Each year the AAAI recognizes a group of individuals who have made significant, sustained contributions to the field of artificial intelligence by appointing them as Fellows. Over the course of the next few months, we'll be talking to some of the 2026 AAAI Fellows . In this interview, we met with Yan Liu, University of Southern California, who was elected as a Fellow . We found out about how time series research has progressed, the vast range of applications, and what the future holds for this field. Could you start with a quick introduction to your area of research?

Nvidia faces gamer backlash over'breakthrough' AI graphics feature A new feature from chip-maker Nvidia that promises cinematic-quality graphics using AI has prompted a backlash online, despite the company claiming it would reinvent what is possible in video games. Nvidia said the DLSS 5 tool, which will be rolled out this autumn, would allow games to have photoreal computer graphics previously only achieved in Hollywood visual effects. In images shared with the media, the tech was shown radically changing the appearance of characters and environments in games such as Resident Evil Requiem and Hogwarts Legacy. But some industry professionals said its use of AI went too far, making graphics feel airbrushed and hollow. Clearly this is a massive glow-up for environments, said video game critic Alex Donaldson on Bluesky.

AI model from Google's DeepMind reads recipe for life in DNA An AI model developed by Google's DeepMind could transform our understanding of DNA - the complete recipe for building and running the human body - and its impact on disease and medicine discovery, according to researchers. Called AlphaGenome, the model could help scientists discover why subtle differences in our DNA put us at risk of conditions such as high blood pressure, dementia and obesity. It could also dramatically accelerate our understanding of genetic diseases and cancer. The developers of the model acknowledge it's not perfect, but experts have described it as an incredible feat and a major milestone. We see AlphaGenome as a tool for understanding what the functional elements in the genome do, which we hope will accelerate our fundamental understanding of the code of life, says Natasha Latysheva, research engineer at DeepMind.

Yann LeCun's new venture is a contrarian bet against large language models In an exclusive interview, the AI pioneer shares his plans for his new Paris-based company, AMI Labs. Yann LeCun is a Turing Award recipient and a top AI researcher, but he has long been a contrarian figure in the tech world. He believes that the industry's current obsession with large language models is wrong-headed and will ultimately fail to solve many pressing problems. Instead, he thinks we should be betting on world models--a different type of AI that accurately reflects the dynamics of the real world. He is also a staunch advocate for open-source AI and criticizes the closed approach of frontier labs like OpenAI and Anthropic. Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that he recently left Meta, where he had served as chief scientist for FAIR (Fundamental AI Research), the company's influential research lab that he founded. Meta has struggled to gain much traction with its open-source AI model Llama and has seen internal shake-ups, including the controversial acquisition of ScaleAI. LeCun sat down with in an exclusive online interview from his Paris apartment to discuss his new venture, life after Meta, the future of artificial intelligence, and why he thinks the industry is chasing the wrong ideas.

Archaeologists say they located a Black Death burial site containing some of a village's 12,000 dead. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. The Black Death () killed as much as half of Europe's total population between 1346 and 1353, so there are a of bodies buried across the continent. For example, contemporary accounts from Thuringia--a state in central Germany--report that about 12,000 plague victims died around Erfurt amid the city's outbreak in 1350. But despite multiple accounts attesting to this devastation, none of the 11 mass graves could be pinpointed for centuries.

Is it illegal to own an axolotl? A recent pet seizure at Chicago's O'Hare Airport illustrates ongoing confusion. Many pet axolotls are crossbred with other salamanders to create their unique coloration. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. The axolotl () is a confusing creature, and not simply because it looks like a real-life Pokémon .

Luke and Mike Bell's Peregrine 4 achieved the milestone barely a month after it was taken from them. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. A YouTuber and his father have once again reclaimed the Guinness World Record for fastest quadcopter drone . Soaring through the air at an average speed of 408 miles per hour, Luke and Mike Bell's Peregrine 4 highlights the latest intersection between engineering, creativity, and 3D-printing technology. The Bells' achievement arrives barely a month after Australian aerospace engineer Ben Biggs and his Blackbird drone set the now-previous world record at 389 mph.

Abandoned pigs rescued on Tennessee's Looney Islands The animals are in good hands thanks to patience and a'pig whisperer.' A team from Young-Williams Animal Center in Knoxville, Tennessee and Knox County Rescue worked together to save the abandoned pigs. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. A team from the Young-Williams Animal Center in Knoxville recently rescued two pigs stranded on a group of islands in the Tennessee River. After receiving multiple calls about the animals that appeared to be abandoned on Looney Islands, the team worked with the Knoxville Fire Department and Knox County Rescue to get to the islands.

Animal trials helped to restore order when the unspeakable happened. In 1457, a sow and her piglets were put on trial for the murder of a child in the village of Savigny in Burgundy, France. The sow was ultimately found guilty and her piglets were acquitted. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. It's a common scene in many films set in medieval Europe: a wooden cart wheeling its way through a jeering crowd of townsfolk, taking a condemned prisoner to the gallows.