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🛡️ US researchers develop 'unhackable' computer chip that works on light

🛡️ US researchers develop 'unhackable' computer chip that works on light

Plus: Here's how the Atlantic Ocean will ultimately close 'soon,' claims study

Sade Agard
February 17, 2024

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania claim they’ve developed an ‘unhackable’ computer chip that employs light rather than electricity. This advancement holds the potential to enhance the efficiency of artificial intelligence (AI) model training by expediting data transfer.

Opting for light, the fastest means of transferring data known to humanity, along with the use of widely available silicon, means the tech can be quickly scaled. Additionally, the chip focuses on vector-matrix multiplications, which are widely used in developing neural networks critical when developing architecture to power AI models. To gain deeper insights it how this chip works, check out today’s Must Read.

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MUST READ

🛡️ US researchers develop 'unhackable' computer chip that works on light

Led by Professor Nader Enghata from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Engineering and Applied Science, a team has developed a silicon-photonic (SiPh) chip for mathematical computations using light.

Thanks to its ability to conduct multiple parallel computations, there's no need to store information in working memory during operations — therefore, the researchers assert its resistance to hacking. To fabricate their SiPh chips, they approached a commercial foundry, adapting the design to existing market sizes and making it ready for immediate deployment.

SCIENCE

🌊 Computer models suggest that the Atlantic Ocean will ultimately close

A study by the University of Lisbon predicts the eventual closure of the Atlantic Ocean. Advanced computational models forecast the evolution of a subduction zone under the Gibraltar Strait, extending deeper into the Atlantic and forming a significant geological feature known as an "Atlantic ring of fire" or Atlantic subduction system. This is expected to happen within the next 20 million years — which is relatively soon.

INNOVATION

🎻 From smugglers' boats to Opera: Prisoners craft musical instruments

Inmates in an Italian prison hand-crafted violins, violas, and cellos showcased at Milan's Teatro alla Scala in the show Orchestra of the Sea. Using wood reclaimed from dilapidated smugglers' boats, each piece carries a reminder of human migrant stories and the prisoners' path to redemption. Each instrument takes 400 hours to create.