Neuralink Implant. On January 29, Elon Musk, cofounder of Neuralink, shared the news that the first Neuralink implant has been placed inside a human’s skull with promising results. The stated goal is to give recipients the ability to control a computer with their brain. Musk has been criticized for lack of transparency and for releasing the news on his social media platform. (For more, see “Elon Musk Says the First Human Has Received an Implant from Neuralink, but Other Details Are Scant” from the Associated Press.)
New Artificial Intelligence Text-to-Video Generator. On February 15, OpenAI previewed their new text-to-video generator called Sora, which makes brief realistic videos based on just a few words of text. According to a statement on their website, as a safeguard they are “building tools to help detect misleading content such as a detection classifier that can tell when a video was generated by Sora.” (For more, see “Sora Is ChatGPT Maker OpenAI’s New Text-To-Video Generator” by the Associated Press.)
FDA Warning over Two ‘Smart’ Devices Measuring Glucose. On February 21, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration provided a warning regarding smartwatches and smart rings “that claim to measure blood glucose levels (blood sugar) without piercing the skin.” (For more, see “Do Not Use Smartwatches or Smart Rings to Measure Blood Glucose Levels: FDA Safety Communication” by the FDA.)
First U.S. Moon Landing in Over Fifty Years. On February 22, a private U.S.-based company, Intuitive Machines, landed a spacecraft on the Moon. No humans were aboard. This is the first U.S. Moon landing in over half a century, and the first private company to achieve this accomplishment. Japan also landed a spacecraft on the Moon about a month prior. (For more, see “Private Lander Makes First US Moon Landing in More Than 50 Years” by the Associated Press.)
APA Tackles Misinformation. On February 24, the Council of Representatives of the American Psychological Association (APA) passed a “Resolution on Combating Misinformation and Promoting Psychological Science Literacy,” based largely on a related consensus statement written by a team led by Sander van der Linden. The same day, the APA also passed the “Policy Statement on Affirming Evidence-Based Inclusive Care for Transgender, Gender Diverse, and Nonbinary Individuals, Addressing Misinformation, and the Role of Psychological Practice and Science.” (For more, visit apa.org.)
New Animal Discovery: Amphibian Nursing Its Young. On March 7, the journal Science reported on an egg-laying, snake-like amphibian (Siphonops annulatus) that produces a milk-like substance for its young, making this discovery the first of its kind. The offspring even use high-pitched “begging” sounds to elicit the milk-like substance. They are objectively the cutest amphibians on earth! (For more, including a video, see “Watch a Snakelike Creature Feed ‘Milk’ to Its Young” by Science.)
Pentagon Finds No Extraterrestrial UAPs. On March 6, The All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) of the Department of Defense released a report regarding their investigation into unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). The conclusion of the report states that “To date, AARO has not discovered any empirical evidence that any sighting of a UAP represented off-world technology.” (For more, visit aaro.mil.)
Biologists Sign Statement on Responsible AI Use. As of March 18, over 150 scientists have signed a statement promoting the responsible use of AI. The statement ends by saying, “We will work together with global stakeholders across academia, governments, civil society, and the private sector to ensure that this technology develops in a responsible and trustworthy manner and that it is safe, secure, and beneficial for all.” (For more, visit https://responsiblebiodesign.ai/.)
Netflix’s 3 Body Problem Explains the “Wow! Signal” Mystery. On March 21, Netflix dropped the sci-fi series 3 Body Problem based on the popular book series of the same name. In the show, the so-called “Wow! signal,” received by the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute, is confirmed to be of an extraterrestrial nature. (For more, watch the 3 Body Problem on Netflix.)
