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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.
Google is throwing generative AI astatine everything
The news: Google is stuffing almighty caller AI tools into tons of its existing products and launching a slew of caller ones, including a coding assistant, it announced astatine its yearly I/O league connected Wednesday.
What’s changing: Billions of users volition soon spot Google’s latest AI connection mode, PaLM 2, integrated into implicit 25 products similar Maps, Docs, Gmail, Sheets, and the company’s chatbot, Bard, which it’s opening up to a bigger excavation of users. This is the company’s biggest propulsion yet to integrate the latest question of AI exertion into a assortment of products.
Why it matters: Because of information and reputational risks, Google has been slower than competitors to motorboat AI-powered products. But fierce contention from competitors similar Microsoft, OpenAI and others person near it feeling it has nary prime but to propulsion ahead. Experts pass that it’s a risky strategy that could backfire and tally afoul of the regulators. Read the afloat story.
—Melissa Heikkilä
This caller genome representation tries to seizure each quality familial variation
After much than 20 years of claiming they completed the quality genome project, researchers person announced yet different mentation of the quality genome map.
Whereas past versions of the task claimed to beryllium a draught of the familial blueprint for a quality being, this update combines the implicit DNA of 47 divers individuals—Africans, Native Americans, and Asians, among different groups—into 1 elephantine familial atlas that they accidental amended captures the familial diverseness of our species.
The caller map, called a “pangenome,” has been a decennary successful the making, and researchers accidental it volition lone get bigger. Crucially, it could clasp breathtaking possibilities for diagnosing uncommon diseases. Read the afloat story.
—Antonio Regalado
How sodium could alteration the crippled for batteries
Although lithium-ion batteries powerfulness astir EVs and devices similar compartment phones and laptops today, there’s a caller contender connected the horizon.
Sodium-ion batteries could compression their mode into immoderate corners of the artillery marketplace arsenic soon arsenic the extremity of this year, and they could beryllium immense successful cutting costs for EVs.
Casey Crownhart, our clime reporter, has dug into the chemistry down sodium batteries, and what their wider adoption by automakers could mean for the aboriginal of EVs. Read the afloat story.
Casey’s communicative is from The Spark, her play newsletter covering each the latest clime and vigor developments. Sign up to person it successful your inbox each Wednesday.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the net to find you today’s astir fun/important/scary/fascinating stories astir technology.
1 US Congress is going to perceive from OpenAI’s Sam Altman adjacent week
It comes arsenic AI starts to look increasing scrutiny successful Washington. (WP $)
+ European lawmakers are formalizing their requirements for AI makers. (TechCrunch)
+ China’s AI chatbots are lagging down the US’ caller releases. (Economist $)
+ The EU wants to modulate your favourite AI tools. (MIT Technology Review)
2 We’re inactive moving retired covid’s mysterious caller variants
The baffling ways its proteins acceptable together—and disappear—are confounding scientists. (The Atlantic $)
3 A shadowy hacking radical is targeting some Russia and Ukraine
It’s gathered a astonishing magnitude of antithetic data, including microphone recordings. (Wired $)
+ The warfare successful Ukraine has turned the defence manufacture connected its head. (FT $)
+ Why concern is booming for subject AI startups. (MIT Technology Review)
4 Things are looking up for Chinese chipmakers
One of the industry’s starring companies won’t beryllium hindered by US export controls aft all. (FT $)
+ What’s adjacent for the spot industry. (MIT Technology Review)
5 WhatsApp has a spam calls problem
Its users successful India are contending with a deluge of unwanted telephone calls. (BBC)
+ The radical utilizing wit to troll their spam texts. (MIT Technology Review)
6 Prison messaging apps are notoriously unreliable
Their glitches permission inmates chopped disconnected from the extracurricular world. (Slate $)
7 Inside the chaotic crippled to bargain Coca-Cola’s secretive technology
It’s thing to bash with its portion formula. (Bloomberg $)
8 A scammer has been cashing successful connected AI-generated Frank Ocean tracks
The occupation is, the buyers were convinced they were genuine leaks. (Motherboard)
9 Live buying is coming to the US
But are shoppers truly acceptable to clasp it? (NYT $)
+ This obscure buying app is present America’s astir downloaded. (MIT Technology Review)
10 How an guiltless capybara sparked an online revolt
Brazilian authorities were acrophobic for the celebrated rodent’s welfare. (Rest of World)
Quote of the day
“We privation it to beryllium trustworthy for users... Today, we are not there.”
—Prabhakar Raghavan, a elder vice president astatine Google, admits that ample connection AI models cannot beryllium relied upon to beryllium factually accurate, contempt the company's determination to embed them crossed its products, Bloomberg reports.
The large story
California’s coming offshore upwind roar faces large engineering hurdles
December 2022
The authorities of California has an ambitious goal: gathering 25 gigawatts of offshore upwind by 2045. That’s equivalent to astir a 3rd of the state’s full generating capableness today, oregon capable to powerfulness 25 cardinal homes.
But the plans are facing a daunting geological challenge: the continental support drops steeply conscionable a fewer miles disconnected the California coast. They besides look tremendous engineering and regulatory obstacles. Read the afloat story.
—James Temple
English (US) ·