Related papers: `Oumuamua is not Artificial
Advancements in machine learning have fuelled the popularity of using AI decision algorithms in procedures such as bail hearings (Feller et al. 2016), medical diagnoses (Rajkomar et al. 2018; Esteva et al. 2019) and recruitment (Heilweil…
One of the main aims in the field of quantum simulation is to achieve a quantum speedup, often referred to as "quantum computational supremacy", referring to the experimental realization of a quantum device that computationally outperforms…
Astrophysical models developed to explain superluminal motion in beaming phenomena are shown to be incomplete and the correct kinematical expression in any case to predict projected velocities slower than the speed of light. The observed…
Design of Artificial Intelligence and robotics habitually assumes that adding more humanlike features improves the user experience, mainly kept in check by suspicion of uncanny effects. Three strands of theorizing are brought together for…
After decades of uninterrupted progress and growth, information technology has so evolved that it can be said we are entering the age of autonomous machines, but there exist many roadblocks in the way of making this a reality. In this…
Artificial intelligence (AI) raises expectations of substantial increases in rates of technological and scientific progress, but such anticipations are often not connected to detailed ground-level studies of AI use in innovation processes.…
A recent article claims to measure the speed of quantum particles in the classically forbidden regime where the energy of the particles is lower than the local potential, and further claims that the results of this experiment challenge…
We discuss the idea that the accelerated Universe could be the result of the gravitational leakage into extra dimensions on Hubble distances rather than the consequence of non-zero cosmological constant.
The construction of a novel user facility employing laser-driven plasma acceleration with superior beam quality will require an industrial grade, high repetition rate petawatt laser driver which is beyond existing technology. However, with…
Advanced civilizations capable of interstellar travel, if they exist, are likely to have advanced propulsion methods. Spaceships moving at high speeds would leave a particular signature which could be detected from Earth. We propose a…
A recent discussion of quantum limitations to the fidelity with which superpositions of internal atomic energy levels can be generated by an applied, quantized, laser pulse is shown to be based on unrealistic physical assumptions. This…
The discussion about the disruptive possibilities of a technology called artificial intelligence (AI) is on everyone's lips. Companies and countries alike are running multi-billion-dollar research programmes to ensure they do not miss out…
Laser beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) provide an additional degree of freedom and have found wide applications ranging from optical communications and optical manipulation to quantum information. The efficient generation and…
Embodiment has recently enjoyed renewed consideration as a means to amplify the faculties of smart machines. Proponents of embodiment seem to imply that optimizing for movement in physical space promotes something more than the acquisition…
Recent astronomical observations of SNIa, CMB, as well as BAO in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, suggest that the current Universe has entered a stage of an accelerated expansion with the transition redshift at $z \simeq 0.5$. While the…
I discuss some problems related to extreme mathematical realism, focusing on a recently proposed "shut-up-and-calculate" approach to physics (arXiv:0704.0646, arXiv:0709.4024). I offer arguments for a moderate alternative, the essence of…
A possible slowing down of the cosmic expansion is investigated through a cosmographic approach. By expanding the luminosity distance to fourth order and fitting the SN Ia data from the most recent compilations (Union, Constitution and…
The recently discovered first high velocity hyperbolic objects passing through the Solar System, 1I/'Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov, have raised the question about near term missions to Interstellar Objects. In situ spacecraft exploration of these…
Humans have created artificial intelligence (AI), not the other way around. This statement is deceptively obvious. In this note, we decided to challenge this statement as a small, lighthearted Gedankenexperiment. We ask a simple question:…
Astronomy is at a turning point in its history and in its relations with the Indigenous peoples who are the generational stewards of land where several of our main observatories are located. The controversy regarding the further development…