More: People in China warned not to mix with elderly relatives Lunar New Year
This is today’s edition of The Download, our daily newsletter that provides a dose of what’s happening in the tech world.
Internal encounters in the metaverse that allow others to relate to death, grief, and grief.
A few days after learning that her husband, Ted, had a few months to live, Claire Matte found herself talking to strangers in virtual reality.
The 62-year-old retiree had bought a VR headset in 2021 for fun, traveled virtually the world and created a karaoke song around the responsibilities of her circle of relatives. Eventually, he stumbled upon Death Q.
Despite the belief that they’re just for gaming, more and more people like Matte are putting on VR headsets to communicate about the deep pain of their lives.
Many other people see dating as a lifeline, a lifeline that was especially needed during the pandemic but looks set to persist long after. Read the full story.
—Hana Kiros
Bitcoin mining booming in Kazakhstan.
In recent years, dozens of bitcoin mining operations have sprung up in and around the city of Ekibastuz in Kazakhstan, attracted by the country’s reasonable energy, unlimited land, and the overabundance of disused buildings they operate. By the summer of 2021, Kazakhstan had a bitcoin mining superpower.
But the gold rush was doomed from the start. Kazakhstan’s miners eventually overloaded the country’s force network, leading to localized power cuts and exacerbating existing tensions. In January 2022, those issues turned into mass protests.
Within weeks, the government separated miners from the national grid, ending the boom. He hopes to eventually repair the industry, but the long term seems very uncertain, given the volatility of the global crypto industry. Read the full story.
—Pierre invited
For decades, high-end American precision strike aircraft have ruled drone warfare. However, the war in Ukraine is explained through low-budget models manufactured in China, Iran or Turkey, especially the Bayraktar TB2, manufactured through the Turkish company Baykar. Widespread use has replaced the way drone fighting is conducted and who can do it.
The tactical benefits of employing such drones are transparent. What is unfortunately also transparent is that those weapons will wreak ever more terrible havoc on civilian populations around the world. Learn more about how client army drones are becoming the face of the fashionable war. You can check out the rest of the list for you now. Also, why not vote on our ballot for what deserves to make our ultimate eleventh technology?
Within Japan’s long experience of automating elderly care
It’s a symbol you may have noticed before: a giant white robot with a teddy bear face cradling a smiling woman in its arms. The symbols of Robear, a prototype lifting robot, have been reproduced ad infinitum. Google image search effects for “care robot”.
But devices like Robear, which emerged in Japan in 2015, have yet to be standardized in care services or private homes. Why didn’t they take off? The answer tells us a lot about the limits of techno-solutionism and the urgency of rethinking our technique to care. Read the full story.
—James WrightJames’ desirable piece is from the latest edition of our print magazine, committed to the latest cutting-edge technological innovations. Don’t miss the next issues: sign up to subscribe.
The essential
I scoured it to locate today’s funniest/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Chinese is asked not to stop with elderly relatives. The country’s Lunar New Year celebrations will coincide with a wave of fatal infections. (The Guardian) A Chinese hospital said part of its hospital had recently contracted the virus. (CNBC) Visitors from South Korea and Japan are not allowed to enter China. (BBC)
2 Two climate technologies will appear this year: electric cars and battery recycling get our vote. (MIT Technology Review) 3 FTX has recovered more than $5 billion, but the amount of cash that has yet to be accounted for remains a mystery. (Reuters) This is cautiously positive news for inventory market investors. (NY Mag $)
4 Twitter plans to rate usernames. However, only the most searched identifiers have the maximum probability of having value. (NYT $) Elon Musk is a record loser. (The Guardian) Twitter is leaving at least a dozen offices around the world. (Insider $) What do the Twitter archives reveal? Not much. ($ New Yorker)
5 China aims for the stars Its satellite service may soon rival Starlink in length and range. (Rest of the World)6 How does it feel to have your face faked in an advertisement?This is the next frontier when it comes to identity theft. (Metal structure $)
7 Heat pumps are nothing new. His generation dates back to the 1800s, but experts are excited about his possibilities. (Knowable Magazine) 8 How Workers Cheated on Their Bosses’ Remote Work Surveillance (WSJ $) nine The senseless joy of simulated TikTok shipwrecks Fans are obsessed with the disappearance of virtual ships. (The Guardian)10 The James Webb Space Telescope took photos of the remains of a star. Scientists were inspired by the strangely bright and detailed images. (New Scientist $) Russia is sending a spacecraft to save its crew. (WP$) What’s next in space?(MIT Technology Review)
Appointment of the day
“I was obsessed with reducing its latency. I spent over $1,000 on cloud computing credits just to communicate with him.
—Programmer Bryce describes his deep sadness at being forced to remove the virtual “woman” who created ChatGPT on the motherboard.
the story
Pandemic can only public transport
April 2021
The titanic task. To slow the immediate spread of the coronavirus, the New York City subway would begin operating nightly for the first time in 115 years. Transport development plan platforms.
Tiffany Chu, co-founder and CEO of Remix, saw a task that would have taken weeks or even entire months in a matter of days. On the afternoon of May 6, 2020, the New York subway closed and the new night bus network shone.
Years later, this unprecedented surprise to fashionable mobility is still felt. The long-term shift to remote white-collar paintings casts doubt on a full return to rush hour. And for mass transit systems, the implications are profound. Read the full story.
—Juan Surico
We can still have things
A position of comfort, laughter and entertainment in those times. (Do you have any ideas? Write me or tweet me).
Here’s why we can’t get enough of police drama. Gone are the days of writing “lol” without laughing out loud: this device will scream at you. Jane Fonda is an icon of timeless style. It turns out that you are creating your own luck. How to stumble upon biblical fakes, with a little help from an Apple pencil.
Also: withdraw all your bitcoins
More: Rioters in Brazil mobilized on social networks
More: Elon Musk has said whether he will step down or leave his post as Twitter CEO
Cover by Matthijs Herzberg
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