This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through June 21)

Artificial Intelligence

This AI Model Never Stops LearningWill Knight | Wired

“The work is a step toward building artificial intelligence models that learn continually—a long-standing goal of the field and something that will be crucial if machines are to ever more faithfully mimic human intelligence. In the meantime, it could give us chatbots and other AI tools that are better able to incorporate new information including a user’s interests and preferences.”

Tech

SoftBank Proposes $1 Trillion Facility for AI and RoboticsRocket Drew | The Information

“The project aims to replicate the thriving tech hub of Shenzhen, China, possibly by manufacturing AI-powered industrial robots. To this end, SoftBank has compiled a list of robotics companies in its portfolio, such as Agile Robots SE, that could set up shop in the Arizona hub, according to the report.”

BIOTECH

The FDA Just Approved a Long-Lasting Injection to Prevent HIVJorge Garay | Wired

“Clinical trials have shown that six-monthly injections of lenacapavir are almost 100 percent protective against becoming infected with HIV. But big questions remain over the drug’s affordability.”

Computing

Microsoft Lays Out Its Path to Useful Quantum ComputingJohn Timmer | Ars Technica

“While [Microsoft is] describing the [error-correction] scheme in terms of mathematical proofs and simulations, it hasn’t shown that it works using actual hardware yet. But one of its partners, Atom Computing, is accompanying the announcement with a description of how its machine is capable of performing all the operations that will be needed.”

COMPUTING

Meta’s Oakley Smart Glasses Have 3K Video—Watch Out Ray-BanVerity Burns | Wired

“[The glasses include] a 50 percent longer battery life, with a fully charged pair of Oakley Meta HSTN lasting up to eight hours of typical use compared with four hours on the Ray-Ban Meta. …That’s perhaps all the more surprising when you hear that the Oakley Meta also have a higher resolution camera, allowing you to share video in 3K, up from full HD in the Ray-Ban Metas.”

Artificial Intelligence

Study: Meta AI Model Can Reproduce Almost Half of Harry Potter BookTimothy B. Lee | Ars Technica

“In its December 2023 lawsuit against OpenAI, The New York Times Company produced dozens of examples where GPT-4 exactly reproduced significant passages from Times stories. In its response, OpenAI described this as a ‘fringe behavior’ and a ‘problem that researchers at OpenAI and elsewhere work hard to address.’ But is it actually a fringe behavior? And have leading AI companies addressed it?”

Robotics

Waymo Has Set Its Robotaxi Sights on NYCKirsten Korosec | TechCrunch

“Of course, New York City has other challenges beyond regulations. The city is chock-a-block with cars, trucks, delivery vans, bicycles, buses, and, importantly, people, all of whom are scuttling about. San Francisco, one of the markets that Waymo operates in today, is also a bustling city with many of the same challenges. NYC takes that complexity to a factor of 10.”

Biotechnology

Scientists Discover the Key to Axolotls’ Ability to Regenerate LimbsAnna Lagos | Wired

“‘The axolotl has cellular properties that we want to understand at the deepest level,’ says Monaghan. ‘While regeneration of a complete human limb is still in the realm of science fiction, each time we discover a piece of this genetic blueprint, such as the role of CYP26B1 and Shox, we move one step closer to understanding how to orchestrate complex tissue repair in humans.'”

SpaceX’s Next Starship Just Blew Up on Its Test Stand in South TexasStephen Clark | Ars Technica

“SpaceX’s next Starship rocket exploded during a ground test in South Texas late Wednesday, dealing another blow to a program already struggling to overcome three consecutive failures in recent months. The late-night explosion at SpaceX’s rocket development complex in Starbase, Texas, destroyed the bullet-shaped upper stage that was slated to launch on the next Starship test flight.”

Tech

The Entire Internet Is Reverting to BetaMatteo Wong | The Atlantic

“[Generative AI] tools can be legitimately helpful for many people when used in a measured way, with human verification; I’ve reported on scientific work that has advanced as a result of the technology, including revolutions in neuroscience and drug discovery. But these success stories bear little resemblance to the way many people and firms understand and use the technology; marketing has far outpaced innovation.”

Future

The Future of Weather Forecasting Is HyperlocalThomas E. Weber | The Wall Street Journal

“NOAA’s High-Resolution Rapid Refresh system (HRRR, usually pronounced “hurr”), can zero in on an area of 1.8 miles. Contrast that with the Comprehensive Bespoke Atmospheric Model, or CBAM, developed by Tomorrow.io, a hyperlocal weather startup. Tomorrow.io says the CBAM can be run at resolutions as small as tens of meters, effectively predicting how the weather will differ from one city block to another.”

Mars Trips Could Be Cut in Half With Nuclear PowerMark Thompson | IEEE Spectrum

“Here’s how it works: Instead of burning fuel with oxygen, a nuclear reactor heats up a propellant like hydrogen. The super-heated propellant then shoots out of the rocket nozzle, pushing the spacecraft forward. This method is much more efficient than chemical rockets.”