Don't know your q-bits from your bytes? This is the podcast for you! Quantum Computing is one of the next-gen technologies that can truly usher in a new era in computing. Quantum Communications has the potential to provide a truly secure infrastructure for communications across small or vast distances. Deirdre Kilbane (Director of Research at the Walton Institute) joined Rob O'Connor in the studio to talk about all of this and the recent announcement of a large research investment in Ireland QCI (Quantum Communications Infrastructure). Deirdre breaks down some of the theoretical elements in an easy to understand manner and lays out the practical applications for this technology across Europe (and beyond). For more information on Ireland QCI, check out this web story https://waltoninstitute.ie/projects/ireland-qci For more information on Deirdre Kilbane, check out her profile https://waltoninstitute.ie/about/staff/dr-deirdre-kilbane Stay up to date with The Machine podcast by following us on Twitter @machine_podcast

Hazel Farrell and Pete Windle are academics at SETU who have been playing with ChatGPT (and other AI tools) to see how they can be used in the classroom to assist teaching and learning. They both take an open approach towards the technologies, rather than shutting down conversation. They sat down with Rob O'Connor to talk about the potential of these technologies to be a useful tool in education. Pete is a lecturer in Computing, whereas Hazel is a lecturer in Music - so there is a cross-disciplinary aspect to the discussion. The podcast doesn't lead to many answers for academics or students who may be struggling with AI, but it does spark some interested questions and dialogues. This is definitely a topic we'll be discussing again. During the podcast, Hazel recommends following Mushtaq Bilal on Twitter @MushtaqBilalPhD for interesting threads on ChatGPT. Pete recommends the ChatGPT Insights Facebook group. You can follow Hazel on Twitter @renshigirl. Pete's profile on LinkedIn can be found here. Rob O'Connor is on Twitter @roboconnor_irl or on Mastodon http://mastodon.ie/@roboconnor. Follow the podcast on Twitter at @machine_podcast

Red Hat are the world's largest open source software company. Senior Engineers at Red Hat - Brendan O'Farrell and Leigh Griffin - joined SETU lecturers Rob O'Connor and Amanda Freeman-Gater to chat about Red Hat Academy, an online portal that provides free resources for students of computer science. They discussed the kind of material you can find there and why students might be interested in this. There's a lot of conversation about Linux in here, but it's not confined to CentOS or Red Hat Enterprise Linux. They also talked about the characteristics that they look for when hiring graduates and their thoughts on learning as a life-long activity (not something that ends when you complete your degree). You can learn more about Red Hat at redhat.com. You'll find general company info there, as well as details on the Red Hat Academy. You can follow The Machine podcast on Twitter @machine_podcast. Staff profiles for Rob O'Connor and Amanda Freeman-Gater can be found on SETU.ie

Two colleagues at SETU from the School of Engineering, David Alarco and Natalie Romanyatova, joined Rob in the podcast studio to discuss additive manufacturing (3D printing), how it dovetails with computing and how it's changing the way "stuff" is made. They have a new course starting bout it too. More information about Additive Manufacturing Advancing the South East (AMASE) can be found at amase.ie This is the last episode of The Machine for the season. We'll be back in the new academic year with more interesting chats about technology. Enjoy your summer holidays!

Can we detect an excess of carbon in a field using equipment that already in place? Rob spoke with SETU academic Bernard Butler and his graduate student Thakshilla Wedage about their work in VistaMilk and using the physical properties of wireless signals to predict atmospheric conditions in a farming context. The speed of the terahertz signals they use are hampered by our wet, dense atmosphere - but they may allow wireless communications 100-times faster than current speeds on a dry environment, such as Mars. They talked about their next phase of their work which is looking at employing these technologies to facilitate high-bandwidth, low-latency communications off-world. To quote a famous space traveller - Fascinating! More information about the VistaMilk project and the people involved can be found at vistamilk.ie