Deep reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms are predominantly evaluated by comparing their relative performance on a large suite of tasks. Most published results on deep RL benchmarks compare point estimates of aggregate performance such as mean and median scores across tasks, ignoring the statistical uncertainty implied by the use of a finite number of training runs. Beginning with the Arcade Learning Environment (ALE), the shift towards computationally-demanding benchmarks has led to the practice of evaluating only a small number of runs per task, exacerbating the statistical uncertainty in point estimates. In this paper, we argue that reliable evaluation in the few run deep RL regime cannot ignore the uncertainty in results without running the risk of slowing down progress in the field. We illustrate this point using a case study on the Atari 100k benchmark, where we find substantial discrepancies between conclusions drawn from point estimates alone versus a more thorough statistical analysis. With the aim of increasing the field's confidence in reported results with a handful of runs, we advocate for reporting interval estimates of aggregate performance and propose performance profiles to account for the variability in results, as well as present more robust and efficient aggregate metrics, such as interquartile mean scores, to achieve small uncertainty in results. Using such statistical tools, we scrutinize performance evaluations of existing algorithms on other widely used RL benchmarks including the ALE, Procgen, and the DeepMind Control Suite, again revealing discrepancies in prior comparisons. Our findings call for a change in how we evaluate performance in deep RL, for which we present a more rigorous evaluation methodology, accompanied with an open-source library rliable, to prevent unreliable results from stagnating the field. This work received an outstanding paper award at NeurIPS 2021.

WIRED spoke with DeepMind's Pushmeet Kohli about the recent past--and promising future--of the Nobel Prize-winning research project that changed biology and chemistry forever. Amino acids "folded" to form a protein. Over the past few years, we've periodically reported on its successes; last year, it won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry . Until AlphaFold's debut in November 2020, DeepMind had been best known for teaching an artificial intelligence to beat human champions at the ancient game of Go Its work culminated in the compilation of a database that now contains over 200 million predicted structures, essentially the entire known protein universe, and is used by nearly 3.5 million researchers in 190 countries around the world The Nature article published in 2021 describing the algorithm has been cited 40,000 times to date. Last year, AlphaFold 3 arrived, extending the capabilities of artificial intelligence to DNA, RNA, and drugs.

Elon Musk receives a golden key from Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington DC on 30 May 2025. Elon Musk receives a golden key from Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington DC on 30 May 2025. I myself have a cold. Today, we are looking back at the biggest stories in tech of 2025 - Elon Musk's political rise, burst, and fall; artificial intelligence's subsumption of the global economy, all other technology, and even the Earth's topography; Australia's remarkable social media ban; the tech industry's new Trumpian politics; and, as a treat, a glimpse of the apocalypse offered by one of Silicon Valley's savviest and strangest billionaires. Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends a memorial service for slain far-right commentator Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium, in Glendale, Arizona, on 21 September 2025.

Vince Zampella, who co-created the widely-popular video game Call of Duty, has died in a single-vehicle Ferrari crash in California, aged 55. Zampella's death was confirmed by Electronic Arts, which owns Respawn Entertainment, a game studio he co-founded. This is an unimaginable loss, and our hearts are with Vince's family, his loved ones, and all those touched by his work, a spokesperson for Electronic Arts told the BBC. Officials said the person on the vehicle's passenger seat was ejected while the driver remained trapped. It is unclear if Zampella was driving the car.

Vince Zampella, the co-creator of the Call of Duty video game series, has died aged 55. The head of the video game developer Respawn Entertainment and the co-founder of Infinity Ward was killed in a car crash in California, NBC Los Angeles reported . Zampella led the creation of the bestselling video game series Call of Duty at Infinity Ward, and at his various studios he was involved in several highly successful game series from Medal of Honor to Titanfall. He is reported to have died in a single-car accident on the Angeles Crest Highway, which was reported to the California highway patrol at 12.45pm on Sunday. The vehicle's driver died at the scene, and a passenger died later in hospital.

Devastating truth about Rob Reiner's daughter Romy: Her own addiction battle... how she'lived in fear' of Nick... and the handsome companion she's leaning on, all revealed by heartbroken friends Baby-faced accused killers will be tried as adults after 14-year-old girl's horrific murder Trans killer, 30, who executed her parents then converted to Islam is jailed for 25 years after trying to skip'stressful' sentencing I'm Miley Cyrus's REAL mother: Woman at center of bombshell'adoption' lawsuit breaks silence about'pregnancy at age 12' and makes MORE wild claims School bus driver responds to backlash after she was fired over'English-only' sign Six common medications you should NEVER mix with alcohol: Doctors reveal how that'pre-emptive' painkiller could destroy your liver... and the most deadly combination of all Next domino falls in Michigan's Sherrone Moore scandal as top assistant defects to SEC school The extravagant gifts the rich are buying this Christmas including an'extra person' in their marriage I was forced into Witness Protection at age seven... here's how the program nearly ruined my life Former Nickelodeon star is now'homeless on the streets of Los Angeles' How Tom Brady REALLY feels about Gisele Bundchen's secret wedding to jiu-jitsu instructor... as insiders whisper about potential of his OWN second marriage The hidden blueprint to keep MAGA in power for 100 years as Trump's inner circle shows signs of cracking Kimberly Guilfoyle's'yelling fit' after ex Donald Trump Jr's new engagement... as insiders reveal her nasty texts and derogatory nickname for Bettina Anderson Smug because you love your job? READ MORE: Scientists reveal surprising secret behind Bill Gates' success The saying goes, if you find a job you love you'll never work a day in your life. But an expert has now warned that this can backfire - and the seemingly innocent idea of loving your work can take on a moral edge. Mijeong Kwon, assistant professor of management at Rice University in Texas, said the dream of enjoying your career has become compulsive for many. 'Working for money, prestige or family obligation starts to look less admirable, even suspect,' she wrote on The Conversation .

Over the course of 2025, we had the pleasure of finding out more about a whole range of AI topics from researchers around the world. Here, we highlight some of our favourite interviews from the past 12 months. We caught up with Erica Kimei to find out about her research studying gas emissions from agriculture, specifically ruminant livestock. Erica combines machine learning and remote sensing technology to monitor and forecast such emissions. We spoke to Yuki Mitsufuji, Lead Research Scientist at Sony AI, to find out more about two pieces of research that his team presented at the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS 2024).

SNL savages Trump after releasing the Epstein files in cold open... but MAGA have the last laugh Retirees are ditching golf and sun for this unlikely city...as top destinations revealed Frail woman found bludgeoned to death next to'bloodied skateboard' in her NYC apartment You've only been told half the story about the Reiner murders. These hidden horrors MUST be outed... before Hollywood's sick secrecy pact wins: MAUREEN CALLAHAN Monumental downfall of it-girl streamer who snubbed Drake's advances... as she's engulfed by disgusting scandals and family tragedy Devastating truth about Rob Reiner's daughter Romy: Her own addiction battle... how she'lived in fear' of Nick... and the handsome companion she's leaning on, all revealed by heartbroken friends Smellebrities! 10 actors whose hygiene habits prompted complaints from co-stars - after Charlotte Church said she's stopped wearing deodorant and'generally stinks' Crime drama dubbed'the greatest of all time' with the'perfect ending' and a whopping 96% Rotten Tomatoes score is now free to stream - plus there's a reboot in the works Then I learned what he told her about our sex life and I can't even look at him: ASK JANA America's cutest Christmas village battles to save itself after being hit by storms and severe flooding Prince Harry's controversial comment at Christmas that sparked Meghan Markle's bitter family feud Father Christmas is'too white' and has no right to judge if children are naughty or nice, says woke museum Inside Tinseltown's'cursed' neighborhood where Rob Reiner was murdered that also saw Marilyn Monroe and Nicole Brown Simpson's deaths Deputy Attorney General reveals REAL reason why Trump's picture in Epstein files was taken down: 'It's absurd and laughable' How Tom Brady REALLY feels about Gisele Bundchen's secret wedding to jiu-jitsu instructor... as insiders whisper about potential of his OWN second marriage Alcohol consumption falls to a record low in Britain - so, do you drink more or less than the national average? READ MORE: Do you drink more than your partner? It's a typically boozy time of year - but Brits are drinking less alcohol than in decades gone by, according to new figures. Data released by research company IWSR reveals the average UK adult consumed 10.2 alcoholic drinks a week last year.

In 1996 Nasa and the White House made the explosive announcement that the rock contained traces of Martian bugs. The meteorite, catalogued as Allen Hills (ALH) 84001, crashed onto the frozen wastes of Antarctica 13,000 years ago and was recovered in 1984. Photographs were released showing elongated segmented objects that appeared strikingly lifelike.

America's cutest Christmas village battles to save itself after being hit by storms and severe flooding Retirees are ditching golf and sun for this unlikely city...as top destinations revealed Smellebrities! 10 actors whose hygiene habits prompted complaints from co-stars - after Charlotte Church said she's stopped wearing deodorant and'generally stinks' You've only been told half the story about the Reiner murders. These hidden horrors MUST be outed... before Hollywood's sick secrecy pact wins: MAUREEN CALLAHAN SNL savages Trump after releasing the Epstein files in cold open... but MAGA have the last laugh What I drunkenly tried to do to my handsome married boss at the holiday party is inexcusable. Devastating truth about Rob Reiner's daughter Romy: Her own addiction battle... how she'lived in fear' of Nick... and the handsome companion she's leaning on, all revealed by heartbroken friends Crime drama dubbed'the greatest of all time' with the'perfect ending' and a whopping 96% Rotten Tomatoes score is now free to stream - plus there's a reboot in the works Insane twist of fate for homeless hero who cracked Brown shooter case amid hapless feds' FIVE-DAY manhunt as he's set to receive $50K reward Kimberly Guilfoyle's'yelling fit' after ex Donald Trump Jr's new engagement... as insiders reveal her nasty texts and derogatory nickname for Bettina Anderson'Extreme safety risk' warning from FAA after THREE passenger jets in panic to avoid Musk rocket explosion Kate sends'majestic' Christmas present to Royal Marsden Hospital - where the Princess received cancer treatment The'change of pace' sex move that sends ANY woman wild. Here's the precise moment to deploy it and what to do with your eyes. Inside the Reiners' tragic last supper with famous friend... hours before their murders: Restaurant staff tell heartbreaking details Cheater Texas AG breaks cover with his mistress... as insider reveals all the details from their ultra-fancy ski trip to Aspen Do YOU know your Taylor Swift terms from your incel idioms?