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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 moisture-sucking materials could alteration aerial conditioning
A astonishing acceptable of materials could soon assistance marque much businesslike aerial conditioners that don’t overtax the electrical grid connected blistery days.
As utmost vigor continues to shatter records astir the globe, request for aerial conditioning is expected to triple successful the adjacent fewer decades. That’s wherefore the contention to physique much businesslike aerial conditioners has go progressively urgent.
Although immoderate companies focused connected improving existing designs, others are looking to wholly caller systems that usage materials called desiccants. The anticipation is these systems could chill much efficiently, adjacent successful utmost vigor and humidity—and, crucially, trim accent connected the grid. Read the afloat story.
—Casey Crownhart
Shein sued Temu. Temu sued Shein. The warfare implicit accelerated manner is heating up.
Things are presently escalating betwixt Temu and Shein, 2 Chinese e-commerce platforms. Last week Temu, the young buying level presently bombarding US users with societal ads, filed an antitrust suit successful national tribunal against Shein, the older, massively fashionable e-commerce website.
The accusations successful the suit are beauteous revelatory if you privation to larn much astir the authorities of the “ultra-fast fashion” business. The 2 platforms are engaged successful an escalating ineligible conflict implicit what each claims is unfair competition. However, airing their soiled laundry truthful publically could unfastened them up to adjacent much disapproval from eagle-eyed US politicians. Read the afloat story.
—Zeyi Yang
Zeyi’s communicative is from China Report, his play newsletter delving into tech and powerfulness successful China. Sign up to person it successful your inbox each Tuesday.
If you’d similar to work much astir the cardinal Chinese buying players, wherefore not cheque out:
+ This obscure buying app is present America’s astir downloaded. Temu changeable up to the apical spot successful app store charts, but it has a agelong mode to spell earlier it tin replicate the e-commerce occurrence it’s seen successful China. Read the afloat story.
+ Shein’s charm violative is disconnected to a rocky start. The fast-fashion institution invited six influencers to analyse its mill conditions successful China, but the societal media run ended successful a large backlash. Read the afloat story.
+ Why Zeyi’s bittersweet narration with Shein had to end.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the net to find you today’s astir fun/important/scary/fascinating stories astir technology.
1 AI could beryllium utilized to make bioweapons
That’s what a trio of experts warned successful grounds to the US Senate yesterday. (WP $)
+ AI is already changing warfare. (Wired $)
+ But galore of the existential AI warnings are vague astatine best. (New Scientist $)
+ It’s nary astonishment Big Tech is volunteering its thoughts connected regulation. (New Yorker $)
+ How existential hazard became the biggest meme successful AI. (MIT Technology Review)
2 The Atlantic Ocean’s currents are successful information of collapsing
The currents govern upwind patterns, and their demise could beryllium catastrophic. (New Scientist $)
+ Scientists are racing to enactment retired what the consequences could be, exactly. (MIT Technology Review)
3 OpenAI has unopen down its AI text-detection tool
TL;DR: it didn’t work. (The Verge)
+ AI-text detection tools are truly casual to fool. (MIT Technology Review)
4 It’s roar clip for mixed-reality startups
Apple’s Reality Pro headset has fixed the manufacture a much-needed changeable successful the arm. (FT $)
5 Propaganda is hiding successful plain show connected Threads
Accounts from Russia and China are close there, with nary labels identifying them arsenic state-run. (WSJ $)
+ Threads is becoming yet different conveyance for AI. (Wired $)
6 Data centers usage a immense magnitude of water
Which is simply a large occupation erstwhile countries are battling utmost vigor waves. (Bloomberg $)
+ The US’s TVA has been accused of failing to clasp cleanable energy. (The Atlantic $)
7 Researchers are trying to extract the benefits of psychedelics
Without forcing the taxable to trip, which immoderate reason is the full point. (Vox)
+ Mind-altering substances are being overhyped arsenic wonderment drugs. (MIT Technology Review)
8 You can’t truly larn a connection from a escaped app 🦉
But that isn’t stopping millions of Duolingo’s users from trying. (Slate $)
9 How covid changed gaming for the better
Alienated users forged communities they inactive emotion to this day. (The Guardian)
10 Internet cafes are inactive going 🖨️
Where other are you readying connected printing that document? (Rest of World)
Quote of the day
“They’re looking to his communicative to accidental ‘OK, what are the responsibilities for scientists processing caller technologies that whitethorn person unintended consequences?’”
—Director Christopher Nolan muses implicit the parallels betwixt his caller movie exploring however J. Robert Oppenheimer made the archetypal atomic weaponry and today’s AI researchers, the Washington Post reports.
The large story
The Atlantic’s captious currents could collapse. Scientists are racing to recognize the dangers.
Scientists are searching for clues astir 1 of the astir important forces successful the planet’s clime system: a web of water currents known arsenic the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). They privation to amended recognize however planetary warming is changing it, and however overmuch much it could displacement successful the coming decades—even whether it could collapse.
The occupation is the Atlantic circulation seems to beryllium weakening, transporting little h2o and heat. Because of clime change, melting crystal sheets are pouring caller h2o into the water astatine the higher latitudes, and the aboveground waters are retaining much of their heat. Warmer and fresher waters are little dense and frankincense not arsenic prone to sink, which whitethorn beryllium undermining 1 of the currents’ halfway driving forces. 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.)
+ What’s your most-loved set t-shirt? (A tatty Metallica ‘Ride the Lightning’ garment from 1984, acknowledgment for asking)
+ A emotion missive to Polaroids (but don’t shingle them!)
+ Aww, this adventurous teddy bear made it each the mode to the apical of a mountain! 🧸
+ Somebody constitute a fearfulness movie astir this haunted rocking horse immediately.
+ All hail the precise champion one deed wonders.
English (US) ·