—Casey Crownhart
Casey’s story is from The Spark, our weekly newsletter delving into batteries, climate and energy technology breakthroughs. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Chinese researchers are claiming to have broken encryption
If they’re right, it’s a significant turning point in the history of quantum computers. (FT $)
+ The tricky legality of police hacking encryption to catch criminals. (Wired $)
+ What are quantum-resistant algorithms? (MIT Technology Review)
2 We’re not monitoring covid like we used to
But the virus is still killing thousands of people each week. (Economist $)
+ The new XBB.1.5 sub-variant is rapidly spreading across the US. (CNN)
+ The Chinese government’s covid death toll is being questioned. (BBC)
3 Coinbase has agreed to pay US regulators $50 million
The crypto exchange is alleged to have violated anti-money laundering laws. (The Verge)
4 Amazon is laying off 18,000 workers
It’s the highest number of people let go by a tech company in the past few months. (WSJ $)
+ Staff will have to wait two weeks to find out. (Insider $)
+ Salesforce is cutting 10% of its workforce, too. (Reuters)
5 Twitter verification is still busted
Paying $8 for a blue check doesn’t actually verify someone’s identity after all. (WP $)
6 Apple has launched a series of audiobooks narrated by AI
Sparking an instant backlash from authors and voice actors. (The Guardian)
+ NYC’s education department has banned access to ChatGPT. (Motherboard)
+ It could, however, prove helpful in spotting the early signs of Alzheimer’s. (IEEE Spectrum)
+ What’s next for AI. (MIT Technology Review)
7 EVs are unnecessarily powerful
Automakers are missing their opportunity to make the next generation of cars safer. (The Atlantic $)
+ How about a flying taxi instead? (Axios)
8 Consumer products are poorer quality these days
You can thank the rising cost of manufacturing and the era of fast fashion. (Vox)
9 They don’t make MP3 blogs like they used to
TikTok is a poor substitute for the void they’ve left. (New Yorker $)
10 Shitposting has finally reached LinkedIn
That said, it’s still more authentic than some of the platform’s wildest posts. (Vice)