Podcast: I Was There When: AI helped create a vaccine
Only a select few people know what it’s like to be present during breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and computing. In the latest episode of our award-winning podcast, In Machines We Trust, we meet Dave Johnson, the chief data and artificial intelligence officer at Moderna, who witnessed AI helping to create the company’s covid vaccine. Listen to it for yourself.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 NASA is waiting to find out when it can relaunch its moon rocket
Mission managers are meeting today to work out the best time to have another stab. (NYT $)
+ The next attempt could come as soon as Friday. (WSJ $)
+ Snoopy and Shaun the Sheep stuffed toys are essential crew members. (Slate)
2 The US has an Adderall shortage
Lax telehealth providers and TikTok diagnoses are likely to have contributed to the spike in demand. (Economist $)
+ How startups are pushing Adderall on TikTok. (Vox)
3 The US government is suing a location data company
The Federal Trade Commission says the firm’s data could be used to track visitors to abortion clinics. (NBC)
+ Anti-abortion activists are collecting the data they’ll need for prosecutions post-Roe. (MIT Technology Review)
4 China is silencing feminists online
Its government is trying to covertly suppress discussions around women’s rights. (New Yorker $)
+ European spies are increasingly worried about Beijing’s espionage. (FT $)
+ Hong Kong’s anonymous Facebook pages are being shut down. (Rest of World)
5 An immortal jellyfish could help humans live longer
The secret lies in the creatures’ genes. (New Scientist $)
6 Wire thieves are cutting electric car chargers
The cables contain valuable copper, which rocketed in price during the pandemic. (Motherboard)
+ Electric cars could soon recharge by 90% within just 10 minutes. (WSJ $)
+ Many automatic car braking systems don’t work well in the dark, worryingly. (Reuters)
+ This startup wants to pack more energy into electric vehicle batteries. (MIT Technology Review)
7 AI uncovered 20,000 undeclared swimming pools 🏊
It’ll help French authorities to fine tax dodgers around €10m. (The Guardian)
8 Most social media creators are not qualified therapists
But millions of followers treat their advice as gospel anyway. (WP $)
9 A TikToker convinced his followers he was AI-generated
However, not everyone was so easily fooled. (Input)
10 How the internet murdered the nudist beach
Younger people are less convinced that public nudity represents emancipation in the same way it did to older generations. (The Atlantic $)
Quote of the day