Local governments in developing countries are crucial for providing public services that promote human development and address challenges like extreme weather, unemployment and crumbling infrastructure. Yet, they often face difficulties in implementing cost-effective programs that meet citizens’ diverse needs, particularly in areas with significant socioeconomic inequalities. A recent study led by University of Notre Dame researcher Krister Andersson explored the impact of economic and social inequalities on local government performance in Chile (a country with very high socioeconomic inequalities), assessing the effectiveness of external policies to alleviate the negative effects of inequality on the quality of local public services.

Quantum walks are a powerful theoretical model using quantum effects such as superposition, interference and entanglement to achieve computing power beyond classical methods. A research team at the National Innovation Institute of Defense Technology from the Academy of Military Sciences (China) recently published a review article that thoroughly summarizes the theories and characteristics, physical implementations, applications and challenges of quantum walks and quantum walk computing. The review was published Nov. 13 in Intelligent Computing, a Science Partner Journal, in an article titled “Quantum Walk Computing: Theory, Implementation, and Application”.

A recent perspective published Nov. 13 in Intelligent Computing, a Science Partner Journal, asserts that today's artificial intelligence systems have finally realized Alan Turing's vision from over 70 years ago: machines that can genuinely learn from experience and engage in human-like conversation. Authored by Bernardo Gonçalves from the University of São Paulo and University of Cambridge, the paper also sheds light on how current energy-hungry transformer-based systems contrast with Turing's prophecy of machines that would develop intelligence naturally, like human children.