That is as we speak’s version of The Obtain, our weekday publication that gives a every day dose of what’s happening on the planet of expertise.
What’s AI?
AI is attractive, AI is cool. AI is entrenching inequality, upending the job market, and wrecking training. The AI growth will increase the financial system, the AI bubble is about to burst. AI will enhance abundance and empower humanity to maximally flourish within the universe. AI will kill us all.
What the hell is everyone speaking about?
Synthetic intelligence is the most well liked expertise of our time. However what’s it? It feels like a silly query, however it’s one which’s by no means been extra pressing.
In the event you’re prepared to buckle up and are available for a journey, I can let you know why no one actually is aware of, why everyone appears to disagree, and why you’re proper to care about it. Learn the total story.
—Will Douglas Heaven
The Chinese language authorities is all in on autonomous automobiles
There’s been a lot information popping out of China’s autonomous-vehicle trade recently that it’s onerous to maintain observe.
The federal government is lastly permitting Tesla to deliver its Full Self-Driving characteristic to China. New authorities permits let corporations check driverless automobiles on the street and permit cities to construct sensible street infrastructure that may inform these automobiles the place to go.
Briefly, there are a number of modifications going down. And so they all level in the identical course: The Chinese language authorities is throwing its weight behind the autonomous-vehicle trade and is keen to return out on prime whereas different international locations take a extra cautious strategy. Learn the total story.
—Zeyi Yang
This story is from China Report, our weekly publication protecting tech and energy in China. Join to obtain it in your inbox each Tuesday.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to seek out you as we speak’s most enjoyable/essential/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.
1 Microsoft and Apple will now not sit on OpenAI’s board
The transfer comes as regulators begin to pay shut consideration to Huge Tech’s investments in AI startups. (FT $)
+ Microsoft claims its exit is all the way down to OpenAI’s newfound stability. (WSJ $)
+ OpenAI will replace its stakeholders with common conferences, as a substitute. (Bloomberg $)
2 The US has taken down a Russian bot farm on X
The propaganda mill used AI to scale up its operations. (WP $)
+ Google Search outcomes are stuffed with Russian AI spam, too. (Wired $)
+ The Kremlin is rewriting Wikipedia to swimsuit its personal agenda. (Economist $)
3 Amazon claims to have met a clear vitality purpose seven years early
Some consultants aren’t satisfied its calculation methodology is as much as scratch, although. (NYT $)
+ Carbon seize wants to enhance if we’re ever to maneuver away from fossil fuels. (Knowable Journal)
+ How electrical energy may clear up transportation, metal, and even fertilizer. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
4 Rechargeable batteries come at an environmental value
They seem like a rising supply of eternally chemical substances. (The Verge)
+ The race to destroy PFAS, the eternally chemical substances. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
5 What occurs to your cash when your startup financial institution folds?
Loads of prospects are discovering out the onerous means. (NYT $)
6 Crypto followers are up in arms over Germany promoting confiscated bitcoin
However the state of Saxony doesn’t have a alternative. (CoinDesk)
+ Crypto scams are alive and nicely. (Wired $)
7 Learn how to put together your house for a hurricane
Stronger supplies, tighter seals, and an entire lot of labor. (Wired $)
+ The search to construct wildfire-resistant houses. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
8 Nobody solutions the cellphone anymore
And it’s a much bigger downside than you’d assume. (Slate $)
9 Philips Hue sensible lightbulbs appear to have a thoughts of their very own 
Homeowners declare the bulbs are overriding settings to full brightness. (Insider $)
10 Gen Z makes use of the iPhone Notes app to generate outfits
All these little digital stickers are coming in helpful. (Vogue Enterprise $)
Quote of the day
“I confronted the problems of AI early, however it would occur for others. It will not be a cheerful ending.”
—Lee Saedol, the legendary Go participant who misplaced to Google DeepMind’s AI program in 2016, warns an viewers in Seoul concerning the dangers the expertise might pose, the New York Occasions reviews.
The large story
This super-realistic digital world is a driving faculty for AI
February 2022
Constructing driverless automobiles is a sluggish and costly enterprise. After years of effort and billions of {dollars} of funding, the expertise remains to be caught within the pilot section.
Autonomous expertise firm Waabi thinks it may possibly do higher. In 2021 it revealed the controversial new shortcut to autonomous automobiles it’s betting on. The large concept? Ditch the automobiles.
Wasabi has constructed a super-realistic digital surroundings referred to as Waabi World. As an alternative of coaching an AI driver in actual automobiles, it plans to do it solely contained in the simulation. However simulation alone is a daring technique, and the way far it may possibly go is dependent upon how reasonable Waabi World actually is. Learn the total story.
—Will Douglas Heaven
We will nonetheless have good issues
A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction to brighten up your day. (Received any concepts? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)
+ If this video doesn’t fill you with pleasure, I don’t know what’s going to. 
+ Apo Whang-Od Oggay is the world’s oldest tattoo artist, and really cool.
+ The world’s most troublesome maze holds a really attention-grabbing secret.
+ Netflix’s Supacell options a number of the highest of Black British expertise.
