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The Obtain: what Trump’s tariffs imply for local weather tech, and hacking AI brokers

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That is at the moment’s version of The Obtain, our weekday publication that gives a each day dose of what is going on on on the planet of know-how.

Trump’s tariffs will ship an enormous blow to local weather tech

US president Donald Trump’s huge, sweeping tariffs despatched world inventory markets tumbling yesterday, setting the stage for a worldwide commerce struggle and ratcheting up the risks of a punishing recession.

Consultants worry that the US cleantech sector is very susceptible to a deep downturn, which might undermine progress on lowering greenhouse-gas emissions. Learn the total story.

—James Temple

Cyberattacks by AI brokers are coming

Brokers are the discuss of the AI business—they’re able to planning, reasoning, and executing advanced duties like scheduling conferences, ordering groceries, and even taking on your pc to alter settings in your behalf. 

However the identical refined skills that make brokers useful assistants might additionally make them highly effective instruments for conducting cyberattacks. They might readily be used to determine susceptible targets, hijack their programs, and steal invaluable information from unsuspecting victims.

At current, cybercriminals will not be deploying AI brokers to hack at scale. However researchers have demonstrated that brokers are able to executing advanced assaults, and cybersecurity consultants warn that we must always anticipate to start out seeing most of these assaults spilling over into the true world—and shortly. Learn the total story.

—Rhiannon Williams

The must-reads

I’ve combed the web to seek out you at the moment’s most enjoyable/essential/scary/fascinating tales about know-how.

1 Did the Trump administration use AI to calculate its new tariffs? 
It seems to make use of an oversimplified calculation a number of main chatbots suggest. (The Verge)
+ The economically-flawed method has shocked analysts. (FT $)
+ The extreme tariffs might hurt America’s information heart ambitions. (Reuters)

2 The EU is getting ready to slap X with main monetary penalties
Even when it dangers frightening Elon Musk’s ire. (NYT $)

3 Google’s tech shall be used to surveil the US-Mexico border 
As a part of plans to improve the ‘digital wall’ between the international locations. (The Intercept)
+ The variety of unlawful border crossings hit a document low final month. (Semafor)

4 Hurricane season is ready to be busier than traditional
Forecasters are predicting at the least 17 tropical storms and 4 main hurricanes. (WP $)
+ They aren’t as assured about this early forecast as they had been final yr. (CNN)
+ Right here’s what we find out about hurricanes and local weather change. (MIT Expertise Evaluation)

5 Myanmar’s web shutdown is thwarting help efforts
Assist and rescue staff are struggling to assist folks caught up in its latest devastating earthquake. (Remainder of World)

6 Google is but to publish security reviews for its newest AI fashions
It seems to be launching fashions quicker than it may possibly publicly confirm their security. (TechCrunch)

7 On-line influencing has a significant gender pay hole
Though nearly all of content material creators are feminine, they earn much less per collaboration than their male counterparts. (Quick Firm $)
+ Why can’t tech repair its gender drawback? (MIT Expertise Evaluation)

8 The way to make photo voltaic panels on the moon
Moon mud might assist to energy future lunar bases. (New Scientist $)
+ Nokia is placing the primary mobile community on the moon. (MIT Expertise Evaluation)

9 The financial system could also be collapsing, however at the least the memes are good
Social media is bringing the lols in unsure instances. (NY Magazine $)

10 Bonobos talk in related methods to people
The good apes mix fundamental sound into bigger constructions—similar to us. (Ars Technica)
+ How machine studying helps us probe the key names of animals. (MIT Expertise Evaluation)

Quote of the day

“There shall be blood.”

—Bruce Kasman, JPMorgan’s chief world economist, will not be optimistic about Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff coverage, Insider reviews.

The massive story

The weeds are profitable

October 2024 

For the reason that Eighties, increasingly crops have advanced to grow to be proof against the biochemical mechanisms that herbicides leverage to kill them. This herbicidal resistance threatens to lower yields—out-of-control weeds can scale back them by 50% or extra, and excessive instances can wipe out complete fields.

At worst, it may possibly even drive farmers out of enterprise. It’s the agricultural equal of antibiotic resistance, and it retains getting worse. Weeds have advanced resistance to 168 totally different herbicides and 21 of the 31 identified “modes of motion,” which suggests the particular biochemical goal or pathway a chemical is designed to disrupt.

Agriculture must embrace a range of weed management practices. However that’s a lot simpler stated than executed. Learn the total story.

—Douglas Most important

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 skeet ’em at me.)+ Candy Moroccan flatbreads sound like a incredible approach to begin the day.
+ Val Kilmer was greater than only a heartthrob—he was a extremely nice actor too.
+ Drop every thing: there’s an uncut model of the White Lotus sequence three theme.
+ All aboard the enormous almond automotive!

Deep Dive

The Obtain

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