1 year ago
97 This is today's variation of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a regular dose of what's going connected successful the satellite of technology.
How AI could constitute our laws
Nathan E. Sanders is simply a information idiosyncratic and an affiliate with the Berkman Klein Center astatine Harvard University. Bruce Schneier is simply a information technologist and a chap and lecturer astatine the Harvard Kennedy School.
Lobbying has agelong been portion of the give-and-take among policymakers and advocates moving to equilibrium their competing interests, but immoderate firm entities are adept astatine utilizing legal-but-sneaky strategies for tilting the rules successful their favor.
AI tools could marque these kinds of sneaky strategies much wide and effective. A earthy opening for this exertion comes successful the signifier of microlegislation, a word for tiny pieces of projected instrumentality that cater to constrictive interests.
Computer models tin foretell the apt destiny of projected legislative amendments, arsenic good arsenic the paths by which lobbyists tin astir efficaciously unafraid their desired outcomes, a captious portion of creating an AI lobbyist.
The information of microlegislation—a information greatly exacerbated by AI—is that it tin beryllium utilized successful a mode that makes it hard to fig retired who the authorities genuinely benefits. Read the afloat story.
The runway for futuristic electrical planes is inactive a agelong one
The news: The aboriginal of formation conscionable got delayed, for 1 startup astatine least. Today Beta Technologies pushed backmost the debut of its futuristic electrical craft that tin instrumentality disconnected and onshore similar a helicopter. Instead, it announced plans to certify a much accepted mentation of its electrical level by 2025.
Why it matters: Beta is 1 of a increasing fig of companies moving to physique tiny electrical craft that tin transportation respective passengers oregon tiny cargo loads for abbreviated distances. Electric craft could assistance chopped emissions, but method and regulatory hurdles inactive loom for the industry. Read the afloat story.
—Casey Crownhart
The must-reads
I’ve combed the net to find you today’s astir fun/important/scary/fascinating stories astir technology.
1 Silicon Valley Bank customers are capable to entree their accounts again
Which is simply a immense alleviation for its anxious clients. (WP $)|
+ Not everyone extracurricular the tech manufacture is feeling sympathetic. (NYT $)
+ Its nonaccomplishment illustrates the occupation with banks that are large but not massive. (Economist $)
+ The bank’s leaders are nether the microscope. (WSJ $)
+ How a azygous banking instrumentality laid the foundations of the bank’s collapse. (Vox)
2 Microsoft has laid disconnected its AI morals team
Just arsenic it doubles down connected integrating AI into its products. (Platformer $)
+ The institution created a colossal supercomputer for OpenAI. (Bloomberg $)
+ It feels similar an AI situation is happening earlier our precise eyes. (The Atlantic $)
+ Responsible AI has a burnout problem. (MIT Technology Review)
3 What we tin larn from the archetypal procreation to turn up with covid
The microorganism volition beryllium among the archetypal today’s babies and toddlers encounter. (The Atlantic $)
+ A conflict is raging implicit agelong covid successful children. (MIT Technology Review)
4 China is obstructing subsea net cablegram projects
It’s portion of a powerfulness play to exert greater power implicit the infrastructure. (FT $)
5 California ruled Uber drivers indispensable beryllium treated arsenic autarkic contractors
It comes arsenic a stroke to employees pushing for employment rights. (BBC)
6 What the Section 230 ineligible cases overlook
By focusing connected user-generated content, they disregard platforms’ negligent plan choices. (Wired $)
+ The Supreme Court whitethorn overhaul however you unrecorded online. (MIT Technology Review)
7 Meta is giving up moving connected NFTs
Just similar the remainder of the industry, then. (The Verge)
8 Can seaweed truly present connected its promises?
It’s touted arsenic a solution for everything from nutrient shortages to clime change. (Hakai Magazine)+ Inside Alphabet X’s caller effort to combat clime alteration with seagrass. (MIT Technology Review)
9 Venmo is simply a astonishing root of drama
Users are uncovering affairs and betrayals by the dozen. (The Guardian)
10 The metaverse has spawned its archetypal breakout band
Kpop quartet Mave are making waves crossed the internet. (Reuters)
Quote of the day
“Supercharged spies are precisely what you want, and what you deserve.”
—David Cohen, lawman manager of the CIA, makes the lawsuit for the tech manufacture to get much progressive with authorities espionage during a sheet astatine South by Southwest, Bloomberg reports.
The large story
This nanoparticle could beryllium the cardinal to a cosmopolitan covid vaccine
Long earlier Alexander Cohen—or anyone else—had heard of the alpha, delta, oregon omicron variants of covid-19, helium and his postgraduate schoolhouse advisor Pamela Bjorkman were doing the probe that mightiness soon marque it imaginable for a azygous vaccine to decision the rapidly evolving virus—along with immoderate different covid-19 variant that mightiness originate successful the future.
The brace and their collaborators are present tantalizingly adjacent to achieving their extremity of manufacturing a vaccine that broadly triggers an immune effect not conscionable to covid and its variants but to a wider assortment of coronaviruses. If it works, it could support america against ever having to endure different covid-related lockdown again. Read the afloat story.
—Adam Piore
We tin inactive person bully things
A spot for comfort, amusive and distraction successful these weird times. (Got immoderate ideas? Drop maine a line oregon tweet 'em astatine me.)
+ I ne'er knew that babe scorpions are called scorplings, but this, and galore different cool bug-adjacent facts tin present beryllium yours.
+ Woah: ichthyosaurs whitethorn person evolved a batch earlier than we thought they did.
+ What could beryllium amended than this Staten Island eatery staffed by a rotating formed of grandmothers!?
+ Prince whitethorn person been Prince’s existent name, but helium besides utilized a scope of entertaining pseudonyms.
+ These physics posters are fab.
