Watch a Robot AI Beat World-Class Curling Competitors

Artificial intelligence still needs to bridge the “sim-to-real” gap. Deep-learning techniques that are all the rage in AI log superlative performances in mastering cerebral games, including chess and Go, both of which can be played on a computer. But translating simulations to the physical world remains a bigger challenge.

A robot named Curly that uses “deep reinforcement learning”—making improvements as it corrects its own errors—came out on top in three of four games against top-ranked human opponents from South Korean teams thatincluded a women’s team and a reserve squad for the national wheelchair team. (No brooms were used).

One crucial finding was that the AI system demonstrated its ability to adapt to changing ice conditions. “These results indicate that the gap between physics-based simulators and the real world can be narrowed,” the joint South Korean-German research team wrote in Science Robotics on September 23. 

Article here: https://www.scientificamerican.com/video/watch-a-robot-ai-beat-world-class-curling-competitors/

Can the power of Social Norms be Leveraged to change Behavior?

Consider this remarkable ad campaign from the 1980s that tapped into state identity.

That familiar phrase “Don’t mess with Texas” actually came from this state marketing campaign to discourage littering. Seems Texans indeed listened to ol’ Willie Nelson: Organizers said littering fell 71% in four years.

Today, Montana’s trying a similar message to encourage mask-wearing, with posters and digital ads featuring masked men doing outdoorsy things like fishing and riding snowmobiles. The caption: “Montanans wear face coverings all the time.”

“You know, you cover your face when you’re out hunting. You cover your face when you’re out skiing,” Bhanot said. “This isn’t that different than that. It’s trying to destigmatize mask wearing.”

Thing is, these public health actions can be hard to sustain. They require sacrifice. “Mask wearing, social distancing — you stay at home, you don’t get to do the fun things with your friends,” Bhanot said. “So you’re bearing a personal cost.”

And you don’t get an immediate reward. So in the math of behavioral economics, the cost outweighs the benefit when it comes to many campaigns for the greater good. “It’s also hard to get people to recycle, and conserve energy, get vaccinated…. There’s no reason to think that mask wearing would be special.”

Editor’s Note: Perhaps then we need a national influencer as powerful and broadly-regarded as Mr. Nelson is in Texas. TBD…

Original article: https://www.marketplace.org/2020/07/28/behavioral-scientists-pandemic-decisions-why-we-make-them/

The Importance of Science Communications

EU Science & Innovation This is the fifth in a series of brief summary videos prepared by E.U. Science & Innovation.

Just as a superior product or service often loses to an inferior design that is marketed more effectively, so better technologies and solutions can fail to attract support proportionate to their potential impact and value. Those engineers and scientists that learn to communicate effectively and attract broad interest in their programs and projects will garner far higher rates of success.

Note that while many of the speakers are from the U.S., it is perhaps telling that this topic could not be found on the equivalent U.S. National Science Foundation Channel.