Technology, in its broadest sense, means “the way we do things” – which can be manual, mechanical, and electronic. What does the way we do things say about the evolution of knowledge, and of our perspectives and priorities, over time? Does our technology reveal the mindset of its inventors, and those who use it?
Technology is the product of human knowledge, applied to a particular purpose. The applications of our technology change over time, but why do they change and what are the causes of our inventions? Are there times when we adapt to our technology, and other times when our technology adapts to us? Who – or what – determines the future course of the way we do things, and how do the rest of us have a say in the matter? Join in this ongoing dialogue as we explore the frontiers of technology from the combined perspectives of its developers and its users.
Elon Musk’s xAI plans to sell one million “human emulators,” and the company’s internal tests show how effectively the robots can do the work of humans. The emulators are trained to copy every step of human workers and operate at a small fraction of the cost of real people, but as they make us obsolete what does that mean for our future and how humanity should be responding in the present?
Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are making life-like images and content that are nearly impossible to identify as fakes and are being used to violate copyright, for deception, and even for blackmail and extortion. A recent survey found that fakes comprise as many as one-third of the videos recommended by YouTube’s algorithms to new users, while AI-generated content predominates in new websites. Although tools for detecting AI-generated content are improving, they remain unreliable as deception spreads widely.
Scientists are on track to delivering the overwhelming speed and accuracy of quantum computing within only four years, and military powers are already focussed on developing quantum sensing for precision navigation and enemy targeting. Quantum tech will also amplify military power with new materials, miniaturized weapons, and data decryption. Is quantized war a path we dare pursue, given our history with technologically-powered combat?
Open science promises to make research transparent, accessible, and reusable through shared digital infrastructures. Yet this vision clashes with a publishing system that locks much publicly funded knowledge behind paywalls and reinforces global inequalities. We explore the growing ecosystem of open repositories and Publish–Review–Curate models, alongside rebel tools like Sci-Hub, and examine how digital platforms are reshaping control over science. At stake is not only access to knowledge, but who governs the platforms, incentives, and rules for how science is produced, evaluated, and shared.
The theft in 2023 of 6.9 million genetic profiles from ancestry-matching company 23andMe, and the company’s sale by auction of 15 million DNA profiles, highlight the bio-security risks to our most personal data: our DNA. Of interest to blackmailers and fraudsters, hacking the complex DNA structure can also be used to transmit malware in synthetic DNA, raising the urgency for legal and cyber-security measures to protect our DNA.
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.
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. We would love to stay in touch with you, and add your voice to the dialogue.