Computing
Microsoft’s Glass Chip Holds Terabytes of Data for 10,000 YearsGayoung Lee | Gizmodo
“Our knowledge of the past comes from stone tablets and old parchment. But thousands of years from now, our descendants may learn of our lives from a thin slice of glass carrying an impressive load of data—all thanks to physics that sounds borderline magical.”
Future
AI Isn’t Coming for Every White-Collar Job. At Least Not Yet.Cade Metz | The New York Times ($)
“Most experts believe that code generators will replace today’s junior programmers. Using these tools, they say, feels like delegating tasks to someone who is still learning the trade. But these experts are divided on whether these tools will significantly harm the overall market for coders. Some, including Mr. Metzger, argue that code generators will expand the job market as programmers and software companies use them to build increasingly complex and powerful applications.”
Robotics
Watch Unitree’s G1 Unleash a Kung FU Robot FrenzyTrevor Mogg | Digital Trends
“Performing alongside kids from the Tagou Martial Arts School for the Spring Festival Gala on China Central TV, the robots displayed incredible agility and coordination, moving at around 3 meters per second while performing flips, table vaults, somersaults, and rapid formation changes, blending martial arts with robotics innovation.”
Science
Bacteria Frozen Inside 5,000-Year-Old Ice Cave Is Crazy Resistant to AntibioticsEllyn Lapointe | Gizmodo
“For decades, antibiotics have been humanity’s frontline defense against bacterial infections, yet these essential medications have also led to the rise of drug-resistant ‘superbugs.’ Now, researchers have discovered an ancient strain of bacteria that managed to develop this superpower thousands of years before humans ever invented antibiotics.”
Computing
Could AI Data Centers Be Moved to Outer Space?Rhett Allain | Wired ($)
“Just think: You could get 24/7 energy from solar panels—it’s always sunny in space—and the thermal stuff wouldn’t be an issue because it’s so cold out there. …That’s the claim, anyway. Could this really work? Or is it about as practical as colonizing Mars? I asked Google’s AI Overview, and it said, ‘Yes, data centers can be built in space.’ But of course it would say that. I think we’ll have to go full renegade and dial up some old-fashioned human intelligence on this.”
Future
Race for AI Is Making Hindenburg-Style Disaster ‘a Real Risk’, Says Leading ExpertIan Sample | The Guardian
“The Hindenburg, a 245-meter airship that made round trips across the Atlantic, was preparing to land in New Jersey in 1937 when it burst into flames, killing 36 crew, passengers, and ground staff. …’The Hindenburg disaster destroyed global interest in airships; it was a dead technology from that point on, and a similar moment is a real risk for AI,’ Wooldridge said. Because AI is embedded in so many systems, a major incident could strike almost any sector.”
Tech
Sub-$200 Lidar Could Reshuffle Auto Sensor EconomicsWillie D. Jones | IEEE Spectrum
“That’s less than half of typical prices now, and it’s not even the full extent of the company’s ambition. The company says its longer-term goal is $100 per unit. MicroVision’s claim, which, if realized, would place lidar within reach of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) rather than limiting it to high-end autonomous vehicle programs.”
Computing
Meta’s VR Metaverse Is Ditching VRJay Peters | The Verge
“Instead of attempting to make the 3D social platform work for both VR and mobile, Meta is ‘explicitly separating’ its ‘Quest VR platform from our Worlds platform’ and ‘shifting the focus of Worlds to be almost exclusively mobile,’ Samantha Ryan, Reality Labs’ VP of content, says in a blog post. The new approach sets Meta up to better compete with platforms like Roblox and Fortnite, which also offer user-generated experiences that can be played on your phone.”
Future
Uber Is Sinking Over $100 Million Into Charging Stations for Self-Driving CarsBruce Gil | Gizmodo
“While the emergence of driverless taxi services might sound like a threat to Uber’s business, the company is making new investments aimed at ensuring its success. …The company says it will begin rolling out these [robotaxi charging] hubs in the US in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Dallas, with more cities to come in the future.”
Artificial Intelligence
Amazon’s Cloud ‘Hit by Two Outages Caused by AI Tools Last Year’Aisha Down | The Guardian
“Amazon’s huge cloud computing arm reportedly experienced at least two outages caused by its own artificial intelligence tools, raising questions about the company’s embrace of AI as it lays off human employees. A 13-hour interruption to Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) operations in December was caused by an AI agent autonomously choosing to ‘delete and then recreate’ a part of its environment, the Financial Times reported.”
Science
Microbe With the Smallest Genome Yet Pushes the Boundaries of LifeJake Buehler | New Scientist ($)
“The findings further muddy the distinction between cellular organelles like mitochondria and the most barebones microbes in nature. ‘Exactly where this highly integrated symbiont ends and an organelle starts, I think it’s very difficult to say,’ says Piotr Łukasik at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland. ‘This is a very blurred boundary.'”
