Is AI the answer to life, the universe and everything?
Artificial Intelligence
Introduction: When Physics Becomes Geopolitics In October 2019, Google announced it had achieved “quantum supremacy”—the first demonstration of a quantum computer solving a problem faster than classical computers could. The milestone lasted just 10 days before IBM challenged the claim, disputing both the methodology and the implications. But beneath this scientific debate lay a deeper…
At Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico, Intel’s new Hala Point neuromorphic system—built from 1,152 Loihi 2 chips—implements ~1.15 billion artificial neurons while drawing about 2,600 W at peak. Rather than brute-forcing matrix math, it explores event-driven spiking computation, a brain-inspired path to more efficient AI. The system represents more than just another incremental improvement…
This is Part 4 of the Table 42 series, The Business Model of Healthcare. In the global landscape of developed nations, the United States healthcare system stands as a significant outlier. While its counterparts have largely converged on universal systems that separate health coverage from employment, the U.S. maintains a complex, fragmented, and costly multi-payer…
The New Space Race On July 20, 1969, as Neil Armstrong took humanity’s first steps on the lunar surface, the Cold War rivalry between the United States and Soviet Union reached its most visible peak. The space race had captivated the world for over a decade, demonstrating that scientific achievement could reshape global power dynamics…
The Next Technological Arms Race In the quiet corridors of laboratories and the closed-door meetings of national security councils, a new global competition is rapidly escalating. It’s a race not for territory or traditional military might, but for the mastery of the very building blocks of reality. This is the quantum revolution, and it marks…
Last week, I watched an AI agent research, fact-check, and draft a 2,500-word analysis of supply chain vulnerabilities in under four hours. The piece included citations to federal reports, academic studies, and recent legislation—all properly sourced and formatted. A human editor could have spent days on the same research. This wasn’t a one-off success. It…
Editor’s Note: This article is Part 5 of 8 in our series, “The Vaccine Paradox”. This series explores the stunning success of vaccination and the parallel rise of a skepticism that threatens to undo one of the greatest public health achievements in human history. Read Part 1: From Cowpox to COVID, Part 2: The Science…
Editor’s Note: This article is Part 4 of 8 in our series, “The Vaccine Paradox”. This series explores the stunning success of vaccination and the parallel rise of a skepticism that threatens to undo one of the greatest public health achievements in human history. Read Part 1: From Cowpox to COVID, Part 2: The Science…
Editor’s Note: This article is Part 3 of 8 in our series, “The Vaccine Paradox”. This series explores the stunning success of vaccination and the parallel rise of a skepticism that threatens to undo one of the greatest public health achievements in human history. Read Part 1: From Cowpox to COVID and Part 2: The…
When someone mentions vaccines, reactions vary dramatically. Some see life-saving medical breakthroughs, others worry about unknown risks, and many fall somewhere in between—curious but uncertain about the science. This uncertainty isn’t surprising: vaccine immunology involves complex biological processes that even medical professionals spend years studying. Yet understanding how vaccines work is crucial for making informed…