Heya and welcome to Five Things Tech!
This will be the last edition of Five Things Tech. Why? I need to cut down on the time I spend on my Five Things newsletter family. I have been trying to find tech stuff beyond AI and let me tell you that this is not an easy task anymore as everything is AI.
I really appreciate your continued support and readership, but I need to reclaim some of my time now.
Enjoy these Five Things Tech!
When AI Meets Quantum: The Next Great Leap in Computing
Here is what surprised me when I started paying attention to the hardware rather than the press releases: AI is not waiting for quantum computers. The influence runs the other way. Quantum computers are being dragged into existence by AI.
A quantum processor is a fragile analogue device doing an impression of a digital one. It drifts. Its qubits talk to each other when you would rather they didn’t. Its measurements are ambiguous. Keeping it coherent long enough to compute anything means constantly adjusting dozens or hundreds of control parameters against a noise environment that changes hour to hour. That is a horrible problem for closed-form analysis and a very natural problem for machine learning.
I’m curious to find out how this changes the roadmap of Quantum to really find practical usecases and also go from obscure tech for phd brains to tech normal people could work with.
AI coding agents generate more code, but not more software
A recent study of actual coding practices across hundreds of firms finds that human code review forms a significant “bottleneck” for the overall efficiency of AI coding tools, resulting in “little evidence that firms increase software output or reduce employment” by using them. Any efficiency increased during the actual coding phase, the study authors find, is “absorbed by downstream constraints in the production process”; as “the code review process significantly increases in length, pull requests are more likely to require revisions, and reviewers leave more comments.”
We are moving from a Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) to an Agentic Development Lifecycle (ADLC) and this is quite fascinating.
What the Data Center Boom Looks Like From the Sky
As the pace of data center construction has grown, so has public opposition. Residents cite noise and emissions, with particular concerns about local air quality and rising carbon levels that contribute to global warming. Others worry about water usage and a rise in energy needs that could affect electricity prices, although evidence is mixed on these effects on a larger scale.
I get it, those data centers are massive. But did you every see a refinery or a chemical plant? Just drive by Leverkusen (Bayer) or Ludwigshafen (BASF) - those things are massive, emit weird fumes and what not. I think we need to see data centers more like large scale factories. Somehow we do not complain about new factories that much.
The Dawn of the Age of the Exoskeleton
Multiple consumer and clinical devices, designed for everyday assistance, rehabilitation, and exercise, are also now available. Some estimates have valued the total sector at around $500 million currently and predict it could double or triple in size by the mid-2030s.
Exoskeleton technology has progressed significantly over the past decade. This has largely been thanks to robotic motors, sensors, and control systems becoming more affordable and accessible. However, the concept of augmenting human performance with exoskeleton-like devices dates back much earlier.
If you think about it, there are so many jobs that would benefit from some additional muscle. Yet somehow we have all been focused on dancing robots and not so much on tech that can enhance the life of ordinary humans.
Germany builds world’s tallest wind turbine, reaches nearly 1,200 feet height
The structure reaches 1,197 feet, including its blades, making it Germany’s second-tallest structure after Berlin’s TV tower. GICON says the design could eventually generate roughly twice as much electricity as a conventional turbine with the same rotor diameter, although that estimate still needs to be demonstrated in operation.
The main idea behind GICON’s design is to go where the wind is better. Wind speeds generally increase with altitude, while higher elevations can also provide more consistent wind conditions. Hence, a turbine operating hundreds of meters above the ground has access to a larger and potentially more reliable energy resource than a conventional turbine.
I am from Northern Germany and we have two coasts here and plenty of wind. I think wind turbines are wonderful, both onshore and offshore. It’s good to see that the development still gets pushed further.
That’s all for now! Thanks for reading! If you missed last week’s Five Things Tech, you can find it here:
🤖
— Nico