Science

Should politicians ensure that AI helps us colonise the galaxy, or protect people from the overreach of big tech? The former sounds more fun, but it shouldn’t be the priority. Among the Silicon Valley set, superintelligent AI is viewed as a rapidly approaching inevitability, with tech CEOs promising that the 2030s will see a golden era of progress. That attitude has reached Westminster and Washington, with think tanks telling politicians to be ready to harness the power of incoming AI and the Trump administration backing OpenAI’s $500 billion initiative for ultrapowerful AI data centres. It all sounds exciting, but as the great and the good dream of superintelligence, what we might call “stupid intelligence” is causing problems in the here and now. One of the question...

This story was originally published by the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, a joint center of Columbia Law School and Columbia Climate School. The world’s energy systems and digital infrastructure are undergoing rapid and interconnected transformations. The continued expansion of data centers—driven by growing demand for cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning and next-generation digital services—is fueling a rapid and significant rise in energy consumption in certain markets, with implications for global energy systems. At the same time, the suite of digital technologies supported by these data centers is reshaping the very design, efficiency and resilience of the energy systems on which they depend—while also transforming essential public services across s...

What does mobility look like in the face of climate change? How can we build more just and climate-resilient communities? When should areas opt for adaptation in place over managed retreat? These are just some of the questions to expect at this year’s MR2025 (formerly known as Managed Retreat) conference. Hosted by the Columbia Climate School, the event will tackle the multifaceted concerns of mobility, adaptation and wellbeing—and their shifting roles in response to global climate threats. Now in its fourth iteration, MR2025 will once again bring together hundreds of representatives from the public, private and nonprofit sectors alongside scientists, academics and community members from around the world. It will be held from June 16 to June 18, in partnership with the Global Centre...

Quantum computers can simulate the behaviour of high-energy particlesGoogle Quantum AI, designed by Sayo Studio Quantum computers are beginning to become powerful tools for studying some of the most fundamental forces in the universe – and some of the trickiest to understand. Two experiments have used them to pave a new way forward for nuclear and particle physics. “We have this sort of grand scheme where we eventually want to do quantum computing for high-energy physics,” says Torsten Zache at the University of Innsbruck in Austria. “There’s a strong consensus that large-scale quantum computers will actually be able to solve problems that are otherwise intractable.” He and his colleagues used a quantum computer to simulate how excited particles – those with lots ...

Nicholas Britton’s passion for energy policy began at Dartmouth College, where he majored in environmental studies and helped support the campus’s energy transition. Through fieldwork and research, from New Hampshire to Southern Africa to Washington, D.C., Britton developed a focus on equitable energy access as a means to serve both environmental and social goals. Now a student in the Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy (MPA-ESP) program, which is offered by Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs in partnership with the Columbia Climate School, Britton is driven by the belief that equitable energy access is a fundamental human right and a powerful lever for climate and equity solutions. He shares more about this outlook and his experiences ...