Emerging Technologies – DigitalKoans

“Microsoft’s Majorana 1 Chip Carves New Path for Quantum Computing”

Microsoft today introduced Majorana 1, the world’s first quantum chip powered by a new Topological Core architecture that it expects will realize quantum computers capable of solving meaningful, industrial-scale problems in years, not decades. . . .

In the same way that the invention of semiconductors made today’s smartphones, computers and electronics possible, topoconductors and the new type of chip they enable offer a path to developing quantum systems that can scale to a million qubits and are capable of tackling the most complex industrial and societal problems, Microsoft said. . . .

This new architecture used to develop the Majorana 1 processor offers a clear path to fit a million qubits on a single chip that can fit in the palm of one’s hand, Microsoft said. This is a needed threshold for quantum computers to deliver transformative, real-world solutions – such as breaking down microplastics into harmless byproducts or inventing self-healing materials for construction, manufacturing or healthcare. All the world’s current computers operating together can’t do what a one-million-qubit quantum computer will be able to do. . . .

Because they can use quantum mechanics to mathematically map how nature behaves with incredible precision – from chemical reactions to molecular interactions and enzyme energies – million-qubit machines should be able to solve certain types of problems in chemistry, materials science and other industries that are impossible for today’s classical computers to accurately calculate.

https://tinyurl.com/4twbh57a

"Embracing the Metaverse: A Survey of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Practices at the United States’ Top One Hundred University Libraries"

The purpose of this study is to learn more about virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) practices at the United States’ top one hundred university libraries, as well as how they are engaging with the metaverse. We conducted qualitative and descriptive analysis on the websites of the top one hundred university libraries in the United States to determine the application fields and application proportions of VR and AR technologies and found good practice examples of using VR and AR technologies in this field. The findings show that 86 percent of the top one hundred US university libraries have implemented VR and AR technologies, with practice areas focused on: VR/AR studio and VR/AR makerspace; immersive learning services and virtual exhibitions/conference services; visual geographic information system and VR navigation services; virtual reading services and visual retrieval services; and VR reference services. The study provides university library administrators and professionals with the most up-to-date information and best practices of VR and AR engagement areas and the proportion of use, which can aid in the development of strategies to leverage VR and AR technologies to improve patron service and embrace the metaverse for the communities they serve.

https://tinyurl.com/55u3hnf3

"Elsevier Launches Complete HeartX, the World’s First Heart Education Experience in Spatial Computing"

Elsevier Health, a global leader in medical information and data analytics, today launches Complete HeartX, a groundbreaking educational tool designed exclusively for Apple Vision Pro, the world’s first spatial computer. The tool unlocks an immersive and powerful experience that allows users to discover the heart like never before.

Designed to take advantage of the unique capabilities of Apple Vision Pro, Complete HeartX seamlessly merges the digital and physical world. By being able to explore the heart in stunning detail, users can bridge the gap between theory and practice. Complete HeartX combines detailed 3D models, animations, images, videos, educational scenes and clinical simulations to make learning about the heart engaging and informative. The app is based on Elsevier’s evidence-based content including Complete Anatomy, Osmosis and Gray’s Anatomy and has been created by Elsevier’s experts in anatomy and 3D modeling.

http://tinyurl.com/ya6d7ek6

"Introducing Wikifunctions: First Wikimedia Project to Launch in a Decade Creates New Forms of Knowledge"

Wikifunctions is the underlying technical infrastructure that will support a wider initiative by the Wikimedia Foundation to enable people to share more knowledge in more languages across Wikipedia. Through this initiative, users will be able to create and maintain content in their native language, which others can access in over 300 languages available on Wikimedia projects. The long-term aim of this effort is to create knowledge that is independent of language, and easier for Wikipedia editors to share, add, translate, and improve across languages on the online encyclopedia. . . .

Wikifunctions was approved by the Wikimedia Foundation’s Board of Trustees in 2020. The project went live as a read-only site earlier this year, and it is now available so that anyone, anywhere can use it.

https://tinyurl.com/ycky9u7j

"TMU Libraries Immersion Studio: Overview of a Shared Immersive Tech Initiative to Enhance Education" (Video)

[This video] shares TMU’s [Toronto Metropolitan University’s] experience implementing a shared immersive extended reality environment to support teaching, learning, and research. The briefing includes specific domain examples and discusses the impact, limitations, and future of TMU’s Immersion Studio.

https://tinyurl.com/52664v32

From: "Edition Guide Coalition for Networked Information Pre-Recorded Project Briefing Series November 2023"e;

2023 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition

This report profiles key trends and emerging technologies and practices shaping the future of teaching and learning, and envisions a number of scenarios and implications for that future. . . .

Artificial intelligence (AI) has taken the world by storm, with new AI-powered tools such as ChatGPT opening up new opportunities in higher education for content creation, communication, and learning, while also raising new concerns about the misuses and overreach of technology. Our shared humanity has also become a key focal point within higher education, as faculty and leaders continue to wrestle with understanding and meeting the diverse needs of students and to find ways of cultivating institutional communities that support student well-being and belonging.

https://bit.ly/3panaJd

"A World in Which Your Boss Spies on Your Brainwaves? That Future Is Near"

Farahany paints a picture of a near future in which every office worker could be fitted with a small wearable that would constantly record brain activity, creating an omnipotent record of your thoughts, attention and energy that the boss could study at leisure. No longer would it be enough to look like you’re working hard: your own brainwaves could reveal that you were slacking off. . . . A Coworker.org database of bossware found that more than 550 products are already in use in workplaces. Everywhere you look, workers are being tracked, watched, measured, scored, analyzed and penalized by software, human overseers and artificial intelligence, with the aim of wringing every last cent’s worth of productivity out of the flawed and fragile flesh-and-blood units of labor who must, regrettably, be used as employees until the robots get a little bit more manual dexterity.

bit.ly/3RO7ZQi

"An ALS Patient Set a Record for Communicating via a Brain Implant: 62 Words per Minute"

Eight years ago, a patient lost her power of speech because of ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, which causes progressive paralysis. . . .Now, after volunteering to receive a brain implant, the woman has been able to rapidly communicate phrases like "I don’t own my home" and "It’s just tough" at a rate approaching normal speech. . . .Philip Sabes, a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, who was not involved in the project, called the results a "big breakthrough" and said that experimental brain-reading technology could be ready to leave the lab and become a useful product soon.

bit.ly/3R8UjPo

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"‘The Metaverse Will Be Our Slow Death!’ Is Facebook Losing Its $100BN Gamble on Virtual Reality?"

Meanwhile, Meta has invested a staggering $100bn on metaverse research and development to date, $15bn in the past year alone—with apparently little to show for it. . . . In April, Sony and Lego invested $2bn in Epic’s metaverse vision. In January, Microsoft moved to acquire another games giant, Activision Blizzard, makers of World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Call of Duty and Candy Crush, for nearly $70bn. . . The metaverse was valued at nearly $23bn last year and is expected to grow nearly 40% a year for the rest of the decade. As the Epic co-founder and CEO Tim Sweeney put it last year: "The next three years are going to be critical for all of the metaverse-aspiring companies. . . . Whoever brings on a billion users first would be the presumed leader in setting the standards."

https://bit.ly/3UyZhFi

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"When AI Can Make Art—What Does It Mean for Creativity?"

While internet users have embraced this supercharged creative potential—armed with the correctly refined prompt, even novices can now create arresting digital canvases—some artists have balked at the new technology’s capacity for mimicry. Among the prompts entered into image generators Stable Diffusion and Midjourney, many tag an artist’s name in order to ensure a more aesthetically pleasing style for the resulting image. Something as mundane as a bowl of oranges can become eye-catching if rendered in the style of, say, Picasso. Because the AI has been trained on billions of images, some of which are copyrighted works by living artists, it can generally create a pretty faithful approximation.

https://cutt.ly/iMv27Pn

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Microsoft, GitHub, and OpenAI Sued: "The Lawsuit That Could Rewrite the Rules of AI Copyright"

Microsoft, its subsidiary GitHub, and its business partner OpenAI have been targeted in a proposed class action lawsuit alleging that the companies’ creation of AI-powered coding assistant GitHub Copilot relies on "software piracy on an unprecedented scale". . . .Copilot, which was unveiled by Microsoft-owned GitHub in June 2021, is trained on public repositories of code scraped from the web, many of which are published with licenses that require anyone reusing the code to credit its creators. Copilot has been found to regurgitate long sections of licensed code without providing credit—prompting this lawsuit that accuses the companies of violating copyright law on a massive scale.

https://cutt.ly/FMwC4mR

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"The Digital First Sale Doctrine in a Blockchain World: NFTs and the Temporary Reproduction Exception"

At time of writing, this is the first piece of legal scholarship on NFTs that examines their interaction with the first sale doctrine. This Note examines the rise of the NFT phenomenon and the historical articulation of the first sale doctrine in the digital era. As NFTs present challenges for the copyright owner’s reproduction right, this Note recommends legislative intervention to clarify the doctrine’s applicability within the digital marketplace. This Note proposes an addition to the Copyright Act of 1976 that expressly allows for a first sale to be effective upon a digital transfer, albeit under certain conditions. Amending the act in this manner promotes the Copyright Act’s purpose of balancing the interests of copyright owners and consumers in a dynamic digital marketplace, and serves as a guide that will be necessary to avoid legal ambiguities and increased litigation.

https://cutt.ly/DN3TV8v

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"Frankfurt Spotlight: The Metaverse Meets Publishing"

To give an idea of what’s possible today, take the example of Aschehoug Publishing Company from Oslo, Norway. Together, Aschehoug and Ludenso are bringing textbooks to life by adding live 3-D models to print textbooks, allowing students to explore a topic in AR through their mobile devices. This allows students to explore countless abstract concepts in a more tangible way, such as showing the magnetic field around the earth, or conducting virtual physics lab projects.

https://cutt.ly/6BFGlQ9

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Or the Opposite: "Meta Quest Pro Hands-On: The $1,500 Headset That ‘Will Enable the Metaverse’"

After using the Quest Pro, I feel like this is the headset Meta really needs to provide a high-quality VR experience for building out apps and environments. Now I still don’t know if this is enough to convince people to work and live in VR, but when it comes to enabling the Metaverse, the Quest Pro seems like the big building block for making that happen

https://cutt.ly/pBbeddp

See also: Paywall: "Inside Zuckerberg’s $1,500 Headset, the Metaverse Is Still Out of Reach," https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/10/11/meta-quest-pro-metaverse/.

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