Afrigather Plus: Black folks throughout the US have acquired racist texts purporting to be from Trump supporters
That is at the moment’s version of The Obtain, our weekday publication that gives a day by day dose of what is going on on on this planet of expertise.
Why AI might eat quantum computing’s lunch
Tech firms have been funneling billions of {dollars} into quantum computer systems for years. The hope is that they’ll be a recreation changer for fields as numerous as finance, drug discovery, and logistics.
However whereas the sector struggles with the realities of difficult quantum {hardware}, one other challenger is making headway in a few of these most promising use circumstances. AI is now being utilized to elementary physics, chemistry, and supplies science in a approach that means quantum computing’s purported house turf may not be so secure in any case. Learn the complete story.
—Edd Gent
What’s subsequent for reproductive rights within the US
This week, it wasn’t simply the longer term president of the US that was on the poll. Ten states additionally voted on abortion rights.
Two years in the past, the US Supreme Court docket overturned Roe v. Wade, a authorized resolution that protected the proper to abortion. Since then, abortion bans have been enacted in a number of states, and tens of millions of individuals within the US have misplaced entry to native clinics.
Now, some states are voting to increase and shield entry to abortion. Missouri, a state that has lengthy restricted entry, even voted to overturn its ban. However it’s not all excellent news for proponents of reproductive rights. Learn the complete story.
—Jessica Hamzelou
This story is from The Checkup, our weekly publication supplying you with the within monitor on all issues biotech. Enroll to obtain it in your inbox each Thursday.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to search out you at the moment’s most enjoyable/vital/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.
1 Black Individuals acquired racist texts threatening them with slavery
A number of the messages declare to be from Trump supporters or the Trump administration. (WP $)
+ What Trump’s final tenure as president can train us about what’s coming. (New Yorker $)
+ The January 6 rioters are hoping for early pardons and launch. (Wired $)
2 China is shoring up its financial system to the tune of $1.4 trillion
It’s bracing itself for elevated commerce tensions with a Trump-governed US. (FT $)
+ The nation’s chip trade has a plan too. (Reuters)
+ We’re witnessing the return of Trumponomics. (Economist $)
+ Right here’s how the tech markets have reacted to his reelection. (Insider $)
3 How crypto got here out on prime
Trump is all in, even when he beforehand dismissed it as a rip-off. (Bloomberg $)
+ Lovers are hoping for much less regulation and extra favorable laws. (Time $)
4 A weight-loss drug contributed to the dying of a nurse within the UK
Susan McGowan took two doses of Mounjaro within the weeks earlier than her dying. (BBC)
+ It’s the primary recognized dying to be formally linked to the drug within the UK. (The Guardian)
5 An instructional’s lawsuit in opposition to Meta has been dismissed
Ethan Zuckerman wished safety in opposition to the agency for constructing an unfollowing device. (NYT $)
6 How the Republicans gained on-line
The proper-wing influencer ecosystem is extraordinarily highly effective and efficient. (The Atlantic $)
+ The left doesn’t actually have an equal community. (Vox)
+ X customers are contemplating leaving the platform in protest (once more.) (Slate $)
7 What does the way forward for America’s public well being appear like?
Famous conspiracy theorist and anti-vaxxer RFK Jr might be in cost quickly. (NY Magazine $)
+ Letting Kennedy “go wild on well being” shouldn’t be an amazing signal. (Forbes $)
+ His battle on fluoride in ingesting water is already underway. (Politico)
8 An AI-created portrait of Alan Turing has offered for $1 million
Simply… why? (The Guardian)
+ Why artists have gotten much less afraid of AI. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
9 Learn how to harness power from area
A relay system of transmitters might assist to ping it again to Earth. (IEEE Spectrum)
+ The search to determine farming on Mars. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
10 AI-generated movies usually are not attention-grabbing
That’s in keeping with the arbiters of what’s and isn’t attention-grabbing over at Reddit. (404 Media)
+ What’s subsequent for generative video. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
Quote of the day
“That is petty, proper? How a lot does one piece of fruit per day price?”
—A former Intel worker reacts to the information the embattled firm is planning to revive its free espresso privileges for its employees—however not free fruit, Insider stories.
The massive story
Recapturing early web whimsy with HTML
December 2023
Web sites weren’t all the time slick digital experiences.
There was a time when browsing the net concerned opening tabs that performed music in opposition to your will and sifting by partitions of textual content on a coloured background. Within the 2000s, earlier than Squarespace and social media, web sites have been manifestations of individuality—constructed from scratch utilizing HTML, by customers who had some information of code.
Scattered throughout the net are communities of programmers working to revive this seemingly outdated strategy. And the motion is something however a superficial enchantment to retro aesthetics—it’s about celebrating the human contact in digital experiences. Learn the complete story.
—Tiffany Ng
We are able to nonetheless have good issues
A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction to brighten up your day. (Obtained any concepts? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)
+ Sandwiches by the ages is a fairly nice topic for a guide.
+ Artwork Garfunkel and Paul Simon are getting the band again collectively! (sort of)
+ Prompt mashed potatoes have a nasty status. However it doesn’t need to be this manner.
+ Right here’s what an precise robotic apocalypse would appear like (thanks Will!) 🤖
