I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Amazon wants to start offering teletherapy
The e-commerce giant is rapidly expanding into healthcare. (Insider $)
+ And it’s expanding its palm print-reading payment system into dozens of Whole Foods stores. (Ars Technica)
2 The US has rejected Starlink’s broadband supply bid 🛰️
The FCC said it had failed to demonstrate that it could deliver on its promise to supply rural America with broadband. (TechCrunch)
+ Who is Starlink really for? (MIT Technology Review)
3 Big Tech wants to build data centers on US battlefields
But Civil War preservationists are fighting back. (New Scientist $)
4 China’s economic crisis is birthing a new wave of tycoons
But they’re making their fortunes in sportswear and skincare, not tech. (Economist $)
5 Silicon Valley’s boy genius founders are joining the Great Resignation
Their money-losing businesses want experienced leadership during a tough time for the industry. (NYT $)
+ Why Steve Jobs was so fond of his turtleneck. (NYT $)
6 Air conditioning is terrible for the planet
Better building ventilation and greener units are just a few alternative solutions. (Vox)
+ The legacy of Europe’s heat waves will be more air conditioning. (MIT Technology Review)
+ Big Tech’s engineers are leaving legacy businesses for climate-focused startups. (Protocol)
7 Social media really wants shopping live streams to take off
Live ecommerce is already huge in China, but takeup has been slower elsewhere. (FT $)
+ China wants to control how its famous livestreamers act, speak, and even dress. (MIT Technology Review)
8 The rise and rise of the ebike ⚡
Amid rising gas prices, electric bikes are a cheaper alternative to cars. (WSJ $)
+ Lithium, which is essential for electric car batteries, is in short supply right now. (WSJ $)
9 Millennials are bonding with their kids over Pokémon
After 26 years, the franchise has mass-generational appeal. (WP $)
+ Fewer people are gaming now than at the height of the pandemic. (Reuters)
10 Jobhunters are paying $1,000 for the perfect LinkedIn headshot
In an image-obsessed world, they’re hoping it’ll give them the edge. (WSJ $)
Quote of the day
“Cyber criminals have been eating our lunch.”
—Chris Krebs, former director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, thinks the government has been blinded to the threat of everyday ransomware attacks due to its focus on tracking sophisticated overseas attackers, reports PC Mag.
The big story
This is the reason Demis Hassabis started DeepMind