The World Remade by Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is reshaping every facet of human existence, from business and education to creativity and governance. As AI systems become more powerful, they raise urgent questions about ethics, decision-making, and the future of human agency. This book explores how AI is transforming industries and society, offering a balanced perspective on both its immense potential and its risks. Collecting case studies and expert insights, it examines the impact of generative AI, automation, and machine learning on employment, creativity, and global economies. They also address critical concerns such as bias, misinformation, and the evolving role of AI in governance and daily life. Designed for business leaders, policymakers, educators, and general readers, this work represents a roadmap for navigating an AI-driven world. It offers clear explanations, thought-provoking analysis, and a vision for a future where AI and humanity coexist in a rapidly changing landscape.
Innovative Solutions for Concrete Applications
The Special Issue "Innovative Solutions for Concrete Applications" presents recent developments in the field of concrete technology and its applications. The articles and state-of-the-art reviews highlight the key themes such as sustainability, performance, durability, cost, environmental impact, recycling, and construction waste management. It also explores emerging techniques and innovations, including alkali-activated concrete, bacterial concrete, crumb rubber concrete, foamed concrete, waste-based concrete composites, and the reuse of construction and demolition waste. Sustainable concrete alternatives, innovative materials, and improved recycling and mixing techniques offer significant opportunities to reduce the environmental impact of concrete. However, challenges related to cost, long-term durability, and the application of life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis still need to be addressed through ongoing research. Furthermore, technologies such as three-dimensional concrete printing present advanced opportunities for innovation in the construction industry.
Antenna Designs for 5G/IoT and Space Applications, 2nd Edition
This reprint intends to shed some light on recent advances in antenna design for these new emerging applications and identify further research areas in this exciting field of communications technologies. Considering the specificity of the operational environment, e.g., huge distance, moving support (satellite), huge temperature drift, small dimensions with respect to distance, etc., antennas are fundamental devices that allow us to maintain a constant interoperability between ground stations and satellites or different satellites. Their high gain, stable performances (in terms of temperature and time), and long lifecycle are some of the requirements that necessitate special attention with respect to standard designs. The chapters of this reprint discuss various aspects of the above-mentioned list, presenting the view of the authors. Some of the contributors work strictly in the field (space), so they have a very targeted view of these subjects, while others with a more academic background propose futuristic solutions. We hope that interested readers will find a fertile source of information that, combined with their interest/background, will allow them to efficiently exploit the combination of these two perspectives.
Empire of AI
A New York Times Notable Book - Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction - A New York Times Bestseller - Named a Best Book of the Year by Smithsonian, Scientific American, and Elle - Winner of the Porchlight Business Book Award "A bestselling page-turner that has made waves not just in Silicon Valley but around the world . . . With Empire of AI, Hao is fundamentally shaping many people's perceptions and understanding of the company at the center of the AI revolution." --TIME Magazine, "TIME100 AI 2025" "Excellent and deeply reported." --Tim Wu, The New York Times "Startling and intensely researched . . . an essential account of how OpenAI and ChatGPT came to be and the catastrophic places they will likely take us." --Vulture From a brilliant longtime AI insider with intimate access to the world of Sam Altman's OpenAI from the beginning, an eye-opening account of arguably the most fateful tech arms race in history, reshaping the planet in real time, from the cockpit of the company that is driving the frenzy When AI expert and investigative journalist Karen Hao first began covering OpenAI in 2019, she thought they were the good guys. Founded as a nonprofit with safety enshrined as its core mission, the organization was meant, its leader Sam Altman told us, to act as a check against more purely mercantile, and potentially dangerous, forces. What could go wrong? Over time, Hao began to wrestle ever more deeply with that question. Increasingly, she realized that the core truth of this massively disruptive sector is that its vision of success requires an almost unprecedented amount of resources: the "compute" power of high-end chips and the processing capacity to create massive large language models, the sheer volume of data that needs to be amassed at scale, the humans "cleaning up" that data for sweatshop wages throughout the Global South, and a truly alarming spike in the usage of energy and water underlying it all. The truth is that we have entered a new and ominous age of empire: only a small handful of globally scaled companies can even enter the field of play. At the head of the pack with its ChatGPT breakthrough, how would OpenAI resist such temptations? Spoiler alert: it didn't. Armed with Microsoft's billions, OpenAI is setting a breakneck pace, chased by a small group of the most valuable companies in human history--toward what end, not even they can define. All this time, Hao has maintained her deep sourcing within the company and the industry, and so she was in intimate contact with the story that shocked the entire tech industry--Altman's sudden firing and triumphant return. The behind-the-scenes story of what happened, told here in full for the first time, is revelatory of who the people controlling this technology really are. But this isn't just the story of a single company, however fascinating it is. The g forces pressing down on the people of OpenAI are deforming the judgment of everyone else too--as such forces do. Naked power finds the ideology to cloak itself; no one thinks they're the bad guy. But in the meantime, as Hao shows through intrepid reporting on the ground around the world, the enormous wheels of extraction grind on. By drawing on the viewpoints of Silicon Valley engineers, Kenyan data laborers, and Chilean water activists, Hao presents the fullest picture of AI and its impact we've seen to date, alongside a trenchant analysis of where things are headed. An astonishing eyewitness view from both up in the command capsule of the new economy and down where the real suffering happens, Empire of AI pierces the veil of the industry defining our era.
New Energy Competencies - A Guide for HR Professionals in Renewable Energy
Probability and Stochastic Processes with Applications to Communications, Systems and Networks, 2nd Edition
Probability theory and stochastic processes are fundamental mathematical tools that play a critical role in understanding and modeling randomness and uncertainty in various fields, including communications, systems engineering, and network design. These concepts provide the foundation for analyzing and designing systems that operate in unpredictable environments, such as wireless communication networks, internet traffic, and signal processing systems. The current reprint is the continuation of the 1st Edition, representing a reprint of the second edition of the Special Issue "Probability and Stochastic Processes with Applications to Communications, Systems and Networks, 2nd Edition". The collection covers a wide range of advanced topics in communication systems, queueing theory, stochastic processes, and optimization, with applications ranging from wireless networks to power grids and nanotechnology. It is our hope that it serves as a starting point for exploring the rich and fascinating world of probability and stochastic processes.
UAV-Assisted Intelligent Vehicular Networks
This Reprint presents a comprehensive collection of research papers focused on advanced communication technologies and optimization techniques for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-assisted systems and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. The Reprint covers a broad spectrum of topics, including intelligent resource allocation, secure transmission protocols, trajectory planning, and the use of deep learning in UAV networks. Noteworthy contributions include novel algorithms for relay selection in ultra-dense MEC networks, a multi-subsampling self-attention network for UAV-to-ground automatic modulation recognition, and optimized strategies for covert communication in UAV-assisted uplink systems. Additionally, this Special Issue delves into critical aspects such as physical-layer security, cooperative caching strategies, spectrum sensing, and the integration of edge computing with blockchain for secure V2X communications. The collected works provide valuable insights into emerging technologies, addressing the challenges of resource management, security, and efficiency in next-generation UAV and IoT networks. This Reprint serves as a valuable resource for both researchers and practitioners in these fields.
Decentralizing Knowledges
In recent decades, there has been a call for decentering knowledge in the social sciences and humanities, bringing to light perspectives from previously ignored or undervalued groups or areas of the world. Feminist epistemologies and postcolonial studies have led this trend. However, there has been less interest in the specific infrastructures and practices that make decentering possible. Drawing from science and technology studies, Decentralizing Knowledges explores how to bring about such change. Contributors explore the multiple practices of knowledge production and circulation that favor and nurture nonhegemonic standpoints in academic fields, disciplines, and institutions--what they call epistemic decentralizing. The contributors combine theoretical and philosophical inquiry with empirical and historical case studies in settings ranging from palliative care in Taiwan, the repatriation of archaeological remains to Peru, and an experimental research platform in Kenya to a center of interdisciplinary ethnography in Ecuador and duck hunting as a knowledge practice of many indigenous S獺mi people. Throughout, the contributors provide an overview of the complex processes required to challenge mainstream epistemology. Contributors: Linda Mart穩n Alcoff, El穩as Barticevic, Johan Henrik Buljo, Ronald Cancino, Cristina Flores, Kim Fortun, Sandra Harding, Line Aimee Kalak, Duygu Kasdogan, Wiebke Keim, Aalok Khandekar, Daniel Lee Kleinman, Wen-Hua Kuo, John Law, Les Levidow, Leandro Rodriguez Medina, Angela Okune, Liv ?stmo, Ari Sitas, Maka Suarez, Sharon Traweek, Hebe Vessuri
Advances in Solar Technologies
The rapid growth in global energy demand and the pressing environmental challenges have driven the development of advanced solar energy technologies. This reprint presents cutting-edge innovations, novel design concepts, and technological advancements in solar energy systems. Topics of interest include material and device optimization, system integration, performance enhancement through simulation and experimental analysis, and interdisciplinary applications such as solar cooling and thermal and electrical storage. It includes recent research on performance prediction models like MATLAB/Simulink to optimize triple-junction solar cells while cooling systems using nanofluids and phase change materials enhance thermal management. Light-trapping techniques, such as pit arrays, boost absorption, and shading analysis innovations help reduce efficiency losses. Improved solar irradiance prediction models refine energy forecasting. Grid integration benefits from advanced LCL filters and Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithms using genetic and ant colony optimization. Refractive-reflective solar concentrators enhance energy capture, while techno-economic assessments of concentrated photovoltaic-thermal (CPVT) spectral splitting suggest cost-effective solutions, particularly in regions like Saudi Arabia. A comprehensive review examines the profound impact of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and wireless communication technologies on the heliostat control systems of concentrated solar power (CSP) plants. This reprint aims to inspire next-generation solutions for practical solar energy applications by showcasing the latest research.
Decentralizing Knowledges
In recent decades, there has been a call for decentering knowledge in the social sciences and humanities, bringing to light perspectives from previously ignored or undervalued groups or areas of the world. Feminist epistemologies and postcolonial studies have led this trend. However, there has been less interest in the specific infrastructures and practices that make decentering possible. Drawing from science and technology studies, Decentralizing Knowledges explores how to bring about such change. Contributors explore the multiple practices of knowledge production and circulation that favor and nurture nonhegemonic standpoints in academic fields, disciplines, and institutions--what they call epistemic decentralizing. The contributors combine theoretical and philosophical inquiry with empirical and historical case studies in settings ranging from palliative care in Taiwan, the repatriation of archaeological remains to Peru, and an experimental research platform in Kenya to a center of interdisciplinary ethnography in Ecuador and duck hunting as a knowledge practice of many indigenous S獺mi people. Throughout, the contributors provide an overview of the complex processes required to challenge mainstream epistemology. Contributors: Linda Mart穩n Alcoff, El穩as Barticevic, Johan Henrik Buljo, Ronald Cancino, Cristina Flores, Kim Fortun, Sandra Harding, Line Aimee Kalak, Duygu Kasdogan, Wiebke Keim, Aalok Khandekar, Daniel Lee Kleinman, Wen-Hua Kuo, John Law, Les Levidow, Leandro Rodriguez Medina, Angela Okune, Liv ?stmo, Ari Sitas, Maka Suarez, Sharon Traweek, Hebe Vessuri
Metal Additive Manufacturing
The following reprint explores the transformative advancements in metal additive manufacturing (AM) across cutting-edge industrial applications. Addressing key challenges in design, performance optimization, and application-specific development, it serves as a platform for state-of-the-art research and innovative methodologies. The collection features 10 high-quality papers authored by 47 contributors from 22 esteemed institutions, highlighting substantial interdisciplinary collaboration efforts. Built upon 381 published works, these studies present novel insights into material properties and real-world applications. With over 9,600 views in the first nine months, this reprint underscores the growing significance of metal AM and its accelerating industrial adoption.
Industrial CFD and Fluid Modelling in Engineering
This volume "Industrial CFD and Fluid Modelling in Engineering" explores advanced computational methods for fluid dynamics, offering insights into simulations, turbulence modeling, and real-world engineering applications.
Microporous and Mesoporous Materials for Catalytic Applications
Microporous and mesoporous materials are applied in refinery processes for the production of fuel components, petro-chemicals, and fine and speciality chemicals. Furthermore, these catalytic materials are utilized in exhaust gas emission control, water purification, drug delivery, and solutions for environment-related problems. Microporous and mesoporous catalytic materials modified with transition and noble metals are synthesized via evaporation impregnation, deposition precipitation, ion exchange, chemical vapor deposition, and atomic layer deposition. Metal nanoparticle-size distributions, dispersions, metal-support interations, and acid site amounts can be designed by selecting metal modification methods. In-depth physico-chemical characterizations are carried out using nitrogen physisorption for surface area pore volume and pore size distributions, scanning electron microscopy for morphological features, transmision electron microscopy for metal nanoparticle-size distributions, X-ray powder diffraction for structural measurements, and FTIR with pyridine as the probe molecule for Br繹nsted and Lewis acid site amounts. Microporous and mesoporous materials will be applied to the development of green process technology for the production of renewable energy, bulk chemicals, and fine chemical manufacturing.
An Invitation to Probability and Data Analysis for Physicists
Advanced Biotechnologies for Water and Wastewater Treatment
This reprint deals with the latest developments regarding water and wastewater treatment using recent biotechnological processes. This reprint includes 11 papers and an editorial. Two papers focus on biomass management through thermal degradation and sludge separation, including pyrolysis and gasification technologies and microbial strategies for sludge granulation. Five papers tackle heavy metals removal, investigating lead's effects on algal-bacterial sludge, optimizing Cr removal using ANFIS and AEO, and using bacterial cellulose biomass, E. crassipes biomass, and genetically engineered E. coli for Cd removal. Four papers addressed organic contaminant degradation, studying ZnO nanoparticles' photo-catalytic activity, immobilized enzymes for pollutant treatment, fungal mycelium and enzymes for dye removal, and phenol degradation using immobilized Alcaligenes faecalis in Fe3O4-modified biochar. This reprint highlights innovations in biotechnology for sustainable water and wastewater treatment, emphasizing biomass management, heavy metals removal, and organic contaminant degradation.
Casting Alloy Design and Characterization
This reprint is dedicated to works related to casting alloy design and characterization, especially novel techniques; experimental and theoretical solidification studies; numerical and analytical simulations; heat and mass transfer; processing structure-property relations; and industrial applications.
Machines, Mechanisms and Robots
"Machines, Mechanisms and Robots: Theory and Applications (MMR-T&A)" is an interdisciplinary collection, published in MDPI's journal Machines, that is focused on Mechanical Systems analyzed from both the theoretical and the applicative points of view. It aims to report scientific advancements in all fields concerning mechanical system design.This reprint marks the beginning of the MMR-T&A series, which compiles articles from the MMR-T&A collection. This first volume includes the first ten published papers from the collection. It starts with one review on contact models. Then, it continues with two papers addressing obstacle avoidance in different contexts, one more paper on geometric constraint programming, and three papers presenting novel mechanisms. Finally, it closes with one paper on mechanism performances and two papers addressing manufacturing issues. Going forward, a new volume in the MMR-T&A series will be released for every ten papers published.This reprint is dedicated to the memory of Prof. Ettore Pennestr穫 (Reggio Calabria, Italy, May 16, 1957 - Rome, Italy, August 29, 2024).
High-Efficient Exploration and Development of Oil & Gas from Ocean
Oil and gas still account for more than half of energy consumption globally. The development of more oil and gas sources remains challenging. This reprint mainly focuses on the high-efficiency development of oil and gas in both marine and lacustrine environments. The main contents include the sedimentary environment of shale, hydrocarbon generation mechanisms, hydrocarbon accumulation processes, reservoir characterization, and rock physics.
Recent Trends in Roughness Measurement and Data Analysis of Machined Surfaces
This reprint focuses on various types of surface topography descriptions. Since the detailed analysis of surface topography influences many material layer property evaluations, its proper study rely on both data collection and processing. Many errors occur not only when the measuring instrument is forwarding but also when the received data are processed. Therefore, the whole surface topography evaluation process depends on each of the actions provided. This reprint provides an insight on how to determine a proper description of a surface by examining its topography. The variety of studies regarding surface topography in each of the chapters included can provide advantages for resolving different problems of surface metrology.
Ai-Optimized Electrical Discharge Machining for Precision Manufacturin
Back to Statistics
Due to the popularity of artificial intelligence today, scientists and practitioners tend to ignore the achievements of statistical methods. This book aims to re-establish statistical methods, especially for control practitioners, for whom the task of assessing control performance is important.
Dynamics and Control of Aerospace Systems
This reprint offers a comprehensive collection of cutting-edge research in the dynamics, control, and actuation of aerospace systems, addressing critical challenges and innovative solutions within aerospace engineering. By integrating novel methodologies and practical applications, this reprint showcases advancements in distributed control for space manipulators, state-dependent control for drag-free satellites, hybrid propulsion systems for interplanetary CubeSats, and advanced strategies for aero-engine and spacecraft control. A diverse range of techniques, including sliding mode control, model predictive control, decentralized LQR, and adaptive fuzzy control, are explored to achieve robust solutions for trajectory tracking, vibration suppression, and integrated guidance and control. Furthermore, this reprint highlights the transformative potential of advanced materials and sensing technologies, such as piezoelectric sensors, fiber Bragg grating (FBG) systems, and smart materials, in enhancing vibration suppression, structural health monitoring, and system reliability. Through a combination of theoretical modeling, computational analysis, and experimental validation, the studies provide a holistic perspective on the design and optimization of aerospace systems. Aimed at researchers, engineers, and professionals, this reprint serves as an invaluable resource for understanding the latest advancements and future directions in aerospace dynamics, control, and actuation technologies.
New Fuels and Advanced Combustion Modes for Innovative Internal Combustion Engines
Today, the need to reduce both greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions is a challenge for the entire energy sector. Efforts to address this challenge have led to both the introduction of new technologies and improvements to the most widely used traditional ones. Among the latter, internal combustion engines (ICEs) provide about 25% of the world power today. In particular, the entire transport sector is largely based on this technology. Transitioning from ICEs to combustion-less technologies poses significant technical and economic challenges, making it unlikely that ICEs will be phased out soon. Therefore, enhancing their sustainability is crucial. In this scenario, this Special Issue collects studies focused on the following topics: the use of new fuels for ICEs for both automotive and railway applications, testing of additives for ICEs fed with conventional fuels, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation applied to the analysis and design of ICE components.
Municipal Wastewater Treatment
Water has become a scarce resource globally. The main objective of municipal wastewater treatment is to remove pollutants before effluent is discharged back to the environment. Treated effluent can be utilized for various types of water reuse and resource recovery. This reprint, including 21 papers, addresses diverse aspects of wastewater treatment, covering municipal and industrial wastewater. One study explores submerged fibers in an attached growth sequential batch reactor designed for poultry slaughterhouse wastewater treatment. Another focuses on the performance and microbial community analysis of pilot-scale hydrolysis-aerobic treatment for municipal wastewater. A separate study develops a multi-objective decision model to select appropriate municipal sewage treatment technologies under uncertainty. Another study investigates phosphorus removal mechanisms using recycled crushed concrete. Further studies examine the impact of C/N ratio and potassium chlorate on nitrogen removal in two-stage-constructed rapid infiltration systems. Additionally, one particular study focuses on removing nutrients from anaerobically digested swine wastewater using a multi-soil layering treatment bioreactor. There is also a full-scale experimental study on groundwater softening using a circulating pellet fluidized reactor. Another analysis focuses on bioaugmentation effects on biogas yields and kinetics in the anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge. These studies collectively highlight innovative methods for improving the efficiency of municipal wastewater treatment and reducing water pollution.
Basic Engineering Science
The Book is an outcome of Series of Lectures notes prepared for the under Graduate first year course. The book headlights the latest developments in mechanical engineering like 3-D printing, Robotics, Automation and Applications of AI in Civil Engineering. It Also covers the basics of energy sources, Power transmission and Force Analysis.
