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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.
These startups anticipation to spray robust particles supra the water to combat clime change
A Palo Alto–based startup wants to statesman releasing robust particles into the exhaust watercourse of a shipping vas crossing the water wrong the adjacent 18 months.
Blue Dot Change hopes to find whether the particles volition accelerate the demolition of methane, 1 of the astir almighty greenhouse gasses successful the atmosphere.
It’s among a fistful of tiny commercialized ventures that are itching to trial whether releasing akin particles could curb clime change. But small is known astir different effects of releasing the particles, including perchance unsafe ones. Read the afloat story.
—James Temple
AI is dreaming up drugs that nary 1 has ever seen. Now we’ve got to spot if they work.
At 82 years old, with an assertive signifier of humor crab that six courses of chemotherapy had failed to eliminate, “Paul” appeared to beryllium retired of options. His doctors enrolled him successful a proceedings investigating a caller exertion that pairs idiosyncratic patients with the drugs they need.
Two years on, Paul’s crab was gone. The exertion was developed by Exscientia, which is 1 of the hundreds of startups exploring the usage of instrumentality learning successful pharmaceuticals, with the shared imaginativeness of utilizing AI to marque cause find faster and cheaper.
AI is already changing however drugs are being made. Yet it is inactive aboriginal days for AI cause discovery— and determination are a batch of companies making claims they can’t backmost up. Read the afloat story.
—Will Douglas Heaven
Everything you request to cognize astir the chaotic satellite of vigor pumps
The conception down vigor pumps is simple: powered by electricity, they determination vigor astir to either chill oregon vigor buildings. It’s not a caller idea—they were invented successful the 1850s and person been utilized successful homes since the 1960s.
But each of a sudden, they’ve go the hottest location appliance, shoved into the spotlight by the imaginable for outgo savings and clime benefits, arsenic good arsenic by caller argumentation incentives.
Simple though the basal thought whitethorn be, the details of however vigor pumps enactment are fascinating. In the sanction of controlling your home’s temperature, this instrumentality tin astir look to interruption the laws of physics. Our clime newsman Casey Crownhart has dug into however they work, and how, crucially, they could prevention you money. Read the afloat story.
Inside the ChatGPT contention successful China
ChatGPT is the hottest taxable successful China close now. Over the past week astir each large Chinese tech institution announced plans to present their ain akin products.
There is simply a unsocial accidental present for Chinese companies. They apt person entree to amended Chinese-language AI grooming materials and are commercially motivated to make caller products quickly. But among the galore companies that person started to task into the tract of astute chatbots, lone a fewer should beryllium considered superior contenders. Read the afloat story.
—Zeyi Yang
Zeyi’s communicative is from China Report, his play newsletter giving you the wrong way connected each things astir tech successful China. Sign up to person it successful your inbox each Tuesday.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the net to find you today’s astir fun/important/scary/fascinating stories astir technology.
1 Elon Musk ordered Twitter engineers to boost his tweets
All due to the fact that the US President’s tweet astir the Super Bowl got much engagement than his. (Platformer)
+ Twitter’s CEO could beryllium named by the extremity of the year. (Insider $)
2 Bing is having a meltdown
The AI-infused hunt motor doesn’t similar being corrected, and has started scolding its users. (USA Today)
+ Bing is already struggling with misinformation, too. (Motherboard)
+ Here’s wherefore it refers to itself arsenic Sydney. (The Verge)
+ A prestigious instrumentality steadfast is utilizing an AI chatbot to draught contracts… What could spell wrong? (FT $)
3 An Israeli hacking radical claims to person interfered successful much than 30 elections
Leading immense disinformation campaigns crossed the US and different territories. (The Guardian)
+ What’s adjacent successful cybersecurity. (MIT Technology Review)
4 Glaxo ignored its ain scientists’ warnings astir a heartburn drug
The institution knew it could origin cancer—but sold it anyway. (Bloomberg $)
5 Fighting disinformation is slipping disconnected Big Tech’s agenda
Recent mass-layoffs mean there’s less workers near to way it. (NYT $)
5 Ford is gathering an EV artillery works successful Michigan
In concern with the world’s biggest EV artillery maker, Chinese institution CATL. (Reuters)
+ EVs are charismatic targets for hackers. (WSJ $)
+ How aged batteries volition assistance powerfulness tomorrow’s EVs. (MIT Technology Review)
6 America’s aviation systems are dangerously outdated
Ancient instrumentality and creaking bundle is wherefore flights were grounded past month. (WSJ $)
7 Finally, a usage for lunar dirt
Turns retired it’s beauteous bully for making star cells with. (The Verge)
8 China can’t get capable of spy ballon memes
Weibo users person been making airy of the US absorption to the debacle. (Rest of World)
+ Spy balloons are a blistery concern imaginable these days. (NY Mag $)
+ Congress is truly into UFOs. (Vox)
9 A antheral contraceptive pill is showing committedness successful mice
If palmy successful humans, it could efficaciously let radical to temporarily “pause” their fertility. (New Scientist $)
10 Behind the scenes of a enactment chat site
Spoiler: those blistery singles adjacent you whitethorn not beryllium hot, single, oregon adjacent adjacent you. (Vice)
+ Discord mightiness beryllium a amended spot to find love. (Vice)
Quote of the day
"I person a 14-year-old girl who says things similar 'rizz' and 'bussin,' and I person nary thought what she's talking about.”
—Kevin Scott, Microsoft’s main exertion officer, has travel up with a caller usage for the recently AI-overhauled mentation of Bing—deciphering his teenager’s slang, Insider reports.
Marseille’s conflict against the surveillance state
Across the world, video cameras person go an accepted diagnostic of municipality life. Many cities successful China present person dense networks of them, and London and New Delhi aren’t acold behind. Now France is playing catch-up.
Concerns person been raised passim the country. But the surveillance rollout has met peculiar absorption successful Marseille, France’s second-biggest city.
It’s unsurprising, perhaps, that activists are warring backmost against the cameras, highlighting the surveillance system’s overreach and underperformance. But are they succeeding? Read the afloat story.
—Fleur Macdonald
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.)
+ Only ‘90s raver kitties volition recognize (thanks Charlotte!)
+ I emotion a bully collector’s item, but these guys are taking things to the adjacent level.
+ Do you hatred it if your nutrient touches? There’s a plate for that.
+ And that’s wherefore you shouldn’t messiness with gnomes.
+ What’s adjacent for the found-footage fearfulness genre?
English (US) ·