Biggest Breakthroughs in Computer Science: 2024

The year's biggest breakthroughs in computer science included a new understanding of what’s going on in large language models (LLMs) and a breakthrough in computing Hamiltonians — models that represent complex quantum systems. Read more at Quanta Magazine: https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-year-in-computer-science-20241219/?swcfpc=1

0:04 - Can Large Language Models Understand?
Are chatbots "stochastic parrots"? A new evaluation called Skill Mix suggests that the biggest large language models seem to learn enough skills to understand the words they’re processing.
Read more: https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-theory-suggests-chatbots-can-understand-text-20240122/

6:14 - Hamiltonian Learning Algorithm
After years of false starts, a team of computer scientists has found a way to efficiently deduce the Hamiltonian of a quantum system at any constant temperature.
Read more: https://www.quantamagazine.org/scientists-find-a-fast-way-to-describe-quantum-systems-20240501/

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