The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to seek out you at present’s most enjoyable/necessary/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.
1 DOGE has ‘god mode’ entry to authorities programs
The danger of hurt, abuse, or revenge is evident. However easy, brazen corruption can be a priority. (The Atlantic $)
+ Elon Musk is attempting to find social safety fraud. It’s not quite common. (Enterprise Insider $)
+ DOGE claimed it had saved $8 billion in a single contract. It was, at most, $8 million. (NYT $)
+ Elon Musk, DOGE, and the Evil Housekeeper Downside. (MIT Expertise Evaluation)
2 The Trump administration is scrambling to rehire individuals engaged on chicken flu
This actual sample is being replicated throughout a number of companies proper now, and it’s straight from Musk’s playbook. (Gizmodo)
+ Trump simply issued an govt order giving the President energy over unbiased companies. (Ars Technica)
3 DeepSeek is contemplating its first exterior funding spherical
It badly wants extra chips and extra servers to fulfill exploding demand. (The Info $)
+ In the meantime, Alibaba is opening up its first information heart in Mexico. (South China Morning Submit $)
+ How a high Chinese language AI mannequin overcame US sanctions. (MIT Expertise Evaluation)
4 Electrical truck maker Nikola has filed for chapter safety
It was as soon as (on paper) value greater than Ford. However then a fraud scandal hit, and now it’s run out of cash. (Enterprise Insider $)
+ The race to scrub up heavy-duty vans. (MIT Expertise Evaluation)
5 How a crypto scammer turned a small city towards itself
Shan Hanes drained Elkhart in Kansas dry—and turned neighbor towards neighbor within the course of. (NYT $)
6 Google’s has unveiled a brand new AI ‘co-scientist’ device
Researchers are excited, however it’s onerous to say what its true impression might be. (New Scientist $)
+ An information bottleneck is holding AI science again, says new Nobel winner. (MIT Expertise Evaluation)
7 Individuals are logging off
Eight years in the past, social media grew to become a battleground. This time, many don’t see a lot level in preventing on-line. (New Yorker $)
8 What America’s first technology chipmakers endured
They needed to work in unsafe circumstances—and by no means acquired solutions about why their children had been born with delivery defects. (The Verge)
9 Can you employ ChatGPT to be taught a brand new language?
Form of, a bit? However not actually. (Wired $)
+ Translators in Turkey are coaching the AI instruments that may change them. (Remainder of World)
10 The most recent TikTok development? Utilizing AI to time journey
And never simply to disasters like Pompeii or the Titanic—you may simply be an American teen in 1983. (Quick Firm)
Quote of the day
“They destroyed the whole lot right here, and now we’re supposed to surrender? How does that work?”
— Alla Kriuchkova, a resident of Bucha in Ukraine, the place Russian troopers slaughtered a whole bunch of individuals in March 2022, tells the New York Instances how offended she is at President Trump for suggesting the battle is Ukraine’s fault.