The lesser spotted eagle is endangered in Germany.Hinze, K/DPA via ZUMA Press This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Small in size, sensitive of constitution and with only 130 breeding pairs surviving locally in the wild, the lesser spotted eagle of the Oder delta lives up to its name. In Germany, key questions over the country's energy future hang on the question of whether artificial intelligence systems can do a better job of spotting the reclusive animal than birdwatchers do. Lesser spotted eagles (named after the drop-shaped spots on their feathers) are fond of riding thermals over many of the flatlands earmarked for a mass expansion of onshore windfarms by a German government under pressure to compensate for a pending loss of nuclear power, coal plants and Russian gas. Because lesser spotted eagles in mid-flight are unused to vertical obstacles, and keep their eyes focused on mice, lizard or frog-shaped prey below, conservationists say, they are known to occasionally collide with the rotor blades of wind turbines.

As we all know supply chain disruptions over the past two years do not seem to be going away any time soon. However, businesses are turning to new artificial intelligence-powered (AI) simulations, known as "digital twins," to help get products and services to consumers on time – especially as we head into the holiday shopping season. These digital twins can predict disruptions that lie ahead and suggest what to do about them. Digital twins are used to solve breakages in the supply chain by anticipating them before they happen and then using AI to devise a workaround. The term "digital twins" is meant to elicit the idea of simulating a complex system in a computer, creating a sort of "twin" that mirrors real-world objects (from shipping ports to products), and the processes of which they are a part.

Early this spring as the pandemic began accelerating, AJ Venkatakrishnan took genetic data from 10,967 samples of the novel coronavirus and fed it into a machine. The Stanford-trained data scientist did not have a particular hypothesis, but he was hoping the artificial intelligence would pinpoint possible weaknesses that could be exploited to develop therapies. He was awed when the program reported back that the new virus appeared to have a snippet of DNA code – "RRARSAS" – distinct from its predecessor coronaviruses. This sequence, he learned, mimics a protein that helps the human body regulate salt and fluid balance. Venkatakrishnan, director of scientific research and partnerships at AI start-up Nference, wondered whether this change might allow the virus to act as a kind of Trojan horse. Could this explain its high infection and transmission rates?

The Department of Justice recently sued Google for allegedly monopolizing the market for search engines. The Department's complaint alleges that Google took numerous actions well before 2010 that formed part of the claimed antitrust violations. I have no comment about the merits. What I do want to call attention to, however, are the dates: a lawsuit beginning in 2020 to try to correct the market consequences of actions that began more than 10 years ago. The revolution that some scholars call "regulating by robot" is already underway.

Attitudes about nuclear energy are changing, with pundits on both sides of the aisle touting its benefits for extremely efficient and relatively clean energy. Despite an ever more positive public opinion, the nuclear industry in the United States, the largest in the world, is currently experiencing a downturn, even going so far as to need government subsidies to keep afloat. In fact, at present the fastest growing sector of the nuclear industry is profiting not off of growth, but off of the nuclear sector's slow death in the United States. According to reporting by Bloomberg, "the fastest growing part of the nuclear industry in the U.S. involves a small but expanding group of companies that specialize in tearing reactors down faster and cheaper than ever before." Tearing down old nuclear reactors is no easy feat, however.

The power of artificial intelligence to change our lives is huge. One day, machines will be smarter than us. What are current use cases and how do they help or hurt us as humans? If planet Earth had just five pigs, three would be in China. So the spread of a deadly swine disease there is especially worrying.

I have three dogs at home. The youngest, who is still a puppy, is threatening to demolish our living room couch. I'd like to know when my furry terminator gets into demolition mode so that I can salvage the situation. The trouble is that we cannot monitor the living room round the clock. While I can arm the webcam with motion detection capabilities, I need to be alerted about a specific kind of motion.

Between 2000 and 2010, the music industry's total grosses dropped from $14 billion to $6 billion. The change from selling albums, to selling single songs, to hoping fans stream songs on repeat has made it tougher to make a living (for mid-level acts, that is; the rich stars are richer than ever, mostly on the back of tours). Anyway, Silicon Valley thinks it can help by introducing artificial intelligence into the mix. But can AI save the music industry? Forbes has a good overview of several startups hoping to make music profitable again.