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On Wednesday of this week the House Science Committee will hold a hearing as part of the reauthorization effort for the U.S. National Quantum Initiative Act passed in 2018. In recent years, the global race to achieve quantum computing has reached what sometimes feels like a fever pitch as nations and regions ramp up quantum spending and development. The NQIAs initial authorization runs through September 2023.

Frank Lucas (R-OK) is the chair of the House Science Committee, which is gathering information as part of the reauthorization process. The recent CHIPS Act had already made some modifications and additions to NQIA; for example, the creation of nine microfabrication hubs as part of the Microelectronics Commons (MEC) program. Given the current wrangling over budget issues, its not clear whether changes will be considered.

Last week, theNational Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee (NQIAC)weighed in by publishing its first independent assessment of the National Quantum Initiative (NQI) program. Perhaps not surprisingly, the report calls for reauthorizing NQIA for at least another five years.

Heres are the overarching recommendations excerpted from the report:

The devil, of course, is in the details. This new phase will necessitate a ramp up of investments in fundamental research across engineering, systems integration, software, and applications discovery in order to mature and scale quantum systems into relevant technologies, reads the report. The NQIAC has developed nine detailed recommendations for achieving these objectives, described in the following sections. To summarize, they are: 1. Reauthorize and appropriate the NQI Act; 2. Expand research; 3. Fund industry-led partnerships; 4. Invest in equipment and infrastructure; 5. Promote international cooperation;6. Promote and protect U.S. QIST R&D; 7. Strengthen supply chains; 8. Develop domestic talent; and 9. Attract and retain foreign talent.

Scheduled speakers at Wednesdays hearing include:

As HPCwire has reported in the past, the U.S. NQIA is a complicated $2B-plus effort. One of its centerpieces was the creation of five QIS research centers, based at Department of Energy national laboratories. The centers are charged with advancing QIS (quantum information science) research, collaborating with industry, and helping to develop the workforce required to sustain QIS writ large. On the commercial side, the creation of the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C) was also called for by NQIA, and it is broadly being overseen by NIST. QED-Cs mission to provide a forum for industry to look at uses cases, standards, best practices, etc.

If youre a quantum watcher, you know there are similar efforts around the world. Just this year, the U.K issued its own 2.5B, 10-yearnational quantum strategy. China, the EU, Japan, and others have all joined the quantum race. At ISC23 last week, quantum computing advocates outlined many of Europes rapidly expanding plans, which are being overseen as part of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU).

In Estela Suarezs closing keynote (presented with Thomas Sterling), she noted, There is a huge investment in Europe in the integration of quantum computing and HPC. What you see here (slide below) are some of the [planned] installations. [They] will be in different cities and will all be federated with each other. Different sites will have different quantum technologies, by federating them all together, a user can try different kinds of machines and find out which users are more suitable for which kind of technologies. In parallel to that, there is a research agendathat has very aggressive very in the targets for the 2030 timeframe.

The race to achieve practical quantum computing is in full-force worldwide despite the many technical hurdles remaining. In light of the recent budget deal to avoid a U.S. government shutdown, it will be interesting to monitor what is eventually added (or removed) in NQIAs reauthorization.

Link to live webcast of the Congressional hearing scheduled to begin at 10 am on Wednesday, https://science.house.gov/hearings?ContentRecord_id=7684AFE7-D1EB-4079-B9A8-3941F0CCAF24

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The Association of American Publishers and associates are in court, they say, to protect freedoms foundational to our democracy.

Image Getty iStockphoto: Chuang Tzu Dreaming

By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson

Today (June 2), the Association of American Publishers (AAP) has become one entity in a coalition of publishers, booksellers, librarians and readers filing a lawsuit to defend Arkansas citizens right to read.

And also today, the AAP has made common cause with some of the worlds largest publishing companies to file an amicus brief in a case in Llano County, Texas.

These responses reflect what AAP president and CEO Maria A. Pallante told the main-stage audience at London Book Fair in April: some of the most severe assaults on freedom of expression and the freedom to publish in the American market appear to be starting in the provinces, as it might be said in Europe. Actions often hostile to the publics right to read what it chooses are surfacing first in state, municipal, and/or county jurisdictions far from the nations Washington-based federal center.

Signed by Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the governor of Arkansas and a former press secretary for the Donald Trump White House, Act 372 was signed on March 30 and is scheduled to go into effect on August 1.

As described for an April 19 report by Jacqueline Froelich for KUAF, a National Public Radio affiliate, Arkansas Act 372 which takes effect in a few months criminalizes librarians and library staff for knowingly furnishing print and digital literature to minors ruled to be harmful or obscene. The measure was brought by Right-wing Republican lawmakers who seek to erase juvenile library materials about racial equity and inclusion, queer culture, black history, and sex education.

In the Arkansas case, the newly filed lawsuit challenges a bill that the plaintiffs say would restrict access to books in state bookstores and public libraries. The coalition speaking collectively to the news media in this case includes:

In their media messaging, the group says:

Mary Rasenberger

In a separate statement provided to Publishing Perspectives, Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild, says, The argument that certain books need to be removed from schools to protect children is now being used to limit access for adults, as well, which infringes on everyones rights. Efforts to remove these books not only diminish the richness of our cultural tapestry but also send a message that the experiences of LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities are unworthy of representation.

Its our shared responsibility to safeguard the literary freedom that forms the bedrock of a democratic society. By supporting the availability and accessibility of diverse books, we can foster dialogue, promote understanding, and counter the marginalization of these communities.

In this case today, the AAP has been joined by Penguin Random House, Candlewick Press, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Scholastic, and Simon & Schuster in filing an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs, patrons of the Llano County Library System in Llano County, Texas, in the case of Little v. Llano County.

At The New York Times in April, David Montgomery and Alexandra Alter, writing about the controversy, said, Several of the books in question in Llano County have LGBTQ themes or characters, or addressed racial inequality, but they also include goofy childrens titles, such as a series of picture books about flatulence.

So contentious has the situation become, in which a reported 17 books were removed from the Llano County library system, that the county considered shutting down its libraries rather than restore the books to the shelves, as a court ordered. What this suit challenges are actions taken by members of the Llano County Commissioners Court; members of the Llano County Library Board; and the Llano County Library System Director.

The underlying lawsuit, Little v. Llano County, was filed on April 25, 2022, by seven Llano County residents, claiming that, among other things, public officials had violated their constitutional rights under the First Amendment by banning books based on content and viewpoint. In March 2023, a federal court granted plaintiffs a preliminary injunction, which ordered that return of the books to the library system and catalog. The defendants are now appealing that decision.

Matthew Stratton

In a separate statement from Matthew Stratton, deputy general counsel for the AAP, we read, On behalf of our many members, we are pleased to file this amicus brief in support of the critically important suit brought by public library patrons

As our brief states,the instinct to ban books is not unique to any particular political ideology, but regardless of when or where it happens, the removal of books from the shelves of a public library is fundamentally inconsistent with the tenets of American democracy.

Accordingly, time and again courts have upheld core First Amendment freedoms by rejecting attempts to impose viewpoint and content-based discrimination in libraries.

And in part of the amicus brief, its pointed out, The countys removals targeted some of the most celebrated and consequential works of recent years, as well as popular and classic childrens books.

The titles include:

More from Publishing Perspectives on issues of censorship is here, more on book bannings is here, more on the Association of American Publishers is here, and more on the Authors Guild is here.

Porter Anderson is a non-resident fellow of Trends Research & Advisory, and he has been named International Trade Press Journalist of the Year in London Book Fair's International Excellence Awards. He is Editor-in-Chief of Publishing Perspectives. He formerly was Associate Editor for The FutureBook at London's The Bookseller. Anderson was for more than a decade a senior producer and anchor with CNN.com, CNN International, and CNN USA. As an arts critic (National Critics Institute), he was with The Village Voice, the Dallas Times Herald, and the Tampa Tribune, now the Tampa Bay Times. He co-founded The Hot Sheet, a newsletter for authors, which now is owned and operated by Jane Friedman.

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Exploring the Synergy between Neuromorphic Computing and Quantum Computing for Advanced AI Applications

The rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have created a significant demand for powerful computing systems that can handle the massive amounts of data and complex algorithms involved in these fields. Traditional computing architectures, such as those based on the von Neumann model, are reaching their limits in terms of energy efficiency and processing capabilities. This has led researchers to explore alternative computing paradigms, such as neuromorphic computing and quantum computing, which hold the potential to revolutionize the way we process and analyze information.

Neuromorphic computing is a novel approach that aims to mimic the structure and function of the human brain in order to create more efficient and adaptive computing systems. It is based on the idea of using artificial neural networks, which are composed of interconnected artificial neurons, to process and store information. These networks can be implemented in hardware, using specialized electronic components, or in software, running on conventional computing platforms. Neuromorphic systems are designed to be highly parallel, fault-tolerant, and energy-efficient, making them well-suited for AI and ML applications.

Quantum computing, on the other hand, is a fundamentally different approach that relies on the principles of quantum mechanics to perform computations. Unlike classical computers, which use bits to represent information as either 0 or 1, quantum computers use quantum bits, or qubits, which can exist in multiple states simultaneously due to a phenomenon known as superposition. This allows quantum computers to perform certain types of calculations much faster than classical computers, potentially enabling them to solve problems that are currently intractable.

The synergy between neuromorphic computing and quantum computing is an exciting area of research that could lead to the development of advanced AI applications that were previously thought to be impossible. By combining the strengths of both paradigms, researchers hope to create hybrid systems that can tackle complex problems in areas such as natural language processing, pattern recognition, and decision-making.

One of the key challenges in developing such hybrid systems is finding ways to integrate neuromorphic and quantum components in a seamless and efficient manner. Researchers are exploring various techniques to achieve this, such as using quantum-inspired algorithms to train neuromorphic networks, or employing neuromorphic hardware to control and read out the states of qubits in a quantum processor.

Another important aspect of this research is the development of new materials and fabrication techniques that can support the implementation of neuromorphic and quantum devices. For example, researchers are investigating the use of superconducting materials, which can carry electrical currents without resistance, to create energy-efficient neuromorphic circuits and qubits. They are also exploring the potential of nanoscale structures, such as quantum dots and nanowires, to enable the miniaturization and integration of these devices.

As the field of neuromorphic-quantum computing continues to evolve, it is expected to have a profound impact on the future of AI and ML. By harnessing the power of both neuromorphic and quantum computing, researchers aim to develop systems that can learn and adapt in real-time, allowing them to handle complex tasks with greater speed and accuracy than ever before. This could lead to breakthroughs in areas such as robotics, autonomous vehicles, and personalized medicine, among others.

In conclusion, the synergy between neuromorphic computing and quantum computing holds great promise for the future of AI and ML applications. By exploring the potential of these two emerging paradigms, researchers are paving the way for the development of advanced computing systems that can tackle some of the most challenging problems in science and technology. As we continue to push the boundaries of what is possible with AI and ML, the integration of neuromorphic and quantum computing will undoubtedly play a crucial role in shaping the future of these fields.

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The trial ended in a few minutes: Four lashes would fall on the body of Khawar Naeem Hashmi, accused of defacing the mausoleum of Mohammad Ali Jinnah on Pakistans independence day in 1977. He was, arguably, lucky the other journalists who had joined him in a public protest against military dictatorship were sentenced to five lashes each. Lines were drawn on their backs to ensure the whip would fall with precision; army officers, Hashmi later recalled, would amuse their families by bringing them along to watch.

Lashings seemed to have become popular amusements in General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haqs time. A hundred thousand people gathered in a Karachi park to watch the punishment of Mohammed Kaleem, convicted of raping a child.

Earlier this week, newspaperowners and editors were called into meetings with Pakistans military brass and ordered to cease covering establishment darling-turned-insurrectionary Imran Khan. During his own term as Prime Minister, Imran and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) directorateused enforced disappearances, torture, and false criminal cases to terrorise journalists,evendriving some dissidents into exile.

Absar Alam was shot outside his house,expert Lynn ODonnell records. Asad Ali Toor was bound, gagged, and beaten inside his own home. Exiled critics even found themselves targeted for assassinationoverseas by hit squads alleged to have been hired by the ISI.

This time around, Imran has been made to wear the muzzle and chain he gleefully used on his opponentsand thats bad news for Pakistan.

Also read: Imran Khan supporters will call it a revolution. But Pakistan in ashes is the

Like much of the Indian media, the news industry of Pakistan was born in the ideological crucible of the freedom movement.Dawn, founded by Pakistan movement patriarch Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was converted from a weekly to a daily newspaper. Mir Khalil-ur-Rehmans Jang, Hamid NizamisNawa-i-Waqt,and Mian IftikharuddinsPakistan Times would drive the emergence of a new generation of post-independence media conglomerates.

Even though an organised media flowered,historians Saima Parveen and Muhammad Nawaz Bhattiremind us, it was not free to defend the democratic values; instead they were working to praise government policies. National interests, the glory of Islam, and the Ideology of Pakistanwerecatchphrases used to extend support from the press for the government.

General Ayub Khans military regime institutionalised this informal censorship. The Left-leaningPakistan Times,Imroz,andLail-o-Nahar were nationalised. The three mass-circulation newspapers run by former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhuttos family Musawat,Hilal-i-Pakistan, andNusrat also ended up in the hands of the State-owned National Press Trust.

ThePress and Publication Ordinance introduced by General Ayub and which, among other things, penalised the publication of crimes of violence or sex in a manner likely to excite unhealthy curiosity as well as information calculated to cause public alarm, frustration or despondencyprovided a powerful tool where gentler persuasion failed.

Future historians might debate just how significant censorship was as a tool of regime survival. The law, notably, could not stop Dhaka newspapers from publishing special supplements on 23 March 1971,theanniversary of the Muslim Leagues Pakistan resolution as Emancipation of Bangladesh Day.

Also read: Pakistan Army wont bounce back easily this time. Imran Khan shattering its illusion of

Following his installation as President after the 1971Bangladesh war,media expert JM Williams noted, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto started using more subtle kinds of coercion. The supply of newsprint was a State monopoly, and major advertisers like Pakistan International Airlines were also public-sector entities. The new President had promised to dissolve the National Press Trust earlier but rapidly concluded that the tyrants tool could serve its ends too.

The government moved to cancel the newsprint quotas ofJang,stopped advertising for Dawn, and bannedThe Sun.

General Zia, who seized power in 1977, tightened State control over the media. Even journalists were jailed. Four more Masudullah Khan, Iqbal Jafri, Khawar Naeem Hashmi, and Nisar Zaidi were flogged for organising apro-democracy hunger strike. As during Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhis Emergency, pre-censorship of content was introduced in Pakistan.

Even though Zias regime modelled itself on the revolutionary Islamism of Iranian mullahs and the monarchical concentration of power of Saudi Arabia, those regimes managed to use their resources to address at least some of their economic and social problems. The same cannot be said of the Islamism of Zia,Ibrahim Karawan has noted.

FormerPrime Minister Benazir Bhutto did initiate an opening-up of media freedoms in the democratic revival that followed,buteditor Imran Aslamrecorded that her government routinely sought to buy off critical journalists. The military, for its part, maintained its own list of client writers as it battled the Prime Minister for control.

The Nawaz Sharifgovernmentrestored the use of blunt tools. The owner ofThe News, Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, famously released taped conversations of two prominent government officials seeking to blackmail him into sacking critical journalists by threatening tax prosecutions.

Former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf cast himself as a defender of the free press and enabled the rise of private television news broadcasting. Even under Musharraf, though, journalists who crossed the establishment faced severe consequences. The journalist Syed Saleem Shahzadwas murdered, allegedlyby military agents.

Also read:The soured love affair between Imran Khan and Pakistan Army is a ticking time

Lessons for India

To Indians familiar withtheir ownmedia history, much of this story will be depressingly familiar. Like in Pakistan, a powerful illiberal impulse ran through Indian democratic institutionsafter Independence. Enraged by what he claimed was a partisan and communal media, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru cracked down on press freedoms. Terrible, something terrible, he said of Indian journalism to the visitingscholar Michael Brecher. We put an end to it.

In 1950, the Supreme Court shot down the Government of Madras ban on the Left-wing weeklyCrossroads. Then, the court stopped the Delhi government from pre-censoring the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sanghs (RSS) magazineOrganiser. The government responded by resurrecting colonial-eraanti-free speech laws.

The Indian State also created a system of pelf and patronage to ensure it controlled the media. Even though the media sometimes fought back, it has rarely enjoyed genuine independence from the government.

Even though few of Imrans opponents have reason to shed tears for his fate, liberals fear whats passed for a democratic transition is coming to closely resemble military tyranny. Thecommentator Omar Warraich, among others, has thoughtfully noted that the real lesson is that the Generals need to be evicted from Pakistani politics. The chokehold of the military on ideas and debate has created a republic of fear.

For Indians, the crisis in Pakistan ought to be a reminder of just how fragile democratic freedoms areand how difficult they can be to resurrect when they have been allowed to crumble.

The author is National Security Editor, ThePrint. He tweets @praveenswami. Views are personal.

(Edited by Humra Laeeq)

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Pakistani Generals have a history of censoring media. Imran Khan is ... - ThePrint

BOSTON, June 6, 2023 Zapata Computing today announced that it has published research with Insilico Medicine, Foxconn, and the University of Toronto which explores the use of hybrid quantum-classical generative adversarial networks (GAN) for small molecule discovery. Not only could the quantum-enhanced GANs generate small molecules, but these molecules had more desirable properties than those generated by purely classical GANs.

As detailed in the research paper, the teams leveraged artificial intelligence and quantum computing techniques to replace each element of GAN with a variational quantum circuit (VQC). The molecules generated by the quantum-enhanced GANs were then compared with those generated by a purely classical GAN according to three qualitative metrics (validity, uniqueness, and novelty) and three quantitative properties (drug-likeness (QED), solubility, and synthesizability (SA)). Researchers found that the small molecules created through the use of a VQC frequently had better physicochemical properties and performance in the goal-directed benchmark than the classical counterpart.

At Insilico Medicine, were always seeking new ways to transform drug design and development through artificial intelligence to help bring life-saving medications to patients, said Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine. The drug discovery pipeline is traditionally a long and costly process, but recent advances in machine learning and deep learning technologies have proven to help reduce time and costs for pharmaceutical research and development. By working with Zapata and Foxconn, we were able to uncover molecule designs with viable structures that were comparable to those from classical methods.

We are pleased to achieve this milestone in the collaboration with Insilico Medicine. Quantum computing can be used to solve complex computational problems. The application of quantum computing in drug discovery will potentially help reduce the time and lower the cost of research and development, said Min-Hsiu Hsieh, PhD, Director of the Quantum Computing Research Center of Hon Hai Technology Group, Foxconn.

This work with Insilico Medicine and Foxconn is a great example of how quantum-enhanced generative AI can be used to solve real-word problems more effectively, said Yudong Cao, CTO and co-founder at Zapata Computing. Weve seen encouraging evidence that demonstrates the potential of quantum and quantum-inspired generative models, and were excited to see how these quantum-inspired techniques could help further advance the pharmaceutical industry, as well as other industries looking to overcome complex design challenges.

Zapata has a track record of breakthrough research in quantum generative AI. In 2021, Zapata researchers were the first to generate high-resolution images using quantum generative models. In more recent work with BMW, Zapata researchers demonstrated how quantum-inspired generative models could improve upon best-in-class traditional optimization solutions for a vehicle manufacturing scheduling problem.

For more information about Zapatas research with Insilico Medicine, Foxconn, and the University of Toronto, please click here.

About Zapata Computing

Zapata Computing, Inc. builds solutions to enterprises most computationally complex problems. It has pioneered proprietary methods in generative AI, machine learning, and quantum techniques that run on classical hardware (CPUs, GPUs). Zapatas Orquestra platform supports the development and deployment of better, faster, more cost-effective modelsfor example, Large Language Models, Monte Carlo simulations, and other computationally intense solutions. Zapata was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

Source: Zapata Computing

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Zapata, Foxconn, Insilico Medicine, and University of Toronto Study ... - HPCwire