10 months ago
120 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.
Apple volition look an uphill conflict convincing developers to physique apps for its headset
The ‘one much thing’ announced by Apple astatine its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this twelvemonth was the industry’s worst-kept secret. The Apple Vision Pro, the tech giant’s gamble connected making mixed world headsets a thing, has received a mixed reception. Most of the interest has centered connected the eye-watering $3,499 cost.
But there’s a bigger problem: Whether there’ll beryllium capable apps disposable to marque the outgo of the instrumentality worthy it. It’s a existent situation to redesign apps for an wholly caller interface—and developers are concerned. Read the afloat story.
—Chris Stokel-Walker
To debar AI doom, larn from atomic safety
For the past fewer weeks, the AI sermon has been dominated by those who deliberation we could make an artificial-intelligence strategy that volition 1 time go truthful almighty it volition hitch retired humanity.
So however bash companies themselves suggest we debar AI ruin? One projected solution comes from a caller insubstantial by DeepMind et al that suggests that AI developers should measure a model’s imaginable to origin “extreme” risks earlier adjacent starting immoderate training.
The process could assistance developers determine whether it’s excessively risky to proceed. But perchance it’d beryllium much adjuvant for the AI assemblage to gully lessons from a tract that knows a happening oregon 2 astir precise existent existential threats—safety probe and hazard mitigation astir atomic weapons.
—Melissa Heikkilä
Melissa’s communicative is from The Algorithm, her play newsletter giving you the wrong way connected each things AI. Sign up to person it successful your inbox each Monday.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the net to find you today’s astir fun/important/scary/fascinating stories astir technology.
1 The US Securities and Exchange Commission is suing Binance
It’s earnestly atrocious quality for the crypto manufacture arsenic a whole. (WSJ $)
+ Crypto companies are duking it retired successful a bid of ineligible battles. (Wired $)
+ It’s good to opt retired of the crypto revolution. (MIT Technology Review)
2 Will anyone bargain Apple’s Vision Pro?
At $3,499, the mixed world headset isn’t precisely built for the masses. (Economist $)
+ The instrumentality is little a accepted VR headset, much a modified brace of skis goggles. (Vox)
+ Apple is trying to region itself from VR’s atrocious reputation. (NYT $)
+ Vision Pro is joining a agelong database of geeky-looking face-mounted devices. (WP $)
3 Twitter failed to drawback known kid enactment maltreatment images
Researchers assertion it’s failing to instrumentality adjacent basal prevention measures. (WSJ $)
+ Twitter is moving connected a unrecorded video work that’s apt to entreaty to right-wing figures. (Insider $)+ Elon Musk isn’t CEO anymore—Linda Yaccarino officially took implicit yesterday. (Reuters)
4 Junk AI contented is flooding a programmer community
Stack Overflow approved each GPT content. Then came the spam. (Motherboard)
+ AI is broadening the horizons of, well, beauteous overmuch everything. (The Atlantic $)
5 New York is edging person to banning geofence warrants
But clip is moving retired to prohibition the constabulary surveillance method during this legislative session. (Slate $)
+ Electronic aesculapian records are a ticking privateness clip bomb. (Wired $)
6 NASA’s ngo to a metal-rich asteroid is backmost connected track
It was plagued with issues past summer, but it’s present projected to scope its people by August 2029.(Ars Technica)
7 An Excel spreadsheet mistake led an Austrian enactment to denote the incorrect leader
It’s apt to substance further dissatisfaction and erode spot successful the group. (WP $)
8 Colombia is struggling to pull tech workers
Its importantly tougher caller enactment visa rules are forcing skilled migrants to leave. (Rest of World)
9 San Francisco is trying to shingle disconnected its tech blues
A six day-long enactment should conscionable astir bash it. (The Information $)
10 Sales of mood-altering mushrooms are connected the emergence 🍄
But there’ve been nary objective trials to beryllium they’re effective—or adjacent safe. (Undark Magazine)
+ Mind-altering substances are being overhyped arsenic wonderment drugs. (MIT Technology Review)
Quote of the day
“We are operating arsenic a fking unlicensed securities speech successful the USA bro.”
—Samuel Lim, Binance's main compliance officer, makes a startling admittance to different compliance serviceman astatine the crypto exchange, according to a caller ailment filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, reports TechCrunch.
The large story
Why radical inactive starve successful an property of abundance
December 2020
When the Norwegian committee decided to grant the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize to the World Food Program, the United Nations’ nutrient assistance agency, the quality was greeted with much than a fewer smirks and eye-rolls.
The WFP, which provides nutrient assistance to radical successful need, is the largest bureau successful the UN and has 14,500 employees worldwide. Critics judge it won the prize for simply doing its job—and an highly constrictive mentation of its job, astatine that.
After astir 60 years of trying to extremity hunger, the WFP is larger and busier than ever before. The world’s farmers nutrient much than capable to provender the world, and yet radical inactive starve. Why? Read the afloat story.
