🤥 Altman's deception, Bell's legacy, Ore's battery breakthrough
Midweek Update: Stay ahead with our latest analysis on the evolving tech and AI scene.
Today’s pick
Sam Altman Is Full Of Shit
Gordon Bell, an architect of our digital age, dies at age 89
Ore Energy emerges from stealth to build utility-scale batteries that last days, not hours
Cruising San Francisco, With No One Behind the Wheel
/e/OS Is Better Than Android. You Should Try It
By Edward Zitron via Where's Your Ed At
OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman have been criticized for allegedly copying Scarlett Johansson's voice for their AI assistant "Sky", lying about it to the media, and attempting to license her voice after she had already declined twice
The company has also faced controversy over dissolving its AI safety team, having key figures like Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike resign, and Altman's history of being fired and rehired as CEO
The author argues that Altman and other tech CEOs like Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, and Mark Zuckerberg should be treated with greater skepticism and scrutiny by the media regarding their AI claims and practices
𝕏: Here's an extra newsletter: Sam Altman is a liar, and it's time to treat him and OpenAI with outright suspicion - they lied about Scarlett Johansson, they're lying about Sora and YouTube, and they will keep lying as long as the media fails to push back. - Ed Zitron (@edzitron)
Gordon Bell, an architect of our digital age, dies at age 89
By Benj Edwards via Ars Technica
Gordon Bell, a pioneering computer engineer and co-founder of the Computer History Museum, passed away at age 89 on May 17, 2024.
At Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), Bell played key roles in developing influential systems like the PDP and VAX minicomputers, and invented the first UART for serial communication.
Later in his career, Bell advised the NSF, joined Microsoft Research to study telepresence and life-logging, and received numerous prestigious awards including the National Medal of Technology.
𝕏: R.I.P. Gordon Bell. I learned to program and fell in love with the discipline on DEC machines (especially the PDP-10). - Joshua Bloch (@joshbloch)
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Ore Energy emerges from stealth to build utility-scale batteries that last days, not hours
By Tim De Chant via TechCrunch
Ore Energy, a startup spun out of TU Delft in the Netherlands, emerges from stealth with €10 million in seed funding to develop iron-air batteries for long-duration energy storage of up to 100 hours
The company aims to deeply decarbonize the grid in Europe by the 2030s, targeting commercial-scale production and a megawatt-scale factory with the new funding
While Form Energy leads the iron-air battery space in the U.S., Ore Energy believes there is room for more players to transform the electricity grid in Europe
Cruising San Francisco, With No One Behind the Wheel
By Lauren Sloss via The New York Times
Self-driving cars, operated by companies like Waymo, have become a popular tourist attraction in San Francisco, with visitors eager to experience the futuristic technology firsthand.
To ride in a Waymo vehicle, tourists must download the Waymo app and join a waiting list, with popular pickup and drop-off locations including the Ferry Building, Pier 39, Coit Tower, and Japantown Peace Plaza.
While initial reactions to the driverless experience include awe and excitement, passengers quickly adapt to the cautious and slow-moving vehicles, with some even expressing surprise at the sight of human-driven cars.
/e/OS Is Better Than Android. You Should Try It
By Scott Gilbertson via WIRED
Google's Android is open source, but difficult to reproduce due to proprietary drivers and APIs; /e/OS is an alternative OS that creates a great user experience on top of Android Open Source Project (AOSP)
/e/OS combines LineageOS with Micro G to replace Google services, and focuses on privacy with features like an Advanced Privacy app to block trackers and a consolidated /e/OS App Lounge that provides apps from various sources
While /e/OS has some limitations like lack of speech-to-text and full backup, and potential security issues from unlocked bootloaders, it provides a compelling Google-free mobile experience that is accessible to mainstream users
Trending in AI
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