Nobel Laureate, Team Use AI to Solve Decade-Old Math Puzzle

Nobel Prize-winning physicist Giorgio Parisi and colleague Francesco Zamponi used generative AI to help solve a mathematical puzzle in physics that had remained unresolved for more than a decade. The problem involved «jamming,» the transition in which a disordered system, such as tightly packed billiard balls, becomes rigid. Researchers had observed that two key parameters always summed to one at the jamming point but could not prove why. Parisi and Zamponi used Anthropic’s Claude AI to help uncover a path toward a proof.

More info here: LiveScience; Benjamin Skuse

Ukrainian Cruise Missile Flies with Hobby Hardware

A low-cost cruise missile developed by Ukraine uses the open-source ArduPilot flight controller, which can run on low-cost hardware and is commonly used by drone hobbyists. By relying on inexpensive commercial hardware and community-developed software, Ukraine has reduced costs while maintaining effective long-range capabilities. Russia is similarly using low-cost commercial components, including Raspberry Pi processors, in newer attack drones with AI-assisted targeting.

More info here: New Scientist; David Hambling

China’s Moonshot unveils world’s largest open AI model

Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI has unveiled a 2.8-trillion-parameter AI model that it said is the world’s largest open-weight AI system. The Kimi K3 model is designed for advanced reasoning, long-horizon coding, and knowledge work, and features a 1-million-token context window. Moonshot said Kimi K3 approaches the performance of leading U.S. frontier models; third-party evaluations ranked it highly on Web interface-building and complex multistep tasks.

More info here: Reuters; Laurie Chen

IBM Claims World’s First Sub-1 Nanometer Chip Technology

IBM unveiled a chip manufacturing technology that it says could extend semiconductor miniaturization, countering concerns that advances in shrinking transistors are nearing their limits. The company’s new «nanostack» architecture vertically bonds two layers of nanosheet transistors, nearly doubling transistor density on a fingernail-sized chip compared with its 2021 design. IBM says the technology could deliver 50% higher performance or 70% better energy efficiency.

More info here: Ars Technica; Jeremy Hsu

DOE Plans to Create Scientifically-Relevant Quantum Computer

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) launched Quantum Genesis, an initiative aimed at developing the world’s first scientifically relevant, fault-tolerant quantum computer. The program seeks to build a system with 150–250 logical, error-corrected qubits by 2028, enabling advanced scientific research and complex calculations beyond current computing capabilities. The initiative will bring together national laboratories, universities, and private-sector partners while establishing a new user facility that provides researchers access to quantum computing resources alongside AI and high-performance computing tools.

More info here: Nextgov/FCW; Alexandra Kelley

Papyrus Scroll Burnt During Vesuvius Eruption Deciphered by AI

Researchers used AI to virtually unwrap and read a charred Herculaneum scroll that was buried during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79. Without physically opening the fragile papyrus, scientists revealed 20 columns of previously hidden text discussing Stoic philosophy, ethics, reason, and human behavior, likely dating to the second or third century BC. The breakthrough was achieved through the global Vesuvius Challenge contest, and combines AI and high-resolution X-ray imaging to decipher carbonized scrolls.

More info here: The Guardian (U.K.); Ian Sample

Leiden Declaration: AI Is Challenging the Core Values of Mathematics

The Leiden Declaration on Artificial Intelligence and Mathematics, released by a group of 16 researchers from 15 universities and endorsed by the International Mathematical Union, warns that AI is challenging core values of mathematics. The Declaration highlights risks such as AI-generated proofs containing hidden errors, inadequate credit for original work, dependence on costly proprietary systems, exaggerated claims about AI capabilities, and commercial influence over research priorities. Rather than rejecting AI, the declaration calls for its responsible use within clear community norms.

More info here: Leiden University (The Netherlands)

Nvidia Launches ‘Superchip’ Putting AI Power into Laptops, PCs

Nvidia has launched a «superchip» for laptops and desktop PCs that, the company says, can run AI agents locally instead of relying on cloud computing. Developed with Taiwan’s MediaTek and capable of being integrated into Windows devices, the RTX Spark chip could allow AI assistants to navigate computers autonomously, reducing reliance on traditional mouse and keyboard inputs. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang described it as a reinvention of the PC for the AI era.

More info here: The Guardian (U.K.); Julia Kollewe

China Assigns Digital Identity Codes to Humanoid Robots

China has launched a national system assigning unique 29-character digital identity codes to humanoid robots, allowing authorities and manufacturers to track the devices throughout their entire lifecycle. The new platform records data including manufacturer information, hardware specifications, software history, battery condition, and operational performance. Officials say the system addresses fragmentation among more than 100 domestic humanoid robot companies using incompatible standards. The initiative already covers over 28,000 robots across 200 models and more than 100 companies.

More info here: eWeek; Aminu Abdullahi

ArXiv Declares Independence from Cornell

On July 1, preprint publisher arXiv.org will become an independent nonprofit corporation after more than two decades of being hosted by Cornell University. The move will help arXiv raise more money from a broader range of donors to support the site’s growing number of preprints, said Cornell Tech’s Greg Morrisett. The money will also help arXiv deal with the emergence of AI-generated «slop,» he added.

More info here: Science; Jeffrey Brainard