The Download: gas and oil’s role in climate tech, and using AI to decipher ancient Latin
—Casey Crownhart
After writing about Quaise, a geothermal startup that’s trying to commercialize new drilling technology, I’ve been thinking about the role oil and gas companies are playing in the energy transition. It’s becoming increasingly common in climate tech to see a startup join up with a bigger fossil fuel company in its field, like Quaise has with Nabors Industries, one of the biggest drilling firms in the world.
This industry has resources and energy expertise—but also a vested interest in fossil fuels. Can it really be part of addressing climate change? Read the full story.
This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here.
Google DeepMind’s new AI can help historians understand ancient Latin inscriptions
Google DeepMind has unveiled new artificial intelligence software that could help historians recover the meaning and context behind ancient Latin engravings. Aeneas can analyze words written in long-weathered stone to say when and where they were originally inscribed.
It follows Google’s previous archaeological tool Ithaca, which also used deep learning to reconstruct and contextualize ancient text, in its case Greek. But while Ithaca and Aeneas use some similar systems, Aeneas also promises to give researchers jumping-off points for further analysis. Read the full story.
—Peter Hall
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Donald Trump has unveiled his AI Action Plan
He signed multiple orders to boost US AI exports and loosen regulations. (Bloomberg $)
+ The plans could reshape how US tech firms train their models. (TechCrunch)
+ We’re living in the age of chatbot culture wars. (NYT $)
2 China hopes to sell its excess computing power
After rapidly building too many data centers. (Reuters)
+ China built hundreds of AI data centers to catch the AI boom. Now many stand unused. (MIT Technology Review)
3 How corn is worsening Indiana’s dangerous heatwave
Residents are increasingly at risk of severe heat illness, as the moisture from corn increases humidity levels. (Axios)
+ What is corn sweat, exactly? (Vox)
+ Here’s how much heat your body can take. (MIT Technology Review)
4 What’s next for Tesla?
Its sales are falling, and its push into robotaxis is coming at a steep cost. (TechCrunch)
+ Elon Musk appeared oddly upbeat on an analyst call. (The Information $)
+ Why scaling up robotaxi fleets is such a challenge. (FT $)
5 The US is poised to reinstate a banned herbicide
Dicamba has caused substantial damage to neighboring crops in the past. (WP $)
+ The weeds are winning. (MIT Technology Review)
6 Why Amazon is eyeing AI gadgets
A bracelet that records conversations is the latest addition to its roster. (WSJ $)
+ Why AI hardware needs to be open. (MIT Technology Review)
7 Americans love China’s short video dramas
Watch out Hollywood—duanju clips are on the rise. (Wired $)
+ China’s next cultural export could be TikTok-style short soap operas. (MIT Technology Review)
8 How a YouTube channel captured the spirit of rogue music discovery
Music Place has gained a cult following from sharing obscure gems. (Pitchfork)
9 Pinterest isn’t immune to AI slop
Good luck remodelling your home based on its fantastical designs. (FT $)
10 AI videos are coming to YouTube Shorts
It’ll do everything from creating backgrounds to conjuring up video elements from a text prompt. (Ars Technica)
+ What’s next for generative video. (MIT Technology Review)
Quote of the day
“You could throw out the results of all these papers.”
—Jeffrey Morris, a biostatistics professor at the University of Pennsylvania, criticizes scientific papers co-authored by the US government’s vaccine safety investigator and vaccine skeptic David Geier to the Atlantic.
