In Digits We Trust: Cryptocurrencies and Central Banks are Competing to Reshape the Economic Landscape
As financial transactions are increasingly electronic and physical currency use becomes rare, three central banks have introduced digital currencies and more are planning for the potential. But will blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin become widely accepted instead, or will they continue as a favoured method for criminal payments? Whatever digital payment method takes hold in the future, public demand for transactional privacy may be at odds with regulatory efforts to rein in crime.
Emerging Risks of AI Chatbots Include Suicide and “AI Psychosis,” Particularly for Vulnerable Youth
Evidence shows how young people are relying on AI agents like ChatGPT as “life advisors,” and tragic suicides are a warning of risks to vulnerable kids from AI companions. Jeopardy extends beyond youth, as adults increasingly fall victim to “AI psychosis,” becoming delusional or paranoid from false information provided by AIs. There is little time to implement safeguards when, as one teen says, “Everyone uses AI for everything now. It’s really taking over.”
An Increasingly Digital Future Raises Urgency for Rooting Out Algorithmic Biases in Software Development
Drawing its initial concerns from biases in facial recognition algorithms, the Algorithmic Justice League wants the world “to remember that who codes matters, how we code matters, and that we can code a better future.” Instead of waiting to fix biases in algorithms already in use, the AJL wants to root out problems before applications hit the market by focussing on the process of coding of software in the first place. The approach is encouraging when we believe we can, in fact, code a better future.
With Diamond Film and GKP Qubits, is Light About to Take Centre Stage in Quantum Computing and Drug Discovery Breakthroughs?
The discovery of a diamond film holds promise for enabling light-based memory for quantum networking and industrial-scale production of quantum processing units. Together with the recent development of photonic GKP qubits, the use of light for circuitry is advancing the prospect of full-scale quantum computing and its computational potential for discovering life-saving drugs.
In Focus
‘Godfather of AI’ Proposes New Type of Neural Network to Guard Against LLM Deceit and Self-Preservation
Large Language Models like ChatGPT and Claude are showing alarming tendencies for self-preservation and deceiving humans. Yoshua Bengio, whose insights were key to developing artificial neural networks and machine learning, is calling for the creation of what he calls “Scientist AI.” It’s a different AI, unable to act as a human agent like other AIs, but the impartiality of Scientist AI could make it far more powerful and beneficial for all of humanity.
Physicists Discover New Formula for \(\pi\): Could the Human Power for Pattern Recognition Unlock the Universe’s Secrets?
We’re surrounded by numbers, like changing prices and the minutes of an hour. Some numbers, like those in the ratio of a circle’s circumference to diameter, pi = 3.14159…, go on infinitely, and the intuition of two physicists has found a way for capturing infinity in a new formula for pi. We look at the new formula’s relationship to one that’s 600-years old, and how others in history like Archimedes and Ramanujan used intuition to uncover patterns in pi. Knowing more about pi, as a key factor in physics, could unlock some of the universe’s hidden secrets.
Was Einstein Both Right and Wrong? New Atomic-Scale Tests Conflict on Light’s Wave-Particle Duality and Quantum Measurement
Two experimental results conflict on whether light only acts as a particle or as both a particle and a wave. Resolving the question of light’s actions of cause and effect could have significant consequences for quantum measurement and the creation of stable quantum computing circuits. One novel and intriguing interpretation is that light consists of both active photons and inert photons that are “dark.” The mathematics of dark photons support Einstein’s view that light is measurable only as a particle.
Editorial Perspectives
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Blog
What’s the Value of Time in the Digital Era? In the Long Run, Slowing Down and Being Bored Can Produce a Wealth of Benefits
Belief that present value is greater than the future underpins the entire economic structure, but what if we reverse the assumption with faith that human ingenuity will drive future value that eclipses the present? History shows that the risk of underestimating the future can far outweigh the uncertainties of the present. The key to generating a better tomorrow may be the opposite of using AI to speed up today's work. Instead, we could give ourselves a break to escape a repeating cycle and allow human creativity to work its magic in time.
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Blog
Depriving Children of Digital Privacy is Theft and Abuse Often Masquerading as “Free Speech,” and Online Protection for Kids Falls Far Short of Ideal
Privacy of thought is crucial for developing young minds but is under threat from AI influencing the thoughts and actions of children. Adults bear a fundamental responsibility to protect kids from online harms that include default conversation sharing for chatbot training and corporate policies allowing chatbots to engage in sexual and racist discussions with children. Impractical online age verification measures should be bolstered by severe penalties for stealing and abusing kids’ privacy, with no tolerance for irresponsible speech masquerading as “free.”
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Blog
Privacy of Thought and Choice of Expression: Reflect on Their Value and Our Choice of Social Media Technology
By any measure, commercial social media has not been a net benefit to the social fabric, and now it will be used by the U.S. government to track the thoughts and actions of foreign students. The current technology is not the only option available, however, and it's worth a pause for some human reflection on the ways we could change social media to build community, protect our privacy of thought, and promote human creativity.
Podcasts and Webcasts
Louis Rosenberg on Our Future with Virtual Reality’s Risks and Benefits
Lindsay House: Leading 20,000 Citizen Scientists to Uncover Dark Energy’s Secrets
The Fascinating World of Mathematics at the Fields Institute, with Dr. Deirdre Haskell
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
With Diamond Film and GKP Qubits, is Light About to Take Centre Stage in Quantum Computing and Drug Discovery Breakthroughs?
The discovery of a diamond film holds promise for enabling light-based memory for quantum networking and industrial-scale production of quantum processing units. Together with the recent development of photonic GKP qubits, the use of light for circuitry is advancing the prospect of full-scale quantum computing and its computational potential for discovering life-saving drugs.
Was Einstein Both Right and Wrong? New Atomic-Scale Tests Conflict on Light’s Wave-Particle Duality and Quantum Measurement
Two experimental results conflict on whether light only acts as a particle or as both a particle and a wave. Resolving the question of light’s actions of cause and effect could have significant consequences for quantum measurement and the creation of stable quantum computing circuits. One novel and intriguing interpretation is that light consists of both active photons and inert photons that are “dark.” The mathematics of dark photons support Einstein’s view that light is measurable only as a particle.
New Type of Quantum Bit, the Photonic GKP Qubit, Propels Development of Error-free Quantum Computing
A new type of quantum computer bit, the GKP qubit, holds promise for fault-resistant quantum computing at full scale. Encoded in photons, which are particles of light, GKP qubits allow measurement of fluctuations in waves of photons while avoiding the problem of the observer effect, where the act of measurement destroys a quantum state. Could GKP qubits be the answer to creating stable quantum circuits, eliminating decoherence that has held back the onset of a quantum computing revolution?
Featured Science News
Why Artificial Neural Networks Fail in Processing Emotions Essential for Human Memory—and How Failure Can Lead to Blackmail
Artificial neural networks behind ChatGPT, Claude, and other popular large language models fall short in processing emotions, which are essential to human memory and motivation. The fault lines that lead machines to sycophancy, blackmail, jailbreaking, and other serious output errors are rooted in machine learning and choices made by human trainers. We look at examples of algorithmic failures and the reasons why.
Latest Philosophy of Technology
An Increasingly Digital Future Raises Urgency for Rooting Out Algorithmic Biases in Software Development
Drawing its initial concerns from biases in facial recognition algorithms, the Algorithmic Justice League wants the world “to remember that who codes matters, how we code matters, and that we can code a better future.” Instead of waiting to fix biases in algorithms already in use, the AJL wants to root out problems before applications hit the market by focussing on the process of coding of software in the first place. The approach is encouraging when we believe we can, in fact, code a better future.
‘Godfather of AI’ Proposes New Type of Neural Network to Guard Against LLM Deceit and Self-Preservation
Large Language Models like ChatGPT and Claude are showing alarming tendencies for self-preservation and deceiving humans. Yoshua Bengio, whose insights were key to developing artificial neural networks and machine learning, is calling for the creation of what he calls “Scientist AI.” It’s a different AI, unable to act as a human agent like other AIs, but the impartiality of Scientist AI could make it far more powerful and beneficial for all of humanity.
A Deep Dive Into Machine Superintelligence: Why are Companies Racing for It, and What Would Motivate a Machine that Outsmarts the Brain?
The biggest tech companies and many brilliant minds are in a heated race to give birth to machine superintelligence. Betting on huge returns, investors are funding the massive cost of chips and electricity to train the artificial neural networks behind ChatGPT and other LLMs, but impressive results still fall short of the goal. We look at the state of the race, the resources it consumes, and serious issues in machine learning that are placing new obstacles on the road to outsmarting the human brain.
Latest Technology Over Time
After Centuries of Exploring the Mysteries of the Great Pyramid Shafts, Will Robotics Help to Uncover Their Purpose?
Over 200 years have passed since French Emperor Napoleon’s night in the Great Pyramid puzzling over its purpose, and there remains no consensus but many theories on the question. The reason for the shafts in the King’s and Queen’s Chambers is particularly mystifying, and we explore many possibilities. Will robots, which have penetrated the shafts most deeply, help to unlock the secret that’s thousands of years old?
Decoding Ancient Technology Using Modern Technology
From the discovery of a 500-year-old ocean-going canoe in the Chatham Islands to the AI-powered decoding of ancient Roman scrolls buried in volcanic ash, modern technologies—like radiocarbon dating, CT scanning, and AI—are transforming the study of ancient artefacts. Mysteries endure, however, like the undeciphered Voynich Manuscript, and continue to challenge our understanding of the past.
The Fascinating History of the Computer, from ENIAC, Vacuum Tubes and Transistors, to Microchips
We trace computing history from ENIAC, the first computer in 1947, from vacuum tubes to transistors, to the development of microchips that put far greater computing power in our our phones than the giant ENIAC had. With the world at the brink of a quantum computing revolution, what lessons can we draw from our computing history to shape the best possible future with our next technological leap ?
Latest Science News
In Digits We Trust: Cryptocurrencies and Central Banks are Competing to Reshape the Economic Landscape
As financial transactions are increasingly electronic and physical currency use becomes rare, three central banks have introduced digital currencies and more are planning for the potential. But will blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin become widely accepted instead, or will they continue as a favoured method for criminal payments? Whatever digital payment method takes hold in the future, public demand for transactional privacy may be at odds with regulatory efforts to rein in crime.
Emerging Risks of AI Chatbots Include Suicide and “AI Psychosis,” Particularly for Vulnerable Youth
Evidence shows how young people are relying on AI agents like ChatGPT as “life advisors,” and tragic suicides are a warning of risks to vulnerable kids from AI companions. Jeopardy extends beyond youth, as adults increasingly fall victim to “AI psychosis,” becoming delusional or paranoid from false information provided by AIs. There is little time to implement safeguards when, as one teen says, “Everyone uses AI for everything now. It’s really taking over.”
Problem Solved: Mathematicians Show How Time is Both Reversible and Irreversible, With Potential for Major Discoveries
David Hilbert famously set out 23 problems for fellow mathematicians, the 6th of which was to create axioms for physical sciences in which mathematics plays an important part. Now, 125 years later, Hilbert’s 6th problem has been answered by three mathematicians whose axioms for the physical motion of gases and gas particles explain the connection between time-reversible equations of physical motion and the irreversibility of time as we experience it. Physicists have had to use three different equations for the evolution of a gas, but the new axioms open the door for exploring the mathematical relationships and more complex particle interactions.