Quantum Leaps and Le Chat
This week, I wrapped up teaching the Introduction to AI and Deep Learning course at McGill. The teaching period overlapped with several policy changes in the U.S., but my students—and their creative ideas for applying Deep Learning models—kept me grounded. It was also a time filled with AI-related news, including developments like DeepSeek, and this week was no exception.
Quantum Computers: Closer Than We Think?
Microsoft's new Majorana-1 chip is a major step forward in quantum computing, offering a more stable and reliable way to process information. Traditional quantum computers struggle with errors, making them difficult to scale. This chip uses a new approach to create stronger, more dependable building blocks for quantum computing. If successful, it could bring us closer to solving complex problems in areas like medicine, materials science, and cybersecurity.
Le chat est en compétition
I covered the AI Action Summit in last week’s newsletter. Another key development from the event is its impact on Le Chat, Mistral’s AI assistant. President Macron’s endorsement ahead of the summit led to an impressive 1 million downloads in just 14 days. When ChatGPT first launched, I hadn’t anticipated the geopolitical battles that would come into play. His exact quote in the interview:
Go and download Le Chat, which is made by Mistral, rather than ChatGPT by OpenAI — or something else
But, OpenAI now has 400 million weekly active users—a number so vast that it's safe to assume your co-workers and students are using it regularly.
Other news:
National Science Foundation fires roughly 10% of its workforce.
