That is at present’s version of The Obtain, our weekday e-newsletter that gives a every day dose of what’s happening on the earth of expertise.
What’s AI?
AI is horny, AI is cool. AI is entrenching inequality, upending the job market, and wrecking training. The AI growth will increase the economic 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 all people speaking about?
Synthetic intelligence is the most popular expertise of our time. However what’s it? It appears like a silly query, but it surely’s one which’s by no means been extra pressing.
In the event you’re prepared to buckle up and are available for a experience, I can inform you why no one actually is aware of, why all people appears to disagree, and why you’re proper to care about it. Learn the complete story.
—Will Douglas Heaven
The Chinese language authorities is all in on autonomous autos
There’s been a lot information popping out of China’s autonomous-vehicle business recently that it’s onerous to maintain monitor.
The federal government is lastly permitting Tesla to carry its Full Self-Driving function to China. New authorities permits let firms take a look at driverless vehicles on the highway and permit cities to construct good highway infrastructure that may inform these vehicles the place to go.
Briefly, there are quite a lot of modifications happening. And so they all level in the identical path: The Chinese language authorities is throwing its weight behind the autonomous-vehicle business and is keen to come back out on high whereas different nations take a extra cautious strategy. Learn the complete story.
—Zeyi Yang
This story is from China Report, our weekly e-newsletter masking tech and energy in China. Join to obtain it in your inbox each Tuesday.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to search out you at present’s most enjoyable/necessary/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.
1 Microsoft and Apple will not sit on OpenAI’s board
The transfer comes as regulators begin to pay shut consideration to Massive Tech’s investments in AI startups. (FT $)
+ Microsoft claims its exit is right down to OpenAI’s newfound stability. (WSJ $)
+ OpenAI will replace its stakeholders with common conferences, as an alternative. (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 objective seven years early
Some specialists 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 Expertise Overview)
4 Rechargeable batteries come at an environmental value
They seem like a rising supply of perpetually chemical compounds. (The Verge)
+ The race to destroy PFAS, the perpetually chemical compounds. (MIT Expertise Overview)
5 What occurs to your cash when your startup financial institution folds?
Loads of prospects are discovering out the onerous approach. (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 effectively. (Wired $)
7 Tips on how to put together your property for a hurricane
Stronger supplies, tighter seals, and an entire lot of labor. (Wired $)
+ The hunt to construct wildfire-resistant properties. (MIT Expertise Overview)
8 Nobody solutions the cellphone anymore
And it’s a much bigger downside than you’d assume. (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 useful. (Vogue Enterprise $)
Quote of the day
“I confronted the problems of AI early, however it would occur for others. It will not be a contented 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 stories.
The large story
This super-realistic digital world is a driving college for AI
February 2022
Constructing driverless vehicles is a sluggish and costly enterprise. After years of effort and billions of {dollars} of funding, the expertise continues to be caught within the pilot part.
Autonomous expertise firm Waabi thinks it might do higher. In 2021 it revealed the controversial new shortcut to autonomous autos it’s betting on. The large concept? Ditch the vehicles.
Wasabi has constructed a super-realistic digital atmosphere referred to as Waabi World. As a substitute of coaching an AI driver in actual autos, it plans to do it totally contained in the simulation. However simulation alone is a daring technique, and the way far it might go relies on how lifelike Waabi World actually is. Learn the complete story.
—Will Douglas Heaven
We will nonetheless have good issues
A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction to brighten up your day. (Bought 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 is 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 fascinating secret.
+ Netflix’s Supacell options among the best possible of Black British expertise.