2 years ago
192
Ann Reardon is astir apt the past idiosyncratic whose contented you’d expect to beryllium banned from YouTube. A erstwhile Australian younker idiosyncratic and a parent of three, she’s been teaching millions of loyal subscribers however to cook since 2011. But the removal email was referring to a video that was not Reardon’s emblematic sugar-paste fare.
Since 2018, Reardon has utilized her level to pass viewers astir unsafe caller “craft hacks” that are sweeping YouTube, tackling unsafe activities specified arsenic poaching eggs successful a microwave, bleaching strawberries, and utilizing a Coke tin and a occurrence to popular popcorn.
The astir superior is “fractal wood burning”, which involves shooting a high-voltage electrical existent crossed dampened wood to pain a twisting, turning branch-like signifier successful its surface. The signifier has killed astatine slightest 33 radical since 2016.
On this occasion, Reardon had been caught up successful the inconsistent and messy moderation policies that person agelong plagued the level and successful doing so, exposed a failing successful the system: How tin a informing astir harmful hacks beryllium deemed unsafe erstwhile the hack videos themselves are not? Read the afloat story.
—Amelia Tait
DeepMind’s caller chatbot uses Google searches positive humans to springiness amended answers
The news: The instrumentality to making a bully AI-powered chatbot mightiness beryllium to person humans archer it however to behave—and unit the exemplary to backmost up its claims utilizing the internet, according to a caller insubstantial by Alphabet-owned AI laboratory DeepMind.
How it works: The chatbot, named Sparrow, is trained connected DeepMind’s ample connection exemplary Chinchilla. It’s designed to speech with humans and reply questions, utilizing a unrecorded Google hunt oregon accusation to pass those answers. Based connected however utile radical find those answers, it’s past trained utilizing a reinforcement learning algorithm, which learns by proceedings and mistake to execute a circumstantial objective. Read the afloat story.
—Melissa Heikkilä
Sign up for MIT Technology Review’s latest newsletters
MIT Technology Review is launching 4 caller newsletters implicit the adjacent fewer weeks. They’re each brilliant, engaging and volition get you up to velocity connected the biggest topics, arguments and stories successful exertion today. Monday is The Algorithm (all astir AI), Tuesday is China Report (China tech and policy), Wednesday is The Spark (clean vigor and climate), and Thursday is The Checkup (health and biotech).
You tin cheque retired our afloat database of newsletters here. Sign up present to marque definite you don’t miss the adjacent issue.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the net to find you today’s astir fun/important/scary/fascinating stories astir technology.
1 We inactive don’t cognize erstwhile the pandemic volition beryllium over
President Biden whitethorn person heralded its end, but there’s nary denying covid is inactive a large issue. (The Atlantic $)
+ Japan is yet lifting its restrictions to tourists. (The Guardian)
+ Hong Kong has scrapped its edifice quarantine rules, too. (Bloomberg $)
+ Two inhaled covid vaccines person been approved—but we don’t cognize yet however bully they are. (MIT Technology Review)
2 Russia’s net regulator is present a fully-fledged quality agency
The county’s authorities usage it to surveil and quash dissent astatine scale. (NYT $)
+ The horrifying world of surviving nether Russian concern successful Ukraine. (Economist $)
3 The “shameware” enabling churches to snoop connected their congregations
In a bid to discourage individuals from watching porn oregon different “sinful” activities. (Wired $)
4 Amazon is hiring unsafe trucking contractors
More than 75 radical person been killed successful crashes since 2015. (WSJ $)
+ Amazon is desperately trying to ace India, without overmuch success. (Rest of World)
5 How crypto rose, fell, roseate again and fell again
It’s had a chaotic 13 years—but what’s adjacent could beryllium adjacent much unpredictable. (WP $)
+ Coinbase has denied dabbling successful proprietary trading. (WSJ $)
+ Crypto information halfway Compute North has filed for bankruptcy. (Bloomberg $)
+ It’s good to opt retired of the crypto revolution. (MIT Technology Review)
6 Recycling dormant EV batteries is the adjacent large challenge
Mainly due to the fact that reprocessing aged cells is tricky, costly and inefficient. (Knowable Magazine)
+ This startup wants to battalion much vigor into electrical conveyance batteries. (MIT Technology Review)
7 It’s imaginable to marque civilization extinction-proof
We request to little the existent existential hazard first, though. (Vox)
8 Here’s however to observe an audio deepfake 🔊
They tin beryllium ace convincing, particularly implicit the phone. (Fast Company $)
+ A House of the Dragon deepfake turns Emilia Clarke into Rhaenyra. (CNET)
9 Your oral microbiome could explicate wherefore your teeth are the mode they are
Consumer tests marque it easier to way your rima health—but are they worthy the money? (Neo.Life)
10 Why tech bros are getting into martial arts 🥋
Less soundless retreat, much “put maine successful a chokehold.” (The Information $)
Quote of the day
“There volition not beryllium a hyperloop strategy constructed that volition transport either goods oregon passengers — oregon I’ll devour a tractor.”
—Carlo van de Weijer, manager of astute mobility astatine Eindhoven University of Technology successful the Netherlands, explains his misgivings astir the committedness of hyperloop proscription to the New York Times.
The large story
One man’s crusade to extremity a planetary scourge with amended salt
December 2020
When helium was increasing up, Venkatesh Mannar and his siblings treated the household saltworks arsenic their playground. After respective years successful the United States, archetypal studying and past moving astatine brackish producers that utilized elephantine mechanized harvesters, helium returned to India successful 1972 to tally his business.
After helping to transportation countries successful Asia, Africa, and Latin America to iodize their brackish to destruct iodine deficiency, which causes problems ranging from hypothyroidism to learning difficulties, Mannar turned his attraction to different constituent that galore radical don’t get capable of: iron. A deficiency of it is 1 origin of anemia, which affects implicit 1.6 cardinal people, causing dizziness, mediocre maternal and babe health, and decreased cognitive function.
Mannar yet made defeating anemia with iron-enriched brackish portion of his life’s mission. Adding robust to brackish that is already iodized has turned retired to beryllium a existent method challenge, and getting manufacturers and the nationalist to follow it is different occupation entirely. But if the effort succeeds, Mannar and his backers anticipation to adhd yet much indispensable minerals, turning humble array brackish into 1 of the astir potent nationalist wellness tools the satellite has astatine its disposal. Read the afloat story.
English (US) ·