Although it’s less glamorous than envisioning which advances will change our future, analyzing failed technologies is equally important. Read about why that is.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Iran has almost completely shut its internet down
Which makes it very hard for the world to witness its government killing people. (AP)
+ The shutdown is chillingly effective, and likely to last. (The Guardian)
+ President Trump is considering military strikes against Iran. (NYT $)
2 ICE is gaining powerful new surveillance capabilities
It’s purchased tools that give it the ability to track individuals across entire neighborhoods. (404 Media $)
+ The ICE shooting shows why reality still matters. (The Verge $)
+ It’s time for Apple to reinstate ICEBlock. (Engadget)
3 Malaysia and Indonesia have blocked access to Grok
They are the first in the world to ban the AI tool, which is being used to make explicit non-consensual deepfakes. (BBC)
+ How Elon Musk’s platform unleashed a torrent of abuse upon women and girls. (The Guardian)
4 Silicon Valley’s billionaires are panicking over a proposed 5% wealth tax
Poor dears. (Wired $)
5 Meta signed a deal with three nuclear companies
It’s becoming a favored power source for tech companies as their AI ambitions grow. (TechCrunch)
+ Can nuclear power really fuel the rise of AI? (MIT Technology Review)
6 AI has a memorization problem
The fact it reproduces copyrighted work shows it might not work the way its makers claim. (The Atlantic $)
+ DeepSeek is poised to release a new flagship AI model. (The Information $)
7 Here’s the stuff from CES you might actually consider buying
It’s always a bit of a gimmick fest—but these items made their way onto reporters’ wishlists. (The Verge $)
+ On the flipside, you absolutely should not purchase anything on the ‘worst in show’ list. (The Register)
8 How WhatsApp took over the world 🌍
It’s used by more than three billion people every month—nearly half the global population. (New Yorker $)
9 AI music is here to stay
Love it or hate it, it’s only going to play a bigger role going forward. (Vox)
+ It’s complicating our definitions of authorship and creativity in the process. (MIT Technology Review)
10 We’re crying out for better experiences online
The question is: who will give them to us? (WP $)