The Conversation – A new generation of artificial intelligence (AI) models can produce "creative" images on-demand based on a text prompt. While the output of these models is often striking, it's hard to know exactly how they produce their results. Last week, researchers in the US made the intriguing claim that the DALL-E 2 model might have invented its own secret language to talk about objects. DALLE-2 has a secret language. By prompting DALL-E 2 to create images containing text captions, then feeding the resulting (gibberish) captions back into the system, the researchers concluded DALL-E 2 thinks Vicootes means "vegetables", while Wa ch zod rea refers to "sea creatures that a whale might eat".

A team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in the U.S., including Google Quantum AI, and a colleague in Australia, has developed a theory suggesting that quantum computers should be exponentially faster on some learning tasks than classical machines. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their theory and results when tested on Google's Sycamore quantum computer. Vedran Dunjko with Leiden University City has published a Perspective piece in the same journal issue outlining the idea behind combining quantum computing with machine learning to provide a new level of computer-based learning systems. Machine learning is a system by which computers trained with datasets make informed guesses about new data. And quantum computing involves using sub-atomic particles to represent qubits as a means for conducting applications many times faster than is possible with classical computers.

We are looking to expand our Analytics team with a data scientist to help create data-driven internal solutions for the Illuvium DAO. Illuvium Labs is an independent game development studio based in Sydney, Australia. We have developed a strong culture of independence with our team, preferring candidates who can articulate their own vision and goals. We operate almost entirely remotely so each team member designs their own hours and work schedule. In the end all that matters is the delivered product.

I have long been intrigued by archaeogaming--an academic discipline that explores the fusion of archaeological objects, methods, and characters into video games. So I was thrilled when the video game company Ubisoft released Assassin's Creed: Origins, set in Egypt during Cleopatra's reign. The designers collaborated with Egyptologists to ensure everything from the architecture to the hieroglyphics created an accurate, immersive world. Unexpectedly, this partnership inspired a machine-learning spinoff that changed the course of my early career. While working with Egyptologists, the game developers learned that translating and interpreting ancient hieroglyphic texts is time-consuming, and the process has changed little in the last century.

Its fellow countdown – run by ABC Classic – usually does not. As its name implies, the Classic 100 is typically a more subdued affair. Unlike its boozy, bombastic cousin, the ABC's classical music station broadcasts the top 100 over multiple days. And since its inception in 2001, the annual countdown has been themed around certain genres or forms, asking listeners to vote for their favourite operas, symphonies and, one year, French compositions. This year, though, the Classic 100 might sound a little different.

Coronavirus can be transmitted through the air by close proximity to infected persons. Commercial aircraft are a likely way to both transmit the virus among passengers and move the virus between locations. The importance of learning about where and how coronavirus has entered the United States will help further our understanding of the disease. Air travelers can come from countries or areas with a high rate of infection and may very well be at risk of being exposed to the virus. Therefore, as they reach the United States, the virus could easily spread. On our analysis, we utilized machine learning to determine if the number of flights into the Washington DC Metro Area had an effect on the number of cases and deaths reported in the city and surrounding area.

TU Wien Informatics will be welcoming Toby Walsh, AI expert and "rock star" of Australia's digital revolution, for the Gödel Lecture 2022. Artificial intelligence is an essential part of our lives – for better or worse. It can be used to influence what we buy, who gets shortlisted for a job, and even how we vote. Without AI, medical technology wouldn't have come so far, we'd still be getting lost on backroads in our GPS-free cars, and smartphones wouldn't be so, well, smart. But as we continue to build more intelligent and autonomous machines, what impact will this have on humanity and the planet?

Officially it is just a research vessel, but China's newly unveiled drone carrier is a clear sign Beijing is rushing to deploy an autonomous swarm of unmanned devices in its push for military supremacy in the Pacific Ocean. State media last month showed the launching of the Zhu Hai Yun -- "Zhu Hai Cloud" -- capable of transporting an unspecified number of flying drones as well as surface and submarine craft, and operating autonomously thanks to artificial intelligence. The 89-metre (292-foot) ship would be operational by year-end with a top speed of 18 knots, vastly increasing China's surveillance potential of the vast Pacific area it considers its zone of influence. "The vessel is not only an unprecedented precision tool at the frontier of marine science, but also a platform for marine disaster prevention and mitigation, seabed precision mapping, marine environment monitoring, and maritime search and rescue," Chen Dake, lab director at the firm that built the carrier, told China Daily. Armies worldwide see drone squadrons as key players in combat, able to overwhelm defence systems by sheer numbers and without putting soldiers' lives at risk, such as with more expensive jets or tanks.

Object tracking --following objects over time --is an essential image analysis technique used to quantify dynamic processes in biosciences. A new application called TrackMate v7 enables scientists to track objects in images easily. TrackMate is a free, open-source tool available as part of the Fiji image analysis platform. In life sciences, tracking is used, for instance, to follow the movement of molecules, subcellular organelles, bacteria, cells, and whole animals. However, due to the sheer diversity of images used in research, no single application can address every tracking challenge.

A new study from the University of Montpellier, France has found that the reef fish humans find 'ugly' are more likely to be endangered than more colourful and aesthetically pleasing species.