Scientists at ETH Zurich have developed a special coating that prevents the lenses in glasses from fogging up. Apparently, not all heroes wear capes. This has been a problem since the advent of optical lenses, but it’s fair to say it reached a peak during the pandemic when everyone wearing glasses found out the hard way that most face masks vent your breath up towards your eyes. You’d think someone would have fixed this by now, but it’s harder than you might guess. The difficulty of the problem is evident by the lack of current solutions. You can wipe your glasses off when they fog up or… well, that’s pretty much it.
The UK government’s plans to weaken encryption can “easily be exploited” by hackers and officials, experts have warned. The proposals are part of the controversial Online Safety Bill, which is currently working its way through parliament. Ministers say the legislation would make Britain “the safest place in the world to be online,” but campaigners fear it will erode free speech and privacy. Their prime concern involves the threat to end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) messenger apps. Under the mooted measures, telecoms regulators could force platforms to scan through private messages for illegal content. Greetings, humanoids
In July, Sweden’s payments firm Klarna marked a drop in valuation at $6.7 billion, down from $46 billion in June 2021. The buy-now-pay-later firm — which was once seen as Europe’s most valuable private tech company — recorded its first ever large-scale layoffs in May as it shed 10% of its staff. Similarly, Berlin’s once fast-growing rapid grocery delivery startup Gorillas recently laid off 300 employees. Between the global economic downturn and poor public market performance, Europe’s world of tech is currently facing a major decline in venture funding, sliding to its lowest point in nearly two years. Investments in EU startups for the third quarter totaled $16 billion, a 44% year over year drop from $28 billion in the third quarter of 2021.
Vivaldi browser is backing Mastodon to release online communications from Big Tech’s stranglehold. The Oslo-based company today became the first browser to integrate Mastodon — just weeks after launching its own server on the federated social network. The moves aim to accelerate the uptake of Mastodon, while attracting more users to Vivaldi’s privacy-focused browser. They arrive amid a backlash against Silicon Valley’s closed platforms and lock-in algorithms, which spread deeper into the mainstream after Elon Musk bought Twitter. Greetings, humanoids Subscribe to our newsletter now for a weekly recap of our favorite AI stories in your inbox.
Ministers at the European Space Agency (ESA) recently approved funding for a special project to build nuclear waste-powered batteries for use in space exploration. If successful, the new tech would make it possible to conduct operations in areas where access to solar energy is degraded or absent, such as on the dark side of the moon. Researchers working with the ESA believe they can use americium, a radioactive element derived from plutonium decay, to generate sufficient heat to both warm equipment and generate electricity to power functionality. This would represent the first time americium has been used in this manner, but the innovation comes at a necessary time for the European space program.
Content provided by IBM and TNW Companies that don’t have a digitization and automation strategy will probably not survive in the next decade. Why? Because a host of technological developments are making it possible to free employees from a range of routine operations, so they can focus on the most impactful areas of business. Enterprises that embrace automation can have happier customers, more satisfied employees, and streamlined operations. From back-office tasks to the inspection of industrial complexes and manufacturing sites, there are tools and platforms to collect and analyze various types of data, and take actions that automate repetitive tasks that previously required human effort.
The evolution of data centers has been continuous since their advent, with the requirements of each technological era defining each phase of transformation. As the world abruptly shifted to digital during the COVID pandemic, we’re now producing more data than ever before. Naturally, the demand to manage, store, and process that data has also increased exponentially. Along with this heightened demand, comes a new set of challenges and things to consider when building the data centers of the future. How can we satisfy our growing data needs, without compromising the environment? How can we tackle the growing cybersecurity threat and keep our data safe? These are just a few factors data center operators will need to consider moving forward.
We’ve long suspected the human brain is a quantum computer but we’ve never had any actual evidence to back this theory up. That is, until now. A pair of researchers from Trinity College in Dublin and the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw recently published what may turn out to be landmark research in the quest to understand the human brain, consciousness, and the physical nature of the universe itself. The team’s paper, titled “Experimental indications of non-classical brain functions,” details an experimental MRI paradigm in which it appeared test subjects’ brains were entangled with their hearts.
When learning a different language, the easiest way to get started is with fill in the blank exercises. “It’s raining cats and …” By making mistakes and correcting them, your brain (which linguists agree is hardwired for language learning) starts discovering patterns in grammar, vocabulary, and word sequence — which can not only be applied to filling in blanks, but also to convey meaning to other humans (or computers, dogs, etc.). That last bit is important when talking about so-called ‘foundation models,’ one of the hottest (but underreported) topics in artificial intelligence right now.
