That is at the moment’s version of The Obtain, our weekday publication that gives a day by day dose of what’s happening on the planet of know-how.
What’s AI?
AI is attractive, AI is cool. AI is entrenching inequality, upending the job market, and wrecking schooling. The AI growth will enhance the financial system, the AI bubble is about to burst. AI will improve 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 popular know-how 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 keen to buckle up and are available for a trip, I can inform you why no person 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 business recently that it’s exhausting to maintain observe.
The federal government is lastly permitting Tesla to carry its Full Self-Driving characteristic to China. New authorities permits let corporations check driverless vehicles on the street and permit cities to construct good street infrastructure that may inform these vehicles the place to go.
Briefly, there are lots of modifications going down. They usually all level in the identical route: The Chinese language authorities is throwing its weight behind the autonomous-vehicle business and is raring to come back out on prime whereas different nations take a extra cautious method. Learn the total story.
—Zeyi Yang
This story is from China Report, our weekly publication protecting tech and energy in China. Enroll to obtain it in your inbox each Tuesday.
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 Microsoft and Apple will not sit on OpenAI’s board
The transfer comes as regulators begin to pay shut consideration to Large 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 filled with Russian AI spam, too. (Wired $)
+ The Kremlin is rewriting Wikipedia to go well with 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 look like a rising supply of eternally chemical compounds. (The Verge)
+ The race to destroy PFAS, the eternally chemical compounds. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
5 What occurs to your cash when your startup financial institution folds?
Loads of clients are discovering out the exhausting manner. (NYT $)
6 Crypto followers are up in arms over Germany promoting confiscated bitcoin
However the state of Saxony doesn’t have a selection. (CoinDesk)
+ Crypto scams are alive and effectively. (Wired $)
7 Methods to put together your own home for a hurricane
Stronger supplies, tighter seals, and an entire lot of labor. (Wired $)
+ The hunt to construct wildfire-resistant properties. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
8 Nobody solutions the telephone anymore
And it’s an even bigger downside than you’d suppose. (Slate $)
9 Philips Hue good 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 should 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 in regards to the dangers the know-how could pose, the New York Instances stories.
The massive story
This super-realistic digital world is a driving faculty for AI
February 2022
Constructing driverless vehicles is a sluggish and costly enterprise. After years of effort and billions of {dollars} of funding, the know-how continues to be caught within the pilot section.
Autonomous know-how firm Waabi thinks it may well do higher. In 2021 it revealed the controversial new shortcut to autonomous automobiles it’s betting on. The massive concept? Ditch the vehicles.
Wasabi has constructed a super-realistic digital setting known 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 well go relies on how sensible 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. (Obtained 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 tough maze holds a really attention-grabbing secret.
+ Netflix’s Supacell options among the absolute best of Black British expertise.
