ChatGPT, a new chatbot model developed by US-based AI research laboratory OpenAI, has quickly become a hit globally due to its advanced conversational capabilities.

It can write emails, computer codes, even academic papers and poems, and has passed a number of tests within seconds. Educators worldwide are discussing whether AI should be used in education. Some universities have banned it. The New York City’s Department of Education, for example, banned the chatbot from its public school devices and networks, with some people warning that it could encourage more students to cheat, especially in exams.

Many more welcome this app, claiming that, like most technological improvements and cutting-edge creations in history, ChatGPT is a powerful tool for the development of higher education.

Embracing AI as early as possible is advisable. Higher education institutions should make preparations for including AI in their syllabus (教学大纲). They can start by offering related courses, because by understanding how it works, they can make better use of it. Besides, students with good knowledge of AI are more competitive when it comes to getting a good job, as an increasing number of jobs are being done by computer programmes—some in cooperation with humans. AI-powered education technologies can be employed to make the learning experience more suitable for each student based on his or her strengths and weaknesses. As for professors, AI can free them from doing some dull tasks so they can concentrate on teaching and interacting with students.

Since we cannot avoid ChatGPT and other AI-powered applications from entering the field of higher education, we should make collective efforts to ensure they have a positive impact on society and the future of education. Despite AI helping make learning much more interesting and enjoyable, humans need to work very hard to win the race with technology.

Windows are a key component in a building's design, but they are also the least energy- efficient part. According to a 2009 report by the United Nations, buildings account for 40 percent of global energy usage, and windows are responsible for half of that energy consumption. If conventional windows are used to better block sunlight passing into a building, they need expensive coatings. Even so, they can not adjust the indoor temperature effectively.

Scientists at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU) have developed a smart liquid window panel that can help. By creating a mixture of micro-hydrogel (水凝胶), water, and a stabilizer, they found that it can effectively reduce energy consumption in a variety of climates. Thanks to the hydrogel, the mixture becomes hard-to-see- through when exposed to heat, thus blocking sunlight, and, when cool, it returns to its original clear state. The high heat capacity of water allows a large amount of heat energy to be stored instead of getting transferred through the glass and into the building during the hot daytime when office buildings mainly operate. The heat will then be gradually cooled and released at night when the staff are off duty.

As a proof of concept, the scientists conducted outdoor tests in hot (Singapore, Guangzhou) and cold (Beijing) environments. The Singapore test revealed that the smart liquid window had a lower temperature (50°C) during the hottest time of the day (noon) compared to a normal glass window (84°C), The Beijing tests showed that the room using the smart liquid window consumed 11 percent less energy to maintain the same temperature compared to the room with a normal glass window. They also measured when the highest value of stored heat energy of the day occurred. This "temperature peak" in the normal glass window was 2 pm, and in the smart liquid window was shifted to 3 pm. If this temperature peak shift leads to a shift in the time when a building needs to draw on electrical power to cool or warm the building, it should result in lower energy charges for users. The research team is seeking ways to cut down the cost of producing the smart window and so far, they have found several industry partners to commercialize it.

Look out, Einstein, a robot wants your job! This robot, named Adam, may be the first non-human to ever independently think up and test hypotheses in order to discover new scientific knowledge. Adam’s discoveries so far have something to do with yeast genetics — not nearly as mind-blowing as Einstein’s theories on relativity, but still impressive when you realize that nobody told Adam which yeast gene to study. “Adam makes up its mind about what to do,” Rose King of Aberyth University in the United Kingdom, the robot’s creator, told CBC News in Canada. “It decides what experiments to do and what to test.”

Of course, Adam’s choices are limited by the information King feeds it and the lab equipment it has access to. The physical robotic system includes robotic arms, a freezer, fans and equipment useful for biological research. Adam also has loads of data on yeast and other organisms.

To decide what to do, Adam finds a place where the yeast genetic data is incomplete, and then searches for complete information about similar genes in other organisms. By comparing all of this data, Adam is able to form a hypothesis and start experimenting. Adam can bring up to 1,000 new experiments each day.

Why Yeast? Biologists use this simple organism as a model for more complex ones, like human cells. So far, Adam has figured out the functions of 12 different yeast genes. When King and his team tested Adam’s results, everything was correct. Eventually, Adam will be able to move beyond yeast as long as King uploads the data necessary for new experiments. King’s team has also built a new robotic scientist named Eve. This robot will screen new drugs for diseases like malaria.

Robotics has been useful in scientific laboratories for a long time, but usually the machines just do the work and deal with data that humans have to sort through. This is the first time a robot has not only designed its own experiment, but determined its own results! Still, modern Einsteins should not worry about being replaced. Robot scientists like Adam are much more likely to be lab assistants rather than brilliant theorists.