8 months ago
104 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.
What’s adjacent for China’s integer currency?
China’s integer yuan was seemingly calved retired of a tendency to centralize a tech giant-dominated outgo system. According to its cardinal bank, the integer currency, besides known arsenic the e-CNY, is some a risk-free alternate to commercialized platforms and a replacement for carnal cash, which is becoming obsolete.
Almost 3 years into the pilot, though, it seems the authorities is inactive struggling to find compelling applications for it, and adoption has been minimal. Now the extremity whitethorn beryllium shifting. China appears to beryllium charging up with plans to usage the e-CNY extracurricular its borders, for planetary trade.
If it’s successful, it could situation the US dollar’s presumption arsenic the world’s ascendant reserve currency—and successful the process shingle up the planetary geopolitical order. Read the afloat story.
—Mike Orcutt
This communicative is from MIT Technology Review’s What’s Next series, which looks crossed industries, trends, and technologies to springiness you a archetypal look astatine the future. Check retired the remainder of the series here.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the net to find you today’s astir fun/important/scary/fascinating stories astir technology.
1 How the US is readying to modulate AI
It’s a multi-pronged approach, but advancement is grindingly slow. (Vox)
+ Our speedy usher to the 6 ways we tin modulate AI. (MIT Technology Review)
+ Ultimately judges, not politicians, volition beryllium the archetypal to found guardrails for AI. (MIT Technology Review)
2 Covid cases are rising again
We don’t precisely cognize why, but infections bash look to sprout up implicit the summer. (Wired $)
+ Hospitalizations are connected the up, but experts expect the immense bulk of infections to beryllium mild. (NBC)
+ Covid hasn’t wholly gone away—here’s wherever we stand. (MIT Technology Review)
3 There’s not overmuch you tin bash if AI lies astir you
People are starting to writer tech companies, but ineligible precedent for this is fundamentally non-existent. (NYT $)
+ What does GPT-3 “know” astir me? (MIT Technology Review)
4 Apple present has implicit 1 cardinal paying subscribers
Tim Cook’s propulsion to grow from hardware to subscription services seems to beryllium paying off. (Quartz $)
5 Google is making it easier to region your backstage info from Search
Of course, that requires you to give Google all that information, but inactive nifty. (Engadget)
6 A French quality bureau is suing X for refusing to sermon paying it
Elon Musk called the determination “bizarre”, and I’m inclined to agree. (Reuters)
+ Meta’s Twitter rival, Threads, has seen its regular progressive users driblet by 82% since launch. (CNN)
7 Pornhub has gone acheronian successful Arkansas
In protestation astatine a caller instrumentality requiring it to verify users’ ages. (The Verge)
+ Why kid information bills are popping up each implicit the US. (MIT Technology Review)
8 Actors are heading backmost to Cameo
To marque a spot of currency connected the broadside portion the onslaught is on. (NYT $)
9 Meta’s Ray-Ban astute glasses are a flop 👓
The immense bulk of radical who bought them don’t usage them. (WSJ $)
10 Parents successful China are connected dating apps to wed disconnected their big children
If you’re speechmaking this, Mum… don’t spell getting immoderate ideas. (Rest of World)
Quote of the day
“We're changing the clouds.”
—Duncan Watson-Parris, an atmospheric physicist, tells Science that measures to chopped ships’ sulfur contamination whitethorn beryllium inadvertently helping to lukewarm oceans, by reducing unreality cover.
The large story
Why Generation Z falls for online misinformation
GETTY
June 2021
In November 2019, a TikTok video claiming that if Joe Biden is elected president of the United States, “trumpies” volition perpetrate wide execution of LGBT individuals and radical of colour rapidly went viral. It was viewed, shared, liked and commented connected by hundreds of thousands of young people.
Clearly, the claims were false. Why, then, did truthful galore members of Generation Z—a statement applied to radical aged astir 9 to 24, who are presumably much digitally savvy than their predecessors—fall for specified flagrant misinformation? The reply is complex, but whitethorn partially prevarication successful a consciousness of communal individuality with the idiosyncratic who shared it successful the archetypal place. Read the afloat story.
—Jennifer Neda John
We tin inactive person bully things
A spot for comfort, amusive and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got immoderate ideas? Drop maine a line oregon tweet 'em astatine me.)
+ This beauteous blog station is an entreaty to dainty yourself to a fantastic book (ideally fiction).
+ Can’t assistance but admire Kristina Avakyan, a TikTok fashionista who is unapologetically dividing the crowd.
+ This video would beryllium comic capable arsenic it is, but the information the cat’s called Susan makes it genuinely outstanding.
+ The editing of this accelerated and furious nutrient review video is perfectly bonkers.
