Google announced a major advance in quantum computing. They claim to have a processor that uses quantum computing technology that completed a calculation in 3 minutes and 20 seconds that would take current supercomputers tens of thousands of years.
The paper describing this demonstration was apparently leaked to the media, and IBM, among others, saw it. IBM says its top supercomputer could have completed the described calculations in two and a half days.
Doing the math, that means Google's processor took two hundred seconds for a calculation that IBM's top supercomputer would need 216,000 seconds to complete. That is three orders of magnitude difference, which seems remarkable.
But IBM challenged Google on the claim that they had reached Quantum Supremacy. I understand that is a term that means building a quantum processor that can complete calculations that "ordinary" supercomputers could not complete during their useful lifetime, metaphorically speaking. A mere three orders of magnitude improvement is for chumps, I guess.
I read other comments about this experiment. Like, the real test will be to find a practical application. So the calculation that was done means nothing. I'm sure there are possible calculations that serve no useful purpose. I'm not sure why Google would choose one of those for their test. But I also don't know how one would program a supercomputer to work on a calculation that is expected to take ten thousand years. I'm not that deep into math challenges.
This seems to be a sign that a major advance in computing technology is happening. That's cool. I have also read recently that we're right on the edge of functional nuclear fusion reactors, which would provide cheap electricity with minimal side effects. Also cool, not considering the temperature of the core of the fusion reactor's temperature.
In other news, a group of scientists from several major research centers published a report claiming that economists are dramatically underestimating the costs of global warming, and we're all totally screwed. So we can't too excited about things getting better all of a sudden. Mostly, this provides a lot of entertainment. We live in interesting times.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Learning to Communicate
I have tried to learn how to use my new phone. I'm slowly making progress, but not everything is working as I would like.
Twice, while I was reading to my wife in bed at night, Siri has asked me to repeat my question. I hadn't said Siri, so I don't understand how the app got activated. I say, "I didn't say anything." Once, Siri replied, "My apologies."
I don't know what the phone responded to.
I discovered an application in my phone that tracks my steps. It has several other health related windows, but no sensors for them. I don't want my phone to know what my blood sugar level is, or how much I way. I doubt that any cell phone has a scale built in capable of weighing adults, and even if mine did, I wouldn't use it. So there are a lot of things this phone asks me that I'm just not interested in sharing.
There must be people who put all of that information in their phones. I don't understand why. After all, I expect if I put those things in my phone, my service provider and the phone manufacturer would have access to that information.
I read that Andrew Yang, who is running for president, wants laws to say that personal data belongs to persons, meaning that if Apple or Amazon or Facebook wants to use any data I create, like the words I'm typing, they have to pay me for it. I think I agree with that. Algorithms and their creators should not be able to exploit my data without permission and compensation. That doesn't mean I'll vote for Yang, though. I really wonder if he will be on the ballot by the time my primary comes around.
Maybe, one of these days, I'll ask Liz to walk me through a few more functions of my new phone, as she has had an iPhone for years. I don't know how to use the GPS function yet. I tried yesterday, and got lost.
But I have made a few phone calls, and I can send text messages, so my phone works just fine as a phone. It has a lot to learn about interacting with me as a companion.
Twice, while I was reading to my wife in bed at night, Siri has asked me to repeat my question. I hadn't said Siri, so I don't understand how the app got activated. I say, "I didn't say anything." Once, Siri replied, "My apologies."
I don't know what the phone responded to.
I discovered an application in my phone that tracks my steps. It has several other health related windows, but no sensors for them. I don't want my phone to know what my blood sugar level is, or how much I way. I doubt that any cell phone has a scale built in capable of weighing adults, and even if mine did, I wouldn't use it. So there are a lot of things this phone asks me that I'm just not interested in sharing.
There must be people who put all of that information in their phones. I don't understand why. After all, I expect if I put those things in my phone, my service provider and the phone manufacturer would have access to that information.
I read that Andrew Yang, who is running for president, wants laws to say that personal data belongs to persons, meaning that if Apple or Amazon or Facebook wants to use any data I create, like the words I'm typing, they have to pay me for it. I think I agree with that. Algorithms and their creators should not be able to exploit my data without permission and compensation. That doesn't mean I'll vote for Yang, though. I really wonder if he will be on the ballot by the time my primary comes around.
Maybe, one of these days, I'll ask Liz to walk me through a few more functions of my new phone, as she has had an iPhone for years. I don't know how to use the GPS function yet. I tried yesterday, and got lost.
But I have made a few phone calls, and I can send text messages, so my phone works just fine as a phone. It has a lot to learn about interacting with me as a companion.
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