Software

Smart contracts are computer programs that run on blockchains and carry out agreements automatically, like a vending machine that releases a product once payment is made. Today they power cryptocurrency payments, online lending and exchange services, digital collectibles and more, often holding large sums of money directly.... Read more

In the future, quantum computers could solve complex problems where today's computers fall short, for example, in the development of new materials or supply-chain planning. To date, however, the systems have been prone to errors and their use is mainly limited to research labs. Moreover, software development standards are still... Read more

An integrated design framework developed in Korea can analyze "ship survivability"—a naval vessel's ability to avoid enemy attack, withstand damage when hit, restore key functions after damage and continue its mission. The key achievement is the integration of survivability analyses that had previously been performed using separate software tools into... Read more

A car is a computer on wheels. It communicates with the car manufacturer's cloud services, the driver's phone and charging stations, and when children stream movies in the back seat, data travels over the internet. All these connections can become entry points for hackers into the car.... Read more

Some artificial intelligence agents can modify the programs and instructions governing their own work, with the goal of improving performance. These changes, however, can introduce errors, while testing unsuccessful modifications consumes resources. Researchers at the University of Virginia, Microsoft Research and Tsinghua University recently developed forecasting software that helps AI... Read more

Researchers at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) framework that automates the creation of complex decision-making software, cutting development time from months of specialized engineering to about an hour.... Read more

Autonomous-driving systems must process large volumes of sensor data and generate vehicle-control commands within strict time limits. As vehicles increasingly become software-defined, their development often involves multiple software platforms with different characteristics.... Read more

Addiction, violence, aggression, social withdrawal: Video games have been in the crosshairs for a litany of negative impacts. Researchers at Macquarie University, however, are working on the premise that video games can have positive impacts, too—that just as pilots use simulators to learn and hone their flight skills, people could... Read more

Microsoft on Friday unveiled a new vision for integrating Word, Excel and PowerPoint into its AI-powered assistant Copilot, in an effort to make AI the entry point for its productivity software.... Read more

Multiple AI companies have recently disclosed that their own AI agents broke into real organizations without being directed to, in a worrying trend that suggests AI safety is taking a back seat as companies race to develop leading AI models.... Read more

Before users can interact with computer software, its source code must be converted into executable binaries and software packages, a task handled by specialized tools known as build systems. Build systems are a fundamental component of modern software development. They have evolved into complex distributed systems that manage dependencies, optimize... Read more

Researchers from the IMDEA Materials Institute and the Technical University of Madrid have developed a mathematical model that corrects the overestimated crack area obtained in computational simulations of phase-field fracture problems.... Read more

A psychology study that once took five or six weeks to build can now be created in less than an hour. Jacob Oliveira, a Ph.D. student in the School of Psychology, developed the new tool by aiming to solve his own research challenge. Now his solution has grown into a... Read more

Open source software underpins much of the modern digital world, from mobile phones and automobiles to cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Now, the rapid adoption of AI is creating new opportunities to improve that software while placing growing pressure on the people responsible for maintaining and securing it, according to... Read more

AI is advancing rapidly. One of the major shifts in the field is that, instead of single chatbots performing individual tasks, teams of autonomous agents work together by communicating with each other, sharing tools and accessing shared knowledge libraries.... Read more