Harvard Medical School biologist David Sinclair is preparing human tests of a “reprogramming” drug as part of an XPrize Foundation competition focused on whole-body rejuvenation. The outspoken longevity scientist David Sinclair has predicted that, one day, you’ll go to the doctor and get a prescription that will make you 10 years younger. Sinclair says he plans to give an oral drug mixture to volunteers, in a bid to seek “evidence for age restoration in humans.” The grand prize goes to any team able to show a 10-year (or greater) relative improvement after one year of treatment, with results judged by improvements in immune, cognitive, and muscle function.
A SXSW London discussion framed five key thoughts about Artificial Intelligence: Artificial Intelligence is everywhere all at once, it is getting scary, a backlash is growing, it is becoming a big deal for science, and remote or automated participation is becoming part of the story. The themes were drawn partly from an annual guide to major Artificial Intelligence trends, with an emphasis on how the technology is shaping the economy and the broader direction of the tech industry.
Major industry and policy developments include OpenAI confidentially filing for a US IPO, with the listing potentially coming as early as September. The IPO will test investor appetite for Artificial Intelligence companies. The Pentagon added BYD, Baidu, Alibaba, Unitree, and others to a list of military-linked companies, limiting their operations in the US. Apple’s long-delayed Artificial Intelligence overhaul of Siri is arriving with a more conversational assistant, a standalone app, and screen-reading features, after two years of repeated delays.
Regulators and companies are also moving around infrastructure and chips. The White House and Congress are working on a deal to limit state Artificial Intelligence laws, while Taiwan is considering curbs on Artificial Intelligence chip exports to China. Meta is launching a “workforce academy” for building data centers, and Meta has quietly removed face-recognition code from its smart glasses app. Other developments include humanoid robots moving closer to military use, a wind-powered underwater data center, and research into gaining some benefits of sleep through brain stimulation.
Biotechnology advances are pushing into reproduction as scientists work toward making human sex cells in the lab. Researchers have already created artificial eggs and sperm from mouse cells and used them to create mouse pups. Artificial human sex cells are next, raising the possibility of new infertility treatments while also presenting significant scientific and ethical challenges.
