This is today’s download.,Our weekly newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s happening in the world of technology.
What does GPT-3 know about me?
One of the biggest stories in tech this year is the rise of large-scale language models (LLMs). These are AI models that process the text a person has written – sometimes in such a convincing way that they trick people into thinking they are sentient.
The power of these models comes from publicly available human-generated texts uploaded to the Internet. If you post anything personal in English on the Internet, chances are your data will be part of some of the world’s most famous LLMs.
My colleague Melissa Heikkila, our AI reporter, recently started thinking about what information these models might have on her and how it might be misused. A shocking experience a decade ago left her confused about sharing personal details online, so she tested OpenAI’s GPT-3 to see what it “knows” about her. Read about what she found.
How ammonia can help clean up international shipping
The news: Smelly ammonia may seem like an unlikely fuel to help reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. But it could play a key role in decarbonizing global shipping by providing an efficient way to store the energy needed to power large ships on long voyages.
what’s happening: The U.S. Bureau of Shipping recently granted advance approval for some ammonia-powered ships and fueling infrastructure, meaning such ships could hit the seas within the next few years. While the fuel will require new engines and fueling systems, switching from the fossil fuels that ships burn today could make a big difference in global carbon emissions.
What’s next: Some companies are looking further ahead, with New York-based Amogi earlier this year pledging nearly $50 million in emissions reductions to use the chemical for fuel cells. With early tests for ammonia, these new technologies could help the shipping industry reduce emissions significantly. Read the full story.
– Casey Crownheart
It should be read
I’ve scoured the internet for the most entertaining/important/scary/amazing stories about technology today.
1 Pakistan is reeling from devastating floods.
Poor policymaking, combined with climate change-driven rainfall, has displaced millions, destroying homes, food and livelihoods. (Vox)
+ These images highlight the extent of the damage. (the guard)
+ Residents are trying to save their property from the water. (BBC)
2 California passes new online child safety laws
The law requires websites and apps to add safeguards for children under 18. (NYT$)
+The state also wants to punish doctors who spread health misinformation. (NYT$)
3 NASA will try to launch the Artemis rocket again on Saturday.
An inaccurate sensor reading is believed to have caused the pickup on Monday. (BBC)
4 Elon Musk has found a new way to try to avoid buying Twitter
He is using the latest hacker allegations. (FT$)
+ What you need to know about the upcoming legal battle. (WSJ$)
+ Twitter doesn’t do enough to deal with self-harming content. (Ars Technica)
5 deep faxes are entering the main room.
The technology is improving day by day, and we should be worried. (WP$)
+ Scary new AI app turns women into sex videos with a click. (MIT Technology Review)
6 Cyber insurance is not ready to tackle cyber warfare.
Insurers can’t agree on what should and shouldn’t be covered. (wired $)
7 A program to clean up contaminated Nigerian wetlands has exacerbated the problem.
Ogonilanders are forced to cope with oil-soaked lands. (Bloomberg $)
+ California oil spill companies fined $13 million (CNN)
8 How did the giant isopods become so huge?
Genes from the Roly-Poly family explain why it grows into a Chihuahua. (Hakai Magazine)
+ The primordial coelacanth was an energy saver. (New Scientist $)
9 Gen Z is making collages.
Naturally, there’s an app for that. (data $)
10 Dadcore fashion has gone viral
Leaving behind a generation of fishing enthusiasts. (input)
Quote of the day
“I’ve definitely had days where I’ve done all of that, but it’s exhausting.”
—Dynasty DeGoville, 22, told The Wall Street Journal about the pressure she felt to document the #ThatGirl lifestyle of early upbringing, boring workouts and Tik Tok clips of thin white women.
The big story
Humans are stuck in short-term thinking. Here’s how we escape.
October 2020
Humans have evolved over millennia to understand the ever-increasing sense of time. We have a mind that can predict far into the future. However, even if we have this ability, it is rarely used in everyday life. If our descendants identify the ills of 21st century civilization, they see a dangerous short-termism: a collective failure to escape from the present and look to the future.
The world is full of information, and living standards have never been higher, but it’s often a struggle to see beyond the next news cycle, political term, or business quarter. How can this contradiction be explained? Why are we so stuck in the “now”? Read the full story.
– Richard Fisher
We can still have something good.
A place of comfort, relaxation and distraction in these strange times. (Got an idea? Drop me a line orTweet at me.)
+ This Dog sled It seems like endless fun.
+ Three hours of underground 90s hip hop guaranteed to put you in a good mood.
+ After a two-year hiatus, the World Gravy Wrestling Championship is back!
+ Electro icon Gary Numan has some interesting words of wisdom.
+ The Perseverance Rover is digging for evidence of past life on Mars.
