Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and others) [April 21, 2023]

Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Questions include: If you ask the AI the exact same question several times, will it give the same answer or will it change it based on some random function? Or do the neurons change during self-learning and change the answer? - Do you think at any point we will create an AI factory? Like specialized AI algorithms that create other AIs (which can do very well one specific task)? - Any thoughts on using physics simulations vs. the real world to teach robots? - Is it computer power then that speeds real progress? - What do you think about sources of energy now and in the future for developed and developing countries? - What will happen when oil runs out? Will there be a shift to "clean" energy well before this happens? - For nuclear energy, do the dangers pose a problem? Or do the pros outweigh the cons in this situation? - Apparently the death rate for nuclear energy is around 0.04 deaths per terawatt-hour, which is similar to wind and solar. - Nuclear is safer than coal, because people are more cautious when the stakes are higher. - What do you think of small modular reactors? - What is the connection between computational irreducibility and extracting usable energy? Can energy be "mined" with computation? - Nuclear is not going to be a good thing until we have some way of dealing with the waste products.