That is at this time’s version of The Obtain, our weekday publication that gives a each day dose of what’s happening on the earth of know-how.
Exosomes are touted as a classy cure-all. We don’t know in the event that they work.
There’s a classy new cure-all on the town—you may need seen advertisements pop up on social media or learn rave critiques in magnificence magazines.
Exosomes are being touted as a miraculous remedy for hair loss, getting old pores and skin, zits, eczema, ache situations, lengthy covid, and even neurological illnesses like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. That’s, after all, in case you can afford the value tag—which may stretch to 1000’s of {dollars}.
However there’s a giant drawback with these massive guarantees: We don’t absolutely perceive how exosomes work—or what they even actually are. Learn our story.
—Jessica Hamzelou
AI will add to the e-waste drawback. Right here’s what we are able to do about it.
The information: Generative AI might add as much as 5 million metric tons of e-waste in whole by 2030, in keeping with a brand new examine. That’s a comparatively small fraction of the present world whole of over 60 million metric tons of e-waste annually. Nonetheless, it’s nonetheless a major a part of a rising drawback.
Beneath the hood: The first contributor is high-performance computing {hardware} that’s utilized in information facilities and server farms. That gear is filled with priceless metals and dangerous supplies, and it’s being changed at a speedy fee as AI corporations race to undertake probably the most cutting-edge {hardware} to energy their fashions.
What might be executed: Increasing {hardware}’s lifespan is without doubt one of the most important methods to chop down on e-waste. Refurbishing and reusing parts may play a major position, as can designing {hardware} in ways in which makes it simpler to recycle and improve. Learn the total story.
—Casey Crownhart
Militaries are nice testing grounds for AI tech, says Palmer Luckey
Conflict is a catalyst for technological change, and the final couple of years have been marred by high-profile conflicts all over the world. Geopolitical tensions are nonetheless rising now.
Silicon Valley gamers are poised to profit. One in all them is Palmer Luckey, the founding father of the virtual-reality headset firm Oculus, which he bought to Fb for $2 billion. After Luckey’s extremely public ousting from Meta, he based Anduril, which focuses on drones, cruise missiles, and different AI-enhanced applied sciences for the US Division of Protection. The corporate is now valued at $14 billion. We interviewed Luckey about his new venture: headsets for the navy.
However the usage of AI for the navy is a controversial matter, with a protracted and bitter historical past that stretches from Venture Maven to killer robots. Learn the total story.
—Melissa Heikkilä
This story is from The Algorithm, our weekly publication all concerning the newest in AI. Enroll to obtain it in your inbox each Monday.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to seek out you at this time’s most enjoyable/necessary/scary/fascinating tales about know-how.
1 Strava is leaking the placement of overseas leaders
Their bodyguards’ runs are revealing greater than they should. (Le Monde)
+ It’s shockingly straightforward to purchase delicate information about US navy personnel. (MIT Expertise Evaluation)
2 A person who used AI to make little one sexual abuse photos has been jailed
His 18-year sentence is the primary of its variety within the UK. (FT $)
3 Right here’s what Trump plans to do if he wins a second time period
The 900-page Venture 2025 doc supplies loads of hints. (The Verge)
+ It will be arduous for him to roll again the Inexperienced New Deal—however not unimaginable. (Axios)
+ Russia, China and Iran are interfering within the election. (NYT $)
+ However cybercriminals could pose a fair larger risk. (Wired $)
4 Apple Intelligence is right here
But it surely appears it’s nonetheless kinda dumb. (WP $)
+ Meta is reportedly constructing its personal AI search engine. (The Data $)
+ The difficulty is, AI chatbots make stuff up. And it’s not a totally fixable drawback. (MIT Expertise Evaluation)
5 Medium is drowning in AI slop
Nearly half of the posts on there now are in all probability AI-generated. (Wired $)
6 What steampunk can train tech at this time
We’re too eager on eradicating friction—folks nonetheless like fidgeting with dials and gears. (New Yorker $)
+ Prosthetics designers are developing with new methods to reinforce our our bodies. (MIT Expertise Evaluation)
7 That is what wargaming appears to be like like now
Militaries all over the world use software program known as Command PE constructed by a tiny British sport writer. (WSJ $)
8 Tiktok’s founder has grow to be China’s richest man
Zhang Yiming’s wealth has virtually doubled within the final 12 months, to $49 billion. (BBC)
+ How China takes excessive measures to maintain teenagers off TikTok. (MIT Expertise Evaluation)
9 How complicated life began to flourish 
You’ll be able to thank eukaryotes, a kind of cell that emerged about 3 billion years in the past. (Quanta $)
10 Oregon Path is being become an action-comedy film
With musical numbers. Sure, severely. (Hollywood Reporter)
Quote of the day
“I assumed it might conquer the world.”
—Tim Walz, the Democratic nominee for vp, spoke for us all (effectively, for me anyway), when he waxed lyrical concerning the 1999 Sega Dreamcast online game console on a Twitch stream final weekend, the Washington Put up experiences.
Meet the radio-obsessed civilian shaping Ukraine’s drone protection
September 2024
Drones have come to outline the brutal battle in Ukraine that has now dragged on for greater than two and a half years. And most depend on radio communications—a know-how that Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov has obsessed over since childhood.
Whereas Flash is now a civilian, the previous officer has nonetheless taken it upon himself to tell his nation’s protection in all issues associated to radio. He research Russian transmissions and tries to be taught concerning the issues dealing with troops.
On this race for survival—as both sides always tries to finest the opposite, solely to begin another time when the opposite inevitably catches up—Ukrainian troopers must develop artistic options, and quick. As Ukraine’s wartime radio guru, Flash could be one among their finest hopes for doing that. Learn the total story.
—Charlie Metcalfe
We are able to nonetheless have good issues
A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction to brighten up your day. (Obtained any concepts? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)
+ Timothée Chalamet turned up at his personal look-alike contest in New York final weekend. Spoiler alert: he didn’t win.
+ Be taught these fundamental guidelines to make veg-based meals scrumptious.
+ There’s one thing very particular about historic timber.
+ Do you are likely to please everybody however your self? Right here’s find out how to cease. (NYT $)