Social conflict is a survival mechanism yielding both normal and pathological behaviors. To understand its underlying principles, we collected behavioral and whole-brain neural data from mice advancing through stages of social conflict. We modeled the animals' interactions as a normal-form game using Bayesian inference to account for the partial observability of animals' strengths. We find that our behavioral and neural data are consistent with the first-level Theory of Mind (1-ToM) model where mice form "primary" beliefs about the strengths of all mice involved and "secondary" beliefs that estimate the beliefs of their opponents. Our model identifies the brain regions that carry the information about these beliefs and offers a framework for studies of social behaviors in partially observable settings.

Social conflict is a survival mechanism yielding both normal and pathological behaviors. To understand its underlying principles, we collected behavioral and whole-brain neural data from mice advancing through stages of social conflict. We modeled the animals' interactions as a normal-form game using Bayesian inference to account for the partial observability of animals' strengths. We find that our behavioral and neural data are consistent with the first-level Theory of Mind (1-ToM) model where mice form "primary" beliefs about the strengths of all mice involved and "secondary" beliefs that estimate the beliefs of their opponents. Our model identifies the brain regions that carry the information about these beliefs and offers a framework for studies of social behaviors in partially observable settings.

A new brain teaser claims that only highly intelligent people can spot a second horse in the majestic animal's painted coat. The picture features a full-grown horse standing in a field and asks viewers to use creative thinking to solve the brainteaser. Spotting the horse requires quick thinking, and if you can find the letter in 10 seconds or less, your level of intelligence is higher than people who take longer. A new brain teaser claims that only highly intelligent people can spot a second horse in the stallion's coat Solving the puzzle isn't so much about looking and simply seeing it, but about finding a different way to look at it. Set the timer for 10 seconds and try to find the second horse on the brown and white side of the stallion.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have combined synthetic biology with a machine-learning algorithm to create human liver organoids with blood- and bile-handling systems. When implanted into mice with failing livers, the lab-grown replacement livers extended life. The study, published today in Cell Systems, shows that it's possible to trigger and speed up the maturation of a lab-grown organ without sacrificing precision or control. "Pregnancy is nine months--it takes that long and even months after birth for new organs to mature--but if a person needs a liver, they may not be able to wait that long," said study author Mo Ebrahimkhani, M.D., associate professor of pathology and bioengineering, and member of the Pittsburgh Liver Research Center and the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. "We showed it's possible to get human liver tissue with four main cell types and vasculature in 17 days. We can mature tissue almost to the third trimester in only three months."

Imagine a highly sophisticated body armor that is a tough as it is flexible, a shield that consists largely of water, but remains strong enough to prevent mechanical penetration. Now imagine that this armor is not only strong, but also soft and stretchy, so much so that the wearer is able to move their body parts with ease, whether they're swimming in water, walking across the ground or rushing to escape danger. That description might sound like a suit worn by a fictional hero in the DC Comics franchise, but it actually describes portions of a lobster's exoskeleton. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard believe the soft membrane covering the animal's joints and abdomen ---- a material that is as tough as the industrial rubber used to make car tires and garden hoses ---- could guide the development of a new type of flexible body armor for humans, one designed to cover joints like knees and elbows. The researchers' findings appeared in a recent edition of the journal Acta Materialia.

This article, derived from the 1996 American Association for Artificial Intelligence Presidential Address, explores the notion of intelligence from a variety of perspectives and finds that it "are" many things. It has, for example, been interpreted in a variety of ways even within our own field, ranging from the logical view (intelligence as part of mathematical logic) to the psychological view (intelligence as an empirical phenomenon of the natural world) to a variety of others. One goal of this article is to go back to basics, reviewing the things that we, individually and collectively, have taken as given, in part because we have taken multiple different and sometimes inconsistent things for granted. I believe it will prove useful to expose the tacit assumptions, models, and metaphors that we carry around as a way of understanding both what we're about and why we sometimes seem to be at odds with one another. Intelligence are also many things in the sense that it is a product of evolution.

The following article briefly describes the developments of tools and knowledge in human history and states that these two phenomena coexist only in intelligent tools. Moreover, since human beings were unable to produce an intelligent tool capable of outperforming man' as a tool, the technological basis of slavery continued to persist throughout history. The article then examines the current achievements of computer technology in producing intelligent tools It argues that the production of intelligent tools makes it possible to bypass the social and natural limztatzons of all past intelligent tools. Once these tools outperform humans as intelligent tools, man will no longer be indispensable as a production tool. This eradication may start a new civilization by effecting higher human intelligence, more economic wealth and greater socio-political freedom in man's future society.

After outstanding service as Book Review Editor, B. Chandrasekaran has completed his term. His energetic guidance of the book reviews section brought the magazine a rich set of reviews that were always eagerly anticipated, and I would like to thank him for his important contributions. I am delighted to announce that Michael Wellman, of the University of Michigan, has agreed to join the magazine as the new Book Review Editor. I know that the book reviews feature will flourish under his stewardship, and I enthusiastically welcome him to the magazine. I would also like to draw readers' attention to a related addition to the AI Magazine web site (www.aimagazine.org).

The legislation contains rules such as saving humans before animals and property, saving lives without discrimination and that self-driving software should contain safeguards against malicious hacking. Germany has taken a novel approach, rather than concentrating on self-driven cars, it concentrates on self-driving software -- most self-driving legislation concentrates on self-driven cars and consequences of putting them on roads and literally in charge of human lives. The German legislation concentrates on the root of self-driving, the computers, and software used to run self-driven cars. This makes it essential that decisions be taken when programming the software of conditionally and highly automated driving systems."