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Terahertz (THz) waves are located between microwaves and infrared light in the electromagnetic spectrum. They can pass through many materials without causing damage, making them useful for security scanning, medical imaging, and high-speed wireless communication. Unlike visible light or radio waves, THz waves can reveal structural details of biological molecules and penetrate nonmetallic objects like clothing and paper.

THz waves hold great promise, but to harness them effectively, their polarization (the direction in which the waves vibrate) must be controlled. Polarization control is crucial for optimizing THz applications, from enhancing to improving imaging and sensing.

Unfortunately, existing THz polarization control methods rely on bulky external components like wave plates or metamaterials. These solutions are often inefficient, limited to narrow frequency ranges, and unsuitable for compact devices. To overcome these limitations, researchers have been exploring approaches to control THz polarization directly at the source.

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have unveiled a new optical technology that enables precise focusing of light—only in one direction. This novel unidirectional focusing design uses structured diffractive layers that are optimized using deep learning to transmit light efficiently in the forward direction of operation while effectively suppressing unwanted backward focusing of light.

The findings are published in the journal Advanced Optical Materials. This innovation offers a compact and broadband solution for the unidirectional delivery of radiation with significant potential for applications in security, defense, and .

Controlling asymmetric light propagation—where light preferentially travels in one direction while being blocked or scattered in the opposite direction—has been a longstanding need in optical systems. Traditional solutions often rely on specialized material properties or nonlinear materials, which require relatively complex and costly fabrication methods, bulky hardware, and high-power laser sources.

Joscha Bach, Cognitive Scientist and AI researcher, as well as Anthony Aguirre, UCSC Professor of Physics, join us to explore the world through the lens of computation and the difficulties we face on the way to beneficial futures.

Topics discussed in this episode include:

-Understanding the universe through digital physics.
–How human consciousness operates and is structured.
–The path to aligned AGI and bottlenecks to beneficial futures.
–Incentive structures and collective coordination.

Find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/03/31/j… to be the FLI Podcast Producer here: https://futureoflife.org/job-postings/ Follow the podcast on: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2Op1WO3… Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast… SoundCloud: / futureoflife Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:58 What is truth and knowledge? 11:39 What is subjectivity and objectivity? 15:13 What is the universe ultimately? 20:32 Is the universe a cellular automaton? Is the universe ultimately digital or analogue? 25:59 Hilbert’s hotel from the point of view of computation 39:14 Seeing the world as a fractal 43:00 Describing human consciousness 57:46 Meaning, purpose, and harvesting negentropy 1:02:30 The path to aligned AGI 1:05:13 Bottlenecks to beneficial futures and existential security 1:16:01 A future with one, several, or many AGI systems? How do we maintain appropriate incentive structures? 1:30:39 Non-duality and collective coordination 1:34:16 What difficulties are there for an idealist worldview that involves computation? 1:37:19 Which features of mind and consciousness are necessarily coupled and which aren’t? 1:47:47 Joscha’s final thoughts on AGI This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at: https://futureoflife.org/donate Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Apply to be the FLI Podcast Producer here: https://futureoflife.org/job-postings/

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On Intelligent Machines, Leo, Paris, and Jeff sit with Ray Kurzweil to talk to him about the current state of AI, the singularity, and computronium.

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Google is making the biggest ever acquisition in its history by purchasing cloud security company Wiz in an all-cash deal worth $32 billion.

“This acquisition represents an investment by Google Cloud to accelerate two large and growing trends in the AI era: improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds (multicloud),” the tech giant said today.

It added the acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is meant to provide customers with a “comprehensive security platform” that secures modern IT environments.

Quantum entanglement, one of the strangest and most powerful aspects of physics, has just been taken to a new level with the use of metasurfaces.

Researchers have discovered a way to create quantum holograms, where entangled photons encode intricate information with unprecedented precision. By leveraging the properties of metasurfaces, they demonstrated control over entangled holographic letters, opening doors to secure quantum communication and even anti-counterfeiting technology.

Unlocking the mysteries of quantum entanglement.

In today’s AI news, OpenAI and Google are pushing the US government to allow their AI models to train on copyrighted material. Both companies outlined their stances in proposals published this week, with OpenAI arguing that applying fair use protections to AI “is a matter of national security.” The proposals come in response to a request from the White House, which asked for input on Trump’s AI Action Plan.

In other advancements, one of the bigger players in automation has scooped up a startup in the space in hopes of taking a bigger piece of that market. UiPath, as part of a quarterly result report last night that spelled tougher times ahead, also delivered what it hopes might prove a silver lining. It said it had acquired, a startup founded originally in Manchester, England.

S most advanced features are now available to free users. You And, the restrictive and inconsistent licensing of so-called ‘open’ AI models is creating significant uncertainty, particularly for commercial adoption, Nick Vidal, head of community at the Open Source Initiative, told TechCrunch. While these models are marketed as open, the actual terms impose various legal and practical hurdles that deter businesses from integrating them into their products or services.

S Kate Rooney sits down with Garry Tan, Y Combination president and CEO, at the accelerator On Inside the Code, Ankit Kumar, Sesame, and Anjney Midha, a16z on the Future of Voice AI. What goes into building a truly natural-sounding AI voice? Sesame’s cofounder and CTO, Ankit Kumar, joins a16z’s Anjney Midha for a deep dive into the research and engineering behind their voice technology.

Then, Nate B. Jones explains how AI is making intelligence cheaper, but software strategies built on user lock-in are failing. Historically, SaaS companies relied on retaining users by making it difficult to switch. However, as AI lowers the cost of building and refactoring, users move between tools more freely. The real challenge now is data interoperability—data remains siloed, making AI-generated content and workflows hard to integrate.

We close out with, AI is getting expensive…but it doesn’t have to be. NetworkChuck found a way to access all the major AI models– ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, even Grok – without paying for multiple expensive subscriptions. Not only does he get unlimited access to the newest models, but he also has better security, more privacy, and a ton of features… this might be the best way to use AI.

Thats all for today, but AI is moving fast — subscribe and follow for more Neural News.