Today's intersection: AI and LANL

The US Department of Energy has set a goal of producing 80 new plutonium pits a year by 2035, enough to fully replace the triggers in every existing thermonuclear warhead by 2105.

Just days before Microsoft agreed to invest $1 billion in and partner with the research company OpenAI, which was cofounded by Elon Musk to develop artificial general intelligence, Garrett Kenyon, speaking at the Science on Tap series said artificial intelligence (AI) doesn’t exist. “AI doesn’t exist,” Kenyon told the Los Alamos Reporter prior to his talk. “It’s kind of a myth. It’s this word everyone uses. It’s utterly abused.” He mentioned Elon Musk and his righthand man, Tesla’s director of AI, Andrej Karpathy, who he called a very smart guy. “I respectfully disagree. I admire Elon Musk – he’s a visionary guy – but I think he’s wrong on this one. [2019, Physicist And Neuroscientist Garrett Kenyon Says There’s No Artificial Intelligence]

Since New Mexico has statutes prohibiting direct car sales and repairs, Tesla sells its vehicles on the Nambé and Santa Ana Pueblos.

A day before expounding on a global stage his fears about artificial intelligence — at least where the competition is concerned — Elon Musk got a peek at AI development at one of the most advanced research facilities in the country: Los Alamos National Laboratory. AI is in use by “effectively all of Los Alamos’ missions,” according to the lab. Wednesday wasn’t Musk’s first time in New Mexico to visit a high-profile facility. In 2021, Musk was on the ground at Spaceport America when Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson made his successful flight to the edge of space aboard his passenger rocket ship, VSS Unity. ['A lot of science': Elon Musk takes private tour of Los Alamos National Laboratory]

If humanity doesn't destroy the planet there will come a time when it will be routine to launch waste too hot for humans to handle into the sun and maybe from Spaceport America.

A mile beneath the surface of South Dakota, the largest international science project ever conducted in the U.S. is under construction. ✨ @DUNEScience is a giant trap for the tiny neutrino, which could explain why the universe is made of matter. 👉 https://t.co/bfQl04bRgI #CERN

— Los Alamos National Laboratory (@LosAlamosNatLab) May 23, 2024