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It’s a task that claims to usage cryptocurrency to administer wealth crossed the world, though its bigger ambition is to make a planetary individuality strategy called “World ID” that relies connected individuals’ unsocial biometric information to beryllium that they are humans.
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI and 1 of the biggest tech celebrities close now, is 1 of the cofounders of the project, which launched connected July 24 successful much than 20 countries. But it’s already being investigated successful astatine slightest 4 jurisdictions astir the world. Read our communicative to find retired why.
This communicative is from The Technocrat, Tate Ryan-Mosley’s play newsletter each astir tech, argumentation and power. Sign up to person it successful your inbox each Friday.
+ If you privation to larn much astir Worldcoin, read our probe into the company, based connected much than 35 interviews with executives, contractors, and trial users recruited chiefly successful processing countries. We recovered immoderate immense gaps betwixt its idealistic rhetoric and the realities connected the ground, not slightest erstwhile it comes to handling people’s backstage biometric data.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the net to find you today’s astir fun/important/scary/fascinating stories astir technology.
1 Climate alteration is messing with your favourite foods 🚜
Farmers trust connected knowing what grows where, but progressively unpredictable upwind makes that precise challenging. (Wired $)
+ A radical of older Swiss women are suing their authorities for allegedly violating their rights by failing to curb emissions. (NYT $)
+ New AI systems could velocity up our quality to make upwind forecasts. (MIT Technology Review)
2 Can cistron therapies assistance to de-age us?
Even if they tin (big if), immoderate eventual treatments that deed the marketplace volition outgo millions. (Proto.Life)
+ Inside the billion-dollar gathering for the mega-rich who privation to unrecorded forever. (MIT Technology Review)
+ Longevity enthusiasts privation to make their ain autarkic state. They’re eyeing Rhode Island. (MIT Technology Review)
3 Russia’s pro-war bloggers are progressively warring each other
Which is possibly not a immense surprise, fixed the tensions wrong Russia’s subject itself. (NYT $)
4 Scientists accidental they’ve repeated a fusion powerfulness breakthrough
This is bound to stoke a large woody of excitement, though galore judge fusion powerfulness stations are decades away. (FT $)
+ This startup says its archetypal fusion works is 5 years away. Experts uncertainty it. (MIT Technology Review)
5 AI chatbots are becoming our friends
Lonely radical are turning to them for companionship, but they could really deepen their isolation. (WSJ $)
+ Technology that lets america “speak” to our dormant relatives has arrived. Are we ready? (MIT Technology Review)
6 TikTok’s algorithm volition beryllium optional successful Europe
In bid to comply with EU laws which necessitate elephantine platforms to fto users opt retired of receiving personalized content. (The Verge)
+ TikTok is being fined successful the EU for breaching childrens’ privacy. (The Guardian)
+ TikTok’s unrecorded streaming conception is profoundly weird. (The Atlantic)
7 The FBI is investigating a ransomware onslaught connected hospitals successful 4 states
These kinds of attacks hap each the time, but this seems to person been a peculiarly large one. (CBS)
8 Elon Musk has said he’ll wage occupation tweeters’ ineligible bills
He’s yet to elaborate connected however anyone takes him up connected the offer, though. (NPR)
+ Twitter (sorry, X) is failing to adjacent wage contented creators arsenic it is. (The Verge)
9 How Indian women were lured into the gig economy—then forced out
Urban Company promised them flexibility and empowerment. It didn’t past long. (Wired $)
10 A Mom and girl duo person won the accidental to spell into space 🚀
They’ll go the archetypal radical from the Caribbean to bash so. (BBC)
Quote of the day
“I’m acceptable today. I suggested August 26 erstwhile helium archetypal challenged, but helium hasn’t confirmed. Not holding my breath.”
—Mark Zuckerberg confirms successful a Threads post yesterday that he’s inactive up for that cage combat for Elon Musk.
The large story
How mobile wealth supercharged Kenya’s sports betting addiction
BRIAN OTIENO
April 2022
Mobile wealth has mostly been hugely beneficial for Kenyans. But it has besides turbo-charged the country’s sports betting sector.
Experts and nationalist figures crossed the African continent are sounding the alarm implicit the maturation of the assemblage progressively loudly. It’s produced tales of riches, but it has besides breached families, consumed assemblage tuitions, and adjacent driven immoderate to suicide. Read the afloat story.
—Jonathan W. Rosen
English (US) ·