TECH

New 3D-printing and manufacturing techniques grant more control over energetic material behavior

Much like baking the perfect cake involves following a list of ingredients and instructions, manufacturing energetic materials—explosives, pyrotechnics and propellants—requires precise formulations, conditions and procedures to ensure they are safe and perform as intended.

Because any small tweaks or environmental changes can dramatically alter how energetic materials function, Purdue University engineer Monique McClain is developing state-of-the-art tools and methods to control these materials' behavior throughout the manufacturing process and down to the particle level.

McClain, a Purdue assistant professor of mechanical engineering, specializes in the "upstream" or earlier manufacturing stages, such as selecting binders with unique properties to hold energetic particles together and determining how they are mixed to create the final formulation. She focuses on how manufacturing alters the structure and mechanical properties of an energetic material and, in turn, how those changes affect performance and sensitivity.

"An energetic material's manufacturing history, from beginning to end, strongly determines how it behaves during combustion or detonation," McClain said. "We want to ensure that each step is catered toward the material and its intended use so that we're getting a final product that functions in the way we expect."

Much of McClain's body of work focuses on additive manufacturing or 3D printing of energetics. Traditionally, energetic materials have been manufactured using processes such as casting or milling, which prioritize efficiency and scalability. But while these methods are ideal for large batch production, customization is difficult, thereby limiting innovation and compromising on optimal performance.

Additive manufacturing, on the other hand, gives researchers the freedom to experiment with complex geometries and tune specific properties such as burn rate and blast shape.

For instance, McClain and her research team design intentional defects—referred to as pores—to either increase or decrease the likelihood of ignition when materials are subjected to various conditions such as friction, impact or extreme temperatures. Additive manufacturing makes this possible because researchers can customize a 3D printer's nozzles and program it to print specific shapes and patterns.

"Pores and defects are often inevitable, but we can control how and where they show up," McClain said. "When we focus on the microstructure of these materials, we can deliberately select particle sizes or compaction schemes to produce preferred pore distributions that enable the behaviors that we want to see."

Additive manufacturing also makes it easier to experiment with multiple types of materials. In addition to her work with pores, McClain explores how energetic particles adhere to various binders through the 3D-printing process and how to print propellant materials made of multiple materials with disparate characteristics.

            Profilometry of PVDF thermoplastic layers. Credit: npj Advanced Manufacturing (2025)

In a study published last spring in npj Advanced Manufacturing, McClain and her team looked at adhesion between two polymers with different mechanical properties—a stiff thermoplastic and a soft elastomer—that have been combined into one structure. They found that the 3D-printed surface texture and type of thermoplastic greatly affected how well the two materials blended and held together.

"This study provides a framework and method for studying adhesion of dissimilar materials. This is important because no such guide—and, in turn, little data—on this topic previously existed," McClain said. "The ability to print energetics made of multiple materials gives us even more options for controlling behavior and improving safety."

Although 3D printing is a major part of McClain's work, she also explores how to improve more traditional manufacturing methods.

McClain developed a patent-pending method for manufacturing a polymer-bonded explosive (PBX) molding powder that saves time, eliminates potential hazards and reduces manufacturing waste. McClain disclosed this technology to the Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization, which has been applied for a patent through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to protect the intellectual property.

The method involves mixing energetics with a binder that's been partially cured or hardened prior to compaction within a mold. McClain found a sweet spot of time—approximately eight hours—where the binder becomes solid enough to prevent leakage during compaction, but not so hardened that it becomes brittle and prone to cracking.

"We aimed to provide a repeatable, tunable method for fabricating solid energetic composites, like PBX, with uniform mechanical and chemical properties," McClain said. "We succeeded in developing a streamlined set of steps where researchers can make slight adjustments based on their goals for the final product."

While following the proper steps of the energetics manufacturing process helps to ensure a safe, well-designed final product, external conditions also influence its performance.

According to McClain, factors such as room temperature can dramatically affect a material's printability and behavior.

"Environmental control matters much more than many people expect," McClain said. "You could print the same mixture twice in the same day and they might behave in completely different ways if something like the temperature or humidity level in the room changed."

Ultimately, McClain advocates for a holistic approach to manufacturing rather than one driven by technology advancement. She wants researchers to avoid "force fitting" materials into a particular machine or method and instead consider which geometries and properties are required to create the desired effect.

"If you need a complex internal structure, additive wins. If you need a highly dense mixture or a large batch of material, conventional methods are often more appropriate. To get the best of both worlds, we can also incorporate molding and milling alongside 3D printing," McClain said. "As long as we understand every aspect of the process, from selecting material all the way to packaging and storing them, we'll be able to make the best and safest choice."

Provided by Purdue University

HMD

HMD Terra M: The ‘Tank’ phone

In a market dominated by fragile glass screens and sleek designs, HMD Global has decided to launch the opposite. The company, known for being the home of Nokia phones, has now made the HMD Terra M available in select European markets, a robust device that doesn't aim to be a smartphone for the masses, but rather a survival tool for professionals.

HMD describes it not just as a mobile phone, but as a “fully managed communications ecosystem.” The goal is clear: to serve those who work in environments where an iPhone or Galaxy wouldn't survive five minutes, from dusty construction sites to busy hospitals and airport runways.

The Terra M's design is utilitarian and brutalist. The device boasts a trinity of resistance certifications that command respect:

IP68: Resistance to immersion in water and dust.

IP69K: The highest possible rating, guaranteeing protection against high-pressure and high-temperature water jets.

MIL-STD-810H: Military-grade resistance to shocks, drops, and extreme temperatures.

Unlike modern smartphones, the Terra M relies on large physical keys, designed for use with gloves, and a 2.8-inch touchscreen that also responds to touch with gloves. The 2,510 mAh battery, while seemingly small by 2026 standards, is sufficient to power this efficient hardware during long work shifts.

"Push-to-Talk" Ecosystem...What distinguishes the Terra M from an old "brick" is its software and connectivity. The phone is designed to replace traditional radios, integrating Push-to-Talk (PTT) capabilities over cellular networks.

Through partnerships with Zello and Mobile Tornado, the device offers instant and secure group communication, with dedicated and programmable hardware keys (including an emergency button). Connectivity is managed by Lyfo, which ensures intelligent network switching between carriers to guarantee that the signal never fails, even in border or remote areas.

For businesses, data security is as important as physical resilience. HMD promises five years of quarterly security updates, a rare commitment in this segment.

The pre-installed software reflects this "no distractions" philosophy:

Threema: For end-to-end encrypted messaging, ensuring that corporate communications remain private.

Joplin: For secure note and knowledge management.

OsmAnd: Offline and privacy-focused browsing, essential for operations in network-free locations.

The HMD Terra M is the antithesis of the consumer smartphone. It's not for watching TikTok or playing games, but it promises to be the best friend of those who need to communicate in situations where failure is not an option.

by mundophone

 

SAMSUNG

Following Apple, Samsung could bring back a major camera feature with its Galaxy S27 series

Samsung is said to be making moves towards bringing a camera feature that it discontinued after the Galaxy S10. This comes after reports of Apple working on the same feature for its iPhone 18 lineup have surfaced.

There have been reports of Apple bringing variable aperture to its iPhone 18 lineup. Of course, that means Samsung will also try to bring the feature to its flagship phones, or at least that’s what it seems like from a new report coming out of Korea. Whether or not the feature actually makes it to either of the company’s phones, remains to be seen.

The information comes courtesy of ET News (machine translated from Korean) citing industry sources who claim that Samsung has asked multiple camera module manufacturers to develop variable aperture tech for smartphones. Two of the manufacturers, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and MCNEX, have already started working towards fulfilling the request. The report further adds that Samsung is “strongly committed” to using variable aperture in its Galaxy phones. Since it’s too late to bring the technology to the Galaxy S26 series that’s just around the corner, the Galaxy S27 series could feature the camera upgrade. That being said, there were reports early last year about Samsung bringing back variable aperture to its Galaxy S26 series but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

Variable aperture allows users to control how much light reaches the camera sensor. In low-light conditions, a wider aperture lets in more light, which can reduce image noise and produce brighter photos and videos. In bright conditions, a narrower aperture helps prevent overexposure and increases the depth of field, keeping more of the scene in focus.

Samsung previously used a dual-aperture system with F1.5 and F2.4 settings on the Galaxy S9 series in 2018. It was also used in the Galaxy S10. However, Samsung later dropped the feature as it increased device thickness and cost. In recent years, the required components have reportedly become thinner and less expensive, which could make a return of variable aperture more practical.

As for Apple’s integration, the iPhone 18 series that is expected to launch in September this year is said to bring variable aperture. It is unclear if the feature will be exclusive to the Pro models. Variable aperture allows the camera lens to adjust the amount of light to the sensor, leading to potentially better photos in both day and night time. While this will be the first time for Apple to implement this feature into its phones, Samsung has had previous experience with the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S10 models that launched back in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Depending on how slim and compact the manufacturers can make variable aperture modules, Samsung may or may not use them for its Galaxy S27 lineup. For now, this is just conjecture and neither of the companies have given any indication on the feature being worked on for the next generation of phones.

mundophone

TECH

Diversifying lithium-rich mineral sources with petalit

Demand for lithium is surging, as the world transitions to renewable energy and adopts new technologies. Lithium-ion batteries play a central role in this shift, powering everything from cars to portable electronics. To meet the increasing demand, companies are recycling lithium from old batteries and also looking for new sources and better ways to extract it. While recycling supports a circular economy, experts agree that recycled lithium alone will not meet projected future needs.

This growing gap is driving the industry and researchers to explore alternative minerals and technologies for lithium extraction.

Mineral sources of lithium...When it comes to lithium, there's more to the story than just one mineral.

Spodumene is the most widely used due to its high lithium concentration and established processing techniques. Other notable lithium-bearing minerals include lepidolite, amblygonite and lesser-known petalite.

But perhaps petalite deserves a higher profile. After all, it played a central role in getting lithium onto the periodic table. It was first discovered in 1800 by Brazilian naturalist José Bonifacio de Andrada e Silva. A few years later, in 1817, Swedish scientist Johann August Arfvedson identified lithium as a previously undocumented element.

Sometimes called castorite, petalite is a lithium aluminum phyllosilicate (LiAlSi₄O₁₀). It forms in lithium-rich pegmatites alongside minerals like spodumene and lepidolite, and is found in well-known deposits in Zimbabwe, Canada, Brazil and the Yilgarn and Pilbara Cratons in Western Australia.

Petalite is a hard mineral (6 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale) with a high melting point making it particularly well-suited to use for heat-resistant and scratch-resistant glass and ceramics.

Dr Leena Melag analysing petalite feedstock to study phase transformations associated with lithium extraction. Credit: CSIRO

Unlocking lithium...Although petalite has a simpler mineralogy than spodumene, lithium extraction from petalite is more complex, something CSIRO scientist, Dr. Leena Melag, is keen to understand.

"Lithium extraction processes from spodumene are well established, but with petalite, the process is trickier and involves extra steps," says Dr. Melag. "Petalite must be treated with both heat and pressure to convert it into a form that's easier to chemically process and liberate the lithium."

Despite these challenges, petalite remains an attractive supplementary lithium resource.

New technologies for a diversified lithium supply chain...With lithium in high demand, the industry is looking for new ways to find and use it. New technology is helping.

Funding from the Critical Minerals R&D Hub enabled CSIRO to develop the LithSonic process, an advancement of its earlier MagSonic technology

Lithium is a highly reactive metal and although it can be made using similar techniques to iron, it very quickly reacts again to revert to another form. The LithSonic process uses supersonic flow to quench the lithium metal before it can react, making it an attractive route for extracting lithium from minerals like petalite. These technologies promise cleaner and greener production methods and may reduce the environmental impact of traditional lithium extraction.

"We're looking at different feedstocks, like petalite, to use in our LithSonic process," said Dr. Melag.

Advancements in extraction technology and the use of supplementary resources like petalite are set to transform lithium production, making it more efficient and sustainable.

By diversifying sources and refining extraction processes, the industry can better meet growing demand and support a cleaner, more reliable energy future.

Provided by CSIRO

DOSSIER

DIGITAL LIFE

Will AI put me out of a job? How artificial intelligence is being used in casino gaming

Will artificial intelligence put me out of a job? That's the lingering fear some employees in the gaming industry are contemplating as rapidly evolving technology is deployed in workplaces across the globe, including in casino environments.

On the surface, the use of data, algorithms and computational power simulating cognitive functions that allow machines to operate like humans has been viewed as a good thing. AI can minimize repetitive work for math-driven calculations and can make accurate predictions about whether a gambler is showing signs of compulsive behavior when playing.

AI has become part of gaming and industry leaders have begun debating if and how it should be managed.

UNLV in May launched the Artificial Intelligence Research Hub (AiRHub) to tackle issues involving the pros and cons of AI in gaming and researchers expect to deliver papers later this year on whether regulatory guardrails should be implemented to prevent hurting consumers who play in the state's casinos and employees who work there.

"We basically launched this initiative because we saw a little bit of a gap," said Brett Abarbanel, executive director of UNLV's International Gaming Institute, in a panel discussion last month on AI's impact on the Las Vegas gaming economy, presented by the Economic Club of Las Vegas at Park MGM.

Deep dive into AI..."There wasn't any kind of academic institution or anyone really doing a deep dive into what AI means at the company sector," Abarbanel said.

"So the Gaming Institute always had a reputation of doing independent research, providing data-driven insights for the industry throughout the course of its 35-year history. So what better thing to do with the advent of this transformative technology, that is AI, than to set up an initiative to provide that leadership to the industry in terms of what it means for the sector?"

Abarbanel was joined on the panel by Kasra Ghaharian, director of research at the institute and the co-author of earlier reports on AI in gaming, and Rick Arpin, managing partner, Las Vegas at KPMG, a multinational professional services company specializing in accounting.

Ghaharian and Fatemeh Binesh, a professor in the University of Florida's Department of Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management, wrote in a 2025 report that AI is being used in marketing, security and to detect compulsive gambling by players.

"While AI adoption in the casino industry is still evolving, it has been used in various facets," the report says. "For example, online gambling platforms use AI-driven analytics to create highly personalized marketing strategies, offering promotions and bonuses tailored to individual players' habits and preferences."

"Casino game developers are using AI to create more interactive games, and potentially the use of virtual and augmented reality in this area. And slot machine manufacturers are leveraging AI-based facial recognition technology to bolster security and compliance as well as enhance the customer experience when logging into loyalty programs."

But the authors also said it isn't all positive, and the industry is still learning how to use AI and meet challenges that are cropping up.

"Despite its potential, the adoption of AI in casinos faces challenges, such as resistance to change, infrastructure limitations and legal challenges," the report says.

"Digitization of the gambling product has evolved both the gambler's experience and the business' operations. Slot machines now include a vast array of designs with engaging visual displays, with back-end software allowing for the collection of granular bet-by-bet information. The internet has allowed consumers on-demand gambling access, and online operators can easily track these players' behaviors, including how much they bet, how often and which games they play."

AI and responsible gaming..."AI can enhance responsible gambling by detecting problematic behaviors early and offering personalized interventions," the report says.

"AI algorithms can analyze player data to identify patterns indicative of gambling addiction to enable timely support. This has led to the creation of strategies that seek to prevent gambling-related harms, including the implementation of responsible gambling tools such as limit-setting, mandatory play breaks, cooling-off periods, pop-up messaging, personalized messaging and self-exclusion programs."

But what's worrisome is that offshore casino operations may instead exploit a compulsive gambler instead of helping.

The panelists participating in the Economic Club event said AI could also be used as a tool to monitor and protect sports integrity by identifying prospective point-shaving and game-fixing scandals well before sportsbook operators could spot them. Abarbanel indicated discovering game-fixing scandals can sometimes lead to even bigger criminal violations.

"You may have noticed quite a few headlines recently in terms of scandals, some even as recently as last week and the other day around the NCAA," Abarbanel said in the panel discussion.

"You may have noticed the huge scandal around possible mob-run poker games associated with different NFL players, different MLB players who have been suspended because they've been found to be gambling.

"All of these things play into this bigger sphere of what sport integrity is and can mean, whether that's fixing an entire game, whether that's doing something like point shaving, spot fixing, where you're fixing just a single element within it that could be tied to something in a proposition bet."

Panelists also discussed concerns some casino workers have that they could lose their jobs if some AI applications are capable of thinning the workforce.

In most work sectors, the deployment of AI technology increases productivity and reduces repetitive work. Those pluses are why some casino IT departments are enthusiastic about implementing the use of AI in their workforces.

Can AI cut jobs?...Still, there are lingering concerns that implementing AI will put some people out of their jobs. Panelists concurred that most jobs are safe because live entertainment, including casino gambling, is a social activity that will be hard for a machine to replicate. Arpin is convinced human interaction will continue to thrive within casinos because that's why people enjoy them.

"The reason I go back to that is because this has been studied quite extensively and so there's a reason live entertainment has thrived regardless of some of the trends in the last 20 or 30 years," Arpin said.

"There's a reason that sports is one of the last live television experiences that is sought after. There's a reason that, whether it's Las Vegas or other casinos or other tourist destinations, they will continue to thrive. It's because humans like to gather and humans like interhuman experience."

The need for human interaction was fortified by the COVID-19 pandemic experience. While many enjoy the freedom of working from home, many companies have reopened their workplaces so that employees can interact.

"I know that some of you have teenagers who are on their headphones and devices all day, and some of you have 25-year-olds working for you who grew up in a generation of text messaging," Arpin said.

"But some of those 25-year-olds are now 30-year-olds going, 'Geez, that COVID thing really sucked.' I want to be back in the office and with people and I want to learn from interpersonal experience. And last time I checked, other than during COVID when we literally couldn't go to a resort, we're still here."

Arpin believes that, like every other time, Las Vegas has been threatened by potential market changes—like when gaming was legalized in New Jersey, when riverboat casinos were first introduced, when tribal casinos sprang up across the country—that Las Vegas reinvented itself to meet the challenges. He's also convinced that last year's downturn in tourism is the result of other factors and not AI.

"You can gather at a resort that has a 50-person stadium roulette game instead of individual roulette tables because that's more efficient and still brings a great experience and casinos love it and customers love it," Arpin said.

"So do you need a few less dealers? Yeah, but you still need dealers, you still need people on the floor and people bringing drinks and all that stuff. Is getting a drink from a robot as fun as getting it from a person? As far as I can tell, no, and not for the foreseeable future.

"I will say maybe that changes, but like people want to gather, people want interpersonal experiences. And so Las Vegas, just like it has reinvented itself dozens of times in the last 80 years, will reinvent itself as needed to address that."

2026 Las Vegas Review-Journal. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

SAMSUNG

HPB: Samsung technology could end overheating in cell phones

The battle for the world's fastest mobile processor has an invisible cost, but one that we all feel in the palm of our hand: heat. Recent generations of Snapdragon chips, despite being incredibly powerful, have struggled with physics, leading many top-of-the-line devices to overheat and lose performance (throttling) after a few minutes of intense gaming. Now, a new rumor suggests that Qualcomm has found a solution for its next generation, and the help comes from an unexpected place: its rival and partner, Samsung.

According to information shared by leaker Fixed-Focus Digital on the Weibo social network, Qualcomm is planning to integrate a technology called "Heat Pass Block" (HPB) into its high-end processors that will be released later this year, presumably the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6.

HPB technology is not magic software; it is a physical hardware solution developed by Samsung's semiconductor division. In simple terms, this is an advanced heat sink, usually a copper or composite material cover, that is integrated directly into the chip's (SoC) structure.

This block acts as a fast track to remove heat from the processor cores and transfer it to the cell phone's cooling system (such as the vapor chamber). Samsung already uses this technology in its own Exynos 2600 processor, which will equip some models in the Galaxy S26 series, with the aim of ensuring thermal stability.

Noisy fans...The importance of this adoption by Qualcomm cannot be underestimated. Currently, to combat the extreme heat of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, manufacturers such as Red Magic or ASUS have resorted to active cooling solutions, i.e., mechanical fans.

Although the fans work, they bring serious compromises:

-Battery Consumption: Moving parts consume energy.

-Durability: Fans can break or accumulate dust.

-Water Resistance: It is very difficult (or impossible) to certify a phone with fans as IP68 (waterproof).

If HPB allows the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 to run "cool" with only passive cooling, this will allow manufacturers to create thinner, more watertight phones with better battery life, without sacrificing sustained performance.

This rumor comes just two months after reports indicated that Samsung was trying to sell its HPB technology to external clients. If Qualcomm took the bait, a curious dynamic is created: next year's best Android phones may owe their speed to Qualcomm, but their "coolness" to Samsung.

It remains to be seen if there is enough time to integrate this technology into the Gen 6 development cycle, but if this happens, the biggest winner will be the end user, who will no longer feel the phone overheating during a gaming session.

Samsung's Heat Path Block (HPB) is an advanced thermal...management technology introduced for mobile Application Processors (APs), starting with the Exynos 2600. It uses a copper-based block directly on the chipset, combined with Fan-out Wafer Level Packaging (FoWLP), to improve heat dissipation by up to 30%, reduce thermal throttling, and maintain higher, more stable performance. 

Key features and benefits(below)

Structure: HPB acts as a "thermal highway" placed directly above the processor die to rapidly transfer heat away from the core.

Design Change: Unlike traditional PoP (Package-on-Package) designs where DRAM is stacked directly on the AP (trapping heat), HPB allows for a design where the DRAM is placed to the side, allowing the heat sink to make direct contact with the chip.

Performance: It improves thermal resistance by 16% to 30%, enabling higher sustained clock speeds for gaming and intensive, high-load tasks.

Adoption: While debuting on the Exynos 2600, this technology is expected to be used by other Android chipmakers, including in future Qualcomm Snapdragon, for improved thermal efficiency. 

The technology specifically solves overheating issues common in high-performance, small-body devices.

by mundophone

 

DOSSIER

TECH

Is artificial general intelligence already here? A new case that today's LLMs meet key tests

Will artificial intelligence ever be able to reason, learn, and solve problems at levels comparable to humans? Experts at the University of California San Diego believe the answer is yes—and that such artificial general intelligence has already arrived. This debate is tackled by four faculty members spanning humanities, social sciences, and data science in a recently published Comment invited by Nature.

Computer scientist Alan Turing first posed this question in his landmark 1950 paper, though he didn't use the term artificial general intelligence (AGI). His "imitation game," now known as the Turing Test, asked whether a machine could pass as human in text-based conversation with humans. Seventy-five years later, that future is here.

Over the past year, Associate Professor of Philosophy Eddy Keming Chen, Professor of Artificial Intelligence, Data Science and Computer Science Mikhail Belkin, Associate Professor of Linguistics and Computer Science Leon Bergen, and Professor of Data Science, Philosophy and Policy David Danks engaged in extensive dialogue on this question. These discussions happened as another set of researchers at UC San Diego found in March 2025 that the large language model GPT-4.5 was judged to be human 73% of the time in a Turing test—much more often than actual humans.

Approaching the AGI question from different disciplinary perspectives—philosophy, machine learning, linguistics, and cognitive science—the four scholars converged on a controversial conclusion: by reasonable standards, current large language models (LLMs) already constitute AGI. Their argument addresses three key questions: What is general intelligence? Why does this conclusion provoke such strong reactions? And what does it mean for

Clarifying the bounds of general intelligence...Discussions about the capabilities of AI often center on technology. The UC San Diego faculty took a step back and approached the question through a philosophical and scientific lens. The essay defines breadth in intelligence as abilities across multiple domains—mathematics, language, science, practical reasoning, creative tasks—and depth as strong performance within those domains, not merely superficial engagement.

"There is a common misconception that AGI must be perfect—knowing everything, solving every problem—but no individual human can do that," explains Chen, who is lead author. "The debate often conflates general intelligence with superintelligence. The real question is whether LLMs display the flexible, general competence characteristic of human thought. Our conclusion: insofar as individual humans possess general intelligence, current LLMs do too."

The authors begin by identifying what is not required for general intelligence. It does not have to be perfect in what it does, since few humans hold perfect knowledge, even in their specializations. Similarly, universal mastery is unrealistic; no individual can do every cognitive task. Intelligence does not have to follow human models, either—the human brain is but one form of cognitive architecture. And finally, artificial general intelligence does not need to exceed the mental capacity of humans through superintelligence.

Rather than seeking a single definitive test, the authors assess a cascade of increasingly demanding evidence—the same way we evaluate human general intelligence. The first tier, Turing-test level, includes basic literacy and adequate conversation. The expert tier requires gold-medal Olympiad performance, Ph.D.-level problem solving in multiple domains, and competent creative and practical reasoning. The superhuman tier demands revolutionary scientific breakthroughs that few humans meet. Frontier large language models already meet the first two levels.

While humans are paradigm examples of general intelligence, many qualities we associate with human cognition turn out to be inessential. Chen, Belkin, Bergen, and Danks separate what intelligence requires from what humans merely happen to have as a result of biological evolution. They examine numerous objections in this effort to clarify the bounds of general intelligence.

For instance, LLMs have been criticized for hallucinating, or presenting false, unreliable information at times. However, humans are also prone to false memories and cognitive biases yet still make important contributions otherwise. Human error does not preclude intelligence, and it should not disqualify general intelligence among machines, argue the authors.

Contending with an 'alien' intelligence...Today, LLMs can produce outcomes that are indistinguishable from humans, even surpassing depictions from science fiction. Yet the authors spot a persistent divide between what many people consider to be human-centered intelligence versus the "alien" intelligence that machines possess.

For example, one prevailing counterpoint is that LLMs don't have a body. Yet the writers remind us of examples like physicist Stephen Hawking, who interacted nearly entirely through text and synthesized speech. His physical limitations did not diminish his intelligence; therefore, motor capabilities should not be a prerequisite for intelligence, the authors suggest.

"This is an emotionally charged topic because it challenges human exceptionalism and our standing as being uniquely intelligent," says Belkin. "Copernicus displaced humans from the center of the universe, Darwin displaced humans from a privileged place in nature; now we are contending with the prospect that there are more kinds of minds than we had previously entertained."

Acknowledging that machines are capable of intelligence matching that of humans can be a frightening prospect. Concerns about potential social upheaval is enough for some to fervently deny the possibility, a "heads in the sand" response as Turing described in his 1950 paper. Chen, Belkin, Bergen, and Danks suggest embracing the emotions that arise with compassionate curiosity, not anxious evasion.

Risks and rewards...There's no denying that we're in the midst of an unprecedented technological revolution as artificial intelligence pervades our personal and professional lives. The authors position this period as both "remarkable and concerning," with plentiful possibility and significant responsibility.

In the essay, the experts describe numerous economic demands that are placed on LLMs, which they claim can distort true assessments about whether artificial general intelligence has arrived. Industry leaders often set standards based on profitability rather than intelligence itself—demanding perfect reliability, instant learning, or revolutionary discoveries that exceed what we require of individual humans. Yet the UC San Diego faculty point out that speed, efficiency, and profitability are simply a potential output of general intelligence, not a defining quality.

A distinct objection centers on what critics call the "stochastic parrot" problem—the claim that LLMs merely recombine patterns from their training data without genuine understanding, and therefore must fail on truly new problems. "We have built highly capable systems, but we do not understand why we were successful," says Bergen. "LLMs learned about the world through processes unlike human learning, and we lack a detailed account of how their abilities emerged. This gap in understanding grows more important as the systems grow more capable."

AI systems are also becoming more autonomous. The authors clarify that this does not contribute to their intelligence, but it does make responsible design and shared governance an urgent priority.

"We're developing AI systems that can dramatically impact the world without being mediated through a human and this raises a host of challenging ethical, societal, and psychological questions," explains Danks. "AI is a future that we are building right now. Ultimately, we're innovating because we want something better, and the very idea of better should have ethics and safety baked in."

An unconventional team...The four faculty that assembled to explore artificial general intelligence represent multiple disciplines across UC San Diego, a public research university that prioritizes cross-collaboration.

In the essay, the experts describe numerous economic demands that are placed on LLMs, which they claim can distort true assessments about whether artificial general intelligence has arrived. Industry leaders often set standards based on profitability rather than intelligence itself—demanding perfect reliability, instant learning, or revolutionary discoveries that exceed what we require of individual humans. Yet the UC San Diego faculty point out that speed, efficiency, and profitability are simply a potential output of general intelligence, not a defining quality.

A distinct objection centers on what critics call the "stochastic parrot" problem—the claim that LLMs merely recombine patterns from their training data without genuine understanding, and therefore must fail on truly new problems. "We have built highly capable systems, but we do not understand why we were successful," says Bergen. "LLMs learned about the world through processes unlike human learning, and we lack a detailed account of how their abilities emerged. This gap in understanding grows more important as the systems grow more capable."

AI systems are also becoming more autonomous. The authors clarify that this does not contribute to their intelligence, but it does make responsible design and shared governance an urgent priority.

"We're developing AI systems that can dramatically impact the world without being mediated through a human and this raises a host of challenging ethical, societal, and psychological questions," explains Danks. "AI is a future that we are building right now. Ultimately, we're innovating because we want something better, and the very idea of better should have ethics and safety baked in."

An unconventional team...The four faculty that assembled to explore artificial general intelligence represent multiple disciplines across UC San Diego, a public research university that prioritizes cross-collaboration.

Chen is part of the School of Arts and Humanities, a philosopher of science who explores big questions about the smallest parts of our universe, as well as questions about the nature of the mind and cognition. These studies complement the research of Bergen, a linguist and computer scientist in the School of Social Sciences who is investigating the science of LLMs.

This research intersects with work being done by Belkin, a data scientist focused on the theory and applications of machine learning at the School of Computing, Information and Data Sciences' Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute, with an affiliation with the Jacobs School of Engineering Computer Science and Engineering Department. With a similar focus on data, Danks examines the ethical, psychological, and policy issues around AI using methods from machine learning, philosophy, and cognitive science.

"I've learned so much from this group," said Chen. "UC San Diego's institutional structure made this collaboration possible—we simply wouldn't have crossed paths elsewhere. It's a powerful example of what cross-disciplinary work can achieve when applied to fundamental questions facing humanity."

Provided by University of California - San Diego