That is at this time’s version of The Obtain, our weekday e-newsletter that gives a day by day dose of what’s happening on the planet of expertise.
Introducing: the Ethics challenge
As expertise is embedded deeper and additional into our lives, it’s turning into more and more essential for us to correctly grapple with moral issues. For instance, how will we nurture the event of AI in a manner that avoids societal hurt? Who ought to get entry to cutting-edge, experimental medication? If a machine tells troopers when to drag the set off, who’s accountable? These are simply a number of the questions we discover within the newest version of our print journal. If nothing else, this challenge is assured to make you suppose.
It’s price diving in and studying the entire journal cover-to-cover, however in the event you’re pressed for time, I’d suggest kicking off with these knock-out items:
+ This function appears on the tough, painful questions that encompass who must get entry to which experimental medical therapies (it may be a far tougher choice than you may think.)
+ An article about All Tech Is Human, a nonprofit group dedicated to selling ethics and duty in tech, which types a form of non-religious congregation for our fashionable occasions.
+ This function delves into the advanced and messy ethics of constructing conflict with machines—a urgent matter as cutting-edge tech is being examined in Ukraine, usually with little-to-no oversight.
+ This story examines the often heated debates that go on behind the scenes within the open supply group, and the place it appears to be heading subsequent. + Our on-line lives are plagued with scams, hacks and fraud. And expertise isn’t going to magically repair that—it’s right down to us, as this piece explains.
The fascinating evolution of typing Chinese language characters
Again within the ’80s, there was no manner of processing Chinese language characters on private computer systems. It posed a difficult downside to repair, however one Chinese language engineer named Wang Yongmin had a stab. He developed the primary common solution to enter Chinese language characters into a pc in 1983, by breaking down a personality into totally different strokes and assigning a number of strokes to every letter on the QWERTY keyboard.
It was useful, however got here with a giant draw back: customers have to memorize which keys correspond to which strokes, so the training curve is sort of steep. The subsequent step within the evolution of Chinese language IMEs was the invention of typing by phonetic spelling within the ‘90s. However that additionally got here with its personal bother, as lots of of Chinese language characters can share the identical phonetic spelling.
Finally, much more environment friendly predictive keyboard software program got here alongside in 2006, and now that types the inspiration for the way Chinese language individuals work together with applied sciences and one another. However once more (you guessed it) there’s an issue: these apps are a privateness nightmare. Learn the total story.
—Zeyi Yang
This story is from China Report, Zeyi’s weekly e-newsletter supplying you with the within observe on what’s occurring in China. Enroll to obtain it in your inbox each Tuesday.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to search out you at this time’s most enjoyable/essential/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.
1 India is about to attempt to land on the moon 
If it succeeds, it’ll turn out to be the primary nation to succeed in the lunar south pole. (FT $)
+ Should you’re a fan of high-stakes house livestreams, watch it proper now. (Engadget)
2 Meta launched an AI mannequin that may translate a ton of languages
These kinds of instruments are enhancing at a dizzying tempo. (TechCrunch)
+ Meta’s new AI fashions can acknowledge and produce speech for greater than 1,000 languages. (MIT Know-how Assessment)
three The US is preventing excessive climate on many fronts
Floods, wildfires, hurricanes and warmth waves are making for a turbulent time in each nook of the nation. (NBC)
+ Local weather change is redrawing the catastrophe map. (The Verge)
four What did the €600 million Human Mind Venture obtain? 
It didn’t handle to simulate the entire human mind (a tall order)—but it surely nonetheless stacked up some helpful findings. (Nature)
+ How large science did not unlock the mysteries of the human mind. (MIT Know-how Assessment)
5 Elon Musk is ridiculously highly effective
Ignore all of the noise round X, and have a look at his intergovernmental attain by way of tasks like Starlink. (New Yorker $)
6 Contained in the AI porn market the place everyone seems to be on the market
Generative AI instruments make it terrifyingly straightforward to create non-consensual photographs of anybody. (404 Media)
+ Suggestions for ‘jailbreaking’ AI are already in every single place on-line. (New Scientist $)
+ Scammers used ChatGPT to spam X with dodgy hyperlinks. (Wired $)
+ 3 ways AI chatbots are a safety catastrophe. (MIT Know-how Assessment)
7 LinkedIn is kinda… cool now
If company blandness is as dangerous because it will get, it nonetheless beats the unappealing alternate options. (Bloomberg $)
eight What we will study from Taiwan’s myopia epidemic
Poor eyesight is a rising downside world wide, however there are methods to cease it turning into even worse. (Wired $)
9 ‘Subliminals’ declare to remodel teenagers’ lives
These movies may make you higher and extra enticing. They may additionally do nothing. And even make you’re feeling worse. (The Atlantic $)
10 Your encrypted apps won’t be as personal as you suppose
The satan, as all the time, is within the particulars. (WP $)
Quote of the day
“As a result of he’s following his ideas, he’s actually now subsisting on bread and water.”
—Spare a thought for Sam Bankman-Fried, alleged to have defrauded individuals out of billions of {dollars} by way of his firm FTX, who his lawyer says isn’t getting the vegan food plan he requested, Reuters experiences.
The large story
The combat for “Instagram face”
August 2022
By magnificence filters, platforms like Instagram are serving to customers obtain more and more narrowing magnificence requirements—although solely within the digital world—at a stunningly speedy tempo. There’s proof that extreme use of those filters on-line has dangerous results on psychological well being, particularly for younger women.
“Instagram face” is a acknowledged aesthetic: ethnically ambiguous with the flawless pores and skin, large eyes, full lips, small nostril, and completely contoured curves made accessible largely by filters. And whereas Instagram has banned filters that encourage cosmetic surgery, large demand for magnificence augmentation on social media is complicating issues. Learn the total story.
—Tate Ryan-Mosley
We are able to nonetheless have good issues
A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction in these bizarre occasions. (Received any concepts? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)
+ Do I would like extra salt in my food plan? Most likely not. Do I nonetheless need to attempt a salted soda anyway? Uh, sure.
+ The origin of the phrase ‘hangover’ could also be extra literal than I’d imagined.
+ Photographer Ken Hermann’s portraits are superb.
+ Continually surrounded by screens? Don’t overlook to breathe. (NYT $)
