The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. One July afternoon in 2024, Ryan Williams set out to prove himself wrong. Two months had passed since he’d hit upon a startling ...

Consensus algorithms are processes where validators (also known as nodes or miners) within a blockchain network agree on the current state of the network. This mainly entails agreeing on whether a ...

Can we ever really trust algorithms to make decisions for us? Previous research has proved these programs can reinforce society’s harmful biases, but the problems go beyond that. A new study shows how ...