingestible BioElectronic Stimulator. The work in pigs suggests the vibrations activate stretch receptors in the stomach, simulating the presence of food. This results in signals being sent to the hypothalamus in the brain via the vagus nerve, increasing levels of various hormones that give rise to a feeling of fullness and decreasing those that result in feelings of hunger.

“We envision the Vibes pill being ingested on a relatively empty stomach 20 to 30 min before anticipated meals to trigger the desired sensation of satiety early in the meal,â the team write, adding that when produced at scale, the cost of the pills is expected to be in the cents to one dollar range. The vibrations, which are powered by a battery encased in the swallowed capsule, can be triggered when stomach acid dissolves a membrane around the pill, or by a timer. The researchers say the pills, which are about the size of a large vitamin tablet, offer a non-invasive, temporary therapy, without the need for weight-loss surgery, and exit the body with other solid waste — meaning in humans they are flushed down the toilet. However they suggest it could be possible to develop pills that are implanted, or stay in the stomach, to reduce the need for people to repeatedly take them, should they require continuing therapy. Further reading: Man Reports PillCam Stuck In His Gut For Over 12 Weeks

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Source: Slashdot – Vibrating Pill May Give Dieters a Feeling of Fullness, Study Suggests

Longtime Slashdot reader FudRucker quotes a report from Study Finds: Researchers from Northwestern University, Boston College, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a new synaptic transistor that works just like the human brain. This advanced device, capable of both processing and storing information simultaneously, marks a notable shift from traditional machine-learning tasks to performing associative learning — similar to higher-level human cognition. This study introduces a device that operates effectively at room temperatures, a notable improvement over previous brain-like computing devices that required extremely cold conditions to keep their circuits from overheating. With its fast operation, low energy consumption, and ability to retain information without power, the new transistor is well-suited for real-world applications.

“The brain has a fundamentally different architecture than a digital computer,” says study co-author Mark Hersam, the Walter P. Murphy Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering, in a university release. “In a digital computer, data move back and forth between a microprocessor and memory, which consumes a lot of energy and creates a bottleneck when attempting to perform multiple tasks at the same time. On the other hand, in the brain, memory and information processing are co-located and fully integrated, resulting in orders of magnitude higher energy efficiency. Our synaptic transistor similarly achieves concurrent memory and information processing functionality to more faithfully mimic the brain.”

Hersam and his team employed a novel strategy involving moire patterns, a type of geometric design formed when two patterns are overlaid. By stacking two-dimensional materials like bilayer graphene and hexagonal boron nitride and twisting them to form a moire pattern, they could manipulate the electronic properties of the graphene layers. This manipulation allowed for the creation of a synaptic transistor with enhanced neuromorphic functionality at room temperature. The device’s testing involved training it to recognize patterns and similarities, a form of associative learning. For instance, if trained to identify a pattern like “000,” the transistor could distinguish that “111” is more similar to “000” than “101,” demonstrating a higher level of cognitive function. This ability to process complex and imperfect inputs has significant implications for real-world AI applications, such as improving the reliability of self-driving vehicles in challenging conditions. The study has been published in the journal Nature.

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Source: Slashdot – New AI Transistor Works Just Like the Human Brain

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: From empty glasses of sherry on the mantelpiece to sooty footprints leading to the bedroom door, evidence of Santa’s existence is clearly irrefutable. Yet most children will begin to question it at some point — and many parents anticipate this moment with dread. Now psychologists have identified the average age when Santa skepticism creeps in, and which children are at greatest risk of harboring negative feelings when it does.

While most adults have fallen for the myth that Santa doesn’t exist, many children still believe — even if the idea of a single individual visiting the homes of billions of children in a single night is at odds with their wider reasoning skills. Dr Candice Mills, a psychologist at the University of Texas in Dallas, US, and a Santa sceptic, said: “Children typically begin to distinguish fantasy from reality during the preschool years, but their belief in the existence of a singular magical Santa Claus often continues into middle childhood.” […] To better understand this shift from belief to disbelief and children’s experiences of it, Mills and her colleagues interviewed 48 six- to 15-year-olds who had stopped believing in Santa and 44 of their parents, plus a further 383 adults.

The research, which has not yet been peer reviewed, found that for most children, disbelief crept in gradually about the age of eight — although some three- or four-year-olds had convinced themselves that Santa wasn’t real, while other children believed in him until they were 15 or 16. In many cases, it was testimony from other disbelievers that finally crushed their faith. Mills said: “They may have had some skepticism based on logical reasoning — like how can Santa Claus really get around the world in one night? — but what pushes them over the edge is a classmate at school saying he’s not real.”

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Source: Slashdot – Psychologists Pinpoint Average Age Children Become Santa Sceptics

Apple is in negotiations with major news and publishing organizations (source paywalled; alternative source), “seeking permission to use their material in the company’s development of generative artificial intelligence systems,” reports the New York Times. From the report: The technology giant has floated multiyear deals worth at least $50 million to license the archives of news articles […]. The news organizations contacted by Apple include Conde Nast, publisher of Vogue and The New Yorker; NBC News; and IAC, which owns People, The Daily Beast and Better Homes and Gardens. The negotiations mark one of the earliest examples of how Apple is trying to catch up to rivals in the race to develop generative A.I., which allows computers to create images and chat like a human. […]

Some of the publishers contacted by Apple were lukewarm on the overture. After years of on-again-off-again commercial deals with tech companies like Meta, the owner of Facebook, publishers have grown wary of jumping into business with Silicon Valley. Several publishing executives were concerned that Apple’s terms were too expansive, according to three people familiar with the negotiations. The initial pitch covered broad licensing of publishers’ archives of published content, with publishers potentially on the hook for any legal liabilities that could stem from Apple’s use of their content.

Apple was also vague about how it intended to apply generative A.I. to the news industry, the people said, a potential competitive risk given Apple’s substantial audience for news on its devices. Still, some news executives were optimistic that Apple’s approach might eventually lead to a meaningful partnership. Two people familiar with the discussions struck a positive note on the long-term prospects of a deal, contrasting Apple’s approach of asking for permission with behavior from other artificial intelligence-enabled companies, which have been accused of seeking licensing deals with news organizations after they had already used their content to train generative models. Further reading: Apple’s AI Research Signals Ambition To Catch Up With Big Tech Rivals

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Source: Slashdot – Apple Explores AI Deals With News Publishers

According to Bloomberg (paywalled), OpenAI is in early talks to raise a fresh round of funding at a valuation at or above $100 billion. Reuters reports: The terms, valuation and timing of the funding round have not yet been finalized and could still change, the report added. OpenAI has also held discussions to raise funding for a new chip venture with Abu Dhabi-based G42, according to the report. If the valuation holds, the report notes that it would make OpenAI the second-most valuable U.S. startup behind Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

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Source: Slashdot – OpenAI In Talks To Raise New Funding At 0 Billion Valuation

Longtime Slashdot reader theodp writes: Way back in September 2012, Microsoft President Brad Smith discussed the idea of “producing a crisis” to advance Microsoft’s “two-pronged” National Talent Strategy to increase K-12 CS education and the number of H-1B visas. Not long thereafter, the tech-backed nonprofit Code.org (which promotes and provides K-12 CS education and is led by Smith’s next-door neighbor) and Mark Zuckerberg’s FWD.us PAC (which lobbied for H-1B reform) were born, with Smith on board both. Over the past 10+ years, Smith has played a key role in establishing Code.org’s influence in the new K-12 CS education “grassroots” movement, including getting buy-in from three Presidential administrations — Obama, Trump, and Biden — as well as the U.S. Dept. of Education and the nation’s Governors. But after recent updates, Code.org’s Leadership page now indicates that Smith has quietly left Code.org’s Board of Directors and thanks him for his past help and advice. Since November (when archive.org indicates Smith’s photo was yanked from Code.org’s Leadership page), Smith has been in the news in conjunction with Microsoft’s relationship with another Microsoft-bankrolled nonprofit, OpenAI, which has come under scrutiny by the Feds and in the UK. Smith, who noted he and Microsoft helped OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman craft messaging ahead of a White House meeting, announced in a Dec. 8th tweet that Microsoft will be getting a non-voting OpenAI Board seat in connection with Altman’s return to power (who that non-voting Microsoft OpenAI board member will be has not been announced). OpenAI, Microsoft, and Code.org teamed up in December to provide K-12 CS+AI tutorials for this December’s AI-themed Hour of Code (the trio has also partnered with Amazon and Google on the Code.org-led TeachAI initiative). And while Smith has left Code.org’s Board, Microsoft’s influence there will live on as Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott — credited for forging Microsoft’s OpenAI partnership — remains a Code.org Board member together with execs from other Code.org Platinum Supporters ($3+ million in past 2 years) Google and Amazon.

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Source: Slashdot – Microsoft President Brad Smith Quietly Leaves Board of Nonprofit Code.org