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Microsoft has joined the race for large language model (LLM) application frameworks with its open source Python library, AutoGen.

As described by Microsoft, AutoGen is “a framework for simplifying the orchestration, optimization, and automation of LLM workflows.” The fundamental concept behind AutoGen is the creation of “agents,” which are programming modules powered by LLMs such as GPT-4. These agents interact with each other through natural language messages to accomplish various tasks.

In case you missed the hype, Humane is a startup founded by ex-Apple executives that’s working on a device called the “Ai Pin” that uses projectors, cameras and AI tech to act as a sort of wearable AI assistant. Now, the company has unveiled the AI Pin in full at a Paris fashion show (Humane x Coperni) as a way to show off the device’s new form factor. “Supermodel Naomi Campbell is the first person outside of the company to wear the device in public, ahead of its full unveiling on November 9,” Humane wrote.

The company describes the device as a “screenless, standalone device and software platform built from the ground up for AI.” It’s powered by an “advanced” Qualcomm Snapdragon platform and equipped with a mini-projector that takes the place of a smartphone screen, along with a camera and speaker. It can perform functions like AI-powered optical recognition, but is also supposedly “privacy-first” thanks to qualities like no wake word and thus no “always on” listening.”

UMass Amherst researchers have pushed forward the boundaries of biomedical engineering one hundredfold with a new method for DNA detection with unprecedented sensitivity.

“DNA detection is in the center of bioengineering,” says Jinglei Ping, lead author of the paper that appeared in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Ping is an assistant professor of mechanical and , an adjunct assistant professor in and affiliated with the Center for Personalized Health Monitoring of the Institute for Applied Life Sciences. “Everyone wants to detect the DNA at a low concentration with a high sensitivity. And we just developed this method to improve the sensitivity by about 100 times with no cost.”

An internationally-renowned Iranian scientist and this year’s winner of Iran’s prestigious Mustafa Prize for science and technology has hailed the country’s great advances in the fields of nanotechnology and medicine.

“Iran has always been far ahead in the field of nanotechnology,” Omid Farokhzad, who has won the prize for design, development, and clinical translation of novel polymeric nanomedicines used to treat various diseases, especially cancer, said on Monday.

It’s been a busy week for IonQ, the quantum computing start-up focused on developing trapped-ion-based systems. At the Quantum World Congress today, the company announced two new systems (Forte Enterprise and Tempo) intended to be rack-mountable and deployable in a traditional data center. Yesterday, speaking at Tabor Communications (HPCwire parent organization) HPC and AI on Wall Street conference, the company made a strong pitch for reaching quantum advantage in 2–3 years, using the new systems.

If you’ve been following quantum computing, you probably know that deploying quantum computers in the datacenter is a rare occurrence. Access to the vast majority NISQ era computers has been through web portals. The latest announcement from IonQ, along with somewhat similar announcement from neutral atom specialist QuEra in August, and increased IBM efforts (Cleveland Clinic and PINQ2) to selectively place on-premise quantum systems suggest change is coming to the market.

IonQ’s two rack-mounted solutions are designed for businesses and governments wanting to integrate quantum capabilities within their existing infrastructure. “Businesses will be able to harness the power of quantum directly from their own data centers, making the technology significantly more accessible and easy to apply to key workflows and business processes,” reported the company. IonQ is calling the new systems enterprise-grade. (see the official announcement.)