Afrigather Plus: California has handed three AI payments
That is at present’s version of The Obtain, our weekday e-newsletter that gives a each day dose of what is going on on on this planet of know-how.
There are greater than 120 AI payments in Congress proper now
Greater than 120 payments associated to regulating synthetic intelligence are presently floating across the US Congress. This flood of payments is indicative of the desperation Congress feels to maintain up with the speedy tempo of technological enhancements.
Due to the way in which Congress works, the vast majority of these payments won’t ever make it into regulation. However merely looking at all of them can provide us perception into policymakers’ present preoccupations: the place they suppose the hazards are, what every occasion is specializing in, and extra broadly, what imaginative and prescient the US is pursuing on the subject of AI and the way it must be regulated.
That’s why, with assist from the Brennan Heart for Justice, we’ve created a tracker with all of the AI payments circulating in numerous committees in Congress proper now, to see if there’s something we are able to study from this legislative smorgasbord. Learn the complete story.
—Scott J Mulligan
Right here’s what I fabricated from Snap’s new augmented-reality Spectacles
Snap has introduced a brand new model of its Spectacles: AR glasses that might lastly ship on the guarantees that gadgets like Magic Leap, or HoloLens, and even Google Glass, made a few years in the past.
Our editor-in-chief Mat Honan received to strive them out a few weeks in the past. He discovered they packed a fairly spectacular punch layering visible info and purposes instantly on their see-through lenses, making objects seem as if they’re in the actual world—for those who don’t thoughts trying slightly goofy, that’s. Learn Mat’s full ideas right here.
Google is funding an AI-powered satellite tv for pc constellation that can spot wildfires quicker
What’s occurring: Early subsequent 12 months, Google and its companions plan to launch the primary in a collection of satellites that collectively would supply close-up, steadily refreshed pictures of wildfires world wide, providing knowledge that might assist firefighters battle blazes extra quickly, successfully, and safely.
Why it issues: The pictures and evaluation shall be supplied free to fireplace businesses world wide, serving to to enhance understanding of the place fires are, the place they’re transferring, and the way sizzling they’re burning. The data may assist businesses stamp out small fires earlier than they flip into raging infernos, place restricted firefighting sources the place they’ll do essentially the most good, and evacuate individuals alongside the most secure paths. Learn the complete story.
—James Temple
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to search out you at present’s most enjoyable/necessary/scary/fascinating tales about know-how.
1 California has handed three election deepfake legal guidelines
However just one will take impact in time for the presidential election in November. (NYT $)
+ The payments additionally shield actors from AI impersonation with out their consent. (WP $)
2 How did hundreds of Hezbollah pagers explode concurrently?
The gadgets have been in all probability intercepted by hackers throughout cargo. (WSJ $)
+ Right here’s all the pieces we all know in regards to the assault thus far. (Vox)
+ Small lithium batteries alone don’t are likely to trigger this a lot harm. (404 Media)
+ Exploding comms gadgets are nothing new. (FT $)
3 Instagram has launched new accounts particularly for teenagers
In response to growing strain over Meta’s minor safety insurance policies. (BBC)
+ Dad and mom shall be given better management over their actions. (The Guardian)
+ Right here’s how you can arrange the brand new restricted accounts. (WP $)
4 Google has received its bid to overturn a €1.5 billion superb from the EU
However the court docket stated it stands by the vast majority of the earlier findings. (CNBC)
+ However the ruling can nonetheless be appealed within the Courtroom of Justice. (Bloomberg $)
+ In the meantime, Meta’s antitrust woes are escalating. (FT $)
5 SpaceX has been accused of breaking launch guidelines
And the US Federal Aviation Administration needs to slap it with a hefty superb. (WP $)
6 Electrical vehicles now outnumber petrol vehicles in Norway
It’s significantly spectacular given the nation’s historical past as an oil producer. (The Guardian)
+ Why full EVs, not hybrids, are the longer term. (Economist $)
+ Three steadily requested questions on EVs, answered. (MIT Expertise Assessment)
7 Our understanding of the universe continues to be up within the air
What appeared like a breakthrough in physics truly won’t be in any respect. (New Scientist $)
+ Why is the universe so complicated and exquisite? (MIT Expertise Assessment)
8 Tech’s center managers are having a tricky time
They’re dropping their jobs left, proper and middle. (Insider $)
9 YouTube astrology is booming in Pakistan
Amid financial and political turmoil, Pakistanis are searching for solutions within the stars. (Remainder of World)
10 Not all the pieces dangerous is AI-generated
However what’s AI-generated is commonly dangerous. (NY Magazine $)
Quote of the day
“I’d quite return to high school than work in an workplace once more.”
—CJ Felli, a system improvement engineer for Amazon Net Providers, is just not pleased in regards to the firm’s back-to-the-office directive, Quartz studies.
The massive story
What’s subsequent for the world’s quickest supercomputers
September 2023
When the Frontier supercomputer got here on-line final 12 months, it marked the daybreak of so-called exascale computing, with machines that may execute an exaflop—or a quintillion (1018) floating level operations a second.
Since then, scientists have geared as much as make extra of those blazingly quick computer systems: a number of exascale machines are resulting from come on-line within the US and Europe in 2024.
However velocity itself isn’t the endgame. Researchers hope to pursue beforehand unanswerable questions on nature—and to design new applied sciences in areas from transportation to drugs. Learn the complete story.
—Sophia Chen
We are able to nonetheless have good issues
A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction to brighten up your day. (Received any concepts? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)
+ These Ocean Photographer of the Yr successful pictures are merely gorgeous 🐋($)
+ Right here’s the place you’ll have the very best likelihood of discovering a fossilized shark tooth within the US.
+ Vans are again in type, as in the event that they ever went out of it.
+ Potatoes are nice each which means, however right here’s how lengthy to boil them for that good al dente chew.
