Month: January 2024

What draws us to choose romantic partners? A sweeping new meta-analysis suggests we gravitate toward certain shared traits. (credit: Muramasa)

There's rarely time to write about every cool science-y story that comes our way. So this year, we're once again running a special Twelve Days of Christmas series of posts, highlighting one science story that fell through the cracks in 2023, each day from December 25 through January 5. Today: a broad meta-analysis spanning over a century of studies finds that opposites don't really attract when it comes to choosing a mate.

We've all heard the common folk wisdom that when it comes to forming romantic partnerships, opposites attract. Researchers at the University of Colorado, Boulder, contend that this proverbial wisdom is largely false, based on the findings of their sweeping September study, published in the journal Nature Human Behavior. The saying, "birds of a feather flock together," is a more apt summation of how we choose our partners.

“These findings suggest that even in situations where we feel like we have a choice about our relationships, there may be mechanisms happening behind the scenes of which we aren't fully aware,” said co-author Tanya Horwitz, a psychology and neuroscience graduate student at UCB. “We’re hoping people can use this data to do their own analyses and learn more about how and why people end up in the relationships they do.”

Enlarge / Dr. Greg House has a better rate of accurately diagnosing patients than ChatGPT. (credit: Getty | Alan Zenuk/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversa)

ChatGPT is still no House, MD.

While the chatty AI bot has previously underwhelmed with its attempts to diagnose challenging medical cases—with an accuracy rate of 39 percent in an analysis last year—a study out this week in JAMA Pediatrics suggests the fourth version of the large language model is especially bad with kids. It had an accuracy rate of just 17 percent when diagnosing pediatric medical cases.

The low success rate suggests human pediatricians won't be out of jobs any time soon, in case that was a concern. As the authors put it: "[T]his study underscores the invaluable role that clinical experience holds." But it also identifies the critical weaknesses that led to ChatGPT's high error rate and ways to transform it into a useful tool in clinical care. With so much interest and experimentation with AI chatbots, many pediatricians and other doctors see their integration into clinical care as inevitable.

Enlarge / Dr. Greg House has a better rate of accurately diagnosing patients than ChatGPT. (credit: Getty | Alan Zenuk/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversa)

ChatGPT is still no House, MD.

While the chatty AI bot has previously underwhelmed with its attempts to diagnose challenging medical cases—with an accuracy rate of 39 percent in an analysis last year—a study out this week in JAMA Pediatrics suggests the fourth version of the large language model is especially bad with kids. It had an accuracy rate of just 17 percent when diagnosing pediatric medical cases.

The low success rate suggests human pediatricians won't be out of jobs any time soon, in case that was a concern. As the authors put it: "[T]his study underscores the invaluable role that clinical experience holds." But it also identifies the critical weaknesses that led to ChatGPT's high error rate and ways to transform it into a useful tool in clinical care. With so much interest and experimentation with AI chatbots, many pediatricians and other doctors see their integration into clinical care as inevitable.

Enlarge / These symbols might not mean anything to you now. But give it a few runs, and you might lose a few minutes strategizing this ship's ideal next turn, based on this image alone. (credit: Brace Yourself Games)

Games come and go through my Steam and Nintendo Switch libraries: a twitchy, grim action epic, then a metaphysical puzzle-platformer, and maybe a boomer shooter or turn-based tactical along the way. I try hard not to get stuck in one style or mindset—both for my enjoyment and my writing.

But there is always one type of game that is installed and ready to go for the next trip or idle couch moment: a roguelite deck-builder. Cobalt Core is the latest game in that slot, and it's on Steam for Windows (and definitely Steam Deck) and Switch. It's the most fun I've had in this particular obsession since Monster Train. Cobalt Core stretches into other genres, like perfect-knowledge turn-based tactics and space battle, but it's cards and randomness down to its electric-blue center.

A few years ago, I didn't know what a "roguelike deck-builder" was or what either of those compound phrases meant. Then, one day, there was a sale on Slay the Spire. That 2019 game refined the fusion of two game mechanics: constant failure against randomized encounters (a la Rogue, but with a "lite" gradual progression) and the refining of a deck of combat-minded cards (as in Magic: The Gathering, Dominion, and Netrunner). You attack and defend against increasingly tough enemies with your cards, you gain and upgrade and ditch cards as you go, you lose, and then you get slightly better tools on your next do-over.

Enlarge / These symbols might not mean anything to you now. But give it a few runs, and you might lose a few minutes strategizing this ship's ideal next turn, based on this image alone. (credit: Brace Yourself Games)

Games come and go through my Steam and Nintendo Switch libraries: a twitchy, grim action epic, then a metaphysical puzzle-platformer, and maybe a boomer shooter or turn-based tactical along the way. I try hard not to get stuck in one style or mindset—both for my enjoyment and my writing.

But there is always one type of game that is installed and ready to go for the next trip or idle couch moment: a roguelite deck-builder. Cobalt Core is the latest game in that slot, and it's on Steam for Windows (and definitely Steam Deck) and Switch. It's the most fun I've had in this particular obsession since Monster Train. Cobalt Core stretches into other genres, like perfect-knowledge turn-based tactics and space battle, but it's cards and randomness down to its electric-blue center.

A few years ago, I didn't know what a "roguelike deck-builder" was or what either of those compound phrases meant. Then, one day, there was a sale on Slay the Spire. That 2019 game refined the fusion of two game mechanics: constant failure against randomized encounters (a la Rogue, but with a "lite" gradual progression) and the refining of a deck of combat-minded cards (as in Magic: The Gathering, Dominion, and Netrunner). You attack and defend against increasingly tough enemies with your cards, you gain and upgrade and ditch cards as you go, you lose, and then you get slightly better tools on your next do-over.

Enlarge / The Galaxy S24 render from OnLeaks. This sure does look familiar. (credit: OnLeaks×SmartPrix)

Samsung is gearing up to launch its next big flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S24. The show has officially been announced for January 17, with Samsung's reservation website promising "Zoom with Galaxy AI is coming." Of course, 2023 was the year of generative AI, and Samsung's interest in the technology is a safe bet.

The show will launch the Galaxy S24, which has already leaked quite a bit, with the big news being a new titanium body. The iPhone made titanium the hot new thing recently with the launch of the iPhone 15, and Samsung has taken notice. The best leak so far has been from Windows Report, which scored official press images of the phones. (The report is no longer online due to a DMCA takedown, which is a good sign of its legitimacy.)

The Windows Report photos showed the smaller Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus are getting flat metal sides, reminiscent of the classic iPhone 4/iPhone 15 design. Samsung's usual design of rounded corners and individual camera lenses complete the phone design, and while they look nice, they also look a lot like an iPhone. Older leaks claimed these two cheaper phones were getting titanium bodies, but well-known Samsung leaker Ice Universe says only the bigger model will be titanium, and these cheaper models will be aluminum.

Enlarge / The Galaxy S24 render from OnLeaks. This sure does look familiar. (credit: OnLeaks×SmartPrix)

Samsung is gearing up to launch its next big flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S24. The show has officially been announced for January 17, with Samsung's reservation website promising "Zoom with Galaxy AI is coming." Of course, 2023 was the year of generative AI, and Samsung's interest in the technology is a safe bet.

The show will launch the Galaxy S24, which has already leaked quite a bit, with the big news being a new titanium body. The iPhone made titanium the hot new thing recently with the launch of the iPhone 15, and Samsung has taken notice. The best leak so far has been from Windows Report, which scored official press images of the phones. (The report is no longer online due to a DMCA takedown, which is a good sign of its legitimacy.)

The Windows Report photos showed the smaller Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus are getting flat metal sides, reminiscent of the classic iPhone 4/iPhone 15 design. Samsung's usual design of rounded corners and individual camera lenses complete the phone design, and while they look nice, they also look a lot like an iPhone. Older leaks claimed these two cheaper phones were getting titanium bodies, but well-known Samsung leaker Ice Universe says only the bigger model will be titanium, and these cheaper models will be aluminum.

Enlarge / Elon Musk speaks with members of the media at the AI Safety Summit on November 1, 2023 in Bletchley, England. (credit: Getty Images | Leon Neal )

SpaceX illegally fired eight employees who criticized CEO Elon Musk in an open letter, a National Labor Relations Board regional director alleged in a complaint filed against the company today.

"Today, the NLRB Regional Director in Region 31 (Los Angeles) issued a consolidated complaint against SpaceX in Hawthorne, CA, covering eight unfair practice charges," the NLRB said in a statement provided to Ars. "The complaint alleges that the employer unlawfully discharged eight employees who drafted and distributed an open letter detailing workplace concerns."

A complaint is not a board decision, the statement noted. It means the regional office investigated the charges and found merit in them. The complaint and notice of hearing is confirmed on the NLRB website, and you can read the complaint here.

Enlarge / Elon Musk speaks with members of the media at the AI Safety Summit on November 1, 2023 in Bletchley, England. (credit: Getty Images | Leon Neal )

SpaceX illegally fired eight employees who criticized CEO Elon Musk in an open letter, a National Labor Relations Board regional director alleged in a complaint filed against the company today.

"Today, the NLRB Regional Director in Region 31 (Los Angeles) issued a consolidated complaint against SpaceX in Hawthorne, CA, covering eight unfair practice charges," the NLRB said in a statement provided to Ars. "The complaint alleges that the employer unlawfully discharged eight employees who drafted and distributed an open letter detailing workplace concerns."

A complaint is not a board decision, the statement noted. It means the regional office investigated the charges and found merit in them. The complaint and notice of hearing is confirmed on the NLRB website, and you can read the complaint here.