That is at present’s version of The Obtain, our weekday e-newsletter that gives a day by day dose of what’s occurring on the earth of expertise.
What’s subsequent for carbon removing?
After years of progress that spawned a whole lot of startups, the nascent carbon removing sector seems to be dealing with a reckoning.
Operating Tide, a promising aquaculture firm, shut down its operations final summer season, and a handful of different firms have shuttered, downsized, or pivoted in current months as properly. Enterprise investments have flagged. And the collective trade hasn’t made a complete lot extra progress towards Operating Tide’s formidable plans to sequester a billion tons of carbon dioxide by this yr.
The hype section is over and the sector is sliding into the turbulent enterprise trough that follows, specialists warn.
And the open query is: If the carbon removing sector is heading right into a painful if inevitable clearing-out cycle, the place will it go from there? Learn the total story.
—James Temple
This story is a part of MIT Know-how Evaluation’s What’s Subsequent collection, which seems throughout industries, traits, and applied sciences to provide you a primary have a look at the long run. You’ll be able to learn the remainder of them right here.
An AI app to measure ache is right here
This week I’ve additionally been questioning how science and expertise can assist reply that query—particularly relating to ache.
Within the newest subject of MIT Know-how Evaluation’s print journal, Deena Mousa describes how an AI-powered smartphone app is getting used to evaluate how a lot ache an individual is in.
The app, and different instruments prefer it, might assist medical doctors and caregivers. They might be particularly helpful within the care of people that aren’t capable of inform others how they’re feeling.
However they’re removed from excellent. And so they open up all types of thorny questions on how we expertise, talk, and even deal with ache. Learn the total story.
—Jessica Hamzelou
This text first appeared in The Checkup, MIT Know-how Evaluation’s weekly biotech e-newsletter. To obtain it in your inbox each Thursday, and browse articles like this primary, enroll right here.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to search out you at present’s most enjoyable/vital/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.
1 Meta’s legal professionals suggested staff to take away elements of its teen psychological well being analysis
Its counsel informed researchers to dam or replace their work to scale back authorized legal responsibility. (Bloomberg $)
+ Meta just lately laid off greater than 100 workers tasked with monitoring dangers to person privateness. (NYT $)
2 Donald Trump has pardoned the convicted Binance founder
Changpeng Zhao pleaded responsible to violating US cash laundering legal guidelines in 2023. (WSJ $)
+ The transfer is prone to allow Binance to renew working within the US. (CNN)
+ Trump has vowed to be extra crypto-friendly than the Biden administration. (Axios)
3 Anthropic and Google Cloud have signed a serious chips deal
The settlement is price tens of billions of {dollars}. (FT $)
4 Microsoft doesn’t need you to speak soiled to its AI
It’ll go away that sort of factor to OpenAI, thanks very a lot. (CNBC)
+ Copilot now has its personal model of Clippy—simply don’t attempt to get erotic with it. (The Verge)
+ It’s fairly simple to get DeepSeek to speak soiled, nevertheless. (MIT Know-how Evaluation)
5 Large Tech is footing the invoice for Trump’s White Home ballroom
Arise Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft. (TechCrunch)
+ Crypto twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss are additionally among the many donors. (CNN)
6 US investigators have busted a collection of high-tech playing schemes
Involving specially-designed contact lenses and x-ray tables. (NYT $)
+ The case follows insider bets on basketball and poker video games rigged by the mafia. (BBC)
+ Automated card shufflers will be compromised, too. (Wired $)
7 Deepfake harassment instruments are simply accessible on social media
And easy internet searches. (404 Media)
+ Bans on deepfakes take us solely to date—right here’s what we actually want. (MIT Know-how Evaluation)
8 How algorithms can drive up costs on-line
Even benign algorithms can generally yield unhealthy outcomes for consumers. (Quanta Journal)
+ When AIs discount, a much less superior agent might value you. (MIT Know-how Evaluation)
9 How you can give an LLM mind rot
Prepare it on quick “superficial” posts from X, for a begin. (Ars Technica)
+ AI skilled on AI rubbish spits out AI rubbish. (MIT Know-how Evaluation)
10 Meet the tech staff utilizing AI as little as potential
In a bid to maintain their abilities sharp. (WP $)
+ This professor thinks there are different methods to show individuals the right way to study. (The Atlantic $)
Quote of the day
“He was convicted. He’s not harmless.”
—Republican Senator Thom Tillis criticises Donald Trump’s determination to pardon convicted cryptocurrency mogul Changpeng Zhao, Politico stories.
Another factor
We’ve by no means understood how starvation works. That is perhaps about to vary.
Whenever you’re ravenous, starvation is sort of a demon. It awakens probably the most historic and primitive elements of the mind, then commandeers different neural equipment to do its bidding till it will get what it desires.
Though scientists have had some success in stimulating starvation in mice, we nonetheless don’t actually perceive how the impulse to eat works. Now, some specialists are following recognized elements of the neural starvation circuits into uncharted elements of the mind to attempt to discover out.
Their work might shed new gentle on the components which have triggered the variety of obese adults worldwide to skyrocket lately. And it might additionally assist remedy the mysteries round how and why a brand new class of weight-loss medicine appears to work so properly. Learn the total story.
—Adam Piore
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 skeet ’em at me.)
+ Center aged males are moving into cliff-jumping. Must you?
+ Pumpkin spice chocolate chip cookies seems like an ideal concept to me.
+ Christmas Island’s crabs are on the transfer! 
+ Be careful in the event you’re taking the NY subway at present: you may stumble upon these terrifying witches.
