Does AI Already Have Free Will?

AI is becoming an increasingly important decision maker in our society whether you like it or not. But can an AI have free will? And should it be made responsible for its decisions? Philosophers are arguing both sides of the issue – let’s take a look.

We Might Finally Know Where Gold Comes From

Scientists have long been confused about where exactly gold comes from. While neutron star mergers are a plausible origin story for most of the gold in our universe, we have known for some while that the numbers don’t add up. Now, though, astrophysicists say they know how the remaining gold was created. Let’s take a look.

Surprise Progress in Quantum Computing

Quantum computing companies always claim that the next big breakthrough is around the corner. Usually you can safely ignore those claims, but a recent series of quantum computing developments might mean that commercially useful quantum computers could be just a few years off. And it looks like they are becoming dangerous faster than we thought. Let’s take a look.

This changed my life

how I learned to copy with knowing that my life is predetermined

New Evidence AI Thinks Like Humans—So Why Can’t It Reason?

In this video I have a look at the recent Apple paper that made headlines with the "Illusion of Thinking", the criticism of it, and another paper about AI thinking that appeared at almost the same time.

What is empty space?

What is empty space? In this video I summarize what physics tells us about this. What really are virtual particles? What do they have to do with the vacuum energy and can we extract this energy?



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Qubits Can Create Space, Physicists Show

In a stunning new paper, a pair of physicists argue that space could be made up of qubits, the building blocks of quantum computers, giving support to Wheeler’s “It from Qubit” idea according to which everything is ultimately qubits. Does this mean that the universe might be a quantum computer? Let’s take a look.

We Have An Aura of Visible Light, Scientists Show

Has anybody ever told you that they like your aura? Well, maybe they weren’t as crazy as you thought. According to a new study, living beings do indeed have an aura in the visible range of the spectrum. What colour is it? I’ve had a look.

AI is becoming dangerous. Are we ready?

Agentic AI – bots which can carry out certain tasks on your behalf – are about to be unleashed on the internet. But recent reports make clear that these AI agents are being shipped with a lot of serious problems. Let’s take a look.

Is physics worth the pain?

A lot of young people have asked for my advice regarding pursuing a career in physics recently. Here are my general feelings about working in the field.

New idea explains dark energy AND dark matter (maybe)

Dark energy and dark matter are two placeholders for mysterious forces and substances that expand our universe and make up the majority of its matter, respectively. In a new theory, one physicist says that defects in spacetime explain both of these mysteries at the same time. Let’s take a look.



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Scientists Measure Qualia for First Time – It was thought to be impossible

For decades, researchers have assumed that qualia – each person’s subjective experiences – can’t be measured. Indeed, the idea of qualia has long been thought to be outside of science. But a few weeks ago, a group of researchers went and measured qualia for the first time. Let’s take a look at what this means for consciousness research.

Universe Will Die Sooner Than We Thought, Physicists Claim

Current estimates about the universe’s lifespan give it about 10^1000 years before everything has collapsed to black holes and the black holes have evaporated. But in a new paper, physicists claim that this might happen in just 10^78 years, as they say that stars can evaporate in a similar manner to black holes. Really? Let’s take a look.

The Quantum Internet Just Passed A Crucial Test

Recently, researchers used fiber-optic internet cables to send quantum messages over a distance of 250 kilometers, marking the first time that quantum information has been shared over basically-normal internet infrastructure. Does this mean that the quantum internet is almost here? What even is the quantum internet? Will it revolutionize cybersecurity or is it just hype, once again? Let’s take a look.

The Theory Of Everything That Nobody Talks About

There are a whole lot of people with “theories of everything” – theories which supposedly explain how the whole universe works. Most of the time, these theories fall very short of that goal. Causal Fermion Systems are an approach that actually seems promising… though it still has its flaws. Today I have a brief summary of what might be the most underreported theory of everything out there.



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This Is Why China Wants To Drill Through The Earth’s Crust

China is investing in drilling, big time. The Chinese government recently completed a 10-kilometer borehole in the Tarim Basin, and has also launched a drillship that intends to drill into the Earth’s mantle through the seabed. If successful, it’d be the first to ever reach the mantle, after the Americans abandoned a similar project 50 years ago. Let’s take a look at both of these projects and what they’re expecting to gain through them.

New Laser Tech Might Be Future of Computing

You might associate lasers with things like destroying planets or melting through steel. But researchers are working on a way to do something more productive with the technology: cooling computer chips. It could solve a big problem because overheating is currently the major obstacle in the way of cramming more transistors onto microchips. Let’s take a look at how laser cooling works and why it might just be the cooling technology of the future.

Gravity Proves That We Live In A Simulation, Physicist Claims

Some people seem obsessed with the idea that we live in some sort of computer simulation. One physicist has gone as far as publishing a paper pushing that idea, claiming that the existence of gravity might prove that the simulation theory is indeed correct. Let’s take a look.

AI Slop Is Coming For Science

AI slop has already become prevalent across the internet (and in the classroom). But according to multiple reports, artificial intelligence is posing an increasingly serious threat to scientific literature, too. Researchers have uncovered a concerning number of AI-generated papers published in reputable journals, even experts can no longer identify AI-generated “science” images, and the amount of AI slop submitted to publishers will only increase as the technology continues to improve. Let’s take a look at what this means for the future of science.

Black Holes might turn into White Holes, and make up dark matter, physicists say

White holes are theoretical bodies in physics that are basically time-reversed black holes, meaning instead of permanently trapping matter inside themselves, they release it constantly. Recently, one team of physicists claimed that black holes can turn into white holes, another team says they know how to detect them, and yet another group claims that white holes make up dark matter. Has the time for white holes come?



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