Plus: Cop29’s local weather monetary pledge hasn’t had the warmest reception
That is right now’s version of The Obtain, our weekday publication that gives a day by day dose of what is going on on on the planet of know-how.
How Trump’s tariffs might drive up the price of batteries, EVs, and extra
President-elect Donald Trump’s “America First” plan to enact enormous tariffs on imported items threatens to jack up the price and decelerate the event of US cleantech tasks.
These plans might simply add billions of {dollars} to the costs that US firms—and subsequently customers—pay for batteries and electrical autos, in addition to the metal used to construct photo voltaic farms, geothermal vegetation, nuclear services, transmission traces, and rather more.
Listed below are three areas the place the prices of supplies and merchandise which are essential to the power transition might rise. Learn the total story.
—James Temple
Google’s antitrust intestine punch and the Trump wild card
Final week, the US Division of Justice launched its suggestions for proposed cures in its antitrust case towards Google. Whereas nobody thought the DOJ would go straightforward on Google, the cures it did recommend are profound and, if enacted, might be catastrophic to its enterprise.
Subsequent, Google will make its personal set of proposals to the court docket. Lastly, Decide Amit Mehta, who has been presiding over the case, should determine which, if any, of those cures to enact. So what’s the DOJ proposing, and what function will the incoming Trump administration play?
—Mat Honan
This story initially appeared in The Debrief with Mat Honan, your weekly tackle the tech information that basically issues. It’s subscriber-only, so join right here to get the subsequent one in your inbox.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to seek out you right now’s most enjoyable/vital/scary/fascinating tales about know-how.
1 Growing nations aren’t proud of Cop29’s local weather finance deal
They declare the $300 billion annual pledge isn’t wherever close to sufficient. (The Atlantic $)
+ That’s regardless of the sum tripling the present annual pledge to assist them. (Bloomberg $)
+ Right here’s how the cash stacks up. (Reuters)
2 There’s no means Elon Musk goes to stability the US authorities’s books
His ambitions to slash $2 trillion in annual spending are extremely unlikely to be realized. (Vox)
+ Musk’s cost-slashing division is interviewing candidates. (WP $)
+ What tech ‘broligarchs’ actually need from Trump. (The Atlantic $)
3 One of many world’s largest battery startups has filed for chapter
Northvolt was one of many trade’s brightest hopes. What occurred? (WSJ $)
+ Its struggles exhibit how Europe is shedding the battery race with Asia. (FT $)
+ Tremendous-light supplies that assist suppress EV battery fires simply acquired an enormous increase. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
4 Huawei is poised to launch a cellphone working its personal software program
The Mate 70 system could be its first flagship system devoid of Android code. (FT $)
5 Meta is struggling to answer Bluesky’s success
It’s tweaking Threads in a bid to make it extra engaging to displaced X customers. (WP $)
+ Bluesky has quickly overtaken Threads in day by day person numbers. (FT $)
6 Tesla violated environmental guidelines in Texas
Its manufacturing facility dumped poisonous pollution in Austin for months in 2022. (WSJ $)
7 Is it nonetheless price studying to code lately?
The creep of AI-powered coding assistants has latest graduates frightened. (NYT $)
+ How AI assistants are already altering the best way code will get made. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
8 Singapore is a self-driving automobile paradise
The previous decade has seen the island state reinvent itself as an autonomous automobile hub. (Remainder of World)
+ Baidu’s new robotaxis are hitting China’s roads. (The Verge)
+ How Wayve’s driverless automobiles will meet one among their largest challenges but. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
9 This Etsy witch will curse Elon Musk for you 🧙♀️
For the cut price value of $7.99. (Wired $)
10 Caught for Christmas reward concepts? Ask ChatGPT
Selecting the right current is hard. AI might assist to lighten the load. (The Guardian)
+ Right here’s how individuals are truly utilizing AI. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
Quote of the day
“This doc is little greater than an optical phantasm.”
—Chandni Raina, a negotiator for India through the Cop29 local weather negotiations, condemns the $300 billion pledge agreed to assist creating nations address the consequences of local weather change, the Guardian reviews.
The massive story
Who will get to determine who receives experimental medical remedies?
August 2023
There was a development towards reducing the bar for brand spanking new medicines, and it’s turning into simpler for folks to entry remedies that may not assist them—and will even hurt them. Anecdotes seem like overpowering proof in choices on drug approval. Because of this, we’re ending up with some medicine that don’t work.
We urgently have to query how these choices are made. Who ought to have entry to experimental therapies? And who ought to get to determine? Such questions are particularly urgent contemplating how rapidly biotechnology is advancing. We’re not simply enhancing on current courses of remedies—we’re creating completely new ones. Learn the total story.
—Jessica Hamzelou
We will nonetheless have good issues
A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction to brighten up your day. (Bought any concepts? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)
+ The forgotten historical past of the world’s very first cyber cafe is fascinating.
+ Should you’re trying to plan a vacation for 2025, that is the last word information that will help you determine the place to go.
+ What occurred when Ridley Scott met Paul Mescal.
+ Cease! No matter you do, don’t do that to your Thanksgiving turkey. 🦃