The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Secret Service agents dismantled a giant operation to cripple cell networks
They say it’s likely it was intended to be used for scams. (Wired $)
2 Welcome to the new era of fragmented US vaccine policies
The federal government is abdicating responsibility for public health. Who will fill the void? (New Yorker $)
+ Why US federal health agencies are abandoning mRNA vaccines. (MIT Technology Review)
3 European defense leaders are discussing building a ‘drone wall’
They’re scrambling to catch up as Russian incursions into their territory increase. (ABC)
4 How will we know if we’ve reached artificial general intelligence?
That’s the multi-billion dollar question—but there’s no clear answer. (IEEE Spectrum)
+ Experts don’t even agree on what AI is to begin with, never mind AGI. (MIT Technology Review)
5 Robot umpires are coming to baseball’s major leagues next year 🤖⚾
Humans will still be in charge of calling balls and strikes, but tech will help to judge appealed decisions. (AP)
6 AI’s energy needs are being overstated
And that could lock us into unnecessary, costly fossil fuel projects. (The Verge)
+ Four reasons to be optimistic about AI’s energy usage. (MIT Technology Review)
7 Extreme drought is set to become a lot more commonplace
Governments need to do a lot more to prepare. (Gizmodo)
8 AI is coming for subtitle writers’ jobs
But their work is harder to replace than you might think. (The Guardian)
+ ‘Workslop’ is slowing everything down. (Harvard Business Review)
+ And, to add to the problem, AI systems may never be secure. (The Economist $)
9 How epigenetics could help save wildlife from extinction
It could allow scientists to detect accelerated aging before an animal population starts to visibly collapse. (Knowable)
+ Aging clocks aim to predict how long you’ll live. (MIT Technology Review)
10 TikTok is getting introduced to the concept of the rapture
Which is due today, according to some. If so, it’s been great knowing you. Good luck! (The Guardian)