How are computer scientists building their army of virtual fact-checkers? What are their models of truth? And how close are we to entrusting their algorithms to cull fake news? Popular Science tried out an automated fact-checker, using a piece of fake news, and compare its process to a human fact-checker.
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It’s 2050. Lifelike neuromorphic robots provide domestic, professional, even sexual services for their human owners. Then a rogue engineer programs robots to murder and rob their owners. Dennis Meredith’s sixth sci-fi thriller, The Neuromorphs, explores possibilities and drawbacks of AI. Meredith's nonfiction books include Explaining Research, a guide for scientists and science writers.
The National Association of Science Writers sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week to comment on an unusual and restrictive press office episode that affected science reporters at several environmental news organizations.
Building partnerships across national borders, cultures, disciplines and institutions is recognized as one of the most effective ways to solve international development challenges.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) announces the launch of SciLine, a new service that will provide journalists with high-quality scientific expertise and context — on demand and on deadline.
Bird behavior gives clues that can help solve human social, economic and health-related problems.
The story of development of vaccines against rubella and other childhood diseases in the 1960s pits a daring young biologist against his world-famous boss, testing that used prisoners, intellectually disabled children, and other disenfranchised subjects, political roadblocks that nearly derailed the research, and other elements of high drama. Meredith Wadman covers it all in The Vaccine Race: Science, Politics and the Human Costs of Defeating Disease.
Current research has uncovered specific combinations of gut bacteria in mice that can predict conditions like irritable bowel disorder and multiple sclerosis. If those findings replicate in humans, they could change approaches to treatment.