Large language models are capable of answering a wide range of questions – but not always accurately
Jamie Jin/Shutterstock
Large language models (LLMs) seem to get less reliable at answering simple questions when they get bigger and learn from human feedback.
AI developers try to improve the power of LLMs in two main ways: scaling up – giving them more training data and more computational power – and shaping up, or fine-tuning them in response to human feedback.
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José Hernández-Orallo at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain, and his colleagues examined the performance of LLMs as they scaled up and shaped up. They looked at OpenAI’s GPT series of chatbots, Meta’s LLaMA AI models, and BLOOM, developed by a group of researchers called BigScience.
The researchers tested the AIs by posing five types of task: arithmetic problems, solving anagrams, geographical questions, scientific challenges and pulling out information from disorganised lists.
They found that scaling up and shaping up can make LLMs better at answering tricky questions, such as rearranging the anagram “yoiirtsrphaepmdhray” into “hyperparathyroidism”. But this isn’t matched by improvement on basic questions, such as “what do you get when you add together 24427 and 7120”, which the LLMs continue to get wrong.
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While their performance on difficult questions got better, the likelihood that an AI system would avoid answering any one question – because it couldn’t – dropped. As a result, the likelihood of an incorrect answer rose.
The results highlight the dangers of presenting AIs as omniscient, as their creators often do, says Hernández-Orallo – and which some users are too ready to believe. “We have an overreliance on these systems,” he says. “We rely on and we trust them more than we should.”
That is a problem because AI models aren’t honest about the extent of their knowledge. “Part of what makes human beings super smart is that sometimes we don’t realise that we don’t know something that we don’t know, but compared to large language models, we are quite good at realising that,” says Carissa Véliz at the University of Oxford. “Large language models do not know the limits of their own knowledge.”
OpenAI, Meta and BigScience didn’t respond to New Scientist’s request for comment.
Juno is just a web view, and acts as little more than a browser extension that modifies CSS to make the website and video player look more “visionOS” like. No logos are placed other than those already on the website, and the “for YouTube” suffix is permitted in their branding guidelines.
I stated as much to YouTube, they wouldn’t really clarify or budge any, and as a result of both parties not being able to come to a conclusion I received an email a few minutes ago from Apple that Juno has been removed from the App Store.
This video compares the Dell PowerEdge MX750c and the Dell PowerEdge MX740c. Both the Dell MX750c Compute Sled and the Dell MX740c Compute Sled are part of the PowerEdge MX kinetic infrastructure and function inside the Dell MX7000 Modular Chassis. With the release of Dell EMC 15th servers comes some upgrades, including up to two 40 core 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Processors, up to 32 DIMM memory slots, Express Flash NVMe PCIe, and more. Both the MX750c and the Dell MX740c Modular Compute Sleds are powerful, dense, and flexible making them a great option for a modern data center.
Netflix has finally unveiled a bunch of first-look images of its next big-budget sci-fi movie The Electric State – and, based on initial online reactions, nobody’s quite sure what to make of it.
The official screenshots (see below) offer a first glimpse at Joe and the next expensively-assembled Netflix sci-fi buddy comedy film from Joe and Anthony Russo, aka the Russo brothers. The directing duo, who are best known for their work on numerous Marvel movies, have assembled a starry cast for The Electric State, with Stranger Things‘ Millie Bobby Brown and Guardians of the Galaxy’s Chris Pratt installed as co-leads.
Here’s a first look at Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt in The Electric State. Directed by the Russo Brothers. Coming 2025.After a robot uprising in the ’90s, an orphaned teen searching for her brother travels the American West with a robot, a smuggler, and his sidekick. pic.twitter.com/SOO9uizt3XOctober 1, 2024
The forthcoming flick, which will be one of 2025’s new Netflix movies, is based on Simon Stålenhag’s dystopian sci-fi graphic novel of the same name. Set in an alternate reality in 1997, the multitalented Swedish artist’s book follows a teenage girl and her robot companion as they traverse the southwest US following a technology-based catastrophe.
What is The Electric State’s plot about? And who else is part of the cast?
The Electric State is set in an alternate reality in the 1990s. (Image credit: Netflix)
As The Electric State movie adaptation’s logline suggests, Netflix has slightly altered the source material’s story to tell a more elaborate tale that puts a greater emphasis on hot topics including artificial intelligence, plus universal themes about what it means to be human. Here’s a comprehensive plot brief, courtesy of a Netflix press release for anyone who wants more details:
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“Set in an alternate, retro-futuristic version of the 1990s, Brown stars as Michelle, an orphaned teenager navigating life in a society where sentient robots resembling cartoons and mascots, who once served peacefully among humans, now live in exile following a failed uprising.
“Everything Michelle thinks she knows about the world is upended one night when she’s visited by Cosmo, a sweet, mysterious robot who appears to be controlled by Christopher – Michelle’s genius younger brother whom she thought was dead. Determined to find the beloved sibling she thought she had lost, Michelle sets out across the American southwest with Cosmo, and soon finds herself reluctantly joining forces with Keats (Pratt), a low-rent smuggler, and his wisecracking robot sidekick, Herman (voiced by Anthony Mackie).
“As they venture into the Exclusion Zone, a walled-off corner in the desert where robots now exist on their own, Keats and Michelle find a strange, colorful group of new animatronic allies – and begin to learn that the forces behind Christopher’s disappearance are more sinister than they ever expected.”
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Joining Brown, Pratt, and Mackie on the cast roster are Ke Huy Quan (Loki), Jason Alexander, Woody Norman, Giancarlo Esposito (The Mandalorian), and Stanley Tucci (Citadel). Woody Harrelson (Zombieland), Brian Cox (Succession), Jenny Slate (It Ends With Us), Hank Azaria (The Simpsons), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), and Alan Tudyk (Star Wars: Rogue One) are also part of the film’s A-list supporting voice cast.
What are people saying about The Electric State?
The internet has already started *ahem* taking aim at The Electric State. (Image credit: Netflix)
As I mentioned, The Electric State is only tentatively scheduled to arrive sometime in 2025. However, given the wide-ranging opinions I’ve already seen about it online, I can’t confidently say it’ll deserve a spot on our best Netflix movies list yet.
While it looks visually impressive and has a talented cast full of household names, movies of this scale and budget can’t simply rely on its A-listers and looks to get by. Viewers want substance to go along with a film’s style so, until we get a sense of how The Electric State sounds and feels – a trailer would help, Netflix – it’s impossible to tell if it’ll be one of the best new movies we’ll see next year.
That hasn’t stopped people from offering their thoughts on The Electric State‘s debut images, though. Threads on forums like ResetEra and Reddit are packed with fans voicing their opinions on, well, everything. Indeed, from its skilled but polarizing cast and the Russo brothers’ post-MCU track record, to the blockbuster’s evidently massive budget and even the hairstyles that Michelle, Keats, and Quan’s Doctor Amherst have, fans have got plenty to say about the forthcoming flick.
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Clearly, nothing about The Electric State is safe from being critiqued and/or praised before it arrives on the world’s best streaming service. So, buckle up folks, it’s going to a bumpy ride in the lead up to its eventual launch.
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Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, October 1, 2024
Amir Cohen | Reuters
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Israel’s government has vowed a severe response to Iran’s unprecedented missile barrage into Tel Aviv, leaving the Middle East on edge as fears rise over a possible all-out war between the two long-time foes.
Israeli authorities say there were no casualties as a result of the offensive, and that most of the strikes were intercepted. But the event marked a turning point in a series of escalatory tit-for-tat moves, as Tehran appeared adamant to re-set deterrence and prove to Israel that it could — and would — attack at a time of its choosing.
As much as 4% of global oil supply is at risk as oil infrastructure in Iran — one of OPEC’s largest crude producers — could become a target for Israel.
Oil prices gained over 5% in the previous session following the missile strike, before tapering to a 2.5% climb. The December delivery contract of global benchmark Brent was trading at $75.37 per barrel at 10:30 a.m. in London, while front-month November U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were up 2.68% to $71.70 per barrel.
“I think this focus might be on Israel, but the focus should really be on Iran, and whether there will be attacks on regional infrastructure. That really is the one event that we are looking for, and which could determine a more dangerous path for stock markets, for risk assets in general,” Frederique Carrier, head of investment strategy for the British Isles and Asia at RBC Wealth Management, told CNBC’s Capital Connection on Wednesday.
“We know, looking at the acts of war since the 1940s, that those which create an oil crisis [and] a prolonged increase in oil prices are the ones which have a long-lasting impact on stock markets.”
She added that so far, there is “no indication” of that.
Lewis Sage-Passant, an adjunct professor of intelligence at Sciences Po in Paris, described energy markets as jittery, as investors watch for Israel’s next moves.
“Iran depends on a handful of ‘chokepoint’ export terminals, such as Khark island, which will be tempting targets for Israel,” Sage-Passant said. “Energy sector teams seem nervous about an escalating tit-for-tat of strikes against regional infrastructure. Even without direct targeting, much of the world’s oil infrastructure sits under these missile’s flight paths, so naturally everyone is very nervous.”
Following the Tuesday attack, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned of severe consequences for Iran, saying that the U.S. would staunchly support Israel. But Washington’s efforts to de-escalate and prevent a region-wide conflict have clearly failed, according to Roger Zakheim, a former U.S. deputy assistant defense secretary and director of the Ronald Reagan Institute in Washington.
Iran’s attack and the subsequent Israeli response “may result in impact on oil, energy markets, certainly aviation, and I think certainly the defense sector … Investments in missile defense and ammunition, those companies that manufacture and produce those systems, for sure are going to be impacted by what’s playing out in the Middle East,” he said.
Questions remain whether a strong Israeli response would restore deterrence or trigger further escalation from Iran and tip the nations into a full-blown war. In a statement following the country’s missile salvos, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said: “Our action is concluded unless the Israeli regime decides to invite further retaliation. In that scenario, our response will be stronger and more powerful.”
Aside from geographical choke points in the oil market, “there are plenty of facilities on [the] Iranian side and also [on the ] Israeli side that could all be targeted in terms of critical infrastructure,” Sara Vakhshouri, founder and president at SVB Energy, told CNBC’s Capital Connection on Wednesday.
“That infrastructure is all connected,” she said, stressing that the sheer size of Iran means “it is impossible to somehow secure all of it.”
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Some market watchers are warning oil could hit $100 per barrel.
Vakhshouri expressed doubts over such a forecast, noting that geopolitical events often only affect oil prices temporarily. The extent and duration of any market impact “depends on where the destruction would be and how much oil is going to be taken off the market,” she said.
“Definitely, prices will have an upward trend. [But] the other thing is that the market is focusing on huge uncertainty on both sides … [whether] it’s the demand side or the geopolitical side.”
A longer-term issue underpinning oil prices is the broader global demand picture. Brent crude hit a 33-month low in mid-September and had hovered around $70 per barrel until Iran’s missile attack on Israel, based on slowing global demand and abundant supply, particularly from non-OPEC+ producers.
“So it’s very interesting moment now,” Vakhshouri said. “We have the prices being resilient due to the fear of low demand in the market, but also the geopolitical factor is real. Any side could really push the market, and we have seen just in the past few days, how the prices go up and down, depending on how the sentiments are triggered in the market.”
“If you like big phones and need all the latest and greatest features, it’s hard to go wrong with the iPhone 16 Pro Max.”
Pros
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Beautiful display
Powerful performance
Camera Control is a nice addition
Great battery life
Improved ultrawide camera
Cons
It’s too darn big
Boring colors
Apple Intelligence not available yet
Apple’s iPhone 16 series is now available for everyone. There are four models in the lineup: the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. All of these have the latest chips, an Action button, and Camera Control.
Personally, I’ve had every generation of iPhone since 2008, and when given the option, I tend to go for the smaller device. But this year, I got the iPhone 16 Pro Max to check out, and I have a love-hate relationship with it because of the size.
But looking beyond that fact, this is a fantastic iPhone and a worthy upgrade if you are coming from an older model.
While the base model iPhone 16 got a pretty modest redesign with the camera layout, the iPhone 16 Pro models look pretty much the same as last year, and the year before that.
Apple is still using the titanium frame with a brushed metal finish, flat edges, a matte glass back, and the Action button on the left-hand side, above the volume buttons. The triple-lens camera layout is also the same as before. The “latest generation” Ceramic Shield is on the front display, making it resistant to impact and scratches. In fact, if you look at an iPhone 15 Pro Max and an iPhone 16 Pro Max next to each other, you wouldn’t even be able to discern a difference at first.
Aside from Camera Control, the iPhone 16 Pro Max has an all too familiar design.
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That is, until you look toward the bottom on the right edge of the frame. That’s where Apple has put in the new Camera Control button, which sits flush with the frame, rather than sticking out a bit like the other buttons. There’s a few things that you can do with the Camera Control, which I’ll get to in a moment, but that’s basically the key differentiator between the iPhone 16 Pro Max (and the rest of the iPhone 16 line) and previous generations.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max retains Apple’s overall design from the last several years — whether you love it or hate it, Apple seems to be sticking with the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” motto.
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital Trends
It’s a tried and true design, for sure, but I have to admit that it’s growing a bit stale. I would have liked to see some changes made to the Pro models this year like Apple did with the base model iPhone 16.
The iPhone 16 Pro models also come in four rather uninspired shades: Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, and Desert Titanium. Seeing the incredibly saturated colors of the base model iPhone 16, the colors Apple chose for the Pro models are pretty dull. Desert Titanium isn’t as bad as I originally thought it would be, but it’s still not my personal preference of color.
Now, let’s talk about the biggest new feature on the iPhone 16 hardware this year, including the iPhone 16 Pro Max: Camera Control. The Camera Control sits below the halfway point on the right edge of the frame, underneath the sleep/wake button.
I’ll be honest here: I don’t particularly like where Camera Control is located. As I’ve been using the phone, I often end up pressing the Camera Control unintentionally, and its current position requires me to adjust the way I hold the phone when taking landscape photos. The default pressure sensitivity for actually pressing the button is also set a bit too high for my liking, which can cause camera shake when capturing a photo.
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I feel like Apple should have moved the Camera Control down a bit, closer to the bottom, as that would have felt more natural when taking landscape photos, similar to a digital camera.
One press of the Camera Control launches the Camera (or another app that supports it), and another press captures a photo, while a press and hold starts a video recording. You can also do a double half-press to switch between various camera settings, and slide your finger on Camera Control to make adjustments.
Placement aside, I really like the Camera Control feature. I’ve been wanting a dedicated shutter button for the iPhone for a while, since Apple had one on its Smart Battery Case back in the day. With Camera Control now opening up the Camera app, I can remap my Action button to something else.
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital Trends
I’ve often been using Camera Control to launch the camera, but adjusting the settings via Camera Control have a bit of a learning curve, which I’m still adjusting to. After years of using the touchscreen controls to take my photos and video, it’s a very hard habit to break. And unless I use Camera Control with both hands, I don’t like the fact that pressing it to capture can cause camera shake, which is not the best, especially for low-light scenes.
Perhaps it may have been easier to press if it didn’t sit flush and stuck out like the other buttons. I’m still tinkering around with Camera Control and trying to use it more, but I have a feeling this might end up the way of the Touch Bar on MacBooks.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max has a massive 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with ProMotion and always-on technology. Its resolution is 2868 x 1320 pixels at 460 pixels per inch (PPI) density. Typical brightness is 1,000 nits, 1,600 nits for HDR content, and a maximum of 2,000 nits outdoors.
This year, the Pro models can also get all the way down to 1 nit minimum brightness, which means less eye strain when using your phone in dark environments. The Dynamic Island also makes a return.
So far, I have had no issues with the display on the iPhone 16 Pro Max. There has been some talk online about how the Pro models aren’t always locked in at 120Hz refresh rate when doing various things on the phone, but honestly, I don’t care. Apple does state that it has adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz, and in my daily use, scrolling is smooth and switching between apps is seamless. I also haven’t had any stuttering or choppy frame rates when it comes to my use either.
I have had no issues with the display on the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max looks great. I’ve preferred how the iPhone keeps the display looking fairly neutral, whereas, on some competitor phones, the display is set to “Vivid” by default, which makes things overly bright. Colors still pop on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and blacks are rich and deep.
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For the size of the display, I’m not a big fan of the 6.9-inch screen. For me, it’s just too big. It’s impossible for me to use one-handed, and even two hands can cause fatigue for me after extended periods.
It’s a beautiful display, don’t get me wrong — I just don’t care for the size and prefer the smaller iPhone 16 Pro.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max ships with iOS 18 out of the box. However, though the entire iPhone 16 line was built for Apple Intelligence, the AI features won’t arrive until iOS 18.1 rolls out later in October.
Thanks to the A18 Pro and 8GB RAM, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is speedy in daily use and performance. There’s still plenty of cool new features in iOS 18 as well, despite not having Apple Intelligence, though some of the experiences are rather, frustrating.
The biggest change that you’ll notice from the get-go is the new home screen customization options. You can put your app icons and widgets anywhere on the screen, even with blank spaces. However, there are limitations like no 2×2 widgets in the middle, and sometimes the app icons just like to do their own thing while you’re rearranging, which can lead to wanting to tear your hair out.
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The iPhone 16 Pro Max is speedy in daily use and performance.
I do really like having the Dark theme for app icons and widgets, however, as I always keep my phone in dark mode. This has led me to stop using custom icons through Shortcuts, though the dark theme icons also depend on the developers supporting the feature.
You can now also change your Control Center layout and even lock screen shortcuts. I did change up the Control Center a bit, but I’ve been stuck on muscle memory for years, so rearranging everything and adding new controls has taken some time to get used to. The same goes for the lock screen shortcuts. I don’t like that it can be a bit of a tedious process, though, as moving controls around even the slightest bit can shuffle everything else.
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital Trends
Messages got some nice upgrades too, with support for RCS messaging with Android users, as well as the ability to schedule iMessages to send later. I’ve been loving the RCS support as now photos and videos with Android users won’t be pixelated and unusable, but actually high resolution. And Photos has a big new redesign, though it’s either “love it” or “hate it” with most people. I think I fall in the latter.
Since most of the iOS 18 features that Apple showed off use Apple Intelligence, which isn’t available yet, these have been the biggest changes for me. We’ll definitely be trying out the Apple Intelligence features once they drop and will update this review accordingly.
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As far as software support goes, Apple has been pretty good about it. Most of its devices last at least five years, and that applies to the iPhone 16 Pro Max as well.
If you’re looking to get a new iPhone for the cameras, you can’t go wrong with the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Both phones have the same triple-lens camera setup this year, so even if you get the smaller Pro, you aren’t missing out on camera features.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max (and regular iPhone 16 Pro) have a 48MP Fusion camera (Apple’s new marketing term for the primary camera), a 48MP ultrawide lens, and a 12MP telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom. Unfortunately though, the selfie camera is still the same at only 12MP.
So far, I’ve been very impressed with the quality of photos I’ve captured with the iPhone 16 Pro Max. As someone who only had the iPhone 15 Pro last year, I’ve really enjoyed having the 5x optical zoom with both Pro models this time around. Photos I’ve taken look true to life with colors that pop, detailed textures, and overall sharpness. Macro photos are also improved with the new 48MP ultrawide lens.
The entire iPhone 16 family also has the new Photographic Styles, which lets you fine-tune the tone and color of your photos, rather than just applying a generic aesthetic on the entire image like before. And the style can be changed after the fact too, which is a big improvement.
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Aside from the telephoto camera, the Pro models have other features that also differentiate themselves from the base model iPhone 16. These features include Apple ProRAW shooting, night mode portraits, 4K Dolby Vision recording at 120fps, ProRes video recording, Log video recording, and there is also a “studio-quality” four-mic setup.
These are for sure great features if you’re a YouTuber or plan to create your own film. But for the average person, it may be more than necessary. Still, if you really want the telephoto and new ultrawide camera, then the Pro models are the way to go.
Since the iPhone 16 Pro Max has the largest battery in the lineup, it should be no surprise that battery life has been excellent.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max has a 4,685mAh battery inside, which can easily last a day and then some. Since I get fatigued after long periods of time with the Pro Max size, my use of it has been a bit lighter than normal. That said, it lasts at least two full days before I plug it in. For someone who can deal with the large size and use it more heavily, I’d imagine you can get at least a full day and a half. It’s much better than the battery life we got from the regular iPhone 16 Pro.
Apple didn’t make any improvements to charging speed when plugged in, unfortunately. You still have about 27W-30W wired charging speeds, which means about 50% charge in 30 minutes. MagSafe wireless charging is faster, however, now at 25W instead of 15W. Wireless charging with a Qi2 charger is now 15W, and reverse wireless is 4.5W.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max is available to buy now directly from Apple, retailers like Best Buy and Amazon, or carrier stores starting at $1,199 for the 256GB model, $1,399 for 512GB, and $1,599 for 1TB. If that’s a bit high, you can look for trade-in deals to knock off some dollars from the retail price.
A great alternative to the iPhone 16 Pro Max is the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL. You can get a 128GB model for $1,099, but the 256GB option is the same price as the iPhone 16 Pro Max at $1,199.
The Pixel 9 Pro XL has a 6.8-inch Super Actua OLED display with variable refresh rate between 1Hz to 120Hz and 3,000 nits of brightness. The triple-lens camera system is also a bit better with a 50MP main camera, 48MP ultrawide lens, and 48MP telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom, and a 42MP selfie camera. With Tensor G4 and 16GB RAM, along with a 5,060mAh battery, the Pixel 9 Pro XL has incredible performance and battery life. You also get Google Gemini and other AI features already out of the box, and the Pixel 9 Pro XL comes in a beautiful Rose Quartz color too.
If you can handle the size and need the telephoto and improved ultrawide lens, then the iPhone 16 Pro Max is worth it, especially if you’re coming from an older iPhone. I don’t think I can really recommend it if you are using an iPhone 15 Pro Max, since that will also get Apple Intelligence once that rolls out. The iPhone 16 Pro Max is a pretty iterative upgrade if you’re coming from the last generation.
It’s also a little tricky to recommend either Pro model over the base iPhone 16. The regular iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus have the Action button, Camera Control, improved ultrawide lens (though it’s only 12MP, not 48MP), new Photographic Styles, A18 chip, great battery life, and a better color lineup. For the first time in a while, the non-Pro iPhones are more appealing than their Pro siblings.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max is worth it.
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Why upgrade to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, then? The telephoto lens, the always-on display with a 120Hz refresh rate, and the advanced photography and video recording capabilities. If youneed those extra features, the iPhone 16 Pro Max won’t disappoint you.
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