Editing Our Human Selves: Will Quantum Computing’s Potential Increase the Risks or the Benefits?
Computing power is combining with gene editing technology to give us unprecedented control over genetics. The technologies are relatively new, making the long-term consequences of editing the human genome difficult to predict. We look at how both classical and quantum computing are being used to amplify our ability to manipulate genetics, and given their future potential ask whether standards against human experimentation will be sufficient to prevent a repeat of the serious legal and ethical violations that put a scientist in prison in 2019.
From Tides to Turbines: Technology Harnesses the Power of Oceans for Renewable Energy
When completed, the MeyGen Tidal Power project in Scotland will be the world’s largest producer of energy from the oceans. Covering more than two-thirds of the Earth’s surface, oceans hold immense energy potential in their waves and tides, and we look at some of the promising technologies and projects that aim to deliver power from water to industries and millions of homes.
Will Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles Soon Provide a Greener Alternative to EVs?
While vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells and refuelling stations are scarce, hydrogen technology promises a greener and more sustainable alternative than electric vehicle batteries and emits only water and heat from the tailpipe. The challenge lies in producing and transporting the hydrogen fuel, but new methods like electrolysis and natural generation promise increased efficiency and lower cost. Will hydrogen power future transportation?
New Technologies Tackle Global Plastic Waste Pollution
Plastic waste has nearly doubled in the past two decades and is expected to triple by 2060, with most ending up in landfills and oceans. Efforts to curb global plastic pollution include bans on single-use plastics and advancements in recycling technologies. Innovations like biodegradable plastics and new processes to vaporize plastic offer promising solutions for waste reduction, but significant progress will require continued global action and investment in recycling infrastructure.
Editorial Perspectives
Blog
Trust is Fragile: Google’s Antitrust Loss and the Global Windows Failure in July are Warnings to AI Investors About the Future Value of Trust
The recent antitrust case lost by Google and another antitrust action now being heard, together with the global failure of Microsoft Windows from faulty code in third-party software highlight our reliance on AI. They also underscore the extent that AI's future value, currently trading for trillions of dollars daily, depends on the trust of its human users.
Blog
The Real and Present Dangers of Reducing Four-Dimensional Living to Two-Dimensional Screen Projections
Much is lost in the reduction of life as we live it, in four dimensions, to a two-dimensional screen. Influence is easily projected from social media platforms onto the length and width of a screen where depth and time are easily manipulated, and the polarization of opinions is a global threat of stereotyping. We owe it to the world's children to preserve real four-dimensional life, which will in the long run be good for corporate profits too.
Blog
In Praise of Human Intelligence For All Time
The race by OpenAI, its partner Microsoft, and others to create and commercialize artificial general intelligence – AGI – begs the question what intelligence is to begin with. Is the intelligence code something that software engineers can crack, or would now be the time for some applied philosophy? The first step to understanding the intelligence in our heads is to stop applying the word to machines; after all, the term "AI" was coined in 1956 as a marketing ploy.
In Focus
A Promising Future for Clean Energy Technologies is Taking Shape
The surging number of clean technology patents, and their growing proportion of all inventions, is a sign of a promising and sustainable future. Renewable energy is rapidly replacing fossil fuels, with solar leading the way but other developing technologies like elastocaloric heating and cooling and hydrogen fuel cells showing potential to add more alternatives as costs continue to decrease.
Heat From the Earth’s Core: An Increasingly Important Global Source of Renewable Energy
Harnessed from the Earth’s core, geothermal energy is gaining attention for its reliability and potential as a major renewable energy source. The Krafla plant in Iceland and The Geysers in California exemplify its large-scale applications. Innovations like deep drilling and superhot rock techniques are pushing the boundaries of geothermal power, promising to enhance efficiency and reduce costs and position geothermal as a significant factor in the future of clean energy.
From Silicon to Perovskite: A Power Boost for the Next Generation of Solar Energy
University of Oxford researchers are hoping to double the electrical output of solar cells made with the mineral perovskite, and to produce thin layers of the material that can be applied to surfaces like cell phones and backpacks to deliver renewable energy for daily needs. Despite challenges like perovskite’s sensitivity to water and heat, these advancements are set to significantly enhance solar energy conversion and further reduce costs.
Podcasts and Webcasts
Dr. Federico Carollo on the Intriguing Present and Future Potential of Time Crystals
Twesh Upadhyaya on the Frontiers of Quantum Thermodynamics
Schweickart Prize Winner Joe DeMartini on Hunting for Asteroids in the Sun’s Shadow to Defend Earth
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Latest Quantum Computing
Deep Underground Lab Studies Effects of Cosmic Rays on Quantum Bits
Located 2 kilometres below ground near Sudbury, Canada, SNOLAB is the world’s deepest underground facility studying interactions of cosmic rays and radiation with bits of quantum information (qubits). In the “clean” lab shielding experiments from cosmic radiation experienced on the Earth’s surface, researchers aim to reduce errors in qubit connections and advance more reliable and efficient quantum computers.
Discoveries in Quantum Teleportation Could Lead to Fault-Tolerant Computers and, Possibly, Wormholes
Quantum teleportation is process that transfers quantum information between locations without moving the quantum bits. A novel method could achieve teleportation without the environmental noise that causes loss of connections in today’s quantum computers, by leveraging the properties of the noise itself. This could lead to fully functional quantum computers, and as a leading scientist explains, possibly the discovery of traversable wormholes.
Race for Post-Quantum Cryptography: Will Proposed Encryption Standards Secure the World’s Data?
Expected within months, new standards for post-quantum cryptography will replace current mathematical encryption methods that powerful quantum computers will be able to decipher. Will the new standards, primarily using the geometry of lattices, be sufficient to secure the world’s data? We look at the current state of the race for the next generation of encryption to keep the world’s data safe.
Featured Science News
The Big Ring: Is the Newly Found Cosmic Megastructure the End for the Cosmological Principle?
The discovery of a colossal ring-shaped structure in space, known as the Big Ring, challenges the cosmological principle, a foundational concept in astrophysics. This finding reinforces questions about the completeness of current cosmological models and hints at the need for a potential overhaul of our understanding of the evolution of the universe.
Latest Philosophy of Technology
Editing Our Human Selves: Will Quantum Computing’s Potential Increase the Risks or the Benefits?
Computing power is combining with gene editing technology to give us unprecedented control over genetics. The technologies are relatively new, making the long-term consequences of editing the human genome difficult to predict. We look at how both classical and quantum computing are being used to amplify our ability to manipulate genetics, and given their future potential ask whether standards against human experimentation will be sufficient to prevent a repeat of the serious legal and ethical violations that put a scientist in prison in 2019.
Deepfakes: The Technology of Deception and Quantum’s Uncertain Future With the Problem
Quantum technology could significantly enhance the fight against deepfakes by improving detection and strengthening defenses, but it could also be used to create realistic holograms with the intention to deceive. We review the current state of deepfake technology, its risks of misinformation and manipulation, and emerging technologies and regulations to combat the widespread problem.
Quantum Technologies Advance Military Capabilities, Raising Ethical Concerns
Major military powers are making significant investments in quantum technologies for battlefield advantages in computing probabilities and simulations, precision measurements of enemy assets and movements, and securing high-bandwidth communications. Quantum technologies will advance military automation and autonomous weapons systems, an objective that raises ethical issues for use of the developing power of quantum applications.
Latest Technology Over Time
Ancient Roman Concrete: A Technology Ahead of Its Time
The Colosseum and Pantheon stand witness to the knowledge and skill behind ancient Roman concrete-making technology. We look at the history of concrete from then to now, and take you into the Pantheon to explore the marvels that ancient Romans accomplished with concrete.
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.
Latest Science News
From Tides to Turbines: Technology Harnesses the Power of Oceans for Renewable Energy
When completed, the MeyGen Tidal Power project in Scotland will be the world’s largest producer of energy from the oceans. Covering more than two-thirds of the Earth’s surface, oceans hold immense energy potential in their waves and tides, and we look at some of the promising technologies and projects that aim to deliver power from water to industries and millions of homes.
Will Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles Soon Provide a Greener Alternative to EVs?
While vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells and refuelling stations are scarce, hydrogen technology promises a greener and more sustainable alternative than electric vehicle batteries and emits only water and heat from the tailpipe. The challenge lies in producing and transporting the hydrogen fuel, but new methods like electrolysis and natural generation promise increased efficiency and lower cost. Will hydrogen power future transportation?
New Technologies Tackle Global Plastic Waste Pollution
Plastic waste has nearly doubled in the past two decades and is expected to triple by 2060, with most ending up in landfills and oceans. Efforts to curb global plastic pollution include bans on single-use plastics and advancements in recycling technologies. Innovations like biodegradable plastics and new processes to vaporize plastic offer promising solutions for waste reduction, but significant progress will require continued global action and investment in recycling infrastructure.