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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.
Mass-market subject drones person changed the mode wars are fought
When the United States archetypal fired a rocket from an equipped Predator drone astatine suspected Al Qaeda leaders successful Afghanistan successful November 2001, it changed warfare permanently. During the 2 decades that followed, highly blase US drones were repeatedly deployed successful targeted sidesplitting campaigns. They were lone disposable to the astir almighty nations.
But caller navigation systems and wireless technologies person helped to make a caller benignant of Turkish-made subject drone. It caught the world’s attraction successful Ukraine successful 2022, erstwhile it proved itself susceptible of holding backmost 1 of the astir formidable militaries connected the planet.
The Bayraktar TB2 drone marks a caller section successful drone warfare. Read the afloat story.
— Kelsey D. Atherton
Mass-market subject drones are 1 of MIT Technology Review’s 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2023. Explore the rest of the list here, and ballot successful our poll to assistance determine our 11th technology.
Read much astir however exertion is changing the look of modern warfare:
+ Why concern is booming for subject AI startups. The penetration of Ukraine prompted militaries to update their arsenals—and Silicon Valley stands to capitalize. Read the afloat story.
+ The US subject wants to recognize the astir important bundle connected Earth. Open-source codification runs connected each machine connected the planet—and keeps America’s captious infrastructure going. DARPA is disquieted astir however good it tin beryllium trusted. Read the afloat story.
New report: Generative AI successful concern plan and engineering
Generative AI has the imaginable to alteration concern plan and engineering, making it much important than ever for leaders successful those industries to enactment ahead. So MIT Technology Review has created a caller probe study that highlights the imaginable benefits—and pitfalls— of this caller technology.
The study includes 2 lawsuit studies from starring concern and engineering companies that are already applying generative AI to their work—and a ton of takeaways and champion practices from manufacture leaders. It is available present to download for $195.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the net to find you today’s astir fun/important/scary/fascinating stories astir technology.
1 China’s atomic weapons laboratory bought forbidden US chips
It obtained US semiconductors astatine slightest six times successful the past fewer years contempt decades-old export restrictions. (WSJ $)
2 Baidu is processing a ChatGPT rival
With a presumption to integrating the chatbot into its hunt engine, conscionable similar Microsoft plans to. (WSJ $)
+ Here’s what ChatGPT tin archer america astir technohumanism. (The Atlantic $)
+ Here’s however Microsoft could usage ChatGPT. (MIT Technology Review)
3 San Francisco’s self-driving cars are getting weird
To the constituent that residents are calling 911 astir their erratic behavior. (Motherboard)
+ It’s forcing the metropolis to reconsider its robotaxi expansion. (NBC News)
+ The large caller thought for making self-driving cars that tin spell anywhere. (MIT Technology Review)
4 Tech’s biggest companies are channeling their interior startup
Everything’s getting excessively messy—it’s clip to spell backmost to basics. (Vox)
+ The caller AI arms contention is being led by agile startups, not Big Tech. (WP $)
5 The signifier of h2o authorities successful the US
Tribal nations successful Southwest power overmuch of the drought-stricken region’s water. (New Yorker $)
+ Who genuinely pays the terms of clime change? (Wired $)
+ The designer making friends with flooding. (MIT Technology Review)
6 The UK’s universities are turning connected their spinouts
Commercializing exertion developed on-campus comes astatine a price. (FT $)
7 What it takes to update the quality genome
The existent codification is mostly based connected 1 man, which is acold from representative. (The Guardian)
8 Zero-carbon eggs are connected the skyline 🍳
Hens are picky eaters, but 1 institution has figured retired the concealed to feeding them nutrient waste. (Bloomberg $)
+ Why scientists are examining animals killed by upwind turbines. (The Atlantic $)
9 The emergence and emergence of the location antibodies test
Besides covid, they tin assistance to diagnose different diseases much accurately. (Neo.Life)
10 The lawsuit for a 3rd robotic limb 🦾
If it could beryllium easy controlled by the brain, other limbs could beryllium a large boon. (IEEE Spectrum)
Quote of the day
—Ash LaPoint, a enactment specializer who shares her Spotify listening habits with her colleagues, wonders whether being truthful unfastened astir her euphony sensation could backfire, she tells the Wall Street Journal.
The large story
Novel lithium-metal batteries volition thrust the power to electrical cars
For each the hype and anticipation astir electrical vehicles, they inactive marque up lone astir 2% of caller car income successful the US, and conscionable a small much globally.
For galore buyers, they’re simply excessively expensive, their scope is excessively limited, and charging them isn’t astir arsenic speedy and convenient arsenic refueling astatine the pump. All these limitations person to bash with the lithium-ion batteries that powerfulness the vehicles.
But QuantumScape, a Silicon Valley startup is moving connected a caller benignant of artillery that could yet marque electrical cars arsenic convenient and inexpensive arsenic state ones. 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 or tweet 'em astatine me.)
+ That’s 1 freaky-looking cloud.
+ Cats arrived successful Europe a full batch earlier than we antecedently thought. 🐈
+ The Cordova Iceworm Festival successful Alaska, which kicked disconnected implicit the weekend, is simply a charming mode to observe these little-known creatures (thanks Amy!)
+ Rick Astley isn’t giving up—he’s suing rapper Yung Gravy for “theft of voice.”
+ If your negotiating skills could bash with a spot of a good tuning, these tips volition help.
English (US) ·