How we built a less-explodey lithium battery and kickstarted the EV revolution
Sand, salt, iron, copper, oil and lithium — these foundational materials are literally what the modern world is built on. Without sand for glass, say goodbye to our fiber optic internet. No copper means no conductive wiring. And a world without lithium is a world without rechargeable batteries. For the…
Offworld ‘company towns’ are the wrong way to settle the solar system
Company Towns — wherein a single firm provides most or all necessary services, from housing and employment to commerce and amenities to a given community — have dotted America since before the Civil War. As we near the end of the first quarter of the 21st century, they’re making a…
The EU has reached a historic regulatory agreement over AI development
Following a marathon 72-hour debate, European Union legislators Friday have reached a historic deal on its expansive AI Act safety development bill, the broadest-ranging and far-reaching of its kind to date, reports The Washington Post. Details of the deal itself were not immediately available. “This legislation will represent a standard,…
Tesla’s long-awaited Cybertruck will start at $60,990 before rebates
After years of production delays, Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to a dimly-lit stage on Thursday to hand-deliver the first batch of Cybertruck EVs to their new owners during a delivery event held at the Tesla Gigafactory in Austin, Texas. The company has also, finally, announced pricing for the luxury…
OpenAI reportedly considering reinstating freshly-ousted CEO Sam Altman
Following his surprise firing on Friday, former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman might not be as out of a job as we initially thought he was, according to new word from The Verge on Saturday. Reportedly, sources close to Altman say that the board itself, in a stunning reversal, have “agreed in…
OpenAI fires CEO Sam Altman as ‘board no longer has confidence’ in his leadership
In a surprise shakeup of its c-suite Friday, OpenAI’s board of directors announced that CEO Sam Altman has been fired and will be leaving both the company and the board, effective immediately. Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati has been named interim CEO. Altman’s oustering reportedly follows an internal “deliberative review…
Kamala Harris announces AI Safety Institute to protect American consumers
Just days after President Joe Biden unveiled a sweeping executive order retasking the federal government with regards to AI development, Vice President Kamala Harris announced at the UK AI Safety Summit on Tuesday a half dozen more machine learning initiatives that the administration is undertaking. Among the highlights: the establishment…
Sweeping White House executive order takes aim at AI’s toughest challenges
The Biden Administration unveiled its ambitious next steps in addressing and regulating artificial intelligence development on Monday. Its expansive new executive order (EO) seeks to establish further protections for the public as well as improve best practices for federal agencies and their contractors. “The President several months ago directed his…
Adult film star Riley Reid launches Clona.AI, a sexting chatbot platform
Adult film icon and media investor Riley Reid aims to bring the transformational capabilities of generative AI to adult entertainment with an online platform where users can chat with digital versions of content creators. But unlike other, scuzzier adult chatbots, Clona.AI’s avatars are trained with explicit consent of the models’…
Google’s AI stoplight program is now calming traffic in a dozen cities worldwide
It’s been two years since Google first debuted Project Green Light, a novel means of addressing the street-level pollution caused by vehicles idling at stop lights. At its Sustainability ‘23 event on Tuesday, the company discussed some of the early findings from that program and announced another wave of expansions…