Category: National News & Events

The AIA COTE® Top Ten for Students Competition is sponsored by The American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment (AIA COTE®), in partnership with the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA). Each year, the competition recognizes ten exceptional student design studio projects that integrate health, sustainability, and equity, evaluated following the same categories of the AIA COTE® Top Ten Award for built work, and the AIA Framework for Design Excellence (now adopted as the basis of professional practice and awards across the AIA). The deadline to register is April 10, 2024. More->>

In response to major advances in generative AI technologies—as well as the significant questions these technologies pose in areas including intellectual property, the future of work, and even human safety—ACM’s global Technology Policy Council (TPC) has issued “Principles for the Development, Deployment, and Use of Generative AI Technologies.” Drawing on the deep technical expertise of computer scientists in the United States and Europe, the TPC statement outlines eight principles intended to foster fair, accurate, and beneficial decision-making concerning generative and all other AI technologies. More->>

To help make sense of the many and multiplying efforts to coordinate future “GenAI” policy and governance around the globe, ACM’s Technology Policy Council hosted the latest in its HotTopics webinar series, “Artificial Intelligence, Real Regulation: International Perspectives and Prospects”—now available on demand. It is a fascinating discussion between moderator Michel Beaudouin-Lafon, panelists Dame Wendy Hall, Juha Heikkila, and Marc Rotenberg, and audience members about the growing concerns surrounding the growth and regulation of generative artificial intelligence both now and in the future. More->>

How are technologies like ChatGPT created? And what does the future hold for AI language models? This talk was filmed at the Royal Institution on 29th September 2023, in collaboration with The Alan Turing Institute.

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2018 A.M. Turing Award recipient Geoffrey Hinton appeared on 60 Minutes to discuss the risks and promise of artificial intelligence. Hinton—one of the “Godfathers of AI” along with Yoshua Bengio and Yann LeCun—wants governments, companies and developers to carefully consider the best ways to safely advance the technology. He also believes that AI has the potential for both good and harm, that now is the moment to run experiments to understand AI and pass laws to ensure the technology is ethically used, and that AI does have the potential to one day take over from humanity. More->>

This talk is a follow-up to the April 19, 2023 webinar with Mehran Sahami of Stanford University, “Confronting Ethical Challenges in a High-Tech World.” Serami and a panel of AI-ML experts from industry and academia—Tulsee Doshi, Susan Epstein, Fay Cobb Payton, Susan Reiser, and Kush Varshney—will explore some of the ethical questions raised in that session, including the role of human values in AI algorithms, bias in AI-ML and the impact of diverse teams in reducing bias; data privacy, and more. More->>

The new system can capture and track flowing blood cells in a beating heart. (Dr. Tzung Hsiai)

UCLA bioengineers and colleagues have created a new imaging system that advances dynamic imaging microscopy with artificial intelligence. The new system can reveal the details of biological processes in tiny tissue samples at a resolution of two thousandths of a millimeter and in slow motion at 200 frames per second. “This new system allows us to see biological events live in what is essentially five dimensions — the three dimensions of space, plus time and the molecular level dynamics as highlighted by color spectra,” said Dr. Tzung Hsiai, UCLA’s Maud Cady Guthman Professor of Cardiology. “For doctors and scientists, this could reveal the fine details of what’s happening in microscopic spaces and over millisecond-length time scales in a way that has never been done before. This advance can go a long way in helping find new insights to understand and treat diseases.” More->>

Materials engineer Nzambi Matee heads a recent start-up called Gjenge Makers, which creates low-cost lightweight building materials from recycled plastic and sand. Beginning with pavers, the company has introduced a product that is stronger and more flexible than concrete, heightening its durability and diminishing its maintenance costs. More->>

“Icon, an Austin, Texas-based developer of construction technologies, received funding to research and develop a space-based construction system that could support future exploration of the moon. It has engaged two architecture firms as partners for the project: Denmark-based BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group and New York City-based SEArch+.” — Construction Dive  More->>

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, many architects, designers, and students are turning to 3D-printing to rapidly produce much needed equipment, like protective gear for healthcare workers and respirator valves for sick patients. In their own effort to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, Belgian manufacturing company Materialise recently released free design files for a hands-free door opener that makes you use your wrist (ideally covered by a sleeve) instead of your bare hands to touch door handles, which are a hotspot for germs. Even MayoClinic has printed the door openers to be used in their facilities. More->>