Whales may be smarter than we think; sperm whale groups in the North Pacific seemed to have not only adopted defensive techniques after humans started hunting them but also been capable of social learning, where they taught each other these techniques. Scientists theorize that, in one case study, this social learning could have led to the rapid decline of successful harpooning attempts a few years after whalers explored a new region. Read full article here
Societal Issues
AI Predicts Crime A Week In Advance With 90 Per Cent Accuracy
An artificial intelligence model built by Ishanu Chattopadhyay and his colleagues analysed crime data in Chicago from 2014 to 2016 and managed to predict future levels of crime down to the nearest 300 metres, a week before they actually happened. While extremely useful, this artificial intelligence has been shown to expose racial prejudice in law enforcement. Hopefully, as the study’s data and methodology have been made available for others to evaluate, these prejudices can be avoided in the next iteration. Read full article here
Merv
August 15, 2022
