That is in the present day’s version of The Obtain, our weekday e-newsletter that gives a each day dose of what’s occurring on this planet of know-how.
Let’s not make the identical errors with AI that we made with social media
—Nathan E. Sanders is a knowledge scientist and an affiliate with the Berkman Klein Middle at Harvard College. Bruce Schneier is a safety technologist and a fellow and lecturer on the Harvard Kennedy Faculty.
A decade in the past, social media was celebrated for sparking democratic uprisings within the Arab world and past. Now entrance pages are splashed with tales of social platforms’ position in misinformation, enterprise conspiracy, malfeasance, and dangers to psychological well being.
As we speak, tech’s darling is synthetic intelligence. Like social media, it has the potential to alter the world in some ways, some favorable to democracy. However on the similar time, it has the potential to do unbelievable harm to society.
There’s a lot we will study social media’s unregulated evolution over the previous decade that straight applies to AI corporations and applied sciences. These classes may help us keep away from making the identical errors with AI that we did with social media. Learn the complete story.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to search out you in the present day’s most enjoyable/necessary/scary/fascinating tales about know-how.
1 Google is proscribing its Gemini chatbot from answering election queries
Out of an “abundance of warning.” (The Guardian)
+ Gemini will advocate customers strive Google Seek for election questions as an alternative. (Reuters)
+ Three know-how developments shaping 2024’s elections. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
2 Kate Middleton conspiracy theories are gaining traction
Everyone seems to be quickly turning into a royal truther, a lot to the Palace’s dismay. (The Atlantic $)
+ Right here’s a listing of all the pieces that was improper with the notorious picture. (Wired $)
+ The scandal displays our rising distrust of what’s shared on-line. (The Verge)
three The stress is mounting on TikTok to search out new house owners
It could be essentially the most logical approach to keep away from an outright ban within the States. (Economist $)
+It’s the undisputed social media success story of the previous few years. (WP $)
four Bitcoin fever is formally again, child
However we nonetheless don’t know what it’s value, precisely. (Wired $)
+ The cryptocurrency has handed yet one more milestone. (Cointelegraph)
5 AI computing prices an arm and a leg
So the UK is launching a brand new program to attempt to slash prices. (FT $)
6 Donald Trump approached Elon Musk about shopping for Fact Social
It seems the pair have stayed in nearer contact than was beforehand recognized. (WP $)
+ Trump has admitted serving to the billionaire in unspecified methods. (CNBC)
7 The straightforward answer to fight the junkification of the web
Prioritizing human creations is one approach to lower by means of the AI-generated spam. (The Atlantic $)
+ Tips on how to repair the web. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
eight A nurse wore Apple’s Imaginative and prescient Professional headset throughout a spinal surgical procedure operation
It helped them put together and to pick the suitable assistive instruments. (Insider $)
+ These minuscule pixels are poised to take augmented actuality by storm. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
9 Gen Z doesn’t wish to pay for relationship apps
And who can blame them? (NYT $)
+ Bumble is contemplating dropping the requirement for girls to message first. (Insider $)
10 Contained in the US Patent’s Workplace’s splendidly bizarre assortment
For many years, inventors have been required to submit whacky fashions with their patent concepts. (New Yorker $)
Quote of the day
“Shut your eyes and take into consideration one thing that makes you content.”
—Amazon instructs its achievement middle staff to follow mindfulness throughout shifts, 404 Media studies.
The large story
How sounds can flip us on to the wonders of the universe
June 2023
Astronomy ought to, in precept, be a welcoming area for blind researchers. However throughout the board, science is stuffed with charts, graphs, databases, and pictures which can be designed to be seen.
So researcher Sarah Kane, who’s legally blind, was thrilled three years in the past when she encountered a know-how often called sonification, designed to rework data into sound. Since then she’s been working with a undertaking known as Astronify, which presents astronomical data in audio type.
For tens of millions of blind and visually impaired individuals, sonification might be transformative—opening entry to schooling, to as soon as unimaginable careers, and even to the secrets and techniques of the universe. Learn the complete story.
—Corey S. Powell
We will nonetheless have good issues
A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction to brighten up your day. (Acquired any concepts? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)
+ It’s time to get into metallic detecting (no actually, it’s!)
+ In the meantime, over on Mars…
+ A pair within the UK determined to get married on a shifting prepare, as a result of why not?
+ Even large manta rays want a bit TLC each from time to time.
