Afrigather Plus: Issues aren’t trying good for Humane’s Ai pin
That is immediately’s version of The Obtain, our weekday publication that gives a every day dose of what is going on on on the planet of expertise.
Your AC habits aren’t distinctive. Right here’s why that’s an issue.
—Casey Crownhart
After I get residence within the night on a sweltering summer time day, the very first thing I do is crank up my window air-conditioning items. Then I may additionally activate the TV and get began on dinner.
Individuals in all places do the identical factor. These early night hours in the summertime are normally the time with the best electrical energy demand. And an enormous chunk of that energy goes into cooling techniques that hold us secure and comfy.
That is such a major problem for utilities and grid operators that some firms try to deliver new cooling applied sciences to the market that may retailer up power throughout different occasions to make use of throughout peak hours. So right here’s what we have to contemplate as we plan to maintain the lights (and AC) on whereas cleansing up our power system.
This story is from The Spark, our weekly power and local weather publication. Enroll to obtain it in your inbox each Wednesday.
In the event you’re considering how future air conditioners might work, why not take a look at:
+ The race to construct extra environment friendly air conditioners has grow to be more and more pressing. Moisture-sucking desiccants that pull water out of the air might assist. Learn the complete story.
+ The legacy of Europe’s warmth waves can be extra air con. Right here’s why that’s an issue.
+ Why air-conditioning is the double-edged sword of local weather applied sciences.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to seek out you immediately’s most enjoyable/essential/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.
1 The Starliner astronauts could not return to Earth till 2025
They have been supposed to remain eight days, however might find yourself staying eight months. (WP $)
+ The pair have been imagined to return on Boeing’s spacecraft. (NYT $)
+ It appears there’s been numerous disagreements behind the scenes inside NASA. (Ars Technica)
+ In the meantime, the ISS is because of return to Earth round 2030. (New Scientist $)
2 Humane’s Ai pin clients are returning greater than they’re shopping for
The corporate’s fortunes are going from dangerous to worse. (The Verge)
3 Google and Meta secretly collaborated on advertisements focused at youngsters
The rivals put apart their variations for the undertaking, which bent even their very own guidelines. (FT $)
+ A loophole allowed them to deliberately goal under-18s. (The Verge)
4 Crypto executives are courting Kamala Harris
They see her as a clean slate ripe for affect. (The Data $)
5 Gunshot detection tech has little impact on decreasing handgun violence
Or prosecutions, for that matter. (Undark Journal)
6 China’s ride-hailing drivers are threatened by robotaxis
The nation has solid forward with trials, a lot to the drivers’ despair. (Reuters)
+ How China is regulating robotaxis. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
7 Welcome to Ozempictown, USA
Weight-loss medication have taken over a Kentucky metropolis—and others will observe. (Bloomberg $)
+ Weight-loss injections have taken over the web. However what does this imply for folks IRL? (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
8 Engineered mud might be the important thing to residing on Mars
Pumping new mud into its environment might assist to revive water. (Economist $)
+ Saturn is trying surprisingly watery today. (Knowable Journal $)
+ Inside NASA’s bid to make spacecraft as small as potential. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
9 Lenovo’s ThinkPad laptop computer isn’t precisely glamorous 💻
However its steadfast reliability has made it the enterprise world’s favourite system. (WSJ $)
10 This AI assistant understands mixes of languages
‘Spanglish’ is its first, however different combos are within the pipeline. (TechCrunch)
+ Learn how to entry Chinese language LLM chatbots the world over. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
Quote of the day
“Neutrality has left the constructing.”
—Alexander B. Howard, an open authorities advocate, argues that Elon Musk’s latest political statements have erased any belief in X’s impartiality, he tells the Washington Put up.
The large story
The return of pneumatic tubes
June 2024
Pneumatic tubes have been as soon as touted as one thing that may revolutionize the world. In science fiction, they have been envisioned as a basic a part of the long run—even in dystopias like George Orwell’s 1984, the place they assist to ship orders for the principle character, Winston Smith, in his job rewriting historical past to suit the ruling get together’s altering narrative.
In actual life, the tubes have been anticipated to rework a number of industries within the late nineteenth century by means of the mid-Twentieth. The expertise entails shifting a cylindrical service or capsule by means of a sequence of tubes with the help of a blower that pushes or pulls it into movement, and for some time, america took up the techniques with gusto.
However by the mid to late Twentieth century, use of the expertise had largely fallen by the wayside, and pneumatic tube expertise turned nearly out of date. Besides in hospitals. Learn the complete story.
—Vanessa Armstrong
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.)
+ Why rabid followers of the Rock Band online game franchise refuse to let it die.
+ For many people, math isn’t enjoyable. However there are methods to get higher at it.
+ It’s not possible to play the drumbeat of Blur’s Music 2 alone.
+ You need to really feel joyful!
