Aviva HR

I'm the Big Data and Applied Mathematics Editor at The Conversation. avivahr at gmail dot com See stories about: SPACE BRAINTECHNATUREHEALTH ~MY PICKS~ Read more about me here.

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How Minecraft is helping children with autism make new friends

Playing video games online can be antisocial – but the Autcraft community is helping children with autism learn social skills and build relationships. [New Scientist]

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The world's biggest ad agency has just hired its first AI creative director - a clever stunt or the beginning of the end for its human counterparts? [New Scientist]

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Metadating helps you find love based on your everyday data

Some sites use algorithms to match people looking for love – "metadating" goes a step further and lets you pore over a potential date's data. [New Scientist]

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Computer generates all possible ideas to beat patent trolls

A project called All Prior Art generates millions of trivial ideas and places them in the public domain so they can’t be patented for profit. [New Scientist]

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Wireless signal sent through meat fast enough to watch Netflix

Ultrasonic waves transmit data through soft tissue 1000 times faster than radio, which could help medical implants send and receive high-definition video. [New Scientist]

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DEA mellowing out on cannabis would make medical research easier

The US Drug Enforcement Agency is mulling its classification of marijuana and reviewing the science - something its tough laws have stymied. [New Scientist]

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Helpful ghost hands teach beginners how to build new things

An augmented reality system that projects an expert’s hands on top of your own could help you learn complex tasks. [New Scientist]

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Facebook's artificial intelligence team is trying to teach neural networks basic physics by giving them simulated children's wood blocks. [New Scientist]

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The many reasons why we love useless robots

There's something deeply reassuring about inept robots. The queen of bad, useless, pathetic and downright dangerous machines explains. [New Scientist]

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Why Obama’s Supreme Court nomination is good for the climate

President Barack Obama has nominated Judge Merrick Garland to the US Supreme Court. His record suggests it could be positive for environmental campaigners. [New Scientist]

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Blockchain-based microgrid gives power to consumers in New York

A new project in New York City is letting residents buy and sell renewable energy to each other, bypassing central authority. [New Scientist]

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What game should artificial intelligence take on next?

Google's AlphaGo AI beat a grandmaster at the complex game Go. Here's what the experts say AI's next big challenge should be. [New Scientist]

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Machines are teaching themselves to grapple with the real world

When not defeating human Go masters, machine intelligence is teaching itself how the world works by picking up household objects and playing with kids' toys. [New Scientist]

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People will follow a robot in an emergency – even if it’s wrong

Roboticists want people to trust their creations, but a recent experiment shows that you can have too much of a good thing. [New Scientist]

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Whale algorithm could unlock secrets of their many dialects

Could we speak whale one day? A whale song algorithm can pick up their different dialects and could help work out how they communicate with one another. [New Scientist]

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Facebook’s AI is learning by reading loads of children’s books

Neural networks developed by Facebook are able to fill in missing words in passages – thanks to a reading list involving many children's classics. [New Scientist]

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AI reads doctors’ notes to find hidden links in cancer cases

By reading millions of clinical notes, artificial intelligence can spot connections between cases that doctors might miss, raising hopes of personalised treatment. [New Scientist]