GoKawiil
Tech News
Organizations are deploying new encryption standards designed to withstand future quantum computers, which are expected to eventually break today's cryptographic systems. Separately, recent advances in AI's mathematical problem-solving abilities have raised concerns that AI systems, not quantum machines, could be the first to break current encryption methods.
OpenAI announced new AI-generated results in mathematics, computer science and physics, including a claimed resolution of the Kakeya conjecture in all dimensions. The company said it consulted external expert 'shepherds' to decide how to release each finding, publishing the math output directly, planning to assemble researchers to explain the computer science result, and deferring entirely on releasing the physics work. A mathematician who reviewed the Kakeya claim called it 'well supported' but said he had not fully verified it.
A Nature editorial argues that several Nobel Prize-winning scientific breakthroughs originated from research on neglected or unusual organisms rather than mainstream model species. The piece calls for sustained funding and attention to biodiversity in research rather than concentrating resources solely on popular model organisms like mice and fruit flies.
Speaking at the DBS Asia Future Forward Conference in Singapore, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said AI could enable significant breakthroughs in physics, biotech, chemistry and materials science within two to three years. He cited ByteDance's Seed research team, which released Protenix-v2 in April, a model aimed at predicting biomolecular structures for potential use in drug discovery.
Gizmodo has released its annual science awards, recognizing what its editors consider the year's most significant discoveries, breakthroughs, and scientific stories. The list spans multiple fields of research and highlights work the publication believes had outsized impact in 2026.
Artificial intelligence now underpins everyday tools, from curating social media feeds to identifying people in photos and speeding up medical research. The growing popularity of chatbots such as OpenAI's ChatGPT has intensified scrutiny of AI's energy consumption, ethical pitfalls and handling of personal data. Warnings that increasingly capable systems could eventually pose a danger to humanity have fueled demands for stricter oversight and a more cautious pace of development.