Computer chips have been evolving since they were first created – but only at the hands of their creators, each generation designed from the hard-learned lessons of the last. That may become a thing of the past, as we hear that a team of Norwegian techsperts have built the first computer hardware that ‘evolves’ of its own accord while it’s still running. If this takes off, there’s a whole new route to artificial intelligence about to open up.

Second Life isn’t cruising the headlines quite the way it was a few months back, but that doesn’t mean that everything has gone quiet there. It’s obviously still seen as a viable platform for business – of one type or another – if the sale of the notorious red-light Amsterdam sim for a cool $50,000 is anything to go by.

Nuclear fission is increasingly being viewed as a viable solution to not just the climate crisis but also the dwindling world supplies of fossil fuels. Even leaving safety debates aside, this could be a blind alley for US energy plans, as MIT reports that there may not be enough uranium available to expand the number of reactors significantly. Which, given the increase in demand for reactor build permits, could cause some serious problems in the mid- to long term.

Imagine the embarrassment – you step out onto the boardwalk at your nearest beach hangout, looking fly in your shorts and ironic-slogan T-shirt, only to realise that the colour of the lenses in your shades are so last month it’s painful, and everyone is having a good laugh at your major lack of cred. Now breathe in relief, as you discover that this may never be a problem in the future – even if these ‘smart sunglasses’ are being developed for more practical purposes.

I’ve mentioned before that the UK is the most watched-over nation in the world, with something like one camera for every fourteen people. So it comes as a refief to me to hear a voice of sanity from a group of researchers warning the UK government that the feeds from surveillance cameras need to made publicly accessible in order for us to avoid becoming the Britain that George Orwell warned us about. This is especially interesting in that it chimes with the basic premise of an intriguing non-fiction book called The Transparent Society by David Brin, a name that should be familiar to science fiction readers.