Federal funding for cognitive research in the late 1970s and early 1980s unexpectedly led to significant advancements in artificial intelligence. This research transformed our understanding of human cognition through computational models and also laid the groundwork for the deep learning systems driving today's AI technology.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told customers at a conference in Chicago on Tuesday that the company is teaching a new set of artificial intelligence tools how to "act on our behalf across our work and life."

Imagine having a live art class taught by Leonardo da Vinci, or having a fully interactive discussion about the meaning of life with Socrates. You can now do this in your living room with a laptop and headset through startups like Ireland's Engage XR and Sweden's Hello History, combining the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) and the metaverse.

Yahya Sinwar, the former leader of the Hamas militant organization, was killed by the Israeli military in the south Gazan city of Rafah in October 2024. Given the role Sinwar played in the planning and execution of the October 7 terrorist attack, as well as his role in the development of Hamas's military wing, his killing was seen as a possibly game-changing victory for the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The more lottery tickets you buy, the higher your chances of winning, but spending more than you win is obviously not a wise strategy. Something similar happens in AI powered by deep learning: we know that the larger a neural network is (i.e., the more parameters it has), the better it can learn the task we set for it.