That is at present’s version of The Obtain, our weekday publication that gives a each day dose of what’s happening on this planet of know-how.
What’s subsequent for batteries
Yearly the world runs increasingly on batteries. Electrical automobiles handed 10% of world car gross sales in 2022, they usually’re on monitor to achieve 30% by the tip of this decade.
The transition from gas-powered vehicles to EVs would require numerous batteries—and higher and cheaper ones at that. Most EVs at present are powered by lithium-ion batteries, a decades-old know-how that educational labs and firms alike are in search of to make extra environment friendly and much more inexpensive.
Within the midst of the hovering demand for EVs and renewable energy, and an explosion in battery growth, one factor is for certain: batteries will play a key function within the transition to renewable vitality. Right here’s what to anticipate in 2023. Learn the complete story.
—Casey Crownhart
Chinese language chips will preserve powering your on a regular basis life
The worldwide semiconductor trade is in a state of flux. The US began to take steps to freeze China out of the trade in 2022, pushing the sector to diversify from the Chinese language provide chain and construct factories elsewhere.
However whereas the US authorities’s punitive restrictions will begin to chunk over the following few months, and the excessive finish of China’s chip trade is more likely to undergo, the nation could take a much bigger function in manufacturing older-generation chips which might be nonetheless broadly utilized in on a regular basis life. Learn the complete story.
—Zeyi Yang
Zeyi’s story is from China Report, his weekly publication supplying you with the within monitor on all issues about China. Join to obtain it in your inbox each Tuesday.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to search out you at present’s most enjoyable/vital/scary/fascinating tales about know-how.
1 China is livid at different international locations’ covid journey restrictions
Beijing claims the covid testing necessities “lack scientific foundation.” (The Guardian)
+ AI isn’t excellent at detecting covid. (New Scientist $)
2 Sam Bankman-Fried has pleaded not responsible to all costs
He’ll face trial in October. (CoinDesk)
+ It’s attainable he’ll attempt to strike a plea cope with prosecutors. (Economist $)
3 Microsoft desires to combine ChatGPT into Bing
It hopes to chip away at Google’s search dominance. (The Info $)
+ How correct its solutions shall be continues to be up for debate. (Bloomberg $)
+ A brand new app claims to detect whether or not essays have been written utilizing ChatGPT. (Insider $)
+ Easy methods to spot AI-generated textual content. (MIT Expertise Overview)
4 US pharmacies can promote abortion capsules for the primary time
Whereas a prescription continues to be required, it’ll considerably broaden entry to medicated abortions. (BBC)
+ The place to get abortion capsules and how one can use them. (MIT Expertise Overview)
5 Political adverts are returning to Twitter
The U-turn comes months after advertisers began leaving of their droves. (Politico)
+ Covid misinformation spiked on Twitter after NFL participant Damar Hamlin collapsed. (WP $)
6 Ethereum is getting greener
It gained’t clear up crypto’s environmental footprint solely, although. (Motherboard)
+ Taiwan isn’t apprehensive concerning the crypto crash. (Remainder of World)
7 Instagram is paying musicians a fortune to soundtrack its Reels
It’s low-effort, high-reward. (New Yorker $)
+ However it’s largely getting more durable on the market for on-line creators. (The Info $)
8 Amazon in Pakistan is overrun with scammers
The fraudsters are concocting more and more elaborate schemes to trick victims. (Remainder of World)
9 These low cost TVs come at a value 
As soon as a staple of the American residence, they’re not the standing image they was once. (The Atlantic $)
10 Don’t maintain a vacation occasion within the metaverse 
Your colleagues are unlikely to wish to be a part of, sadly. (Wired $)
Quote of the day
“I can odor the stench of crime.”
—An unnamed buyer criticizes crypto change FTX in a criticism filed with the FTC, Gizmodo studies.
The massive story
April 2021
City know-how initiatives have lengthy sought to handle town. The most recent, “good metropolis” initiatives, have a lot in widespread with earlier iterations. Time and again, these initiatives promise novel “options” to city “issues.”
After a decade of pilot initiatives and flashy demonstrations, although, it’s nonetheless not clear whether or not good metropolis applied sciences can really clear up and even mitigate the challenges cities face. What is evident, nonetheless, is that know-how corporations are more and more taking up administrative and infrastructure obligations that governments have lengthy fulfilled.
If good cities are to keep away from exacerbating city inequalities, we now have to take a protracted, arduous have a look at how cities have fared up to now. Learn the complete story.
—Jennifer Clark
We will nonetheless have good issues
A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction in these bizarre occasions. (Acquired any concepts? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)
+ Did you hear the one concerning the nun and the monk who fell in love and received married? No, actually!
+ The Centenarians of Oklahoma sound completely fabulous.
+ An English seaside city canceled its New 12 months fireworks—to guard a visiting walrus.
+ A great deal of us will set ourselves studying objectives this 12 months, however not all of us will persist with them.
+ Aww. Rats deride pleasure from watching fellow rodents getting tickled. 
