Lifeboat Foundation

Cisco Systems senior visioneer, Annie Hardy, joins me to discuss AI and the future of the internet.

“We are all now connected to the internet, like neurons in a giant brain.” –Stephen Hawking.

Unless you are living in a remote cabin completely off-grid, it has reached the point where you cannot avoid artificial intelligence. It’s in our search engines, it’s on our phones, it’s on the social media on our phones. It’s permeating the internet at a breakneck pace.

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A QUT-led research team has developed an ultra-thin, flexible film that could power next-generation wearable devices using body heat, eliminating the need for batteries.

This technology could also be used to cool electronic chips, helping smartphones and computers run more efficiently.

Professor Zhi-Gang Chen, whose team’s new research was published in the prestigious journal Science , said the breakthrough tackled a major challenge in creating flexible thermoelectric devices that converted body heat into power.

Time is vital to the functioning of our everyday lives: from the watches on our wrists to the GPS systems in our phones. Communication systems, power grids, and financial transactions all rely on precision timing. Seconds are the vital units of measurement in timekeeping.

Surprisingly, there is still debate over the definition of the second. But recent advances in the world’s most accurate forms of timekeeping may have just changed the game.

Accurate timekeeping has always been part of humankind’s social evolution. At the Neolithic monument of Newgrange in Ireland, a special opening above an entrance allows sunlight to illuminate the passage and chamber on the shortest days of the year, around December 21st, the winter solstice.

Large language models (LLMs), such as Open AI’s renowned conversational platform ChatGPT, have recently become increasingly widespread, with many internet users relying on them to find information quickly and produce texts for various purposes. Yet most of these models perform significantly better on computers, due to the high computational demands associated with their size and data processing capabilities.

To tackle this challenge, computer scientists have also been developing small language models (SLMs), which have a similar architecture but are smaller. These models could be easier to deploy directly on smartphones, allowing users to consult ChatGPT-like platforms more easily daily.

Researchers at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (BUPT) recently introduced PhoneLM, a new SLM architecture for smartphones that could be both efficient and highly performing. Their proposed architecture, presented in a paper published on the arXiv preprint server, was designed to attain near-optimal runtime efficiency before it undergoes pre-training on text data.

Apple posts a list of U.S. wireless firms whose iPhone-using subscribers now support RCS.

Xreal is making waves in the world of mixed reality technology, offering a unique approach with its lightweight, almost portable glasses that project virtual screens directly in front of users’ eyes. The latest models, Xreal One and One Pro, come with a game-changing feature that enhances their usability—plug-and-play compatibility with nearly any device equipped with a USB-C video output.

Unlike previous models like the Air 2 Ultra, the Xreal One and One Pro are focused purely on screen mirroring. The glasses can seamlessly display content from an extensive range of devices, including iPhones, Android smartphones, Macs, PCs, and even the Steam Deck. All it takes is a quick connection via USB-C, and you’ll have a massive virtual screen in front of you—perfect for work, gaming, or watching a movie.

The technology behind these glasses relies on micro-OLED displays made by Sony, offering a resolution of 1920 × 1080 per eye. While this doesn’t quite match the ultra-high resolution of Apple’s Vision Pro, it’s worth noting that Xreal’s glasses come at a fraction of the cost—nearly ten times cheaper, in fact.

Quantum technologies are radically transforming our understanding of the universe. One emerging technology is macroscopic mechanical oscillators, devices that are vital in quartz watches, mobile phones, and lasers used in telecommunications. In the quantum realm, macroscopic oscillators could enable ultra-sensitive sensors and components for quantum computing, opening new possibilities for innovation in various industries.

Controlling mechanical oscillators at the quantum level is essential for developing future technologies in quantum computing and ultra-precise sensing. But controlling them collectively is challenging, as it requires near-perfect units, i.e., identical.

Most research in quantum optomechanics has centered on single oscillators, demonstrating quantum phenomena like ground-state cooling and quantum squeezing. But this hasn’t been the case for collective quantum behavior, where many oscillators act as one. Although these collective dynamics are key to creating more powerful quantum systems, they demand exceptionally precise control over multiple oscillators with nearly identical properties.

A groundbreaking advancement in technology is paving the way for mobile phones and other electronic devices to recharge simply by being kept in a pocket. This innovative system enables wireless charging throughout three-dimensional (3D) spaces, encompassing walls, floors, and air.

On December 12, Professor Franklin Bien and his research team in the Department of Electrical Engineering at UNIST announced the creation of a revolutionary electric resonance-based wireless power transfer (ERWPT) system, marking a significant milestone in the field. This modern technology allows devices to charge virtually anywhere within a 3D environment, addressing the longstanding challenges associated with traditional magnetic resonance wireless power transfer (MRWPT) and offering a robust solution that enables efficient power transmission without the constraints of precise device positioning.

The paper is published in the journal Advanced Science.

The BadBox Android malware botnet has grown to over 192,000 infected devices worldwide despite a recent sinkhole operation that attempted to disrupt the operation in Germany.

Researchers from BitSight warn that the malware appears to have expanded its targeting scope beyond no-name Chinese Android devices, now infecting more well-known and trusted brands like Yandex TVs and Hisense smartphones.