Quantum information science (QIS) revolutionizes our understanding of the fundamental laws of the universe and promises world-altering improvements in a number of practical computational tasks. For theoretical computer scientists, QIS provides the means to unlock the ultimate computational powers available to us in this universe. For programmers and computer engineers, QIS offers the tools to run simulations and optimizations otherwise infeasible on classical computers. For theoretical physicists, QIS gives us hope of resolving paradoxes foundational to our understanding of Nature.

Artificial intelligence is becoming ubiquitous in our everyday lives. New tools, like large language models, are released to the public daily. But how do these tools actually work, and what allows them to achieve such amazing results? In this seminar we will go beyond platitudes to understand what AI really is, how AI tools work, and how we can use this information to get the most from AI, while also protecting ourselves from potential harm.

Why did Cuban and African-American abolitionists, seeking liberation in the Americas,look back in time and across the globe to Ethiopia? How was African sovereignty, as exemplified in Ethiopia, a beacon for later emancipation? These questions will lead us to explore Ethiopian imperial and religious politics but also the arts, architecture, and book culture of Ethiopia in Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period.