Can We Trust the Global Index of Data? How Google’s Outputs Diverge From its Human Inputs
Google has a profound influence on the worldwide production and consumption of information with its search engine, YouTube, and other products. The U.S. Government’s antitrust lawsuit, and the way some websites use the company’s undisclosed algorithms to manipulate users, highlight serious questions about transparency, regulation, and misinformation that could be especially important in global elections in 2024.
Breaking the Language Barrier: AI’s Multilingual Future May Change How We Understand Our Present and Past
Significant strides are being made, with the help of AI, that are not only transforming our ability to decipher ancient languages and communicate with other species but also challenge our understanding of language, cognition, and the interconnectedness of living beings. Does this herald a potentially profound shift in humanity’s interaction with the world?
The Most Intimate Data: Accessing Another Human’s Thoughts
Neuroscience is delivering significant advances in understanding the operation of the human brain and raising more questions in the process. New technologies, like the recently announced first brain-computer interface, highlight a potential to unlock the mysteries of human cognition but raise ethical concerns regarding data privacy, misuse, and the need for responsible neurotechnology development.
Military Funding of AI Education: What Does the Future Hold for Today’s Students?
Artificial intelligence research at universities is attracting significant funding from the military and its contractors in a global battle to attract the brightest minds. As the military invests in cognitive AI research and developing autonomous systems, what will the future of AI education look like?
Editorial Perspectives
Tempered Gratitude for Sam Altman’s AGI Quest: It’s a Question of Trust
By pledging the value of AGI to the general good, OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman has created a trust with 7.8 billion beneficiaries. But for what purpose is AGI being pursued, and how will the trustee overcome profit incentives and discharge fiduciary responsibility for the incredible value and risk of AGI?
For Heaven's Sake, We Must Protect the Children
The future of the world's children and all subsequent generations is in our hands. Technology has driven an increase in child-on-child sexual abuse to the majority of the cases in the UK – is this the legacy we want to leave for those who will be carrying our hopes and dreams into the future?
AI and Critical Thinking: A Difficult Mix We Need to Get Right
AI's offer to relieve us of the burden of thinking is tempting, but once again a lawyer has demonstrated the risk of relying on a technology without applying critical thinking to correct its errors. When generative AI and other technologies allow the viral spread of falsehoods, we need to protect ourselves from "botshit," and teach children to think critically.
In Focus
The Geometry of Information: Is Topological Quantum Computing the Future?
Topological quantum computing could set the path to resolving error correction challenges in today’s quantum computers. The technology uses braiding and other mathematical concepts to map quantum signals in two, three, and four dimensions, and holds promise in combination with photonic qubits.
The Mystery of the Ancient Roman Dodecahedrons
What was the purpose of these curious dodecahedrons, discovered in the northern parts of the ancient Roman Empire? Why does no record exist to explain their use and manufacture? We review the intriguing possibilities, but more detective work is needed to uncover the truth of this ancient technology.
Collective Superintelligence: The Power of Open Source and Knowledge Sharing
Recent advances in machine intelligence, exemplified by Google’s AlphaGeometry and OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Sora, raise questions about the control of superintelligent AI. Could it be counterbalanced by collective human intelligence? The convergence of collective superintelligence and open-source technology prompts ethical and philosophical inquiries about safeguarding human welfare.
Podcasts and Webcasts
Saima Fancy: Why Privacy Matters on the Road to AGI
Dr. Marcelo Gleiser: A New Perspective on Our Cosmic Relationship
Dr. John Mighton: Mathematical Potential in a Technological World
The Quantum Record is a non-profit journal of philosophy, science, technology, and time.
The potential of the future is in the human mind and heart, and in the common ground that we all share on the road to tomorrow. Promoting reflection, discussion, and imagination, The Quantum Record highlights the good work of good people and aims to join many perspectives in shaping the best possible time to come.
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Latest Quantum Computing
The Geometry of Information: Is Topological Quantum Computing the Future?
Topological quantum computing could set the path to resolving error correction challenges in today’s quantum computers. The technology uses braiding and other mathematical concepts to map quantum signals in two, three, and four dimensions, and holds promise in combination with photonic qubits.
Remembering or Forgetting? Quantum Computing May Need Both
Both memory and forgetfulness may be requirements for error-free quantum computing. New research shows the potential of non-Abelian anyons, which retain enduring memory, to operate with quantum maze-solving algorithms, which sacrifice memory for efficiency. Could eliminating noise among qubits be close at hand?
Breakthrough in Error Correction Opens Potential for Large-Scale Quantum Computer Processing
Error correction is a major challenge in connecting qubits, the unit of information in quantum computers. In a recent breakthrough, Harvard-led scientists have created the first-ever quantum circuit with error-correcting logical qubits, opening the potential for large-scale processing.
Featured Science News
Does the Universe Have a Holographic Memory?
The discovery of a low-frequency vibrational “hum” in the fabric of spacetime has added to the mystery of gravitational waves first detected in 2015. Does the universe remember gravitational effects over time, and is its memory encoded at the border of black holes?
Latest Philosophy of Technology
Can We Trust the Global Index of Data? How Google’s Outputs Diverge From its Human Inputs
Google has a profound influence on the worldwide production and consumption of information with its search engine, YouTube, and other products. The U.S. Government’s antitrust lawsuit, and the way some websites use the company’s undisclosed algorithms to manipulate users, highlight serious questions about transparency, regulation, and misinformation that could be especially important in global elections in 2024.
Military Funding of AI Education: What Does the Future Hold for Today’s Students?
Artificial intelligence research at universities is attracting significant funding from the military and its contractors in a global battle to attract the brightest minds. As the military invests in cognitive AI research and developing autonomous systems, what will the future of AI education look like?
Emerging Issues in Space Governance Urgently Require International Agreement
Space governance is rapidly emerging as a major international concern to address challenges such as space debris, commercialization of space, and space-based weapons. The United Nations is among the major players in space governance, calling for new standards of international collaboration and highlighting the consequences of new technologies that pose dangers as well as opportunities as humanity extends its reach further into the cosmos.
Latest Technology Over Time
The Mystery of the Ancient Roman Dodecahedrons
What was the purpose of these curious dodecahedrons, discovered in the northern parts of the ancient Roman Empire? Why does no record exist to explain their use and manufacture? We review the intriguing possibilities, but more detective work is needed to uncover the truth of this ancient technology.
The Genius of Alan Turing, and the Technology that Cracked the Nazi Enigma Code
Alan Turing’s skills in mathematics and computer science helped build the “Bombe,” the computing machine that cracked the Nazi Enigma code. The technology was instrumental in the Allied victory over Hitler.
Ancient Astronomy: The Technology of the Golden Hats
With four Golden Hats now unearthed, dating back over 3,000 years, the mysteries remain. What was the purpose of this ancient technology? What was the source of the knowledge, and how was it used? Were they astronomical time calculators, or more?
Latest Science News
Breaking the Language Barrier: AI’s Multilingual Future May Change How We Understand Our Present and Past
Significant strides are being made, with the help of AI, that are not only transforming our ability to decipher ancient languages and communicate with other species but also challenge our understanding of language, cognition, and the interconnectedness of living beings. Does this herald a potentially profound shift in humanity’s interaction with the world?
The Most Intimate Data: Accessing Another Human’s Thoughts
Neuroscience is delivering significant advances in understanding the operation of the human brain and raising more questions in the process. New technologies, like the recently announced first brain-computer interface, highlight a potential to unlock the mysteries of human cognition but raise ethical concerns regarding data privacy, misuse, and the need for responsible neurotechnology development.
Collective Superintelligence: The Power of Open Source and Knowledge Sharing
Recent advances in machine intelligence, exemplified by Google’s AlphaGeometry and OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Sora, raise questions about the control of superintelligent AI. Could it be counterbalanced by collective human intelligence? The convergence of collective superintelligence and open-source technology prompts ethical and philosophical inquiries about safeguarding human welfare.