This is as we speak’s version of The Download, our weekday publication that gives a each day dose of what’s happening on this planet of know-how.
These unique satellite tv for pc photographs present Saudi Arabia’s sci-fi megacity is effectively underway
In early 2021, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia introduced The Line: a “civilizational revolution” that will home as much as 9 million individuals in a zero-carbon megacity, 170 kilometers lengthy and half a kilometer excessive however simply 200 meters vast. Within its mirrored, car-free partitions, residents could be whisked round in underground trains and electrical air taxis.
Satellite photographs of the $500 billion mission obtained completely by MIT Technology Review present that the Line’s huge linear constructing website is already taking form. Visit The Line’s location on Google Maps and Google Earth, nevertheless, and you will notice little greater than naked rock and sand.
The unusual hole in imagery raises questions on who will get to entry high-res satellite tv for pc know-how. And if the most important city building website on the planet doesn’t seem on Google Maps, what else can’t we see? Read the complete story.
—Mark Harris
Why infants sleep a lot
Babies can spend as a lot, if no more, time asleep than they do awake. Scientists nonetheless aren’t precisely positive why, however applied sciences like EEG caps and MRI scanners are beginning to shed a bit extra gentle on this thriller—and will assist reveal what’s going on contained in the quickly growing mind of a new child.
During the primary few months, infants’ brains are growing connections at a price of roughly one million synapses a second. These connections are thought to play a key function in serving to infants be taught to make sense of the world round them, setting essential foundations for the remainder of their life. Read the complete story.
This story is from The Checkup, a weekly publication by our senior reporter Jessica Hamzelou which provides you the low-down on all issues biomedicine and biotechnology. Sign up to obtain it in your inbox each Thursday.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to search out you as we speak’s most enjoyable/essential/scary/fascinating tales about know-how.
1 Covid information is beginning to disappear in China
It’s about to enter its deadliest part of the pandemic. How lethal? We received’t know. (FT $)
+ A letter from Foxconn’s founder might have helped to influence China’s leaders to desert zero-covid. (WSJ $)
+ The coverage pivot has been met with reduction—but in addition fear and confusion. (NYT $)
+ Here’s what scientists should say about it. (Nature)
2 AI selfies are all over the place
You can thank the app Lensa, and the very fact individuals can’t resist sharing how attractive it makes them look. (WP $)
+ However, it generates troublingly NSFW photographs. Even when the photograph is of a kid. (Wired $)
+ AI is getting higher and higher at producing convincing textual content too. (Vox)
+ Can you inform an actual tweet from one written by an AI? (WSJ $)
3 Americans are flocking to local weather hazard zones
Migration patterns are principally away from safer areas, in the direction of hotter, drier areas with extra wildfires. (Wired $)
+ These three charts present who’s most guilty for local weather change. (MIT Technology Review)
4 A lawsuit claims girls have been focused for Twitter layoffs
In engineering roles, 63% of ladies misplaced their jobs in comparison with 48% of males. (NBC)
+ Musk’s plan to encrypt Twitter messages appears to be on maintain. (Forbes)
+ Twitter is planning to vary the price of ‘Twitter Blue’ after a spat with Apple. (The Information $)
+ Elon Musk is overtly courting a far-right, conspiracy obsessed fan base. (Wired $)
5 CoinDesk’s FTX scoop shot its personal mother or father firm within the foot
Ownership buildings in crypto are advanced—and on this case, a bit too cozy for consolation. (The Verge)
+ Crypto execs exchanged frantic texts as FTX collapsed. (NYT $)
6 Exhausted by the web? You’re not alone.
It’s starting to really feel like a dying mall stuffed with shops you don’t wish to go to. (New Yorker $)
+ Amazon is launching a TikTok clone. Yes, Amazon. (WP $)
7 The hype round esports is fading
A wider financial downturn is inflicting sponsors and traders to flee. (Bloomberg $)
+ The FTC is making an attempt to dam Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of online game big Activision Blizzard. (Vox)
8 What causes Alzheimer’s?
A stream of current findings recommend that it’s extra advanced than the build-up of amyloid plaques. (Quanta)
+ The miracle molecule that might deal with mind accidents and increase your fading reminiscence. (MIT Technology Review)
9 The world spy ware business has spiraled uncontrolled
And the US is taking part in each arsonist and firefighter, adopting the exact same instruments it condemns. (NYT $)
+ It’s laborious to manage spy ware know-how when it’s in such excessive demand from governments around the globe. (MIT Technology Review)
10 Xiaomi taught a robotic to play the drums
Professional musicians can relaxation straightforward for now although, if the demo clip is something to go by. (IEEE Spectrum)
Quote of the day
“Globalization is almost dead. Free trade is almost dead. And a lot of people still wish they would come back, but I really don’t think that it will be back for a while.”
—Morris Chang, founding father of Taiwanese chip big TSMC, made some blunt remarks about geopolitics on the launch of a brand new plant in Arizona this week, Nikkei Asia stories.
The massive story
The way forward for city housing is energy-efficient fridges
June 2022
The growing old residences underneath the purview of the New York City Housing Authority don’t scream innovation. The largest landlord within the metropolis, housing almost 1 in 16 New Yorkers, NYCHA has seen its buildings actually crumble after a long time of deferred upkeep and poor stewardship. It would require an estimated $40 billion or extra, at the very least $180,000 per unit, to return the buildings to a state of excellent restore.
Despite the dimensions of the problem, NYCHA is hoping to repair them. It has launched a Clean Heat for All Challenge which asks producers to develop low-cost, easy-to-install heat-pump applied sciences for constructing retrofits. The stakes for the company, the profitable firm, and for society itself may very well be enormous—and good for the planet.
After all, it’s way more sustainable to retrofit current buildings than to tear them down and construct new ones. Read the complete story.
—Patrick Sisson
We can nonetheless have good issues
A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction in these bizarre occasions. (Got any concepts? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)
+ This Photoshop comedian about changing the sky is actually beautiful.
+ Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas: no matter you name him, he’s bought a lengthy and illustrious historical past.
+ How to nail dressing well, but casually.
+ Cowboy butter, anybody?