Scott Dewing

Technology Columnist, Jefferson Journal at Jefferson Public Radio

Made of star stuff left over from the Big Bang. (Disclaimer: All views are my own. RTs do not constitute endorsement.)

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Inside the Box: Artificial Super Intelligence

2 weeks ago | ijpr.org | Scott Dewing

“I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.” According to Google, its latest quantum computing chip, Willow, is capable of solving a complex computation problem in just 5 minutes that would take the world’s fastest supercomputer 10 septillion years to solve. A “septillion” is a very large number. To give you some sense of scale, a septillion is larger than the U.S. national debt, which is currently at $36 trillion. There are a trillion trillions in a septillion.
The Aftershocks of “Future Shock”

Jan 27, 2025 | medium.com | Scott Dewing

Scott Dewing · Follow Published in Predict · 6 min read · -- Alvin Toffler (2006) / Cover of Future Shock (1970) “The trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be.” — Paul Valéry (1937) In 1970, Alvin Toffler wrote Future Shock, a pioneering treatise in which he went in-depth about the many ways in which rapid technological and social change were leaving people disconnected and disoriented, severed from the past but not fully belonging to a future that was arriving too...
“I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

Jan 20, 2025 | medium.com | Scott Dewing

Scott Dewing·FollowPublished inPredict·4 min read·--HAL 9000 artificial intelligence in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Two news stories caught my attention at the end of 2024 that I think deserve attention and some reflection as we launch into 2025. The first news story was Google’s unveiling of its latest quantum computing chip, Willow.