Can a machine or algorithm discover or learn the elliptical orbit of Mars from astronomical sightings alone? Johannes Kepler required two paradigm shifts to discover his First Law regarding the elliptical orbit of Mars. Firstly, a shift from the geocentric to the heliocentric frame of reference. Secondly, the reduction of the orbit of Mars from a three- to a two-dimensional space. We extend AI Feynman, a physics-inspired tool for symbolic regression, to discover the heliocentricity and planarity of Mars' orbit and emulate his discovery of Kepler's first law.

In March 2022 DeepMind, an artificial intelligence company, announced it had developed Ithaca, a deep neural network trained to restore and attribute ancient Greek inscriptions. It uses artificial neural networks that are modeled on the way neurons in the human brain communicate, with multiple layers of processing that are used to extract progressively higher-level features from the data. By recognizing patterns in elements such as language choice and style, across such an extensive database, the theory is that Ithaca will be able to fill in the blanks of damaged inscriptions based on probability. In other words, the highest accuracy rate was achieved when historians' expertise and contextual knowledge were combined with Ithaca's ability to detect statistical patterns across tens of thousands of inscriptions. Whatever Ithaca has to offer epigraphic restoration, the emphasis on assisting rather than replacing historians with AI is entirely prudent because of the way humans and machines can complement each other's strengths and mitigate each other's weaknesses.

In March 2022 DeepMind, an artificial intelligence company, announced it had developed Ithaca, a deep neural network trained to restore and attribute ancient Greek inscriptions. Ancient Greek inscriptions have shaped our understanding of the Mediterranean world from 800BC to late antiquity. Inscriptions refer to text written on durable materials such as stone and pottery. Unfortunately, these materials are typically not durable enough to remain perfectly preserved for two millennia. Therefore, the epigraphic evidence of this period is often damaged by the time it is uncovered and the inscribed texts are incomplete as a result.

We experience touch in our daily lives, and are witness to the power of it during poignant moments. We saw this when the principal of Stoneman Douglas High School promised a hug to every student after a school shooting in 2018, when former President Obama embraced the families of the kids at Sandy Hook in 2012, and when Princess Diana broke royal protocol to hug an HIV-positive child in 1991. Time and time again, we see touch wielding incredible power. It remains integral to our communication, even in an age of integrated technology – and it imparts emotion when verbal communication isn't enough. During the 1960s, thousands of Romanian children were thrown into orphanages where they grew up starved of human contact.

It is not a ridiculous overstatement to suggest that the Nintendo Entertainment System saved the games industry. Back in early 1980s, when the company released its fledgling console in Japan (where it was known as the Famicom), the business was undergoing a crisis. A flood of competing consoles and an unregulated, uncontrolled publishing model meant that there were too many machines and too many mediocre games. Some pundits in the US even suggested that video games were just a fad and that the bubble had burst. Then came the Nintendo Entertainment System.