AI can’t learn new things forever — an algorithm can fix that

An algorithm that reactivates dormant ‘neurons’ in deep-learning-based AIs could help them overcome their inability to learn new things and make future systems more flexible, research has

shown. AIs based on deep learning struggle to learn how to tackle new tasks indefinitely, making them less adaptable to new situations. The reasons for this are unclear, but now a team has

identified that ‘resetting’ parts of the neural networks underlying these systems can allow deep learning methods to keep learning continually.

News and Views: Switching between tasks can cause AI to lose the ability to learn

To stop crocodiles eating poisonous toads researchers have been making them sick, and a sacrificed child in ancient Mexico was the progeny of closely related parents.

Research Highlight: DNA of child sacrificed in ancient city reveals surprising parentage

How video games gave people a mental health boost during the pandemic, and where the dinosaur-destroying Chicxulub asteroid formed.

Nature News: PlayStation is good for you: video games improved mental health during COVID

Nature News: Dinosaur-killing Chicxulub asteroid formed in Solar System’s outer reaches

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