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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.
We’re witnessing the encephalon decease of Twitter
The authorities of Twitter since Elon Musk’s takeover feels similar a encephalon death: the processes that support it online are someway inactive beating, but what Twitter was earlier Musk is ne'er coming back.
In caller weeks Twitter has dissolved its Trust and Safety Council, and welcomed backmost previously-banned high-profile extremists, far-right personalities, covid deniers, and different figures. Those who don’t bargain into Musk’s imaginativeness for the level are leaving, and Musk’s enthusiasm for eliminating jobs, cutting costs, and undoing Twitter's information infrastructure has besides caused advertisers to permission successful droves.
MIT Technology Review ran an investigation successful Hoaxy, a instrumentality created by Indiana University to amusement however accusation spreads connected Twitter by looking astatine some keyword frequence and interactions betwixt idiosyncratic accounts. The results hint astatine Musk’s caller relation successful this network: arsenic efficaciously a hallway show for the acold right, placing himself astatine the halfway of problematic conversations antecedently pushed to the fringes. Read the afloat story.
—Abby Ohlheiser
What you truly request to cognize astir that fusion news
There’s been a fusion breakthrough. No, for existent this time. While researchers person been talking astir utilizing it to physique limitless cleanable vigor for decades, their declarations person ne'er amounted to much—until now.
A nationalist laboratory reached a large probe milestone, it was confirmed earlier this week, yet moving a absorption that gave disconnected much vigor than contained successful the almighty lasers utilized to commencement it. Here’s wherefore the announcement matters, what it means, and what you should instrumentality distant from it. Read the afloat story.
—Casey Crownhart
Casey’s communicative is from The Spark, her play newsletter covering clime and energy. Sign up to person it successful your inbox each Wednesday.
Podcast: Optimizing for convenience
We’re successful the mediate of different large disruption successful retail—one that’s been accelerated by the pandemic, and looks to instrumentality the convenience of e-commerce and use it to carnal environments. In this episode, we analyse however AI is astatine the halfway of this transition. Listen to it connected Apple Podcasts, oregon wherever other you usually listen.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the net to find you today’s astir fun/important/scary/fascinating stories astir technology.
1 FTX’s lawyers accidental they 'do not trust' the Bahamian government
They assertion the authorities could effort to siphon integer assets from the collapsed crypto exchange. (Reuters)
+ Bahamian regulators were tipped disconnected by an FTX associate. (FT $)
+ Sam Bankman-Fried ever said helium was pro-regulation. He whitethorn get his wish. (The Atlantic $)
2 Twitter has suspended accounts dedicated to tracking backstage jets
Including 1 that tracks Elon Musk’s ain plane. (Bloomberg $)
+ Twitter’s changed its argumentation to barroom users sharing a person’s “live” location. (The Intercept)
+ Musk is selling disconnected billions of Tesla shares—again. (The Verge)
3 Russia is rapidly moving retired of ammunition successful Ukraine
Its subject volition soon beryllium reduced to utilizing Cold War supplies, according to the Pentagon. (Motherboard)
+ Iran-made drones person been changeable down implicit Kiev. (The Guardian)
+ The warfare volition lone get worse for Russia. (FT $)
+ GPS signals are being disrupted successful the country's cities, too. (Wired $)
4 A radical of influencers person been charged with securities fraud
US authorities assertion they manipulated banal prices done Twitter and Discord. (NBC News)
+ The 7 men earned astir $100 cardinal done the “pump and dump” scheme. (Motherboard)
5 The aureate property of mobile gaming is over
Revenues are acceptable to autumn for the archetypal clip ever. (FT $)
+ It’s been a pugnacious twelvemonth for tech, overall. (Economist $)
6 Lab-grown seafood is connected the skyline 🐟
But dissimilar the bulk of cultivated meat, lab-grown seafood volition replicate pricey cuts. (Vox)
+ Microplastics are filtering into plankton. (Slate $)
+ Will lab-grown nutrient scope our plates? (MIT Technology Review)
7 Quantum computing is locked successful a two-horse race
Both China and the US look to deliberation the different is successful the lead, actually. (New Yorker $)
+ Quantum computing has a hype problem. (MIT Technology Review)
8 We’re getting person to uncovering much acheronian matter
We inactive don’t cognize what it’s made of, though. (Wired $)
9 How Pokémon upped its manner game
Designer threads are a indispensable for wannabe trainers. (NPR)
10 Take a travel astir the world’s tech markets 📱
From smartphone repairs to karaoke mics, there’s thing for everyone. (Rest of World)
Quote of the day
“He has go this pied piper for different superior people...it feels successful Silicon Valley similar aft Trump was elected and families got a small riven."
—Alex Stamos, Facebook’s erstwhile main accusation information officer, describes however Elon Musk has divided friendships among California’s tech workers during an quality connected the Dead Cat podcast, Insider reports.
The large story
The metaverse is simply a caller connection for an aged idea
February 2022
In little than a year, the metaverse graduated from a niche word to a household name. Its metamorphosis began successful July 2021, erstwhile Facebook announced that it would dedicate the adjacent decennary to bringing the metaverse to life: an immersive, affluent integer satellite combining aspects of societal media, online gaming, and augmented and virtual reality.
But we would beryllium remiss if we didn’t instrumentality a measurement backmost to ask, not what the metaverse is oregon who volition marque it, but wherever it comes from. Knowing the past of a technology, oregon the ideas it embodies, tin uncover imaginable pitfalls and lessons already learned, and unfastened a model onto the lives of those who learned them. The metaverse—which is not astir arsenic caller arsenic it looks—is nary exception. Read the afloat story.
—Genevieve Bell
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.)
+ The Dutch attack to “total football” seems to beryllium a large mode to nurture a funny mind.
+ Radiooooo is an astonishing website that dips into euphony from immoderate country, immoderate decade.
+ Beer is large concern these days. Here’s each the slang you request to cognize to marque definite you cognize what you’re talking astir adjacent clip you’re astatine a bar.
+ Creating a structurally-sound gingerbread location is amazingly tough. Here’s immoderate tips to get you started.
+ Why immoderate video games conscionable get amended with age.
English (US) ·