Plus: DOGE is on the cusp of accessing US taxpayer information.
That is right now’s version of The Obtain, our weekday publication that gives a every day dose of what is going on on on this planet of expertise.
Nokia is placing the primary mobile community on the moon
Later this month, Intuitive Machines, the non-public firm behind the primary industrial lander that touched down on the moon, will launch a second lunar mission. The plan is to deploy a lander, a rover, and hopper to discover a website close to the lunar south pole that might harbor water ice, and to place a communications satellite tv for pc on lunar orbit.
However the mission will even convey one thing that’s by no means been put in on the moon or wherever else in house earlier than—a completely purposeful 4G mobile community. Learn our story to study why.
—Jacek Krywko
have a toddler within the digital age
Earlier than journalist and tradition critic Amanda Hess even obtained pregnant along with her first baby, in 2020, the web knew she was making an attempt. She noticed being pregnant adverts method earlier than a physician.
Hess’s expertise is fairly typical today, however nonetheless raises some large questions. How will we retain management over our our bodies when companies and the medical institution have entry to our most private info? What occurs when individuals cease counting on family and friends for recommendation on having a child and as an alternative go surfing, the place there’s a relentless onslaught of data?
In her new ebook, Second Life: Having a Baby within the Digital Age, Hess explores these questions whereas delving into her firsthand experiences with apps, merchandise, algorithms, on-line boards, advertisers, and extra—every promising a better, more healthy, higher path to parenthood. Hess asks: Is that actually what they’re delivering? Learn our interview along with her.
—Alison Arieff
This subscriber-only story is from the subsequent version of our print journal, which is all about relationships. Subscribe now to get a replica when it lands on February 26!
Inside China’s electric-vehicle-to-humanoid-robot pivot
—James O’Donnell
Whereas DOGE’s efforts to shutter federal companies dominate information from Washington, the Trump administration can be making international strikes. Many of those heart on China, which is main the world in electrical automobiles, robotaxis, drones, and with the launch of DeepSeek, maybe AI quickly too.
Now a brand new pattern is unfolding inside China’s tech scene: Firms that have been dominant in electrical automobiles are betting large on translating that success into growing humanoid robots. I spoke with China reporter Caiwei Chen about what it would imply for Trump’s insurance policies.
This story is from The Algorithm, our weekly publication all in regards to the newest on this planet of AI. Signal as much as obtain it in your inbox each Monday.
How will generative AI change search?
Generative AI search, considered one of MIT Know-how Evaluation’s 10 Breakthrough Applied sciences of 2025, is ushering in a brand new period of the web. Regardless of fewer clicks, copyright fights, and generally iffy solutions, AI may unlock new methods to summon all of the world’s data.
Be part of editor in chief Mat Honan and govt editor Niall Firth at 1.30pm ET right now for a subscriber-only Roundtable dialog exploring how AI will alter search. Enroll right here to attend, and if you happen to haven’t already, learn Mat’s function about it too.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to seek out you right now’s most enjoyable/necessary/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.
1 DOGE is on the cusp of accessing US taxpayer information
What they’re planning on doing with it’s anybody’s guess. (CNN)
+ FDA workers reviewing Musk’s firm Neuralink have been fired by DOGE final weekend. (Reuters $)
+ A high official on the Social Safety Administration simply left after refusing DOGE’s request to entry delicate information. (NBC)
+ Can AI assist DOGE slash authorities budgets? It’s complicated. (MIT Know-how Evaluation)
2 DeepSeek could also be shifting in the direction of monetizing its AI fashions
Proper now, they’re open supply and free. How lengthy can that final? (South China Morning Publish $)
+ How DeepSeek ripped up the AI playbook—and why everybody’s going to observe its lead. (MIT Know-how Evaluation)
3 We’re inching nearer to a norovirus vaccine 💉
Loads of individuals may welcome this, particularly after this winter’s nasty rash of infections. (Scientific American $)
4 The battle on range and inclusion initiatives is a smokescreen
And the individuals waging it’ll go a lot additional, if we allow them to. (The Verge)
5 Some states declare zero abortions
Which is not possible, and hints at one thing worrying: official statistics are being politicized within the US. (Undark)
6 China is in search of its personal methods to guard information from quantum computer systems
It’s spurning algorithms created within the US in case they include secret again doorways. (New Scientist $)
+ Chinese language President Xi Jinping met a few of the nation’s high tech execs yesterday. (The Data $)
7 Reddit moderators are preventing to maintain AI slop off the platform
It’s an necessary battle to many—nevertheless it’s solely going to get tougher and tougher. (Ars Technica)
8 Meta has wasted $70 billion on the metaverse. This advert reveals why.
This should presumably be the very best they may do, and but it’s simply embarrassingly dangerous. (Forbes)
9 Working from house has turned us into workplace weirdos
However hey, perhaps that is our likelihood to carve out some higher, kinder workplace etiquette. (Enterprise Insider $)
+ To be honest, we nonetheless don’t know methods to behave on Slack or Zoom both. (NYT $)
10 Are noise cancelling headphones inflicting listening to issues?
Audiologists say extreme use might intervene with the best way teenagers study to course of speech and noise. (BBC)
Quote of the day
“Folks don’t really feel protected talking out on this nation in opposition to the federal government.”
—Ryan Calo, a legislation professor on the College of Washington, tells the Washington Publish that Elon Musk and President Trump’s keenness to take vengeance on individuals who criticize them is having a chilling impact.
The massive story
What’s AI?
JUN IONEDA
What’s AI?
July 2024
Synthetic intelligence is the most well liked expertise of our time. However what’s it? It appears like a silly query, nevertheless it’s one which’s by no means been extra pressing.
In case you’re prepared to buckle up and are available for a journey, I can inform you why no person actually is aware of, why everyone appears to disagree, and why you’re proper to care about it. Learn the total story.
