Thanks to AI technologies, the spread of mass-produced contextually relevant articles and comment-laden social media posts has become so commonplace that it can appear as though it’s coming from different information sources. The resulting “echo chamber” effect could reinforce a person’s existing perspectives, regardless of whether that information is accurate.

 

A new study involving Binghamton University, State University of New York researchers offers a promising solution: developing an AI system to map out interactions between content and algorithms on digital platforms to reduce the spread of potentially harmful or misleading content. 

Media Invitation – IJCAI 2025, Montréal, Canada
Artificial Intelligence for a Better World – Since 1969

The 34th International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI) takes place August 16–22, 2025 in Montréal, Canada, bringing together over 2,000 AI researchers, practitioners, and thought leaders. Guided by the theme “AI at the service of society”, IJCAI 2025 features world-class keynote speakers, award-winning researchers, thematic tracks on AI for Social Good, Human-Centred AI, and AI, Arts & Creativity, as well as admission free public events like the AI Lounge: Between Wonder and Caution.

Highlights include talks by Yoshua Bengio, Heng Ji, Luc De Raedt, Bernhard Schölkopf, and IJCAI 2025 awardees Aditya Grover, Rina Dechter, and Cynthia Rudin. The program also showcases AI-driven competitions, an AI Art Gallery, and discussions on ethics, creativity, and global impact.

Full program & details: https://2025.ijcai.org
Media contact: mrozman@ijcai.org

Within the next 25 years, China may become the first country in the world to build a nationwide genomic database covering its entire population, as futurist and Wired founding executive editor Kevin Kelly predicts. As one of the main participants in the HGP, China has accelerated the integration of genomics into national proactive health management in the last two decades. This success was driven by advanced genetic technologies, supportive policies, and pressing public health needs.

How did life leap from simple microbial cells to the complex, structured cells that make up animals, plants, and fungi? A new study in The EMBO Journal by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) offers fresh insight into this deep evolutionary mystery. It sheds light on how the cytoskeleton, the cell’s internal scaffold, may have evolved from far simpler beginnings in ancient microbes.

Transplanted organs are more likely to be rejected by the immune system when there is a mismatch between donor and recipient human leukocyte antigens (HLA). A Medical University of South Carolina team reports in Frontiers in Immunology that it has fitted regulatory T-cells, whose job is to suppress immune responses, with an artificial receptor and other genetic machinery that enable them to target and neutralize B-cells producing antibodies against the mismatched HLA.

New technology for safe self-driving: using artificial intelligence to predict pedestrian behaviour and prevent accidents

Recipient of Paderborn University Research Award

A ball rolls into the road, there is a child on the pavement – which would immediately set alarm bells ringing for drivers. The result: they brake because they assume that the child will run into the road. Drivers are similarly able to guess how pedestrians will behave in other potentially dangerous situations. Self-driving vehicles, which will be increasingly dominating our streets, cannot do this. Although current technologies are able to react to critical situations, they do not have the ability to predict behaviour. A new research project is beginning at Paderborn University seeking to fill this gap and enable self-driving vehicles to identify pedestrians’ intentions before they act.