PsiQuantum wants to build a quantum computer that computes with light, not the superconducting circuits or trapped ions that dominate much of the field. MIT Technology Review reported that the company’s proposed machine would fill a room with about 100 stainless-steel cabinets, each packed with hundreds of chips.
The machine is still a plan, not a working computer. PsiQuantum, founded in 2016 by four physicists from UK universities, is trying to reach a useful quantum computer before larger and better-funded rivals chasing the same prize. The company’s pitch is that photons can be routed through optical switches and beam splitters on chips, then measured with enough precision to perform calculations beyond the reach of today’s machines.
The mechanism matters because quantum computers are only useful if they can control fragile quantum states at scale and extract reliable answers. In PsiQuantum’s design, thousands of individual light particles would move through optical circuits. The final measurement of where those photons land would encode the result. MIT Technology Review said such a machine could address some problems that conventional computers might need millions of years to solve.
Norway’s tunnel project gets the narrated treatment
MIT Technology Review also released a narrated version of Niall Firth’s report from Norway’s subsea road tunnel project. Firth described visiting a worksite roughly 1,000 feet below the North Sea, under Norway’s fjords, for a tunnel expected to become the world’s longest and deepest subsea road tunnel.
The planned highway is 16.6 miles long and reaches 1,280 feet below sea level at its deepest point, according to the report. The story frames the project as a feat of civil engineering at a time when big infrastructure can feel harder to execute than to announce, which is usually where the trouble starts.
The narrated article is part of MIT Technology Review Narrated, the publication’s weekly podcast available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Other reports in the technology pile
- The Guardian, Reuters, Ars Technica and Gizmodo reported on a lawsuit alleging that Meta used artificial intelligence to help select workers for layoffs, including employees with health issues or leave histories. Those are allegations in litigation, not findings by a court.
- Bloomberg reported that OpenAI’s first consumer device will be a movable, screenless smart speaker built as an AI companion. The Verge reported that it would let users talk with ChatGPT, while Reuters reported that cameras and sensors would help it interpret its surroundings.
- Ars Technica reported that the US military used explosive drone boats in combat for the first time, targeting an Iranian midget submarine and a naval port.
- The Financial Times and Axios reported that Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis wants a US-led organization to test frontier AI systems for national security risks and coordinate a slowdown if dangers rise.
- The New York Times reported that data centers are expected to add billions of dollars in power costs across 13 states, with a power auction projected to generate $6.3 billion in new charges.
- Reuters reported that Elon Musk’s xAI has installed gas turbines without permits and that the resulting pollution has hit Black communities hardest.
- Reuters also reported that Stripe and Advent have offered more than $53 billion to buy PayPal, while Bloomberg noted that Apple Pay and Google Pay have cut into PayPal’s position.
MIT Technology Review also pointed readers to reporting on DeepSeek’s possible Shanghai IPO, a lightweight hard material found in sea worm jaws, and a $3,000 electrical muscle stimulation fitness suit reviewed by 404 Media. The day’s sharpest line came from The Atlantic’s Alex Reisner, who called generative AI an engineering and economic failure by deployment standards.
This story draws on original reporting from MIT Technology Review.
