
Keumars Afifi-Sabet
Keumars is the technology editor at Live Science. He has written for a variety of publications including ITPro, The Week Digital, ComputerActive, The Independent, The Observer, Metro and TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a technology journalist for more than five years, having previously held the role of features editor with ITPro. He is an NCTJ-qualified journalist and has a degree in biomedical sciences from Queen Mary, University of London. He's also registered as a foundational chartered manager with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), having qualified as a Level 3 Team leader with distinction in 2023.
Latest articles by Keumars Afifi-Sabet

This Nvidia-powered laptop now lowest price all year — Cyber Monday save $400
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published
Deals The Dell Inspiron 16 Plus, fitted with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU and the latest Intel Core Ultra 7 CPU, can be yours for $1,100 this Cyber Monday.

We've got the best Cyber Monday laptop deals to save you hundreds
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet last updated
Deals Whether you're gifting or getting, we've scoured the internet to bring you the best Cyber Monday laptop discounts, saving you serious money on big-name machines for every purpose.

Better than Apple! This high-end AI PC has a better battery than the MacBook Air — it's now just $799
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published
Deals The 14-inch HP OmniBook X features the latest components and an NPU that guarantees a long-lasting battery. Now you can grab it for 33% off at BestBuy.

Save $400 on one of the best Windows laptops we've seen this year
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published
Deals We loved using the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7, and now the 13.8-inch version is available for 25% off this Black Friday week.

After a laptop with stellar battery life on Black Friday? This is the key feature you should look out for
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet last updated
Deals We loved using the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7, and now the 13.8-inch version is available for 25% off this Black Friday week.

'This is a marriage of AI and quantum': New technology gives AI the power to feel surfaces for the 1st time
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published
Combining quantum science with machine learning has led to a model that can accurately measure how surfaces feel to the touch.

1st-of-its-kind cryogenic transistor is 1,000 times more efficient and could lead to much more powerful quantum computers
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published
The new type of transistor, known as the "cryo-CMOS transistor," is optimized to operate at temperatures under 1 K and emit near-zero heat.

IBM's newest 156-qubit quantum chip can run 50 times faster than its predecessor — equipping it for scientific research
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published
When combined with Qiskit software tools, the 156-qubit R2 Heron quantum processor can perform 5,000 two-qubit gate operations — double the previous best — meaning it's ready for complex quantum computations, IBM scientists say.

Drones could use 'robotic cat's eyes' to track targets more precisely than ever before
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published
A new computer vision system inspired by the design of a feline eye could give future drones and other military robots the ability to track targets in low-visibility and dynamic environments.

AI-powered app performs full-body motion capture using just your smartphone — no suits, specialized cameras or equipment needed
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published
Motion capture requires special equipment and infrastructure that can cost upward of $100,000 — but scientists have created a smartphone app and AI algorithm to do the same job.

Scientists have built the smallest quantum computer in the world
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published
The smallest machine of its kind in the world uses a single photon as its qubit and it can perform calculations without needing the cumbersome equipment to cool it down to near absolute zero.

Chinese scientists build fastest humanoid robot in the world — it can run at 8 mph
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published
The STAR1 robot can reach a top speed of 8 mph with the added help of a pair of sneakers.

Wireless data speeds hit 938 Gbps — a new record and 10,000 times faster than 5G
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published
Scientists combined two existing wireless technologies — high-speed electronics and millimeter wave photonics — for the first time to achieve record-breaking wireless data transmission speeds.

Scientists design new 'AGI benchmark' that tests whether any future AI model could cause 'catastrophic harm'
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published
OpenAI scientists have designed MLE-bench — a compilation of 75 extremely difficult tests that can assess whether a future advanced AI agent is capable of modifying its own code and improving itself.

Google's Sycamore quantum computer chip can now outperform the fastest supercomputers, new study suggests
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published
Experiments on Google's 67-qubit Sycamore processor showed operations entering a new "weak noise phase" in which calculations were complex enough to outperform supercomputers, based on benchmark testing.

What is artificial general intelligence (AGI)?
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published
AI development is accelerating — with some scientists suggesting machines will be more intelligent than the smartest humans within the next few years.

'Their capacity to emulate human language and thought is immensely powerful': Far from ending the world, AI systems might actually save it
By Juan M. Lavista Ferres, William B. Weeks published
From disaster recovery to conservation and healthcare, plenty of AI projects will greatly benefit humanity, Microsoft experts Juan M. Lavista Ferres and William B. Weeks say.

Novel Chinese computing architecture 'inspired by human brain' can lead to AGI, scientists say
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published
AGI could be on the horizon thanks to a novel computing architecture that completely redefines how artificial neurons form an intelligent system.

Radical quantum computing theory could lead to more powerful machines than previously imagined
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published
Scientists have just theorized how to connect quantum processors over vast distances to form a giant quantum computing network that acts as a single machine.

Unique 'fan-on-a-chip' could prevent AI smartphones from overheating — with 1st devices launching in 2026
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published
The "xMEMS XMC-2400 µCooling" chip aims to keep future smartphones from overheating as they become more powerful.

World's fastest charger can fully power up your smartphone in under 5 minutes
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published
New record-breaking fast-charging technology can power up your smartphone battery quicker than you can write an email.

Scientists achieve record-breaking 402 Tbps data transmission speeds — 1.6 million times faster than home broadband
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published
Scientists break data transmission rate world record for a second time this year — boosting fiber-optic speeds by 25% to a staggering 402 Tbps.

New quantum computer smashes 'quantum supremacy' record by a factor of 100 — and it consumes 30,000 times less power
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published
The 56-qubit H2-1 computer has broken the previous record in the 'quantum supremacy' benchmark first set by Google in 2019.

'World's purest silicon' could lead to 1st million-qubit quantum computing chips
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published
Scientists engineer the 'purest ever silicon' to build reliable qubits that can be manufactured to the size of a pinhead on a chip and power million-qubit quantum computers in the future.

'It would be within its natural right to harm us to protect itself': How humans could be mistreating AI right now without even knowing it
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published
How can we truly know if AI is sentient? We do not yet fully understand the nature of human consciousness, so we cannot discount the possibility that today's AI is indeed sentient — and that we are mistreating it to potentially grave consequences.
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