Scientists at Princeton University have developed an AI model that can predict and prevent plasma instabilities, a major hurdle in achieving practical fusion energy.
Key points:
- Problem: Plasma escaping containment in donut-shaped tokamak reactors disrupts fusion reactions and damages equipment.
- Solution: AI model predicts instabilities 300 milliseconds before they happen, allowing for adjustments to keep plasma contained.
- Significance: This is the first time AI has been used to proactively prevent tearing instabilities in fusion experiments.
- Future: Researchers hope to refine the model for other reactors and optimize fusion reactions.
I’ve lost track, is AI a good thing today or a bad thing?
Good thing, because one day our robot overlords will read this and I want to be on record having said that.
AI is most likely here to stay, so if you have it do “good” things effectively, then’s it’s a good boi. If it is ineffective or you have it do “bad” things, then it’s a bad boy.
Yes.
Yesn’t. Maybeer?
Its neither good nor bad. Its a powertool (for now) its as good as the people who are behind it. Both in ethics and expertise credentials.
AI is just the name that journalists use for all algorithms these days.
So are you saying this is an algorithm?
Just a big pile of if statements.
“ifs are a code smell”
For real. I’ve started to replace “AI” with “program” or “software” in my head every time I read a headline.
Although it’s been used for a fairly wide array of algorithms for decades. Everything from alpha-beta tree search to k-nearest-neighbors to decision forests to neural nets are considered AI.
Edit: The paper is called
Reinforcement learning and deep neural nets are buzzwordy these days, but neural nets have been an AI thing for decades and decades.
Its a tool, it can be used for both. Just like any other tool, a hammer for example. Excellent killing weapon, but also great for driving nails.
A scalpel can be used to cut or to heal, depending on the skill and intentions of the wielder.
Learned that from Stanislov Grof. He was talking about LSD.
Two nice examples
Skynet assures you it’s a good thing. Matrix disagrees because it points out that skynet is closed source an no one knows what it’s really doing.
The funny thing is that “AI” (aka machine learning) even when open source nobody knows what it is doing and why.
AI is just the tool. Its not good or bad by itself.
And AI is a buzzword that englobes a variety statistical tools. Articles write AI to evoke generative tools in people minds, but very specialized tools are at work here.
Generative AI uses machine learning and this tool most likely does too. ML is just very versatile.
AI is a very broad term, ranging from physical AI (material and properties of a robotic grabbing tool) to AI (as seen in many games, or in a robotic arm to calculate path from current position to target position) and to MLAI (LLM, neural nets in general, KNN, etc.).
I guess it’s much the same as asking “are vehicles bad?”. I don’t know, are we talking horse carriages? Cars? Planes? Electric scooters? Skateboards?
Going back to your question, AI in general is not bad, though LLMs have become too popular too quick and have thus ended up being misunderstood and misused. So you can indeed say that LLMs are bad, at least when not used for their intended purposes.