Lifeboat Foundation

Molecular computer components could represent a new IT revolution and help us create cheaper, faster, smaller, and more powerful computers. Yet researchers struggle to find ways to assemble them more reliably and efficiently.

To help achieve this, scientists from the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences investigated the possibilities of molecular machine self-assembly building upon solutions honed by natural evolution and using synergy with current chip manufacturing.

There is a limit to the miniaturization of current silicon-based computer chips. Molecular electronics, using single-molecule-sized switches and memories, could provide a revolution in the size, speed and capabilities of computers while cutting down on their increasing power consumption, but their mass production is a challenge. Large-scale, low-defect, accessible nanofabrication and assembly of the components remains elusive. Inspiration taken from living nature could change this status quo.

Have you ever looked back on a moment and wondered if you made the right choice? Professor Robert Sapolsky has, but he believes that there was no actual choice at that moment. Professor Sapolsky has staked out an extreme stance in the field: we are nothing more than the sum of our biology, over which we had no control, and its interactions with the environment, over which we also had no control. Explore what it looks like to reject the notion of free will and how doing so can be liberating rather than paralyzing and despairing.

About the Speaker.
Professor Robert Sapolsky is the John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Professor and a professor of biology, of neurology, and of neurosurgery. Over the past thirty years, he has divided his time between the lab, where he studies how stress hormones can damage the brain, and in East Africa, where he studies the impact of chronic stress on the health of baboons.

Continue reading “Determined: Life without Free Will with Robert Sapolsky” »

Adam Shaw (Caltech)https://simons.berkeley.edu/talks/adam-shaw-caltech-2024-04-23Near-Term Quantum Computers: Fault Tolerance + Benchmarking + Quantum Advant…

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The Browser Company, makers of the Arc web browser, released its Windows version today. The company started testing the Windows client in December, and it said that more than 150,000 people have been using it.

The startup, which aims to replace your current browser, recently raised $50 million at a $550 million valuation. Today, The Browser Company opened access to its Windows version to all users without any waitlist. Previously, the waitlist had more than 1 million people on it.

The company started with an invite-only Mac-based version in 2022 and opened it to everyone in July 2023.

More information and choice may be welcomed by some consumers, however, for many others, they’re having to increase the time and effort needed to cut through the noise to decide on what to buy, so much so, they abandon the shopping basket completely.

The data backs this up. In the last three months of 2023, Accenture research found that just under three quarters (73%) of consumers reported being inundated by too much choice, and 75% reported feeling bombarded by advertising. This issue of “information overload” led to a similar number (74%) walking away from purchases because they felt overwhelmed.

It’s easy to see why. The endless number of choices, messages, ads and claims consumers now face, coupled with recommendations from friends, family, influencers, algorithms and apps is only adding to the noise.

Plus a move toward hyperrealism and Alaska Airlines’ new AI tool.

The platform’s ability to interface with a variety of data sources and observability tools makes it a versatile solution for businesses operating in diverse IT environments, whether on-premises, in the cloud, or in hybrid settings. By serving as an intelligence layer that rationalizes data from multiple observability and infrastructure sources, Flip AI simplifies the workload for IT operations teams and supports more efficient operational practices.

This innovative use of LLMs for operational efficiency in IT environments presents a significant advancement in observability, offering enterprises a powerful tool to enhance system reliability and performance while reducing the economic impact of downtime.

As LLMs continue to evolve, their integration into observability tools is transforming the landscape of infrastructure and workload observability. The immediate benefits of improved performance monitoring and security are just the beginning.

A QUT-led team of international researchers has made a breakthrough in the development of a type of battery that is much safer and cheaper than the batteries currently charging our smart devices.

The research, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, has demonstrated a way of improving the voltage of aqueous zinc-ion batteries, which are a type of rechargeable battery which have a water-based electrolyte.

QUT researchers involved in the study are Professor Ziqi Sun, Associate Professor Dongchen Qi, and Fan Zhang from the School of Chemistry and Physics, Professor Ting Liao and Professor Cheng Yan from the School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering and Dr. Aaron Micallef from the Central Analytical Research Facility.