In what may turn out to be a much bigger deal than any AI, Microsoft has announced a huge breakthrough in quantum 

computing. Microsoft says it has developed a new quantum processor based on a novel state of matter, giving it a clear path to achieve quantum computing’s long-term promise of solving some of the world’s most difficult problems. “We believe this breakthrough will allow us to create a truly meaningful quantum computer not in decades, as some have predicted, but in years,” wrote Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in a LinkedIn post about the news. Redmond has been working on quantum computing for almost 20 years…in fact, that program is the longest-running R&D program in the company. Microsoft’s work produces much more accurate quantum computing than others. They have placed eight topological qubits on a chip dubbed Majorana 1, after the Italian physicist who proposed the particles back in 1937!

Google has pulled Gemini from its main search app on iOS. According to TechCrunch.com, the aim is to get users to download the standalone Gemini app instead, which would allow Google to more directly compete with other consumer-facing AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity. However, the change could also risk reducing Gemini’s reach as Google’s app is already used by millions, and many are not motivated enough to download other new mobile applications. A lot of people aren’t excited about having to use the additional app, but one benefit is that you can have live conversations with the AI assistant via Gemini Live. 

Last year, there was a flap in legal circles as an attorney used AI to write a brief he submitted to the court, and the artificial intelligence came up with ‘artificial cases’ to support his position. The court and opposing counsel noticed the fake cases, and he was fined and dressed down. Arstechnica.com notes that now we have a situation with Morgan and Morgan, which bills itself as ‘America’s largest injury law firm.’ Morgan was involved in a suit against Walmart over a claimed defective hoverboard toy…which caused a house fire. The lead attorney from Morgan, Rudwin Ayala, submitted a filing, and Walmart’s attorneys couldn’t find any trace of eight cases cited in it…except on ChatGPT! The attorney was removed from the case, and Morgan ended up paying Walmart’s attorneys for wasted time chasing down the fake cases. Some attorneys have been fired over this sort of use of AI. I recently took a couple of continuing legal education courses, and they stressed quite strongly that you have to look up any cases AI presents in a legal filing you intend to use…and make damned sure they are actual cases, and not some imagined ones from ChatGPT, Claude, or other AI models!

Yesterday, along with the iPhone 16e, Apple bowed its new C1 modem chip…making the entry-level iPhone the first to run on Apple’s in-house designed modem. Now, 9to5 mac.com reports that analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is predicting another new Cupertino-designed chip, and he says it will be in all the new iPhone 17 models. Apparently, besides their C-1 modem, which is allowing Apple to ditch Qualcomm, Apple has been working on their own Wi-Fi chip to replace the Broadcom ones the present iPhones use. Even though all the new iPhones will have this new Apple Wi-Fi chip, only the so-called ‘slim’ iPhone 17 will use the C-1 modem that just debuted in the iPhone 16e. Analyst Kuo says the Apple Wi-Fi chip should ‘enhance connectivity across Apple devices.’ He didn’t clarify if that just meant from one Apple device to another, or also to your router and other devices. It looks like within a year or 2, Apple will be running iPhones on nearly entirely their own silicon…with the exception of memory chips. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.