Illustration of how a virtual interviewer sees a human. Although most would agree that the average person is smarter than the average cat, comparing humans and machines is not as straightforward. A computer may not excel at abstract reasoning, but it can process vast amounts of data in the blink of an eye. In recent years, researchers in artificial intelligence (AI) have used this computational firepower on the scads of data accumulating online, in academic research, in financial records, and in virtually all walks of life. The algorithms they develop help machines learn from data and apply that knowledge in new situations, much like humans do.

There are approximately 86 billion neurons in the human brain. Over the past decades, we have made enormous progress in understanding their molecular, genetic, and structural makeup as well as their function. However, the real power of the central nervous system lies in the smooth coordination of large numbers of neurons. Neurons are thus organized on many different scales, from small microcircuits and assemblies all the way to regional brain networks. To interact effectively on all these levels, neurons, nuclei, cortical columns, and larger areas need to be connected.

The autonomous robots are designed to climb scaffolding and buildings by wrapping around a poll or beam and then rolling upward via an oscillating joint motion. Using built-in sensors and cameras, the robots would then inspect the structures or handle other dangerous tasks now done by humans, said Dennis Hong, director of Virginia Tech's Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory and the faculty adviser on the project. The robots are each roughly three feet in length and use a movement unique even in nature. "These are really wicked cool robots," he added. The need for autonomous tools in the construction field is great.

Steve Potter and his research team in the Laboratory for Neuroengineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology are studying the basics of learning, memory, and information processing using neural networks in vitro. Their goal is to create computing systems that perform more like the human brain. Potter, a professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, presented his most recent findings last month during the Third International Conference on Substrate-Integrated Microelectrodes in Texas. As the lead researcher on a $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, Potter is connecting laboratory cultures containing living neurons to computers in order to create a simulated animal, which he describes as a "neurally-controlled animat." "We call it the'Hybrot' because it is a hybrid of living and robotic components," he said.

Like a lot of information-age talk, the phrase is both schizophrenic and appropriate. For if this World Wide Web we grow to depend on is all-connected and all-connecting, an enfolding organism spinning out and out and out, it is also oceanic. And when it comes to using such a vast, dynamic resource, most of us are like the skinny kid in the half-zipped wetsuit, paddling just beyond the first break. On a good day, we can handle a three-foot curl. But we never stray too far from shore. And we can easily wind up a long way down the beach, with no idea how we got there. The images illustrating this article were drawn from a computer animation created by Steve Coast, a computer artist and student of physics at University College London.

Henry E. Kyburg Jr., a renowned and respected professor of philosophy and computer science at the University of Rochester, died of acute pancreatitis Oct. 30 at the age of 79 at Strong Memorial Hospital. He was well-known for his cutting-edge studies of uncertain inference, which is the human process of reaching conclusions, and data mining, the process by which computers search for information in data or draw conclusions from it. Kyburg, Burbank Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy, was honored in 2007 with the University Award for Lifetime Achievement in Graduate Education. He was clearly admired by his students--who can be found working as pioneers themselves across all disciplines at research and educational institutions--for his insightful instruction, generous spirit, and relentless energy. "The last thing he said to me was'I would like a logic problem to work on,' because Henry was always scribbling, loved his work, and in general never stayed idle," said his wife Sarah Kyburg, who lived with her husband and eight children on their sustainable farm in Lyons, N.Y.

Whether you're new to automation or are an experienced user, Automate has the solutions for you! Taking place April 3-6, 2017 at McCormick Place in Chicago, Automate offers the opportunity to connect with industry experts and over 300 exhibitors. While at the show, be sure to attend the Automate Conference, featuring the 48th Annual International Symposium on Robotics. The Automate Conference offers everything from a basic understanding of automation to more advanced topics in courses taught by industry professionals. To learn more about Automate and to register for the show and conference, visit the Automate website.

IBM computer scientists have been at the forefront of scientific and technological innovation in a broad range of research areas. They have made pioneering contributions in artificial intelligence, high-speed processor design, computer architecture, natural language processing, programming languages, optimizing compilers, operating systems, storage systems, computer-supported cooperative work, databases, speech recognition, integer programming and service-oriented architectures, to name a few. Audio podcast features short presentations on subjects ranging from micropayments to Ebola research. IBM researchers from worldwide labs summarize innovations in big data, cloud analytics, cognitive science and many other topics in computer science, electrical engineering and mathematical sciences. Recipients of annual awards, sponsored by Professional Interest Communities (PIC), for papers high in technical significance and impact on computer science, electrical engineering and mathematical sciences.

For more than 50 years, language scientists have assumed that sentence structure is fundamentally hierarchical, made up of small parts in turn made of smaller parts, like Russian nesting dolls. A new Cornell study suggests language use is simpler than they had thought. Co-author Morten Christiansen, Cornell professor of psychology and co-director of the Cornell Cognitive Science Program, and his colleagues say that language is actually based on simpler sequential structures, like clusters of beads on a string. "What we're suggesting is that the language system deals with words by grouping them into little clumps that are then associated with meaning," he said. Sentences are made up of such word clumps, or "constructions," that are understood when arranged in a particular order. For example, the word sequence "bread and butter" might be represented as a construction, whereas the reverse sequence of words ("butter and bread") would likely not.

Distinct patterns of activity--which may indicate a predisposition to care for infants-- appear in the brains of adults who view an image of an infant face--even when the child is not theirs, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and in Germany, Italy, and Japan. Seeing images of infant faces appeared to activate in the adult's brains circuits that reflect preparation for movement and speech as well as feelings of reward. The findings raise the possibility that studying this activity will yield insights into care giving behavior, but also in cases of child neglect or abuse. "These adults have no children of their own. Yet images of a baby's face triggered what we think might be a deeply embedded response to reach out and care for that child," said senior author Marc H. Bornstein, Ph.D., head of the Child and Family Research Section of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the NIH institute that collaborated on the study.