That is right this moment’s version of The Obtain, our weekday publication that gives a each day dose of what’s occurring on the earth of know-how.
Possibly it is possible for you to to dwell previous 122
How lengthy can people dwell? This can be a good time to ask the query. The longevity scene is having a second, because of a mixture of scientific advances, public curiosity, and an unprecedented degree of funding. Just a few key areas of analysis counsel that we’d be capable to push human life spans additional, and probably reverse no less than some indicators of ageing.
Researchers can’t even agree on what the precise mechanisms of ageing are and which they need to be focusing on. Debates proceed to rage over how lengthy it’s potential for people to dwell—and whether or not there’s a restrict in any respect.
But it surely seems to be possible that one thing will likely be developed within the coming many years that can assist us dwell longer, in higher well being. Learn the total story.
—Jessica Hamzelou
This piece is from the forthcoming print challenge of MIT Expertise Assessment, which is celebrating 125 years of the journal! It’s set to go dwell tomorrow, so should you don’t already, subscribe now to pay money for future copies as soon as they land.
AI and the way forward for intercourse
Pornography raises so many questions. What’s obscene? What is moral or secure to observe? We don’t need to eat and even assist it, however porn nonetheless calls for solutions. The query now’s: What’s “actual” porn?
What if porn is wholly created by an algorithm? In that case, whether or not it’s obscene, moral, or secure turns into secondary to What does it imply for porn to be “actual”—and what’s going to the reply demand from all of us? Learn the total story.
—Leo Herrera
A skeptic’s information to humanoid-robot movies
We live in “humanoid robotic summer season” proper now, should you didn’t know. Seemingly each week brings a brand new moody, futuristic video that includes a humanoid robotic staring intensely (and typically unnervingly) into the digicam, leaping round, or sorting issues into piles. Generally they even communicate.
However what do they present, precisely? James O’Donnell, our AI and {hardware} reporter, has watched dozens of them this yr, and continuously oscillates between being impressed, scared, and bored. Learn his information to what you must, and crucially shouldn’t, be excited by.
This story is from The Algorithm, our weekly publication providing you with the within monitor on all issues AI. Join to obtain it in your inbox each Monday.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to search out you right this moment’s most enjoyable/vital/scary/fascinating tales about know-how.
1 Telegram’s founder was arrested as a part of an even bigger investigation
Authorities are trying into the huge portions of prison exercise on the platform. (The Guardian)
+ Pavel Durov has a famously hands-off method to moderation. (NYT $)
+ Telegram is the one main platform that fails to ban unlawful materials in personal chats. (WP $)
2 Amazon is poised to launch a brand new and improved Alexa
However you’ll need to pay to make use of it. (WP $)
3 China’s chip materials export restrictions are biting within the West
Costs of scarce important minerals are rocketing in Europe. (FT $)
+ What’s subsequent in chips. (MIT Expertise Assessment)
4 Fb will resist future moderation strain from the US authorities
Mark Zuckerberg says he regrets not talking out extra concerning the Biden administration’s efforts to power the platform to censor covid content material. (WSJ $)
+ He gained’t contribute to supporting electoral infrastructure, both. (FT $)
5 Upstate New York is posed to turn into a quantum computing hub
If Nvidia co-founder Curtis Priem will get his manner, that’s. (The Guardian)
+ PsiQuantum plans to construct the most important quantum computing facility within the US. (MIT Expertise Assessment)
6 Scientific fraud has a staggering loss of life toll
Falsified knowledge prices lives. Ought to its authors face prison penalties? (Vox)
7 Tesla’s rivals are nonetheless unable to make use of its supercharger community
Regardless of Elon Musk’s guarantees that they might 12 months in the past. (NYT $)
+ Why EV charging wants greater than Tesla. (MIT Expertise Assessment)
8 The US is doubling down on sewer surveillance
In a bid to trace the unfold of illicit pharmaceuticals. (The Atlantic $)
+ How scientists traced a mysterious covid case again to 6 bathrooms. (MIT Expertise Assessment)
9 This audio safety startup claims it could actually determine an AI spam name
Pindrop Safety traced the origin of the Joe Biden audio deepfake earlier this yr. (Bloomberg $)
+ Meta has created a method to watermark AI-generated speech. (MIT Expertise Assessment)
10 Spotify is rife with pretend bands
Their proliferation will make it even more durable for human artists to make a dwelling. (Slate $)
Quote of the day
“I may all the time be flawed. I’ve been flawed earlier than. And I believe each astrologer has been flawed earlier than.”
—Social media astrologer Amy Tripp tells Wired about her prediction that Donald Trump will win the forthcoming US Presidential election.
The massive story
The open-source AI increase is constructed on Huge Tech’s handouts. How lengthy will it final?
In Could 2023 a leaked memo reported to have been written by Luke Sernau, a senior engineer at Google, stated out loud what many in Silicon Valley should have been whispering for weeks: an open-source free-for-all is threatening Huge Tech’s grip on AI.
New open-source giant language fashions—options to Google’s Bard or OpenAI’s ChatGPT that researchers and app builders can research, construct on, and modify—are dropping like sweet from a piñata. These are smaller, cheaper variations of the best-in-class AI fashions created by the massive companies that (nearly) match them in efficiency—they usually’re shared without spending a dime.
In some ways, that’s factor. AI gained’t thrive if just some mega-rich corporations get to gatekeep this know-how or resolve how it’s used. However this open-source increase is precarious, and if Huge Tech decides to close up store, a boomtown may turn into a backwater. Learn the total story.
—Will Douglas Heaven
We are able to 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.)
+ Pleased Oasis reunion day to all those that rejoice!
+ For those who’re heading into the good outdoor for the final time this summer season, right here’s the right way to benefit from tenting. 
+ The Web Archive is a reasonably superb useful resource: do you know you should utilize it to play arcade video games?
+ There’s drama unfolding in your again backyard, you simply must know the place to look.
