New Phaistos

Machines that do everything, expect know when they'll finish Our modern life is so full of luxuries and privileges. We have all this technology doing so much of the hard work for us. And we do not only expect it to do its work good, but also to inform us when the job is expected to finish. Downloading the new software update? Running the complex simulation that your project demands? Or even desperately trying to time the wash cycle with the rest of your life only to get stuck at the last 8 minutes for half an hour? Well, let's say there are reasons why computers find it hard to estimate how long their work will take - and this has a lot to do with how they are built. In other words, computer architecture is to blame for poor task predictions.  The limits of computer architecture Let's start by explaining the main purpose behind the design of a computer. The goal is to calculate the correct outputs based on user inputs - and do this as fast and cheap as possible. (You might ...

Why fuss over originality? The most recent iteration of AI technology, generative AI, has been controversial too say the least. Some praise it for the efficiency it brings; others blame it for killing individual creativity. Part of that criticism has merit: generative models do not invent out of intuition or by their "gut". But what does “original thought” even mean? Is there such a thing as pure originality? And why does our civilization’s latest technology work by remixing and recombining what came before? That’s what I want to explore in this post. A tale from the R&D multiverse Let’s start with a story. I work in an R&D department of a multinational company; a big part of my job is feasibility testing for new product ideas. My team and I have been developing one particular pitch for about five years. At the project's start, management handed us pitch slides with polished graphs and a bold statement: this new technology could disrupt up to 30% of the relevant ...

War by other means Let's face it - Europe is under siege. And while the economic and ideological attacks are perhaps more important, these are topics for other blog post. This weekend's text is all about the physical threat to Europe. More specifically, I want to focus on the techno-economic aspect of the current cold war with Russia. Into the war room First of all, let's establish the context. Both sides face only lose-lose options. If Europe cuts Russia off, energy will be more expensive; if Russia loses access to European customers, it loses a large market for its gas. Prolonging the conflict hurts both sides. Right now the conflict is best described as cold — or perhaps "lukewarm." The one active battlefield is outside the EU (Ukraine), while Europe faces multiple probing or sabotage actions (suspicious drones, undersea cable damage, election interference). In theory things could escalate, but that seems unlikely soon: both sides lack the necessary resources —...

Humanity's quest for the stars Ever since we harnessed the fires of invention, and possibly before, humanity has been looking to the stars. Inspired by their cosmic beauty, the night sky made us ask questions: what are the stars, how do they influence our lives and if we can ever visit this outer world. Well, we actually have managed to visit this world. Through collective work, rational frameworks and vision, the broke through the bounds of our atmosphere. Among our achievements, the moon landings and the exploration of our local solar system are the most obvious ones. While those achievements are worth celebrating, they have little impact to our daily lives. Yet, there is another space related breakthrough that has had a major impact to modern life...  Man made orbiters: our ubiquitous satellites Satellites, while literally going unnoticed, are in many ways enabling our way of life. Think of the applications: Communication (Satellite TV, internet to remote locations, aviation and...