The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 BYD’s new EV can charge in just five minutes
Which could help attract customers previously put off by long charging times. (Bloomberg $)
+ The company also announced plans to build a charging network in China. (The Guardian)
+ The world’s first consumer sodium-ion battery power bank has been announced. (The Verge)
+ BYD is one of MIT Technology Review’s Climate Tech Companies to Watch. (MIT Technology Review)
2 NASA’s stranded astronauts have begun their return to Earth
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have spent nine long months in space. (CNN)
+ The pair kept busy by exercising for two hours a day. (BBC)
3 How Elon Musk’s ties to China could warp American polic
Tesla’s value is heavily dependent on him maintaining a cordial relationship with the CCP. (Vox)
+ Musk’s companies are extremely valuable targets. (The Hill)
+ If relations sour with China, Musk may look to expand more aggressively in India. (Rest of World)
4 Microsoft is developing an AI model that simulates our brains’ reasoning
The goal is for it to learn from real-world experience, instead of just data. (FT $)
+ AI reasoning models can cheat to win chess games. (MIT Technology Review)
5 Alphabet has agreed to buy cybersecurity startup Wiz
At $32 billion, it’s the biggest acquisition the company has ever made. (FT $)
6 Everything you say to your Echo will be sent to Amazon
And if you opt out, Alexa won’t work anymore. (Ars Technica)
+ But Amazon denies that ending on-device processing will harm user privacy. (The Register)
7 US funding cuts could undo decades of progress fighting HIV
Experts are rushing to get drugs to vulnerable communities while they still can.(The Guardian)
+ Eight countries are likely to run out of treatments soon. (Reuters)
+ This annual shot might protect against HIV infections. (MIT Technology Review)