That is at the moment’s version of The Obtain, our weekday e-newsletter that gives a every day dose of what’s happening on the planet of know-how.
Exosomes are touted as a stylish cure-all. We don’t know in the event that they work.
There’s a stylish new cure-all on the town—you may need seen adverts pop up on social media or learn rave critiques in magnificence magazines.
Exosomes are being touted as a miraculous therapy for hair loss, getting old pores and skin, pimples, eczema, ache situations, lengthy covid, and even neurological illnesses like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. That’s, after all, in case you can afford the worth tag—which may stretch to 1000’s of {dollars}.
However there’s an enormous drawback with these massive guarantees: We don’t absolutely perceive how exosomes work—or what they even actually are. Learn our story.
—Jessica Hamzelou
AI will add to the e-waste drawback. Right here’s what we are able to do about it.
The information: Generative AI might add as much as 5 million metric tons of e-waste in complete by 2030, based on a brand new examine. That’s a comparatively small fraction of the present international complete of over 60 million metric tons of e-waste annually. Nonetheless, it’s nonetheless a big a part of a rising drawback.
Below the hood: The first contributor is high-performance computing {hardware} that’s utilized in knowledge facilities and server farms. That gear is stuffed with priceless metals and dangerous supplies, and it’s being changed at a fast fee as AI corporations race to undertake essentially the most cutting-edge {hardware} to energy their fashions.
What might be finished: Increasing {hardware}’s lifespan is likely one of the most important methods to chop down on e-waste. Refurbishing and reusing parts can even play a big position, as can designing {hardware} in ways in which makes it simpler to recycle and improve. Learn the complete story.
—Casey Crownhart
Militaries are nice testing grounds for AI tech, says Palmer Luckey
Warfare is a catalyst for technological change, and the final couple of years have been marred by high-profile conflicts around the globe. Geopolitical tensions are nonetheless rising now.
Silicon Valley gamers are poised to profit. One among them is Palmer Luckey, the founding father of the virtual-reality headset firm Oculus, which he bought to Fb for $2 billion. After Luckey’s extremely public ousting from Meta, he based Anduril, which focuses on drones, cruise missiles, and different AI-enhanced applied sciences for the US Division of Protection. The corporate is now valued at $14 billion. We interviewed Luckey about his new mission: headsets for the army.
However the usage of AI for the army is a controversial matter, with a protracted and bitter historical past that stretches from Mission Maven to killer robots. Learn the complete story.
—Melissa Heikkilä
This story is from The Algorithm, our weekly e-newsletter all in regards to the newest in AI. Join to obtain it in your inbox each Monday.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to seek out you at the moment’s most enjoyable/vital/scary/fascinating tales about know-how.
1 Strava is leaking the placement of international leaders
Their bodyguards’ runs are revealing greater than they must. (Le Monde)
+ It’s shockingly straightforward to purchase delicate knowledge about US army personnel. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
2 A person who used AI to make little one sexual abuse pictures has been jailed
His 18-year sentence is the primary of its sort within the UK. (FT $)
3 Right here’s what Trump plans to do if he wins a second time period
The 900-page Mission 2025 doc gives loads of hints. (The Verge)
+ It might be arduous for him to roll again the Inexperienced New Deal—however not inconceivable. (Axios)
+ Russia, China and Iran are interfering within the election. (NYT $)
+ However cybercriminals could pose an excellent better menace. (Wired $)
4 Apple Intelligence is right here
However it appears it’s nonetheless kinda dumb. (WP $)
+ Meta is reportedly constructing its personal AI search engine. (The Info $)
+ The difficulty is, AI chatbots make stuff up. And it’s not a completely fixable drawback. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
5 Medium is drowning in AI slop
Nearly half of the posts on there now are most likely AI-generated. (Wired $)
6 What steampunk can educate tech at the moment
We’re too eager on eradicating friction—individuals nonetheless like twiddling with dials and gears. (New Yorker $)
+ Prosthetics designers are arising with new methods to enhance our our bodies. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
7 That is what wargaming seems to be like now
Militaries around the globe use software program known as Command PE constructed by a tiny British sport writer. (WSJ $)
8 Tiktok’s founder has change into China’s richest man
Zhang Yiming’s wealth has nearly doubled within the final 12 months, to $49 billion. (BBC)
+ How China takes excessive measures to maintain teenagers off TikTok. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
9 How complicated life began to flourish 
You possibly can thank eukaryotes, a sort of cell that emerged about 3 billion years in the past. (Quanta $)
10 Oregon Path is being become an action-comedy film
With musical numbers. Sure, critically. (Hollywood Reporter)
Quote of the day
“I assumed it will conquer the world.”
—Tim Walz, the Democratic nominee for vice chairman, spoke for us all (effectively, for me anyway), when he waxed lyrical in regards to the 1999 Sega Dreamcast online game console on a Twitch stream final weekend, the Washington Publish stories.
Meet the radio-obsessed civilian shaping Ukraine’s drone protection
September 2024
Drones have come to outline the brutal battle in Ukraine that has now dragged on for greater than two and a half years. And most depend on radio communications—a know-how that Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov has obsessed over since childhood.
Whereas Flash is now a civilian, the previous officer has nonetheless taken it upon himself to tell his nation’s protection in all issues associated to radio. He research Russian transmissions and tries to study in regards to the issues dealing with troops.
On this race for survival—as either side consistently tries to greatest the opposite, solely to begin another time when the opposite inevitably catches up—Ukrainian troopers must develop inventive options, and quick. As Ukraine’s wartime radio guru, Flash could be considered one of their greatest hopes for doing that. Learn the complete story.
—Charlie Metcalfe
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.)
+ Timothée Chalamet turned up at his personal look-alike contest in New York final weekend. Spoiler alert: he didn’t win.
+ Study these primary guidelines to make veg-based meals scrumptious.
+ There’s one thing very particular about historical bushes.
+ Do you are inclined to please everybody however your self? Right here’s how you can cease. (NYT $)
