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Quantum computers represent a transformative frontier in computational technology, promising exponential speedups beyond classical computing limits. IBM Quantum has led significant advancements in both hardware and software, providing access to quantum hardware via IBM Cloud ® since 2016 and achieving a milestone with the world’s first accessible quantum computer. This paper explores IBM’s journey in quantum computing, focusing on its contributions to both hardware and software, as well as the development of practical quantum computers. We trace the evolution of IBM Quantum’s processors, from the early canary processors to the milestone of surpassing the 1000-qubit barrier. In addition to these technological strides, we delve into the practical applications of quantum computing, particularly within nine key industries: airlines, banking, healthcare, electronics, life sciences, and more. We also explore IBM Quantum’s case studies and strategic partnerships with organizations such as Boeing, CERN, ExxonMobil, and Cleveland Clinic, which are helping to bridge the gap between theoretical research and real-world applications. Further, we examine the key challenges and solutions in scaling quantum systems and achieving fault tolerance, highlighting IBM’s efforts toward building practical, fault-tolerant quantum systems capable of addressing real-world problems.

Purpose - An empirical testing on IBM smart cities projects was applied so as to demonstrate that the combination between the use of Internet of Things (IoT) and the implementation of the Open Innovation (OI) model within smart cities which has been changed the development of urban areas and effected firms' innovativeness. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach - A case study methodology on a leading multinational firms deeply involved in smart cities projects has been chosen. Findings - From this study it emerged how IBM: has a clear vision of smart cities and IoT; adopt a worldwide OI approach to smart cities; delineate-specific strategies and create OI units ad hoc for smart cities' projects. Research limitations/implications - The major limitation of this work is that the analysis presented has been developed only on one case of multinational firm that operate in smart cities contexts. Practical implications - Recommendations will be made both to public and private actor in order to plan and implement efficient strategies to improve their performances. Originality/value - The concept of smart city has become quite popular between scholars and practitioners in the era of digital economy. Cities become smart developing new urban area using new Information and Communication Technologies such as mobile devices, the semantic web, cloud computing, and the IoT. Smart cities make innovation ecosystem, joining together different forces like knowledge-intensive activities, institutions for cooperation and learning, and web-based applications collective intelligence. This research is of importance and significance to scholars, government, and firms who need to understand the relevance of smart cities in the current economy.

Improving supply chain sustainability is an essential part of achieving the UN’s sustainable goals. Digitalization, such as blockchain technology, shows the potential to reshape supply chain management. Using distributed ledger technology, the blockchain platform provides a digital system and database to record the transactions along the supply chain. This decentralized database of transactions brings transparency, reliability, traceability, and efficiency to the supply chain management. This paper focuses on such novel blockchain-based supply chain management and its sustainability performances in the areas of environmental protection, social equity, and governance efficiency. Using a systematic literature review and two case studies, we evaluate whether the three sustainability indicators can be improved indirectly along supply chains based on blockchain technology. Our study shows that blockchain technology has the potential to improve supply chain sustainability performance, and we expect blockchain technology to rise in popularity in supply chain management.

PurposeThis study investigated the contribution of artificial intelligence (AI) to the efficiency of customer service. This study contributes to services technological innovation in process management, a field not yet settled in the literature.Design/methodology/approachAI is a multidisciplinary field of research that has stood out for the technological dynamism provided to organizational products and processes. The study was carried out at an Analytical Intelligence Unit (AIU) of a Brazilian commercial bank that applies AI integrated with IBM's Watson system. The study used data content analysis, structured and supported by Atlas.ti software.FindingsThe notorious AI cognitive maturity evolution allowed 181 million interactions and 7.6 million attendances in 2020, improving services efficiency, with gains in agility, availability, accessibility, resoluteness, predictability and transshipment capacity. The chatbot service reduced the queues of call centers and relationship centers, allowing the human attendant to perform more complex attendances.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitations of this study relate to the research cutout and its borders, such as the choice of participants and their areas of activity, and the choice of the unit of analysis.Practical implicationsThe results indicated that attendance through the virtual assistant increased by more than a 1,000% from 2019 to 2020, demonstrating the bank was technologically ready to face the Covid-19 pandemic effects.Originality/valueIn line with the evolutionary theory of innovation, the authors concluded that technological scaling in AI allows exponential gains in customer service efficiency and business process management. They also conclude that the strategy for creating AIUs is successful, once it allows centralizing, structuring and coordinating AI projects in R&D cooperation, cognitive computing and analytics.

With the advent of the information age, many communication systems and chat systems have appeared on the market. At present, every system has the function of subscribing to news,and MQTT is the main protocol to realize this function.It mainly uses the IBM bluemix IoT service to build mobile applications and realize device interconnection communication.This paper mainly studies the design and implementation of the Internet of Things communication system,which is based on the MQTT protocol.

Objective The molecular characteristics of sporadic inclusion body myositis (sIBM) have been intensively studied, and specific patterns on the cellular, protein and RNA level have emerged. However, these characteristics have not been studied in the context of HIV-associated IBM (HIV-IBM). In this study, we compared clinical, histopathological, and transcriptomic patterns of sIBM and HIV-IBM. Methods In this cross-sectional study, we compared patients with HIV-IBM and sIBM based on clinical and morphological features as well as gene expression levels of specific T-cell markers in skeletal muscle biopsy samples. Non-disease individuals served as controls (NDC). Cell counts for immunohistochemistry and gene expression profiles for quantitative PCR were used as primary outcomes. Results 14 muscle biopsy samples (7 HIV-IBM, 7 sIBM) of patients and 6 biopsy samples from NDC were included. Clinically, HIV-IBM patients showed a significantly lower age of onset and a shorter period between symptom onset and muscle biopsy. Histomorphologically, HIV-IBM patients showed no KLRG1 + or CD57 + cells, while the number of PD1 + cells did not differ significantly between the two groups. All markers were shown to be significantly upregulated at gene expression level with no significant difference between the IBM subgroups. Conclusion Despite HIV-IBM and sIBM sharing important clinical, histopathological, and transcriptomic signatures, the presence of KLRG1 + cells discriminated sIBM from HIV-IBM. This may be explained by longer disease duration and subsequent T-cell stimulation in sIBM. Thus, the presence of TEMRA cells is characteristic for sIBM, but not a prerequisite for the development of IBM in HIV + patients.

Density‐dependent processes are important for a fundamental understanding of population regulation, as well as for understanding responses to and recovery from stressors. While exploitative competition is well‐studied, interference competition is rather difficult to investigate, but it has been regularly observed to occur in many aquatic insect populations. We conducted laboratory experiments with the non‐biting midge Chironomus riparius (Diptera: Chironomidae) to investigate the impact of different combinations of food supply and larval densities on development and mortality at a constant temperature of 20°C. The chosen two‐factorial experimental design allowed a separate evaluation of exploitative (food) and interference (mortality) competition across a gradient of larval densities. The use of different vessel sizes between 50 cm2 and 600 cm2 made it possible to quantify the functional response at different food densities. To test mechanistic explanations for the statistically significant empirical relationships found in this study and to predict density‐dependent processes, we used a dynamic process‐oriented modeling approach. We extended a recently developed DEB‐IBM full life cycle model for C. riparius and successfully applied it under variable food conditions at the population level under laboratory conditions. Our study showed that chironomid development and reproduction are primarily dependent on food supply, whereas larval density drives the density‐dependent mortality rate. The interaction of food availability and interference competition determined the effective mortality over time. Killing by conspecifics was the most likely mechanism responsible for the intraspecific mortality of the larval stages. Combining data generated using a tailor‐made experimental design with a mechanistic model provided insights into and quantified regulation mechanisms of chironomid populations, allowing future uses of this information in the context of population‐level risk assessment from exposure to chemicals. Density‐dependent processes are important for a fundamental understanding of the regulation of populations. Laboratory experiments were conducted with the non‐biting midge Chironomus riparius (Diptera: Chironomidae) to investigate the impact of different combinations of food supply and larval densities on development and mortality. Our study showed that chironomid development and reproduction are primarily dependent on food, whereas larval density drives the density‐dependent mortality rate, with cannibalism being the most likely mechanism responsible for the intraspecific mortality of larval stages. The effective larval mortality over time for C. riparius under laboratory conditions is ultimately determined by the interaction of food availability and interference competition.

The current situation of a multiplicity of crises at the EU’s external borders directly affects the surveillance of the Union’s borders and its internal security. This requires the use of new and increasingly advanced technologies, which are framed by the idea of Smart Borders. Progressive crises require that ‘traditional’ methods of protecting the EU’s borders are constantly supplemented and upgraded with new technologies to ensure the security of the Schengen/Union area. One of the most important in this field is the use of satellite systems for better border management. EU agencies, the Copernicus programme and other components of the European Union Space Programme serve to strengthen border management through geospatial intelligence and imagery of the situation at borders and in pre-border areas. Of particular relevance in this respect is the EUROSUR Fusion Services referred to as a ‘system of systems’, which integrates information from satellites, radar, drones, and other sources to enable more effective threat prevention at the EU’s external borders. The aim of the article is to analyse and evaluate the utility of satellite systems in EU integrated border management (EU IBM) and to develop the Smart Borders concept with the latest satellite technologies to ensure EU security now and in the face of future challenges. Ultimately, it is pointed out that space technologies are becoming an enhancement, adding a new dimension to EU security. This leads to the creation of Future Smart Borders encompassing the support of EU IBM through evolving satellite systems.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce, apply and compare how artificial intelligence (AI), and specifically the IBM Watson system, can be used for content analysis in marketing research relative to manual and computer-aided (non-AI) approaches to content analysis. Design/methodology/approach To illustrate the use of AI-enabled content analysis, this paper examines the text of leadership speeches, content related to organizational brand. The process and results of using AI are compared to manual and computer-aided approaches by using three performance factors for content analysis: reliability, validity and efficiency. Findings Relative to manual and computer-aided approaches, AI-enabled content analysis provides clear advantages with high reliability, high validity and moderate efficiency. Research limitations/implications This paper offers three contributions. First, it highlights the continued importance of the content analysis research method, particularly with the explosive growth of natural language-based user-generated content. Second, it provides a road map of how to use AI-enabled content analysis. Third, it applies and compares AI-enabled content analysis to manual and computer-aided, using leadership speeches. Practical implications For each of the three approaches, nine steps are outlined and described to allow for replicability of this study. The advantages and disadvantages of using AI for content analysis are discussed. Together these are intended to motivate and guide researchers to apply and develop AI-enabled content analysis for research in marketing and other disciplines. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is among the first to introduce, apply and compare how AI can be used for content analysis.