Weekly: Google’s AI search problem; time is a quantum illusion; can we stop ageing?
May 31, 2024
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Google's AI search engine woes, sound symbolism in language evolution, time as a quantum illusion, and the science of slowing down ageing are intriguing topics discussed in this podcast.
Google's AI search engine faces challenges with inaccurate recommendations, highlighting the need for improved algorithms.
Cross-cultural booba-kiki effect in baby chicks suggests sound symbolism as a precursor to human language evolution.
Quantum theory proposes time as an illusion from entangled interactions, reshaping our perception of time and space.
Deep dives
Google's AI Search Struggles and Misinformation
Google recently introduced AI overviews to customize written responses to queries, but the AI has encountered challenges, offering dubious suggestions like eating rocks for a healthy diet. The search engine's reliance on a large language model trained on internet text has led to misinformation, including absurd ideas like sticking cheese to pizza with glue, reflecting the model's lack of contextual understanding. Experts suggest solutions like retrieval-oriented generation for more accurate results, pointing to the need for improved AI algorithms in search engines.
Chickens and Sound Symbolism
Research indicates that baby chicks exhibit a booba-kiki effect, associating nonsense words like booba with round shapes and kiki with sharp shapes. This phenomenon, prevalent across languages and cultures, reflects sound symbolism, linking specific sounds with shapes and potentially serving as a precursor to human language. The study involving 3-day-old chicks demonstrated their instinctive tendency to approach shapes corresponding to the background sound, showcasing a fundamental association between sound and shape perception.
Time as a Quantum Illusion
Recent findings suggest that time might be an illusion emerging from quantum properties of the universe, challenging traditional conceptions of time and space. The theory proposes that time arises from quantum entanglement, with systems evolving based on entangled interactions rather than independent temporal progression. While the research is in early stages and entails intricate complexities, the concept offers a fresh perspective on the interplay between quantum phenomena and our perception of time.
Seaweed Mining for Rare Earth Elements
Researchers are exploring the use of seaweed to extract rare earth elements crucial for clean energy technologies from ambient seawater. Some species of seaweed have shown the ability to hyperaccumulate rare earth elements, concentrating them to levels a million times higher than background levels. While this bio-mining approach presents promising possibilities for sustainable mineral sourcing, several challenges remain, such as evaluating the viability of large-scale extraction, selecting suitable seaweed species, and ensuring economic feasibility.
Advancements in Anti-Aging Research
Anti-aging research delves into understanding the biological mechanisms underpinning aging processes and potential interventions to prolong healthy life spans. Genes impacting early-life advantages may inadvertently contribute to later-life aging effects, highlighting the complex interplay between genetic factors and aging. Emerging areas like stem cell regeneration and metabolic pathway targeting show promise in slowing down aging effects, offering insights into novel approaches for enhancing longevity and mitigating age-related morbidities.
It is not wise to stick cheese on your pizza with glue, even if Google tells you to do it. This is just one recommendation in a string of blunders made by Google’s new AI search engine. It uses a large language model to summarise your searches, but clearly it’s not always working as planned. Can (and will) the company fix it?
No matter what language you speak, when you hear the word “bouba”, you probably imagine a round shape. And “kiki’ will likely make you think of a sharp shape. This example of sound symbolism is thought to be a precursor to human language. But it may not be unique to humans – even chickens may make this association too, hinting at a deeper evolutionary role.
Some physicists have long theorised that time is just an illusion that emerges from quantum properties of the universe. And there’s even a new study that backs this idea up. If the maths is right, it could finally help us unite the worlds of big and small physics.
We now know enough about the ageing process that scientists believe we can start to slow it down or even stop it altogether. Nobel Prize winning biologist Venki Ramakrishnan has written a new book, Why We Die, which explores the new science of ageing and longevity. Find out what he’s learnt and what he thinks are the most promising areas of research.
The clean energy revolution relies on rare earth metals for things like batteries and solar panels. But mining for them has its own environmental drawbacks. But seaweed may be able to help us with that. It turns out some species collect the minerals we need without damaging the environment. Will seaweed mining be the next big thing?
Hosts Timothy Revell and Christie Taylor discuss with guests Matthew Sparkes, Chen Ly, Karmela Padavic-Callaghan and James Dinneen.
