Lifeboat Foundation

Information variations in a chain-like system are associated to energy transactions with the environment, which can take place reversibly or irreversibly, with a lower theoretical energy limit^22,23. Fluctuations as a consequence of pure computations are on the order of the thermal level (i.e., similar to kT, being k the Boltzmann constant and T the absolute temperature), according to Landauer’s principle. Such energies are negligible at routine human scales but become significant when the size of the system is nanoscopic or smaller, because the work and heat it generates also compare with the thermal level. Small systems are based on nanostructures, including individual molecules and arrangements of atoms, such as biological and quantum systems.

Fluctuation theorems have appeared in recent years explaining quantitatively energy imbalances between forward and reverse pathways or between equilibrium and non-equilibrium processes^24,25. They have been tested experimentally^26,27,28, mostly in biomolecular systems analyzed on a one-by-one basis²⁹. Most of these theorems establish relations among thermodynamic potentials for general systems, often with no specific insight into information theory. This theory, in turn, deals with spatially-indexed, 1-dimensional arrangements of symbols, which may not be necessarily associated to a time order. Recent generalizations separate the role of information and feedback control^30,31, but still the interpretation of non-Markovianity, irreversibility and reversibility in terms of purely informational operations such as reading, writing and error correction^32,33 remains obscured.

Here, we analyze energy exchanges associated to the symbolic management of a sequence of characters, without reference to the physical construction of the chain. Just by considering reversibility at the single sequence level and conservation laws, we next present two pairs of fluctuations equalities in the creation of information sequences, which use depends on energy exchange constraints. Our analysis integrates key information concepts, namely, reading, writing, proof reading and editing in the thermodynamic description of a string of symbols with information.

Join cosmologist Laura Mersini-Houghton as she discusses her ground-breaking theory, and how her path from communist Albania helped her become one of the most courageous thinkers on the world stage of theoretical physics. Watch the Q&A for this video here: https://youtu.be/6xpVP_ITEYE

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Given the complexity of the human body, it’s no surprise that we’re still making new discoveries about the different parts we’re made up of – and scientists have just made a new discovery about the cerebellum at the back of the brain.

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These types of emotional experiences are particularly well remembered by the brain, not least because it helps the survival of our species to be able to remember times when we were in danger and times when we prospered.

If you often find yourself off by one when counting your socks after doing the laundry, you might want to sit down for this.

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Power Automate is making it easier to scale hyperautomation across your enterprise. With new innovations for unattended Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in the cloud, AI-assistance, and starter kits to streamline your Center of Excellence (CoE), this is a session you won’t want to miss!

Speakers: * Joe Fernandez * Christy Jefson * Mustapha Lazrek * Ken Seong Tan * Stephen Siciliano * Taiki Yoshida.

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A robot has addressed the House of Lords for the first time, telling a committee that artificial intelligence can be a ‘threat and opportunity’ to artists.

The robot, named Ai-Da and devised in Oxford by Aidan Meller, gave evidence to the communications and digital committee as part of an inquiry into the future of the arts, design, fashion and music industries and how AI might affect them.

With rapidly developing AI, growing accessibility to super computers and machine learning on the ride, Ai-Da – named after the computing pioneer Ada Lovelace – was created as a ‘comment and critique’ on rapid technological change.