TOPIC FUTURE
Future technology explainers
THE SHORT ANSWER
Technologies and failures that shape what comes next: what quantum computers can and cannot do, and what two software disasters teach about trusting systems we cannot fully check. Chevlume’s predictions are published separately, with dates and a way to test them.
Guides
From One Transistor to a Quadrillion in a Data Centre
How transistor counts grew from one at Bell Labs in 1947 to 2,300 in 1971 and 1.2 quadrillion in an AI data-centre POD, with caveats on NVIDIA's figures.
FUTURE / EXPLAINERWhat Quantum Computers Can and Cannot Do
Qubits, errors, advantage claims and the threat to encryption, with every result labelled as demonstrated, claimed by a company or projected.
Discoveries and curiosities
Knight Capital: 45 Minutes, $460 Million
A forgotten code path on one of eight servers cost a trading firm $460 million in 45 minutes. What the SEC found about deployment and controls.
FUTURE / DISCOVERYBelgium 2003: The 4,096 Extra Votes
One candidate, 4,096 phantom votes and a bit flip. What the official report concluded, and what later retellings added about cosmic rays.
Terms from these articles
Other topics
- AI explainers (7)
- Robotics explainers (7)
- Space explainers (10)
- Energy explainers (2)
- Biotech explainers (3)