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Submission + - Quantum computer solves decades-old problem 3Mx faster than a classical computer (zdnet.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes:

Scientists from quantum computing company D-Wave have demonstrated that, using a method called quantum annealing, they could simulate some materials up to three million times faster than it would take with corresponding classical methods.

Together with researchers from Google, the scientists set out to measure the speed of simulation in one of D-Wave's quantum annealing processors, and found that performance increased with both simulation size and problem difficulty, to reach a million-fold speedup over what could be achieved with a classical CPU.

Is this is bad news for encryption that depends on brute-force calculations being prohibitively difficult?

Submission + - Foxconn Tells Wisconsin It Never Promised To Build an LCD Factory (theverge.com) 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: In October, Wisconsin denied Foxconn subsidies because it had failed to build the LCD factory specified in its contract with the state. As The Verge reported, it had created a building one-twentieth the size of the promised factory, taken out a permit to use it for storage, and failed to employ anywhere near the number of employees the contract called for. Nevertheless, Foxconn publicly objected “on numerous grounds” to Wisconsin’s denial of subsidies. Documents obtained through a records request show Foxconn’s rationale: it doesn’t think it was specifically promising to build an LCD factory at all. According to a November 23rd letter to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), Foxconn does not think the factory specified in the contract, an enormous Generation 10.5 LCD fabrication facility, was actually a “material” part of the contract. (“Material” is a legal term that means relevant or significant.)

“As you confirmed on November 10, 2020, the only reason the WEDC made the determination that the Recipients are ineligible for tax credits is because the WEDC believes the Recipients have failed to carry out the ‘Project,’” Foxconn wrote. “Thus, WEDC’s determination of ineligibility is based off its belief that the Generation 10.5 TFT-LCD Fabrication Facility is a material term of the Agreement.” Rather, Foxconn claimed it and WEDC had a “mutual understanding” that it would build something more vaguely defined, “a transformational and sustainable high-tech manufacturing and technology ecosystem in Wisconsin that brings long-term investment and jobs.” However, Foxconn did express openness to amending its contract to allow for more flexibility in what it was building in exchange for lower subsidies. [...] WEDC ended the letter by reiterating it was open to amending the contract to reflect Foxconn’s current plans. [...] But such an amendment hinges, as always, on Foxconn telling Wisconsin what it is actually building.

Submission + - Key People Are Leaving Facebook and Torching the Company In Departure Notes (buzzfeednews.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: On Wednesday, a Facebook data scientist departed the social networking company after a two-year stint, leaving a farewell note for their colleagues to ponder. As part of a team focused on “Violence and Incitement,” they had dealt with some of the worst content on Facebook, and they were proud of their work at the company. Despite this, they said Facebook was simply not doing enough. “With so many internal forces propping up the production of hateful and violent content, the task of stopping hate and violence on Facebook starts to feel even more sisyphean than it already is,” the employee wrote in their “badge post,” a traditional farewell note for any departing Facebook employee. “It also makes it embarrassing to work here.”

Using internal Facebook data and projections to support their points, the data scientist said in their post that roughly 1 of every 1,000 pieces of content — or 5 million of the 5 billion pieces of content posted to the social network daily — violates the company’s rules on hate speech. More stunning, they estimated using the company’s own figures that, even with artificial intelligence and third-party moderators, the company was “deleting less than 5% of all of the hate speech posted to Facebook.” (After this article was published, Facebook VP of integrity Guy Rosen disputed the calculation, saying it "incorrectly compares views and content." The employee addressed this in their post and said it did not change the conclusion.)

The sentiments expressed in the badge post are hardly new. Since May, a number of Facebook employees have quit, saying they were ashamed of the impact the company was having on the world or worried that the company’s inaction in moderating hate and misinformation had led to political interference, division, and bloodshed. Another employee was fired for documenting instances of preferential treatment of influential conservative pages that repeatedly spread false information. But in just the past few weeks, at least four people involved in critical integrity work related to reducing violence and incitement, crafting policy to reduce hate speech, and tracking content that breaks Facebook’s rules have left the company. In farewell posts obtained by BuzzFeed News, each person expressed concerns about the company’s approach to handling US political content and hate speech, and called out Facebook leadership for its unwillingness to be more proactive about reducing hate, incitement, and false content.

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