News at a glance: Fish family tree, AI safety research, and open access ’ next steps

TAXONOMY Revised map of fish lineage illuminates family ties Researchers are flocking to download a revised tree of life for ray-finned fishes, which account for half the living vertebrate species and 97% of all living fish. In the first comprehensive synthesis of all the classification work of these animals , ichthyologists Thomas Near of Yale University and Christine Thacker of the Los Angeles Natural History Museum covered most of the fish species consumed by humans and used as pets. Unlike earlier phylogenies that were based primarily on morphology, theirs incorporates extensive DNA data. Among the monograph’s fresh insights: Instead of being a distinct family as other trees indicated, the many species of colorful, reef-dwelling parrotfish are members of the wrasse fish family and developed jaws modified for scraping algae off reefs. The 800-page monograph has been downloaded almost 10,000 times since its release in September; by comparison, the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists only lists 2400 members—and some of them study only amphibians and reptiles. POLICY AI safety research expands The United States and United Kingdom said last week they will create research institutes to help develop artificial intelligence (AI) that is safe and trustworthy. The announcements coincided with a summit at which 28 countries agreed to cooperate on studying and mitigating risks that AI will wors...
Source: ScienceNOW - Category: Science Source Type: news