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What does a future with quantum computers look like?

January 25, 2024/in 4TC, Blogs/by Charlotte Forton

Quantum computing is an exciting and evolving deep-tech sector, which could transform parts of society when it comes to fruition.

These powerful machines are capable of processing vast amounts of data and could eventually solve problems that are far too advanced for modern supercomputers, which would lead to enormous benefits for humanity.

But the journey to get there is not easy, with a variety of technological and scientific hurdles to overcome before these we can create true quantum computers.

Ulrich Seyfarth is a manager in BearingPoint’s Munich operations. He said that a lot of effort has been made to solve the issues surrounding quantum computers, but there is still a long way to go.

“Major challenges include the number of information carriers (qubits) needed and the ability to compute long-running calculations due to the impact of noise and decoherence effects which must be mitigated by powerful error-correction methods,” Seyfarth said.

“The current stage of quantum computing is called NISQ (noisy intermediate-scale quantum), more a playground to get used to quantum computing, than a stage where we can gain from powerful new solutions. That horizon however, is approaching.”

Many researchers are working to bring us closer to fault-free quantum computers. Last month, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) claimed they found a new way to hit 99.9pc accuracy in certain quantum operations.

Earlier this year, quantum computing company Quantiniuum claimed it was able to accurately simulate a hydrogen molecule by using an error-detecting code.

The potential benefits

When – or if – we get to the stage of general-purpose quantum computers, Seyfarth said there are various ways these machines could be used to benefit society. One way would be to simulate aspects of nature, as “nature is quantum”.

“Quantum theory is a fundamental description of the physical behaviour of our world,” Seyfarth said. “Computers that speak the same language as nature are best suited to simulate it.

“The potential for new discoveries in physics, chemistry, biology and other foundational sciences is immense. Research will be a key application of quantum computing in revealing new discoveries as foundations for applications across many industries.”

Quantum computers could also help to break past certain bottlenecks in modern technology, such as miniaturisation. For example, Seyfarth said circuits are now operating at such a small scale that quantum phenomena are posing “significant challenges to the continuity of Moore’s Law”. This is the principle that the number of transistors incorporated in a densely populated chip will double every two years.

“We are reaching manufacturing limits, at a time when the demand for computational power is increasing rapidly,” Seyfarth said. “Many organisations are reliant on an ability to process increasing volumes of data, faster.

“A fundamental change in computation capability is necessary and this is driving the significant investment we see in quantum computing technology.”

While various challenges exist, Seyfarth predicts that the future of quantum technology is “promising” and that new quantum hardware, algorithms, processing methods and other breakthroughs will develop in the future.

“The development of quantum compilers, abstract languages and available computational power in the cloud and middleware platforms will lead to easier access to this technology – also creating new industries and ecosystems around it,” Seyfarth said.

While there is no clear prediction for when quantum computing will become truly available for businesses, Seyfarth said organisations should develop an understanding of their data processing needs for the future and the potential quantum computing may have to help them to “remain competitive”.

“Those that start early in developing their understanding of the technology and its likely implications, will be better positioned to harness its power,” Seyfarth said. “If you think that quantum computing technology is potentially relevant to your future business, a good starting point is to invest in developing some internal knowledge within your organisation.

“As the technology becomes more accessible from an R&D perspective, consideration could be given to potentially start pilot projects, though [it] will be important not to invest too heavily in a single technology provider at this early stage.”

The risks of new technology

Transformative technology also has the potential to create negative consequences when it is first introduced, such as generative AI being used as a tool to spread disinformation and boost cyberattacks.

Quantum computing is no exception to this rule and Seyfarth said organisations and society need to address the new risks that new technology presents.

“In an era where computational power is an important driver for our economy and our society – there is a possibility that access to this power becomes centralised to a small number of entities,” Seyfarth said. “This may lead to imbalances in competitive advantages in industry.

“Of course, there is also the potential for certain jobs to be rendered obsolete, while demand for other new roles is created – so there will be an onus on society to ensure that adequate supports are in place to facilitate retraining.”

Another key issue in the digital world is cybersecurity and the way new technology can shake up this landscape. Quantum computing presents a risk due to its potential to break modern cryptography – which is used to encrypt data and communications.

Experts have warned about the risk of hackers stealing and storing encrypted data, for the purpose of decrypting it quickly once quantum computers become a more accessible reality. This is sometimes referred to as ‘store now, decrypt later’ tactics.

“Secret data that must be secured for more than 10 years is already exposed to future attacks,” Seyfarth said. “Organisations should prepare risk mitigation actions, including analysis of data encryption methods in use and implementing future-proof encryption methods where necessary.

“Post-quantum cryptography, a technology that is similar to current cryptographic solutions, but with higher requirements computational power and key sizes could serve to minimise risk – another area to keep an eye on from a standards maturity perspective.”

Source: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/quantum-computers-simulation-bearingpoint-deep-tech

Scalable IT Solutions for Sustainable Growth – Cloud-Hosted VoIP

January 24, 2024/in Blogs/by Wingman

As your business expands, it’s vital that your IT system is able to grow in parallel. To achieve this, you need scalable tech solutions that can quickly adapt to the changing demands of your business. This ensures that your employees have the technology and resources they require to work unhindered and at maximum productivity.

Why Scalability Matters

IT investments used to require significant capital outlay on new hardware and infrastructure. The rationale behind such investments, was that return on investment would be achieved over the hardware lifecycle, with costs recouped in the form of productivity gains and efficiency savings. However, a common pitfall with legacy solutions is their inability to adapt to the dynamic and fast-changing needs of a business as it grows and evolves.

Today, modern, scalable tech solutions allow you to match your IT costs with the point-in-time demands of your business and provision new resources at short notice to accommodate rapid expansion. The result is IT that supports your growth journey, keeps your team productive and connected, and offers optimal value for money.

4TC Managed IT Services – IT solutions and Support for Businesses Across London and the South East

Here at 4TC, our mission is to help SMEs across London and the South East reap the benefits of tailored, secure and expertly managed IT solutions. Scalability is vital to ensuring cost-efficiency and high ROI in any IT project. In this short blog series, we want to highlight the benefits of some of the most compelling, scalable IT solutions available to businesses, starting with a technology that’s of particular relevance at the moment: Cloud-Hosted VoIP telephony.

What is Cloud-Hosted VoIP Telephony?

VoIP – meaning ‘voice over internet protocol’ – refers to a set of standards and technologies that enable the transmission of voice and multimedia sessions over the internet. You’ve probably used VoIP technology in some form already, perhaps through video conferencing applications like Microsoft Teams and Zoom.

So how does VoIP differ from traditional telephony?

Traditional telephony products use technical standards that allow voice data to be carried across the varied circuits of the public switched telephone network (PSTN). While some aspects of this infrastructure have been modernised over the years, the PSTN contains copper cabling and other aging components that struggle to meet the data speeds and bandwidth requirements of modern businesses. As such, the decision was made to fully decommission the public switched telephone network, with BT Openreach aiming to fully digitise the UK’s telephony by the end of December 2025.

The switch from the partly analogue PSTN to a fully-digital broadband system, means traditional telephony products, such as ISDN, will stop working in the coming years. If your business currently uses an ISDN phone system, you’ll need to adopt a ‘Digital Voice Service’ sooner rather than later to avoid being cut off when the PSTN switch off happens.

Cloud-Hosted VoIP – The Smart, Scalable Business Phone Solution

Combining the features and capabilities of a PBX phone system with the convenience and cost-efficiency of cloud hosting, cloud-hosted VoIP is a compelling option for businesses looking for scalable and futureproof telephony. Cloud-hosted VoIP gives you access to a full-featured phone system without the installation costs and maintenance overheads of a traditional system. Instead, the cloud VoIP provider manages the host infrastructure on your behalf; you simply sign up and connect to the system using a compatible device or a VoIP desk phone.

Offering all the advantages of an office-hosted phone system without the drawbacks, we believe cloud-hosted VoIP is the smart choice for SMEs looking for a future-ready and scalable phone system in 2024 and beyond. Here are 5 reasons it could be the optimum choice for your business.

It’s Scalable

Adding new lines to a phone system was once a challenging and occasionally disruptive task. The process involved reaching out to your provider, scheduling an installation date, and often enduring weeks of waiting for the project to be completed.

Cloud-hosted VoIP puts an end to this lengthy process, allowing you to add new lines in minutes, with subscription-based billing ensuring you only pay for the capacity you need at any given point in time. Various admin tasks can be completed through a centralised management portal, giving you the ability to add new lines, assign phone numbers, and manage billing through a convenient and intuitive online interface.

In short, cloud-hosted VoIP puts you in control of your phone system, allowing you to adapt quickly to the changing demands of your business, and benefit from affordable, flexible billing.

Unified Communications

Most modern businesses use multiple communication channels to deliver customer service and explore new sales opportunities. For optimum results, communication across these various channels should be carefully orchestrated to ensure consistent messaging, and to support an efficient, streamlined experience for customers. Customer relationship management software (CRMs) is often critical to coordinating sales outreach and customer service engagements across numerous communication channels, including social media, email, instant messaging, and telephone.

Many cloud-hosted VoIP phone systems enable the integration of CRMs and multiple communication channels to create a single, unified interface for business communications. This allows employees to conduct all communication within a single application, enhancing productivity, and giving staff the data they need to create managed and consistent conversations with existing and prospective customers.

Reduced Costs

Compared to traditional telephony products, Cloud-hosted VoIP is almost always cheaper to run, and the costs manifest in various ways. In terms of calling costs, reports suggest that VoIP services are 40% cheaper on average than traditional telephony products, with savings rising to as high as 90% for businesses that make a high volume of overseas calls. Hosted VoIP services offer a variety of billing regimes, ranging from flat-fee subscription pricing to usage-based charges, which makes it easy to find a call plan to suit your needs and budget.

But lower calling costs are not the only area where savings arise!

Cloud-hosted VoIP is inherently infrastructure-lite. In fact, sometimes there are no hardware requirements whatsoever, as most systems operate via computer and mobile based software programs called ‘softphones.’ These allow users to access the phone system through existing devices, including desktop PCs, laptops, mobile phones, and tablets. VoIP-enabled desk phones and headsets could be beneficial to provide a better user experience, but ultimately, VoIP lets you access the benefits of a PBX phone system without the cabling and server infrastructure that such systems traditionally entailed. Moreover, considering the VoIP provider’s role in system maintenance, this results in an exceptionally budget-friendly phone system that delivers an impressive return on investment (ROI).

Access Your Phone System Anywhere

Unlike a traditional phone system which is tied to a fixed physical location, cloud-hosted VoIP provides a virtualised, location-independent experience, allowing you to take your phone system with you and access it from virtually any location. Leverage one phone number as your business’s single point of contact, and transfer calls seamlessly across your business, regardless of where your team are working from. Your customers will benefit from a smooth, frictionless calling experience that keeps you contactable whether you’re working from home, on the move, or even out of the country.

Extensive Features

The affordability of cloud-hosted VoIP doesn’t mean you have to compromise on functionality. In fact, most systems come packed with features that support efficient call handling and a smooth, unencumbered inbound calling experience. VoIP providers usually offer packages at various price points, allowing you to choose an option that best suits your needs and budget. Some of the features on offer include:

Call Forwarding

Redirect calls seamlessly across your team to share the call-handling workload. Conditional or sequential call forwarding can be configured to keep wait times to a minimum during periods of high demand.

Call recording

Many hosted VoIP systems support call recording, a helpful feature that allows calls to be recorded and retained for training or compliance purposes.

Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

IVR provides inbound callers with an interactive menu of options, allowing them to route themselves to the appropriate call handler or department based on the nature of their query. IVR makes for a more efficient experience for inbound callers and makes it easier to manage high call workloads.

Voicemail-to-email

Voicemail-to-email functionality ensures you never miss a call back by sending a transcript of voicemails to your email inbox.

In Summary

Offering affordable pricing, unparalleled mobility, a rich range of features, seamless mobility and the ability to add and subtract phone lines in a matter of minutes, cloud-hosted VoIP phone systems deliver an array of business benefits and support the seamless call experience that today’s customers have come to expect.

For more insights into scalable tech solutions, stay tuned for our next blog, where we’ll examine the growth-enabling benefits of hosting your IT services in the cloud.

4TC Managed IT Services – Uniting People, Processes and Technology

Secure, stable and optimised IT infrastructure is critical to the success of all businesses in our information age. 4TC helps businesses across London and the Southeast realise their potential through the delivery of expertly managed IT services and support, and solutions that solve business challenges by achieving perfect alignment between people, processes, and technology. Get assistance with your IT challenges today by getting in touch, we’ll be glad to assist you! 

Guarding Against Holiday Cyber Scammers

December 18, 2023/in Blogs/by admin

Rachael Medhurst, Course Leader and Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security NCSA, University of South Wales

The festive season is a time for joy, family and festive cheer. However, it’s also a prime target for cybercriminals. As online shopping ramps up, so does the risk of falling prey to cyber-attacks. That’s why it’s crucial to be extra vigilant about your cybersecurity during this time.

Here are some essential tips to safeguard yourself and your data during the festive period:

Phishing

Phishing is when criminals use scam emails, text messages or phone calls to trick their victims. Their goal is often to make you visit a certain website, which may download a virus on to your computer, or steal bank details or other personal data.

This type of scam tends to increase at this time due to the amount of people having bought or received new gadgets and technology.

Look out for there being no direct reference to your name in any communications, with wording such as “Dear Sir/Madam” or other terms such as “valued customer” being used instead. Grammar and spelling mistakes are also often present.

Be wary of any suspicious links or attachments within emails too, and don’t click them. It’s better to contact the company directly to check if the message is genuine. You can also report suspicious messages and phishing scams to the government’s National Cyber Security Centre.

Shopping safely online

The convenience of online shopping is undeniable, especially during the festive season. However, it’s crucial to prioritise your security when buying online.

Before entering your personal and financial information on any website, ensure it’s legitimate and secure. Look for the “https” in the address bar and a padlock icon, which indicates a secure and encrypted connection.

When creating passwords for online shopping accounts, use strong, unique combinations of letters, numbers and symbols. Avoid using the same password for multiple accounts, as a breach on one site could compromise all your others.

As with shopping in the real world, be cautious when encountering offers that are significantly below usual prices or which make extravagant promises. Always conduct thorough research on the seller and product before making a purchase. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.

And if you are out shopping in towns or city centers, there will often be a large number of public Wi-Fi options available to you. However, criminals can intercept the data that is transferred across such open and unsecured Wi-Fi. So, avoid using public Wi-Fi where possible, especially when conducting any financial transactions.

Social media

While social media platforms provide people with a means to keep in touch with family and friends over the festive period, they are often a goldmine for scams and malware (software designed to disrupt, damage or gain unauthorised access to a computer). In the spirit of the festive season, people often share an abundance of personal information on social media, often without considering the potential consequences.

This trove of data can make people vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Scammers can exploit this information to gain unauthorised access to social media accounts, steal personal information, or even commit identity theft. To protect yourself, be mindful of what you share.

Be wary when interacting with posts and direct messages, especially if they contain suspicious links or attachments. Before clicking on anything, hover over the link to verify its destination. If it shows a website you don’t recognise or seems unrelated to the message, do not click on it. If you receive a message from someone you know but the content seems strange or out of character, contact them directly through a trusted channel to verify its authenticity.

Likewise, be wary of messages containing urgent requests for money or personal information from businesses. Genuine organisations will never solicit sensitive details through social media.

There are many buy and sell platforms available on social media. But while such platforms can be a great place to find a unique gift, it is also important to remember that not all sellers may be legitimate. So, it’s vital that you don’t share your bank details. If the seller sends a link to purchase the item, do not use it. When meeting to collect an item, it’s generally safer to use cash rather than transferring funds electronically.

Package delivery scams

As well as being a time for giving and receiving gifts, the festive season is also ripe for cybercriminals to exploit the excitement surrounding package deliveries.

Scammers often pose as legitimate delivery companies, sending emails or text messages claiming that a delivery attempt was unsuccessful or requiring additional fees for processing, or even customs clearance. Typically, these messages contain links or phone numbers that, when clicked or called, lead to fake websites or automated phone systems designed to collect personal information or payments.

To protect yourself, always verify the legitimacy of any delivery notifications you receive. Check the sender’s email address or phone number against the official contact information for the delivery company. If the information doesn’t match or seems suspicious, don’t click any links or provide personal details.

Legitimate delivery companies will never ask for upfront payment or sensitive information through unsolicited messages or calls.

Remember, cybercriminals are skilled at manipulating the festive spirit to their advantage. Stay vigilant, exercise caution, and don’t let your excitement for gifts and deliveries compromise your cybersecurity.

Source: https://nation.cymru/news/how-to-protect-yourself-from-cyber-scammers-over-the-festive-period/

AI Poses Growing Threat To Next General Election

December 17, 2023/in Blogs/by Charlotte Forton

Advances in artificial intelligence pose a growing threat to the integrity of the next general election in the UK, Britain’s cyber security agency has warned.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said countries such as Russia would likely seek to meddle with the outcome of the poll – which must take place by January 2025 – as well as other major elections in western democracies in the coming year, including in the United States.=

In an annual review of a broad range of cyber security issues, the agency, which is part of GCHQ, warned about the prospect of increasingly realistic, deepfake videos and other forms of disinformation designed to influence voter preferences.

“While the UK’s use of paper voting in general elections makes it significantly harder to interfere with our elections, the next election will be the first to take place against the backdrop of significant advances in AI,” it said.

“But rather than presenting entirely new risks, it is AI’s ability to enable existing techniques which poses the biggest threat.”

This included fabricated online posts at speed and deepfake campaigns spread across social media at great speed.

“Any interference or attempts to undermine our political discourse are completely unacceptable and the UK government is committed to enhancing our capabilities and countering the threat from online harms, such as disinformation,” the NCSC said.

It described how the “threat landscape” had evolved “significantly” since the last UK general election in 2019, in particular in the wake of Russia’s war with Ukraine.

People at Shefford Town Memorial Association to cast their vote in the Mid Bedfordshire by-election. Picture date: Thursday October 19, 2023.

That conflict “has made the prospect of influencing the political discourse in democracies ever more attractive to state actors”, the agency said.

It also warned about the emergence of cyber actors that are aligned with malign states such as Russia and share the same ideological goals but can act with less restraint, calling this category “a new class of adversary for the UK to counter”.

“The NCSC assesses that democratic events, such as elections, almost certainly represent attractive targets for malicious actors and so organisations and individuals need to be prepared for threats, old and new,” the NCSC said.

In response, the UK has set up a Defending Democracy Taskforce and a Joint Election Security Preparedness unit.

As well as a focus on Russia, the NCSC report agency also flagged the ongoing cyber threat posed by China, Iran and North Korea.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/ai-poses-growing-threat-to-next-general-election-warns-uk-cyber-security-agency-13007659

Google DeepMind Solves Unsolvable Math Problem With AI

December 16, 2023/in 4TC, Blogs/by Charlotte Forton

Recent advances in large language models (LLMs) have made artificial intelligence more adaptable than ever before, but that comes with a drawback: lies. Generative AI tends to make things up, but Google DeepMind has devised a new LLM that sticks to mathematical truths. The company’s FunSearch can solve highly complex math problems. Miraculously, the solutions it generates aren’t just accurate; they’re entirely new solutions that no human has ever found.

FunSearch is thus named because it searches for mathematical functions, not because it’s fun. Although, some people might consider the cap set problem a real hoot—mathematicians can’t even agree on how best to solve it, making it a genuine numerical mystery. DeepMind previously made advances in AI with its Alpha models like AlphaFold (protein folding), AlphaStar (StarCraft), and AlphaGo (playing Go). These systems were not based on LLMs, but they did reveal new mathematical concepts.

With FunSearch, DeepMind started with a large language mode, a version of Google’s PaLM 2 called Codey. There’s a second LLM layer at work, which scans Codey’s output and prunes incorrect information. The team behind this work didn’t know if this approach would work, and they’re still not sure why it does, according to DeepMind researcher Alhussein Fawzi.

To start, DeepMind engineers created a Python representation of the cap set problem, but they left out the lines that described the solution. Codey’s job was to add lines that accurately solved the problem. The error-checking layer then scores the Codey solutions to see if they are accurate. In high-level math, equations may have more than one solution, but not all of them are considered equally good. Over time, the algorithm identifies the best solutions from Codey and feeds them back into the model.

DeepMind let FunSearch churn for several days long enough to generate millions of possible solutions. This allowed FunSearch to refine the code and produce better results. According to the newly published research, the AI came up with a previously unknown but correct solution to the cap set problem. DeepMind also turned FunSearch loose on another difficult bit of math called the bin packing problem, an algorithm that describes the most efficient way to pack bins. FunSearch found a faster solution than those calculated by humans.

Mathematicians are still struggling with integrating LLM technology into their work, and the work at DeepMind shows a possible path forward. The team believes this approach has potential because it generates computer code rather than the solution. This is often easier to understand and verify than raw mathematical outputs.

Source: https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/google-deepmind-solves-unsolvable-math-problem-with-ai

Supercomputer Mimicking a Brain to Unlock AI and Mind Secrets

December 15, 2023/in 4TC, Blogs/by Charlotte Forton

A supercomputer scheduled to go online in April 2024 will rival the estimated rate of operations in the human brain, according to researchers in Australia. The machine, called DeepSouth, is capable of performing 228 trillion operations per second.

It’s the world’s first supercomputer capable of simulating networks of neurons and synapses (key biological structures that make up our nervous system) at the scale of the human brain.

DeepSouth belongs to an approach known as neuromorphic computing, which aims to mimic the biological processes of the human brain. It will be run from the International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems at Western Sydney University.

Our brain is the most amazing computing machine we know. By distributing its computing power to billions of small units (neurons) that interact through trillions of connections (synapses), the brain can rival the most powerful supercomputers in the world, while requiring only the same power used by a fridge lamp bulb.

Supercomputers, meanwhile, generally take up lots of space and need large amounts of electrical power to run. The world’s most powerful supercomputer, the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Frontier, can perform just over one quintillion operations per second. It covers 680 square meters (7,300 sq ft) and requires 22.7 megawatts (MW) to run.

Our brains can perform the same number of operations per second with just 20 watts of power, while weighing just 1.3kg-1.4kg. Among other things, neuromorphic computing aims to unlock the secrets of this amazing efficiency.

Transistors at the limits

On June 30 1945, the mathematician and physicist John von Neumann described the design of a new machine, the Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer (Edvac). This effectively defined the modern electronic computer as we know it.

My smartphone, the laptop I am using to write this article and the most powerful supercomputer in the world all share the same fundamental structure introduced by von Neumann almost 80 years ago. These all have distinct processing and memory units, where data and instructions are stored in the memory and computed by a processor.

For decades, the number of transistors on a microchip doubled approximately every two years, an observation known as Moore’s Law. This allowed us to have smaller and cheaper computers.

However, transistor sizes are now approaching the atomic scale. At these tiny sizes, excessive heat generation is a problem, as is a phenomenon called quantum tunnelling, which interferes with the functioning of the transistors. This is slowing down and will eventually halt transistor miniaturisation.

To overcome this issue, scientists are exploring new approaches to computing, starting from the powerful computer we all have hidden in our heads, the human brain. Our brains do not work according to John von Neumann’s model of the computer. They don’t have separate computing and memory areas.

They instead work by connecting billions of nerve cells that communicate information in the form of electrical impulses. Information can be passed from one neuron to the next through a junction called a synapse. The organisation of neurons and synapses in the brain is flexible, scalable and efficient.

So in the brain – and unlike in a computer – memory and computation are governed by the same neurons and synapses. Since the late 1980s, scientists have been studying this model with the intention of importing it to computing.

Imitation of life

Neuromorphic computers are based on intricate networks of simple, elementary processors (which act like the brain’s neurons and synapses). The main advantage of this is that these machines are inherently “parallel”.

This means that, as with neurons and synapses, virtually all the processors in a computer can potentially be operating simultaneously, communicating in tandem.

In addition, because the computations performed by individual neurons and synapses are very simple compared with traditional computers, the energy consumption is orders of magnitude smaller. Although neurons are sometimes thought of as processing units, and synapses as memory units, they contribute to both processing and storage. In other words, data is already located where the computation requires it.

This speeds up the brain’s computing in general because there is no separation between memory and processor, which in classical (von Neumann) machines causes a slowdown. But it also avoids the need to perform a specific task of accessing data from a main memory component, as happens in conventional computing systems and consumes a considerable amount of energy.

The principles we have just described are the main inspiration for DeepSouth. This is not the only neuromorphic system currently active. It is worth mentioning the Human Brain Project (HBP), funded under an EU initiative. The HBP was operational from 2013 to 2023, and led to BrainScaleS, a machine located in Heidelberg, in Germany, that emulates the way that neurons and synapses work.

BrainScaleS can simulate the way that neurons “spike”, the way that an electrical impulse travels along a neuron in our brains. This would make BrainScaleS an ideal candidate to investigate the mechanics of cognitive processes and, in future, mechanisms underlying serious neurological and neurodegenerative diseases.

Because they are engineered to mimic actual brains, neuromorphic computers could be the beginning of a turning point. Offering sustainable and affordable computing power and allowing researchers to evaluate models of neurological systems, they are an ideal platform for a range of applications. They have the potential to both advance our understanding of the brain and offer new approaches to artificial intelligence.

Source: https://theconversation.com/a-new-supercomputer-aims-to-closely-mimic-the-human-brain-it-could-help-unlock-the-secrets-of-the-mind-and-advance-ai-220044

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