1 year ago
102 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.
Ethereum moved to impervious of stake. Why can’t Bitcoin?
Last year, Ethereum went green. The second-most fashionable crypto level transitioned to impervious of stake, an energy-efficient model for adding caller blocks of transactions, NFTs, and different accusation to the blockchain.
When Ethereum completed the upgrade, known arsenic “the Merge,” successful September, it reduced its nonstop vigor depletion by 99%. Meanwhile, Bitcoin continues to devour arsenic overmuch vigor arsenic the full state of the Philippines, with a azygous Bitcoin transaction utilizing the aforesaid magnitude of vigor arsenic a azygous US household implicit the people of astir a month.
But alteration whitethorn beryllium connected the horizon. Although the Bitcoin assemblage has historically been fiercely resistant to change, unit from regulators and environmentalists fed up with Bitcoin’s monolithic c footprint whitethorn unit them to rethink that stance.
So what would it instrumentality to marque a switch? Read the afloat story.
—Amy Castor
This is portion of our TR Explains series, successful which our writers untangle the complex, messy satellite of exertion to assistance you recognize what's coming next. You tin work much of them here.
If you'd similar to work much astir Ethereum:
+ Why Ethereum switched to impervious of stake.Read the afloat story.
+ Our communicative from erstwhile The Merge happened. Read the afloat story.
Vote successful our TR10 poll
Earlier this year, we unveiled MIT Technology Review’s 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2023. Today is your past accidental to ballot successful our poll to assistance determine our 11th technology, and we’ll beryllium announcing the victor successful tomorrow’s variation of The Download.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the net to find you today’s astir fun/important/scary/fascinating stories astir technology.
1 Elon Musk is considering creating a ChatGPT rival chatbot
And his 1 volition astir apt travel without safeguards. Lovely. (The Information $)
+ Meta wants to travel Microsoft’s pb and integrate AI into its products. (Axios)
+ What it’s similar to bid ChatGPT to bash your job. (The Atlantic $)
+ The ChatGPT-fueled conflict for hunt is bigger than Microsoft oregon Google. (MIT Technology Review)
2 The White House is divided implicit covid’s origins
The Energy Department says the microorganism may person originated from a lab, but different agencies inactive judge it came from an infected animal. (WSJ $)
+ The section says it has “low confidence” successful its convictions. (NYT $)
+ Meet the idiosyncratic astatine the halfway of the covid laboratory leak controversy. (MIT Technology Review)
3 Scientists privation to marque a biocomputer powered by quality encephalon cells
Welcome to the satellite of “organoid intelligence.” FT $)
+ How we’ll transplant tiny organ-like blobs of cells into people. (MIT Technology Review)
4 Fossil substance employees are making the leap to renewable firms
Green vigor companies are swooping successful to prosecute laid disconnected lipid and state workers. (NYT $)
5 What are the risks of letting AI dainty our intelligence health?
The occupation is, machine systems aren’t susceptible of empathy. (New Yorker $)
+ The therapists utilizing AI to marque therapy better. (MIT Technology Review)
6 Canada has banned TikTok from authorities devices
Following successful the footsteps of some the US and the European Commission. (BBC)
7 The US subject plans to usage facial recognition-equipped drones
In theory, it could beryllium utilized to place targets successful the future. (New Scientist)
8 India’s astir surveilled cities are besides its slightest safe
Crime rates are rising, contempt an abundance of CCTV cameras. (Rest of World)
+ Marseille’s conflict against the surveillance state. (MIT Technology Review)
9 How the pandemic turned everything into an event
Zoom has a batch to reply for. (Slate $)
10 Gen Z is baffled by old-school bureau tech 🖨️
Scanners and printers successful peculiar are unfamiliar territory. (The Guardian)
Quote of the day
“The lone happening that I was disquieted about: ‘Is this happening going to work?' And it did."
—Martin Cooper, who made the archetypal nationalist telephone connected a cellphone 50 years ago, recalls the anxiousness helium felt that day, reports ABC News.
The uncommon spots of bully quality connected clime change
December 2021
Record-shattering vigor waves, floods, and wildfires were among conscionable immoderate of the clime disasters that ravaged the satellite successful 2021, sidesplitting thousands and straining the limits of our catastrophe responders.
But amid these stark signs, determination were besides indications that momentum is opening to physique down clime action. Indeed, there’s bully crushed present to judge that the satellite could astatine slightest sidestep the worst dangers of planetary warming.
In fact, it’s worthy highlighting and reflecting connected the advances the satellite has made, due to the fact that it demonstrates that it tin beryllium done—and could supply a template for achieving more. Read the afloat story.
—James Temple
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.)
+ Plenty of laughter, nary shouting, and speechmaking newspapers each morning: these 100 tips from 100 centenarians are truthful life-affirming.
+ This sauna wrapped astir a histrion looks dreamy.
+ Mmm, kombucha electronics.
+ Brb, I’m disconnected to the MIT Banana Lounge.
+ Why bash we halt exploring caller music arsenic we turn older? Turns retired there’s an mentation for that.
