The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to seek out you at the moment’s most enjoyable/essential/scary/fascinating tales about know-how.
1 DOGE has ‘god mode’ entry to authorities programs
The danger of hurt, abuse, or revenge is evident. However easy, brazen corruption can also be a priority. (The Atlantic $)
+ Elon Musk is looking for 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 Know-how Assessment)
2 The Trump administration is scrambling to rehire individuals engaged on fowl flu
This precise sample is being replicated throughout a number of businesses proper now, and it’s straight from Musk’s playbook. (Gizmodo)
+ Trump simply issued an govt order giving the President energy over impartial businesses. (Ars Technica)
3 DeepSeek is contemplating its first exterior funding spherical
It badly wants extra chips and extra servers to fulfill exploding demand. (The Data $)
+ In the meantime, Alibaba is opening up its first knowledge heart in Mexico. (South China Morning Put up $)
+ How a high Chinese language AI mannequin overcame US sanctions. (MIT Know-how Assessment)
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 wash up heavy-duty vans. (MIT Know-how Assessment)
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’ instrument
Researchers are excited, however it’s laborious to say what its true affect shall be. (New Scientist $)
+ An information bottleneck is holding AI science again, says new Nobel winner. (MIT Know-how Assessment)
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 combating on-line. (New Yorker $)
8 What America’s first era chipmakers endured
They needed to work in unsafe circumstances—and by no means bought solutions about why their youngsters had been born with beginning defects. (The Verge)
9 Can you utilize ChatGPT to be taught a brand new language?
Sort of, a bit? However not actually. (Wired $)
+ Translators in Turkey are coaching the AI instruments that can 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 would simply be an American teen in 1983. (Quick Firm)
Quote of the day
“They destroyed all the things 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 indignant she is at President Trump for suggesting the warfare is Ukraine’s fault.