Technologies

AI Is Speeding Us Toward Intelligent Computers and the Singularity, Pioneer Says

John Hennessy, a Silicon Valley pioneer and former Stanford president, says AI progress is ‘stunning.’

ChatGPT and other AI systems are propelling us faster toward the long-term technology dream of artificial general intelligence and the radical transformation called the «singularity,» a Silicon Valley chip luminary and former Stanford University professor John Hennessy believes.

«The AI revolution is upon us. It’s stunning,» Hennessy said Monday at the TechSurge conference. «It’s awakened in everybody a sense that maybe the singularity, …this turning point where computers really are more capable than humans, is closer than we thought.»

Hennessy won computing’s highest prize, the Turing Award with colleague Dave Patterson for developing the computing architecture that made energy-efficient smartphone chips possible and that now is the foundation for virtually all major processors. He’s also chairman of Google parent company Alphabet.

AI is indeed transforming computing, relying on neural network processing methods inspired by the human brain to tackle new problems in spotting patterns and more recently to generate new text and imagery. AI spread across the computing industry for years making speech recognition mainstream and letting us unlock our phones with our faces. But AI expectations surged with 2022’s debut of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which can answer a huge range of questions, offer advice, pass medical exams, hold conversations and write programs and poetry.

Microsoft is using the GPT technology to power a new version of its Bing search engine and plans to use it more broadly in other tools like Word, PowerPoint and Excel. Google, an AI pioneer, debuted a competing AI tool called Bard in February.

What’s unclear is how well today’s AI, trained for relatively narrow tasks, will grow to match the versatility of human brains. Hennessy is optimistic

«Some of us thought that point at which we’d have a general artificial general intelligence was 40 or 50 years away. I think everybody’s horizon has moved in by probably 10 or 20 years,» Hennessy said. «These models keep getting bigger, and every time we make a jump up in the size of the model, we seem to be able to do new tasks. We don’t know where that’s going to plateau yet.»

Another problem with general intelligence, in particular with tools like ChatGPT that synthesize new material from vast swaths of training data, is misleading us. Today, it’s hard for AIs and people use them to distinguish between reality and «hallucinations,» digital flights of fancy that often sound plausible.

Hennessy sees AI today as an «amplifier,» a similar concept to Microsoft’s position of AI as a «co-pilot.»

«I may not get a video that’s perfect or a PowerPoint presentation or a paragraph that’s perfect. But maybe I get something I can really work with, then use some human intelligence to make it even better,» Hennessy said.

Google is concerned about the problems as well, which is why it didn’t race to release Bard until after ChatGPT stole so much attention.

«Google was hesitant to productize this because it didn’t think it was really ready for a product yet. But I think as a demonstration vehicle, it’s a great piece of technology,» Hennessy said. «You don’t want to put a system out that either says wrong things or sometimes says toxic things. Right. There’s a level of caution about this.»

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 5, #500

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 5, No. 500.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. As an old-school Minnesota Twins fan, I was excited to see the last name of our most legendary player on the grid. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: QB is another one.

Green group hint: Hit it out of the park.

Blue group hint: Great gridiron signal-callers.

Purple group hint: Half of a thousand.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Football positions, abbreviated.

Green group: Members of the 500-HR club.

Blue group: First names of QBs to throw 500 career TDs.

Purple group: ____500.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is football positions, abbreviated. The four answers are CB, OT, S and TE.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is members of the 500-HR club. The four answers are Banks, Bonds, Foxx and Killebrew.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is first names of QBs to throw 500 career TDs. The four answers are Aaron, Drew, Peyton and Tom.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____500. The four answers are ATP, Daytona, Indy and WTA.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, Feb. 5

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 5

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? The Across clues were kind of tricky today, but the Down clues helped me fill in the grid. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Battery warning from a smoke detector
Answer: CHIRP

6A clue: Word that can precede «book» or «tour»
Answer: AUDIO

7A clue: Extreme edge
Answer: BRINK

8A clue: Like a wobbly screw
Answer: LOOSE

9A clue: Type in
Answer: ENTER

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Alternative to streaming
Answer: CABLE

2D clue: One of the Great Lakes
Answer: HURON

3D clue: Dummy
Answer: IDIOT

4D clue: Wash under a tap
Answer: RINSE

5D clue: Game in which Paul Newman successfully cons a crime boss in «The Sting»
Answer: POKER

Technologies

Fitbit Launches Luffu, AI-Powered Health Tracking for the Whole Family

Soon, you may be able to access every family member’s health data in one place.

If you’ve ever wanted a way to keep all of your family’s health records in place, Fitbit may have come up with a solution. Fitbit, well-known for its fitness wearables, announced the launch of its own health care system on Wednesday.

Luffu, which translates to the Old English word for «love,» uses AI to create what it calls an «intelligent family care system.» The platform allows family members to share all their health information through an app.

It’s unclear when Luffu will be officially available, but you can sign up for the waitlist to get access to the limited public beta. Pricing or other details have not been announced.

Luffu will allow families to keep track of everyone’s doctor’s appointments, test results, vaccine records, medications, symptoms, diet and more. The platform uses AI to learn your family’s health history and patterns, and to alert you to any changes that should be addressed, such as missed medications or abnormal vitals. The AI function organizes the data submitted into the system. The app will also connect to third-party apps and wearables, such as the Fitbit.

Luffu is meant to lighten the mental load of family care by organizing all this health data in one place, its co-founder said.

«I was caring for my parents from across the country, trying to piece together my mom’s health care across various portals and providers, with a language barrier that made it hard to get a complete, timely context from her about doctor visits,» said Luffu co-founder James Park.

Luffu will include alerts and a space to log health and medication information via voice, text, photos, and other health portals and devices. The key medical information can be shared across the platform with spouses, caregivers and parents.

A representative for Fitbit did not immediately respond to a request for comment.