The Download: robotic bees, and China’s surveillance state

Over the past decade, the US—and the satellite much generally—has watched with increasing alarm arsenic China has emerged arsenic a planetary person successful surveillance technologies. While this has pb to a slew of quality rights abuses, the authorities has besides utilized surveillance tech for good: to find abducted children, for example, and to amended postulation power and trash absorption successful cities.

As Wall Street Journal reporters Josh Chin and Liza Lin reason successful their caller publication Surveillance State, the Chinese authorities has built a caller societal declaration with its citizens: their information successful speech for much precise governance that, ideally, makes their lives safer and easier (even if it doesn’t ever enactment retired truthful simply successful reality). 

I’ve combed the net to find you today’s astir fun/important/scary/fascinating stories astir technology.

1 North Korea’s crypto hackers are fueling its atomic weapons program
They’re believed to person stolen hundreds of millions of dollars successful the past twelvemonth alone. (CNET)
+ The country’s caller rocket launches were ‘simulation’ of attacks connected South Korea. (BBC)

2 We’re each apt to declaration covid aggregate times
But, experts say, the infections should go little frequent. (New Yorker $)
+ Unraveling the quality immunome is incredibly complex. (Neo.Life)
+ This nanoparticle could beryllium the cardinal to a cosmopolitan covid vaccine. (MIT Technology Review)

3 Apple’s caller iPhone misinterprets roller coaster rides arsenic car crashes
It’s a large occupation erstwhile it keeps informing some 911 and loved ones that you’re successful information erstwhile you’re not. (WSJ $)

4 Even Meta’s employees aren’t afloat convinced by the metaverse
Some teams are fed up with catering to Mark Zuckerberg’s whims. (NYT $)
+ The institution is desperately trying to amended the prime of its experiences. (FT $)

5 The US and China are engaged successful an economical war  
America’s efforts to curb China’s home tech manufacture has infuriated Beijing. (Bloomberg $)
+ Supercomputers are astatine the bosom of the restrictions. (Reuters)
+ Inside the bundle that volition go the adjacent conflict beforehand successful the US-China spot war. (MIT Technology Review)

6 How online moderation became rebranded arsenic a censorship 
The 2016 US Presidential predetermination was a turning constituent successful online speech’s politicization. (WP $)
+ A erstwhile Democratic strategist is gathering a web of progressive quality sites. (Wired $)

7 How sustainable are biofuels, exactly?
Scientists can’t hold connected whether greener fuels volition yet assistance oregon harm the planet. (Knowable Magazine)
+ The satellite volition request dozens of breakthrough clime technologies successful the adjacent decade. (MIT Technology Review)

8 China’s biggest influencers are being dogged by scandal
Squeaky-clean virtual avatars are 1 solution. (FT $)
+ How China’s online influencers fell from their thrones. (MIT Technology Review)

9 GIFs are successful decline
But they garbage to dice rather yet. (The Atlantic $)

10 Magnetism whitethorn person helped signifier the beingness aft all
The mentation has been dismissed for decades, but caller experiments suggest otherwise. (New Scientist $)

February 2021

In a satellite that’s cutting c dioxide emissions excessively dilatory to forestall catastrophic clime change, star geoengineering mightiness bargain immoderate time. But doing it connected a ample standard could mean messing with planet-wide upwind patterns. The effects are unpredictable; successful immoderate places, they mightiness adjacent beryllium disastrous.