The Obtain: defining AI, and China’s driverless ambitions

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That is right now’s version of The Obtain, our weekday publication that gives a day by day dose of what’s occurring on the earth of know-how.

What’s AI?

AI is horny, AI is cool. AI is entrenching inequality, upending the job market, and wrecking schooling. The AI growth will increase the economic 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 all people speaking about?

Synthetic intelligence is the most popular know-how 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 keen to buckle up and are available for a trip, I can let you know why no person actually is aware of, why all people 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 arduous to maintain observe.

The federal government is lastly permitting Tesla to carry its Full Self-Driving function to China. New authorities permits let firms check driverless vehicles on the highway and permit cities to construct sensible highway infrastructure that can inform these vehicles the place to go.

In brief, there are a variety of adjustments happening. 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 search out you right now’s most enjoyable/essential/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 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 filled 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 power objective seven years early
Some specialists aren’t satisfied its calculation technique 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 might clear up transportation, metal, and even fertilizer. (MIT Know-how Assessment)

4 Rechargeable batteries come at an environmental price
They look like a rising supply of endlessly chemical compounds. (The Verge)
+ The race to destroy PFAS, the endlessly chemical compounds. (MIT Know-how Assessment)

5 What occurs to your cash when your startup financial institution folds?
Loads of prospects are discovering out the arduous 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 nicely. (Wired $)

7 The right way 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 Know-how Assessment)

8 Nobody solutions the telephone anymore
And it’s a much bigger downside than you’d suppose. (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 is going to occur for others. It is probably not 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 know-how might pose, the New York Occasions studies.

The large 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 might probably do higher. In 2021 it revealed the controversial new shortcut to autonomous automobiles it’s betting on. The large concept? Ditch the vehicles.

Wasabi has constructed a super-realistic digital setting referred to as Waabi World. As a substitute 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 might probably go relies on 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. (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’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 among the best possible of Black British expertise.



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