This week’s list of top data news highlights covers February 1, 2025 to February 7, 2025, and includes articles on a scanning for cancer using AI and a supercomputer advancing spaceflight propulsion.
1. Searching for MH370 with AI
Ocean Infinity, a Texas-based marine robotics firm, is collaborating with IBM’s Quantum Research Team to use AI and quantum computing to help find the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 that disappeared in 2014. AI algorithms along with quantum models process data on satellite transmissions, ocean currents, and previous search data to allow researchers to make more sophisticated inferences about the plane’s location and its flight path. Paired with autonomous AI-driven underwater drones, this technology could pinpoint possible wreckage sites by early 2026.
2. Advancing Augmented Reality in Cars
Huawei, a Chinese based information and communications technology company, has introduced a new augmented reality head-up display for cars, which integrates into the dashboard and projects critical driving information onto the windshield. The system enhances safety by accurately identifying surrounding vehicles and pedestrians in real-time, overlaying visual markers onto the driver’s view. Using real-time rendering, target tracking, and anti-shake algorithms, it adapts to night driving and stabilizes visuals despite road bumps.
3. Scanning for Cancer Using AI
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have used AI to create AbdomenAtlas, a dataset containing over 45,000 3D computed tomography (CT) scans from 145 hospitals around the world. This extensive dataset includes annotations for 142 anatomical structures, and provides a large-scale resource for training AI models to identify abdominal organs and tumors more efficiently. By automating the annotation process, researchers have reduced the time required for labeling scans from centuries to under two years, significantly improving the speed and scalability of AI training for tumor detection.
4. Using Supercomputers to Advance Space Flight
Researchers at the University of Southern California are using supercomputing to improve electric spacecraft propulsion, a more efficient alternative to chemical rockets. This technology relies on ionized gas, but it’s exhaust plume can damage spacecraft components if electrons from the gas get redirected. By simulating how these electrons move at different temperatures and speeds, researchers are gaining insights to design safer and more reliable propulsion systems.
OpenAI has introduced Deep Research, an AI-powered tool designed to autonomously conduct comprehensive online research. Leveraging the capabilities of the company’s o3 model, Deep Research can plan and execute multi-step research tasks, analyzing and synthesizing information from various online sources, including text, images, and PDFs. This enables the tool to generate detailed reports within 5 to 30 minutes, a process that would typically take a human several hours. Deep Research is currently available to ChatGPT Pro subscribers, with plans to expand access to other paid tiers in the future.
6. Growing Plants with AI Analysis
Heritable Agriculture, a U.S. based startup, is using AI to analyze plant genomes and improve crop growth. Agriculture accounts for roughly 25 percent of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, is the largest consumer of groundwater, and can lead to soil erosion and water pollution due to pesticides and other chemicals. The machine learning tools analyze genomes, determining combinations of seeds that can be bred with climate-friendly traits such as lower water requirements and higher carbon sequestration capacity while also producing high yield.
Researchers at the University of Sydney in Australia along with The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research are partnering to equip tractors with AI-driven precision agriculture technology and electric engines in Cambodia. With Cambodia’s economy heavily reliant on agriculture, particularly rice production dominating, implementing technology that supports consistent crop production is crucial. The new tractors feature real-time smart weeding, targeted spraying, and AI-powered crop monitoring, allowing farmers to increase farming efficiency and sustainability of small-scale farming.
Researchers at Oxford University in England are using AI and 3D x-ray technology to scan and virtually unwrap ancient scrolls dating to 79 AD in Pompeii. By using this technology, researchers are able to read scrolls previously too fragile to handle, expanding our understanding of life in ancient Italy.
9. Searching for Jobs with LinkedIn LLMs
LinkedIn plans to launch its own LLM services to help job seekers find jobs that may have not come up based on their search queries. The search engine previously only matched users to jobs based on keywords and job descriptions; the new LLM model analyzes the company, related peers, posts from across the site, and even provides users with skills they might need to land the role.
10. Improving Customer Conflict Resolution with AI
Lyft has partnered with Anthropic to use Claude AI to deal with customer service requests. The chatbot handles service inquiries from drivers by providing answers based on Lyft guidelines and redirecting drivers to human customer service when specialized inquiries arise. Testing shows that implementing the chatbot has cut average resolution times by 87 percent, highlighting AI’s ability to streamline customer service.
