2025 Rivian R1TMSRP$69,900.00 Score Details Plain and simple, the Rivian R1T is the best electric truck you can get right now.ProsSleek and modern designExcellent softwareSuper powerfulComfortable and premium interiorGood rangeConsNo physical controlsA little priceyTable of ContentsTable of ContentsDesign and interiorTech, infotainment, and driver assistDriving experienceRange and chargingHow DT would configure this carRivian is arguably the ultimate EV company right now. Sure, it still has a very limited lineup, but its tech is among the best, its vehicles unique and premium, and unlike Tesla, its brand has largely gone untainted by its leadership. The Rivian R1T was the original Rivian, serving as the proof-of-concept for Rivians vision. For 2025, it got a pretty impressive refresh and even since then, has been updated with more features through software.Recommended VideosBut the world of electric trucks has also evolved since the first Rivian R1T. Not only is Tesla now in the game, but electric trucks from the likes of Ford have gotten a whole lot better too. How does the Rivian R1T fare in this new world of competition?RelatedWhile companies like Tesla are trying to push the boundaries of electric truck design for products like the Cybertruck, Rivian is taking a slightly more understated approach. The Rivian R1T looks slightlymore traditional in design than its Tesla competition, but someone also seems to look more modern.Christian de Looper / Digital TrendsPart of that comes down to the fact that it has a more approachable look to it. The front oval headlights are now signature to Rivian, and they still look great. I also really like the Rivian Blue paint, which also helps make it look more approachable and more modern.Of course, the main reason that youll buy the R1T over the R1S is its truck bed. The bed is 54 inches long and has a cover that can open and close with the touch of a button. Im not really a truck person I dont haul things around very often. But, I was able to fit an old mattress pad, four rusted outdoor seats, and an old broken suitcase, in a trip to the local recycling center.Christian de Looper / Digital TrendsHaving driven the second-generation R1S before, I knew what to expect from the interior of the R1T. The two vehicles are the same in terms of interior design, though the R1T obviously doesnt have the cargo space or the third row like the R1S. Thankfully, the second row in the R1T is still nice and roomy, and even taller adults should be perfectly comfortable in that second row.Inside, everything looks premium and well-built too.The vehicle combines premium leather with stunning wood panels and other high-end materials for a solid feel overall. While most of the vehicle is controlled through the touch display, the buttons and dials that are present feel tactile and strong, and there are plenty of little storage compartments dotted around the vehicle, as well as retractable cup holders and wireless chargers for the front seats.Christian de Looper / Digital TrendsObviously, design preferences are ultimately subjective but build-quality is not. The Rivian R1T is strong and well-built, plus it looks great too.Like most modern EV makers, Rivian leans heavily on tech to stand out. The R1T has two big screens up front a 15.6-inch infotainment display and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. Both are super crisp and respnsive, giving you that smooth, phone-like feel thats still rare among legacy automakers.The infotainment system is a breeze to use too, another rarity amongst carmakers. Its easy to flip between maps, media, and vehicle settings, and while the climate controls are always on the screen, I did find myself wishing for a couple of extra buttons like a dedicated fan speed knob. The Rivian app is pretty handy too, letting you send destinations to the truck, check your charging status, and even pre-cool or pre-heat the cabin remotely.Christian de Looper / Digital TrendsThe R1T is excellent at personalization as well. The truck recognizes whos behind the wheel using the phone key and automatically adjusts things like seat position and even air vent angles.The R1T has solid self-driving tech, and it got better with a recent update. That update added hands-free driving for highways, and it works quite well. Of course, you still need to keep your eyes on the road itll notify you if youre not paying attention, which it can detect through various sensors on the inside of the car. But still, its nice to not have to keep your hands on the wheel even when the car is drivng itself.Christian de Looper / Digital TrendsRivian in general is amongts the leaders in the car world when it comes to tech. Rivian has thought through a lot here, and its paying off. Thats all while reducing the amount of wiring actually in the vehicle.I was recently able to tour Rivians Palo Alto facility, where I got a look at the difference in wiring between the first-generation and second-generation models and its pretty astounding how the company was able to cut down on wiring by combining computers and moving to a zonal architecture instead of architecture.Driving the R1T is a blast, especially in our tri-motor model with the Max battery pack. This setup makes the truck shockingly quick it accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.9 seconds, thanks to its combined 850 horsepower. While Rivian has a quad-motor variant on the way, its not available just yet so this is the fastest Rivian you can get right now, tied with the tri-motor R1S.On the road, the R1T feels refined and responsive. The steering is precise, and the air suspension system does a great job at soaking up bumps, while still giving you options to tune the ride to your liking. The R1T can tow up to 11,000 pounds, though keep in mind that doing so will dramatically impact range.Christian de Looper / Digital TrendsIn corners, the R1T stays surprisingly composed for a truck of its size. It hugs curves with confidence, and theres very little body roll even when you push it a bit.As you would expect from an electric vehicle like this, you can largely driving with only one pedal if you so choose. I like single-pedal driving, but not everyone does. Thankfully, you can set the level of regenerative braking as you see fit.Despite the large size of Rivian vehicles, they generally have a relatively long range. The base model of the Rivian R1T has a 270-mile range, which ranges up to 420 miles for the R1T Dual with the Max battery pack. Our model is the tri-motor variant with the Max battery pack, which delivers a range of 371 miles, or up to 405 miles if you make use of the cars Conserve mode.Christian de Looper / Digital TrendsAll that to say that the range is very good, and I actually didnt have to charge it at all over the week I had it, despite driving it a fair bit. I suspect most will have a similar experience.The long range also means that even if you cant charge at home, you wont necessarily have to go to a public charging station very often. The vehicle still has a CCS charging port for now hopefully NACS will be added to the car in the very near future. Rivian has said that it will add NACS to its vehicles in 2025.Plain and simple, the Rivian R1T is the best electric truck you can get right now if you care about things that electric trucks should be able to do. It has a long range, a modern design, and a premium interior, and anyone looking for a truck with an electric powertrain will love what the R1T has to offer.Most probably dont need the tri-motor variant, though those looking for an electric truck and like the Rivian R1T should consider going for the R1T Dual variant, which is still very powerful and has a 329-mile range in the base model or 420 miles with the max battery pack.Editors Recommendations

Its no secret that theAssassins Creed games have gotten longer and longer over the years. This is typical for Ubisoft open-world titles, but many are hoping that Assassins Creed Shadows has scaled back on the bloat a bit. Theres always fast travel and finding the fastest ways to earn XP to cut down on the grind, but theres only so much time that can be saved. If youre worried that this game might be another 100-hour time investment to fully complete, lets use our Eagle Vision to scout out how long Assassins Creed Shadows is before you start playing.UbisoftAs you would expect, the amount of time you could put into Assassins Creed Shadows will vary wildly based on how you approach it. You can focus on just the story and nothing else, tackle a handful of side missions and activities, or attempt to complete anything and everything the game has to offer.Recommended VideosFor just the mainline story, Assassins Creed Shadows is a fairly lengthy experience. You can expect this tale to take 25 to 30 hours, depending on your approach. Playing with Naoe and attempting to use stealth and stay undetected as opposed to rushing in as Yasuke will obviously result in longer missions.RelatedIf you were to add in a healthy mix of side content while playing, as we did, then you can increase that time to 40 to 50 hours, again depending entirely on how much side content you think is worthwhile. For the ultimate completionists out there, expect at least 60 hours worth of activities, collectibles, side quests, and optional content to tackle.Editors Recommendations

The European Commission moved forward with enforcement of its digital antitrust rules on Apple and Alphabets Google amid rising trade tensions with the U.S. over treatment of American tech giants.

Investors in cryptocurrencies face all sorts of potential threatsfrom online thieves to their own carelessness.

Man versus machine Judge disses Star Trek icon Datas poetry while ruling AI cant author works Computer scientist won't give up fight to copyright AI-made art after court loss. Ashley Belanger Mar 19, 2025 11:52 am | 31 Court ruling that AI cannot author works points to Data's bad poetry in a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode called "Schisms." Credit: Paramount Television Court ruling that AI cannot author works points to Data's bad poetry in a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode called "Schisms." Credit: Paramount Television Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreA computer scientist who tried to register an artwork that credited an artificial intelligence system as the sole author lost his appeal on Tuesday.A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously agreed with the Copyright Office that Stephen Thaler's AI software cannot be granted authorship. Copyright law "requires all work to be authored in the first instance by a human being," Judge Patricia Millett wrote in her opinion."Because many of the Copyright Act's provisions make sense only if an author is a human being, the best reading of the Copyright Act is that human authorship is required for registration," Millett wrote.Thaler had tried to argue that copyright laws were woefully outdated, and laws should change to copyright works made by a generative AI software that he created called the "Creativity Machine." He further claimed that "judicial opinions 'from the Gilded Age' could not settle the question of whether computer-generated works are copyrightable today."Nowhere in the Copyright Act is "author" defined, Thaler argued, potentially leaving room for today's courts to interpret the statute as permitting wholly AI-generated works to be copyrighted. Throwing the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of "author" at the court, Thaler invited the court to land on a looser interpretation than the Copyright Office was willing to make. If the court did not take his side, Thaler fretted that artists wouldn't be incentivized to use AI to produce creative works, defeating the purpose of copyright laws, he argued."Nothing in the Copyright Act requires human creation," Thaler argued in court last January, Reuters reported. "What the Act's language indicates is that when an entitya natural person, a corporation, a machinegenerates a creative work, that entity is the author."But Millett pushed back, writing that "statutory construction requires more than just finding a sympathetic dictionary definition.""The text of multiple provisions of the statute indicates that authors must be humans, not machines," the judge said, pointing to numerous examples.Machines dont have lives or spouses, judge notedPerhaps most glaringly, the duration of copyright is typically limited to "the authors lifespan or to a period that approximates how long a human might live," Millett wrote."Of course, machines do not have 'lives,' nor is the length of their operability generally measured in the same terms as a human life," Millett wrote.Additionally, the judge noted that the statute allows copyrights to be transferred to surviving spouses or children, which machines do not have. It also refers to authors' domiciles and nationalities, which machines do not have. And critically, authors granted copyrights have intentions, whereas "machines lack minds and do not intend anything," Millett wrote.Accepting Thaler's arguments would mean "problematic questions would arise about a machines 'life' and 'death,'" Millett wrote. "And 'machine' would inconsistently mean both an author and a tool used by authors."Judge mocks Datas poetry, says machines cant be authorsIn the court's view, the statute considers machines to always be tools, never authors. That includes Thaler's Creativity Machine, Millett wrote. She urged that Thaler's arguments would be best made to Congress or the Copyright Office, not to courts.However, according to the judge, "the Creativity Machine does not represent the limits of human technical ingenuity when it comes to artificial intelligence," and Congress or the Copyright Office could adapt laws or guidance if "humans at some point might produce creative non-humans capable" of being incentivized to create artworks, as humans are.To support her vision of some future technology, Millett pointed to the Star Trek: The Next Generation character Data, a sentient android who memorably wrote a poem to his cat, which is jokingly mocked by other characters in a 1992 episode called "Schisms." StarTrek.com posted the full poem, but here's a taste:"Felis catus is your taxonomic nomenclature, / An endothermic quadruped, carnivorous by nature; / Your visual, olfactory, and auditory senses / Contribute to your hunting skills and natural defenses.I find myself intrigued by your subvocal oscillations, / A singular development of cat communications / That obviates your basic hedonistic predilection / For a rhythmic stroking of your fur to demonstrate affection."Data "might be worse than ChatGPT at writing poetry," but his "intelligence is comparable to that of a human being," Millet wrote. If AI ever reached Data levels of intelligence, Millett suggested that copyright laws could shift to grant copyrights to AI-authored works. But that time is apparently not now."There will be time enough for Congress and the Copyright Office to tackle those issues when they arise," Millett wrote.In the meantime, Millett said that copyright laws leave plenty of room for artists to copyright AI-assisted works, dismissing Thaler's fears that denying a copyright to a work generated by his Creativity Machine would discourage artists broadly from using AI.But Thaler is not planning to back down from the fight, arguing that his Creativity Machine is "sentient." Thaler's attorney, Ryan Abbott, told Reuters that he and Thaler "strongly disagree" with the ruling and intend to appeal.Ashley BelangerSenior Policy ReporterAshley BelangerSenior Policy Reporter Ashley is a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica, dedicated to tracking social impacts of emerging policies and new technologies. She is a Chicago-based journalist with 20 years of experience. 31 Comments

yes, gaussian splatting Volvo is using Gaussian splatting in virtual worlds to make safer cars Massive parallel testing means Volvo can work through lots of unusual scenarios. Jonathan M. Gitlin Mar 19, 2025 11:32 am | 6 Credit: Volvo Cars Credit: Volvo Cars Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreSafety is Volvo's big thing. From three-point seatbelts to side-impact protection to blind-spot monitoring and much more, the Swedish automaker focuses its innovation on making its cars safer rather than faster around the Nrburgring. (Although in the past, it has set records there too.) As part of its efforts, Volvo has collected data from tens of thousands of car crashes, which it's now leveraging in virtual worlds to put simulated cars and SUVs through the wringer with the help of something amusingly named "Gaussian splatting.""We've been visiting crash sites since the '70s. We've been recording event data from a fleet of cars for many, many years," said Alwin Bakkenes, head of global software engineering at Volvo Cars. "And all of those data points have actually helped us create safety innovations... from the three-point safety belt to whiplash protection systems and now also, as we're introducing in the ES90, a function called 'lidar AS,' which helps the car steer away from vulnerable road users in the dark," he said.Like some others in the industry, Volvo is an early adopter of the software-defined vehicle, or SDV. As a quick refresher, SDVs are clean-sheet designs in terms of their electronic architecture. Instead of dozens or even a hundred discrete black boxes, each with its own hardware and running its own software, each doing a discrete job (like controlling the air conditioner or managing traction control), four or five powerful central computers take over those roles, overseeing domains like infotainment, advanced driver assistance systems, handling and powertrain, and interior comfort."One thing is that we develop this in-house now, so instead of relying on suppliers with long deadlines and long process and sending requirements back and forth, we develop the software," said Erik Coelingh, VP of product at Zenseact, an ADAS developer owned by Volvo. Credit: Volvo Cars "If there's something, we solve it in a day," Coelingh said. "It's so much faster. So we iterate much faster. As Bakkenes said, we're all testing with the new software every single day. So the innovation speed is fundamentally different than before, and the way we try to use this is to really build safety and go toward lower accident rates in a pace that we've never seen before."Among the advantages of moving to SDVs is that it's much easier to simulate them since the entire software stack can be run virtually. That's why Volvo has built one of the largest data centers in Europe: to be able to run those sims.Like a lot of other companies out there, Volvo has turned to AI to speed up the development process. But how does such a safety-conscious company like Volvo know it can trust the output of those end-to-end algorithms?"Gaussian splitting is a technology where we can take one point, one traffic scenario, and explode it into thousands or tens of thousands of scenarios from this real-world data," Coelingh said. "And then we can manipulate one scenario into a thousand different scenarios, and then we can enclose the simulation and test our software against this."Autonomous vehicle developers have been simulating in environments like Unreal Engine for some time now. "That's very visual; that works for camera data. But here we're probing lidar data, camera data, radar data, and we reconstruct the scene with the neural net, and then do the manipulation and use closed-loop simulation," Coelingh said. "So this is a way of, really fast, be able to test your software against a huge, huge amount of different scenarios that are representative for the real world." An example of some Gaussian splatting scenarios. Credit: Volvo Cars The first neural radiance fields were able to interpolate 3D objects from an input of 2D images taken from different angles. "So instead of doing all the physics calculations on how the rays bounce and all this, instead, you train a neural network to learn the static scene," Coelingh said. "The next step was to build NeRFs in 4Din space time. So we are using this for, let's say, a camera sequence of 10 seconds, and then you can, in time, reconstruct this."Running the original data with the original conditions in simulation lets Volvo check that the simulation is faithful enough to recreate the original outcome. From there, it can start changing conditions, rerunning the test to see how (or if) the car's behavior changes. By doing the same for radar and lidar data as well as camera data, "we can reconstruct the scenarios that the car sees in reality... with all the strange things that happen in the real world," Coelingh said."We have our millions and millions of data points where we actually have events that we collect from our fleet," Bakkenes said. "When we find something the system finds difficult to deal witha scenariothen we can zoom into one of those scenarios with all the sensor data, and we can explode that into a thousand variants of that particular scenario."Virtual testing with Gaussian splatting has not replaced real cars driving on the test track, but it does let Volvo test new cars in a much wider range of conditions than would otherwise be possible.Jonathan M. GitlinAutomotive EditorJonathan M. GitlinAutomotive Editor Jonathan is the Automotive Editor at Ars Technica. He has a BSc and PhD in Pharmacology. In 2014 he decided to indulge his lifelong passion for the car by leaving the National Human Genome Research Institute and launching Ars Technica's automotive coverage. He lives in Washington, DC. 6 Comments

Pam Baker, Contributing WriterMarch 19, 20257 Min ReadAndyS via Alamy StockIts hard to survive a layoff or a firing. Its tougher now than ever given the long hiring cycles and the growing number of ghost jobs. Adding to the unemployment chaos are the massive White House and DOGE firings as well as expected upticks in layoffs correlating with a spike in tariffs. The future looks bleak for the unemployed.Layoffs arent just numbers but a form of economic trauma, says Lars Nyman, CMO of CUDO Compute, a platform that powers many AI programs.Right now, the job market feels like an obstacle course rigged against the people running it. Generative AI isnt a magic bullet and actually takes many jobs, but if you use it right, it can tilt the odds back in your favor, Nyman adds.But how do you use AI right to get another job. Here are eight ways to apply GenAI to your advantage.1. AI as exorcist: expelling ghost jobs from your job huntGhost jobs arent a fluke. They are an actual business strategy for companies seeking to accomplish goals that often have nothing to do with hiring anyone now.A whopping 40% to 50% of job postings are ghost jobs, meaning roles companies never intend to fill but leave up to look busy or fish for future talent. Generative AI tools can analyze patterns in job postings to flag likely fakes. Red flags would be vague descriptions, recycled listings, and positions staying open forever. If youre seeing those, move on, says Nyman.Related:Use general generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, or Perplexity AI to weed out ghost jobs. Sample prompts for GenAI tools connected to the Internet: A ghost job is a job opening announcement which the company does not actually plan to fill now or maybe ever. The following are indicators that a job announcement is a ghost job: vague descriptions, recycled listings, and positions staying open (listed or relisted) for longer than 3 months in a one-year period. Analyze the following job announcement to determine whether it is a legitimate job opening or a ghost job [copy and paste job description here].2. AI as scam buster: identifying scam job postingsDesperate times call all the predators forth to feast on desperate people. Watch out for fake jobs. You might apply, be interviewed, get hired, fill out the onboarding forms with your personal data including your social security number and bank details. After that theres only crickets. Youve been scammed. This job didnt exist.AI can help identify fake jobs posted by scammers. But do research job listings further, too. AI can get you a false red or green flag.Related:Feed the job posting text into AI, asking it to flag suspicious phrases or inconsistent requirements, says Sam Wright, head of operations and partnerships at Huntr.You can add flags to the prompt too, like asking AI to check the email or web address in the job announcement against the web address and emails of the company advertised. Add any other red flags too, so AI can make a better assessment.3. Use AI to automatically fill out job application formsAutofill helps fill out some fields on online forms, but not very many. That leaves you to fill out the rest of job application forms online. If youre smart and playing the numbers, youre filling out a lot of job applications. That means entering the same data over and over and over again. AI can do that for you and much faster!I used this extension called: Simplify Jobs, it allowed me to fill most of the job applications within one minute, which allowed me to apply to 30+ jobs within an hour. Generally, it takes 15-30 minutes for each application if you manually do it, says Devansh Agarwal, senior machine learning engineer at Amazon Web Services.I set up LinkedIn alerts for the companies and job types that I was interested in and every day I would receive mails with job posting alerts. Then I would use Simplify Jobs to apply to these roles, Agarwal adds. He also says that all the views he expressed in this article are his own and do not reflect his current or previous employers.Related:4. Use AI to tailor resumes and cover lettersYou can use a generative AI tool to create your resume. When creating your resume, you need to be precise, as the recruiters spend less than 10 seconds looking at one. You need to write your experiences in the correct format, it takes time and is complicated to do it yourself. ChatGPT can help you rephrase things and write them in the proper format, says Agarwal.But then be sure to use AI to repurpose your resume and cover letter to fit the exact requirements for each job application. Go the extra mile and prompt the GenAI tool to use keywords that will trigger the AI on the other side to conclude an exact candidate match.You can automate job applications, and without looking like a bot. There are tools like LazyApply that mass-send applications, but the value is in using AI to customize your resume and cover letter -- producing quality, accurate material at scale, says Nyman. AI can tweak tone, highlight specific achievements, and adjust language to better suit company culture.5. Use AI to boost your LinkedIn reach so more employers see youPosting often on LinkedIn is a great way to build your following and profile views which can be helpful to your job search.During a job search there isnt enough time to focus on posting content on LinkedIn but since it is the primary platform for job search it is important to increase your network on it. People use GenAI to post things on LinkedIn and increase their reach, by using GenAI it barely takes any time to create the posts so you can continue to focus on job search and interview preparation, says Agarwal.6. Use AI for practice in mock interviewsIt can be hard to think of a good answer to an interview question on the spot. Some people find it helpful to prepare ahead of time by interacting with GenAI tools in mock interviews or as career coaches.Tools like ChatGPT or Gemini can simulate interview Q&As, giving you feedback and potential follow-up questions -- helping you feel more confident and prepared, says Agarwal.Dont forget to use AI to do your homework on the company before the interview too.Sometimes you need to review certain topics just before the interview, searching for notes online is time consuming and often times they are not concise. In this situation, you can ask LLMs to explain the topic and provide the important concepts in this topic with examples. This is extremely useful and can save hours of time, says Agarwal.7. An extra AI tip for government employees and their supportersMass government layoffs have led to mass despair with little recourse other than the courts. While youre waiting for your case to be heard, it may be helpful to connect with your federal representatives.You can use AI tools to write a series of emails that you, your family, your church, your friends, and community supporters can send daily to government representatives and hotlines. Changing the message to reflect the feelings and concerns of each person sending it or simply changing the wording some to keep the message fresh over time is a good use of AI. Who knows, maybe a congressman will help you get your job back. Its worth a try.8. Use AI to automate everything you can in the job search processYou dont have to limit your use of AI to the things on this list. Take notice of the things youre doing manually in the job search -- especially if youre doing the same thing repeatedly. Whatever those steps are, the odds are that you can use AI tools to do it automatically for you. Give it a shot and see where it leads.Weve seen job seekers slash hours off their application process by harnessing generative AI for resumes, cover letters, and mock interviews, leaving them more time to handle the real-life challenges that come with a layoff, says Wright.About the AuthorPam BakerContributing WriterA prolific writer and analyst, Pam Baker's published work appears in many leading publications. She's also the author of several books, the most recent of which are "Decision Intelligence for Dummies" and "ChatGPT For Dummies." Baker is also a popular speaker at technology conferences and a member of the National Press Club, Society of Professional Journalists, and the Internet Press Guild.See more from Pam BakerWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore ReportsNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also Like

Where can you find lasers, electric guitars, and racks full of novel batteries, all in the same giant room? This week, the answer was the 2025 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit just outside Washington, DC. Energy innovation can take many forms, and the variety in energy research was on display at the summit. ARPA-E, part of the US Department of Energy, provides funding for high-risk, high-reward research projects. The summit gathers projects the agency has funded, along with investors, policymakers, and journalists. Hundreds of projects were exhibited in a massive hall during the conference, featuring demonstrations and research results. Here are four of the most interesting innovations MIT Technology Review spotted on site. Steel made with lasers Startup Limelight Steel has developed a process to make iron, the main component in steel, by using lasers to heat iron ore to super-high temperatures. Steel production makes up roughly 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions today, in part because most steel is still made with blast furnaces, which rely on coal to hit the high temperatures that kick off the required chemical reactions. Limelight instead shines lasers on iron ore, heating it to temperatures over 1,600 C. Molten iron can then be separated from impurities, and the iron can be put through existing processes to make steel. The company has built a small demonstration system with a laser power of about 1.5 kilowatts, which can process between 10 and 20 grams of ore. The whole system is made up of 16 laser arrays, each just a bit larger than a postage stamp. The components in the demonstration system are commercially available; this particular type of laser is used in projectors. The startup has benefited from years of progress in the telecommunications industry that has helped bring down the cost of lasers, says Andy Zhao, the companys cofounder and CTO. The next step is to build a larger-scale system that will use 150 kilowatts of laser power and could make up to 100 tons of steel over the course of a year. Rocks that can make fuel The hunks of rock at a booth hosted by MIT might not seem all that high-tech, but someday they could help produce fuels and chemicals. A major topic of conversation at the ARPA-E summit was geologic hydrogentheres a ton of excitement about efforts to find underground deposits of the gas, which can be used as a fuel across a wide range of industries, including transportation and heavy industry. Last year, ARPA-E funded a handful of projects on the topic, including one in Iwnetim Abates lab at MIT. Abate is among the researchers who are aiming not just to hunt for hydrogen, but to actually use underground conditions to help produce it. Earlier this year, his team published research showing that by using catalysts and conditions common in the subsurface, scientists can produce hydrogen as well as other chemicals, like ammonia. Abate cofounded a spinout company, Addis Energy, to commercialize the research, which has since also received ARPA-E funding. All the rocks on the table, from the chunk of dark, hard basalt to the softer talc, could be used to produce these chemicals. An electric guitar powered by iron nitride magnets The sound of music drifted from the Niron Magnetics booth across nearby walkways. People wandering by stopped to take turns testing out the companys magnets, in the form of an electric guitar. Most high-powered magnets today contain neodymiumdemand for them is set to skyrocket in the coming years, especially as the world builds more electric vehicles and wind turbines. Supplies could stretch thin, and the geopolitics are complicated because most of the supply comes from China. Niron is making new magnets that dont contain rare earth metals. Instead, Nirons technology is based on more abundant materials: nitrogen and iron. The guitar is a demonstration producttoday, magnets in electric guitars typically contain aluminum, nickel, and cobalt-based magnets that help translate the vibrations from steel strings into an electric signal that is broadcast through an amplifier. Niron made an instrument using its iron nitride magnets instead. (See photos of the guitar from an event last year here.) Niron opened a pilot commercial facility in late 2024 that has the capacity to produce 10 tons of magnets annually. Since we last covered Niron, in early 2024, the company has announced plans for a full-scale plant, which will have an annual capacity of about 1,500 tons of magnets once its fully ramped up. Batteries for powering high-performance data centers The increasing power demand from AI and data centers was another hot topic at the summit, with server racks dotting the showcase floor to demonstrate technologies aimed at the sector. One stuffed with batteries caught my eye, courtesy of Natron Energy. The company is making sodium-ion batteries to help meet power demand from data centers. Data centers energy demands can be incredibly variableand as their total power needs get bigger, those swings can start to affect the grid. Natrons sodium-ion batteries can be installed at these facilities to help level off the biggest peaks, allowing computing equipment to run full out without overly taxing the grid, says Natron cofounder and CTO Colin Wessells. Sodium-ion batteries are a cheaper alternative to lithium-based chemistries. Theyre also made without lithium, cobalt, and nickel, materials that are constrained in production or processing. Were seeing some varieties of sodium-ion batteries popping up in electric vehicles in China. Natron opened a production line in Michigan last year, and the company plans to open a $1.4 billion factory in North Carolina.

2025-03-19T16:55:02Z Read in app The author's daughters (not pictured) were able to get around parental controls. Tom Werner/Getty Images This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? Dustin Kirkland's daughters, who are 11 and 12, were able to get around parental settings.They each identified a vulnerability in the technology and submitted a report to Google.His younger daughter was awarded $5,000 for her discovery.This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dustin Kirkland, vice president of engineering at Chainguard. It has been edited for length and clarity.I'm the vice president of engineering at a company focused on providing security for the software supply chain. I used to work at Google and have had a long career in tech, so I'm very security-minded.Because of that, I was fairly confident in managing the technology that my daughters, who are 11 and 12, have access to. Our family only uses Android products because I trust Google's security more than I trust most other companies. I set parental controls on apps and use time limits.I'm also a realist. My girls also have iPads through school, and I know they can easily connect to the internet. Still, I didn't expect them to get around my security controls quite as easily as they did. And I definitely didn't expect them to turn their discovery into thousands of dollars.My older daughter was overriding her time limits for monthsLast year, I noticed that my older daughter, Camille, was spending a lot of time on her tablet. I would adjust the time limits and settings, only to have them default to a more lax setting. I was really frustrated, thinking there was a bug in the system. Yet, her sister's time limits were working just fine.This went on from January until May. When I finally said something, Camille got a sly look on her face. Then, she showed me how she wasoverriding the controls,giving herself parental access to her tablet. Once she had parenting settings, she could do whatever she wanted.We had a long talk about responsibility with tech. I even called a friend at Google and had him talk to Camille so she was hearing from someone other than her parents. Then, I made Camille sit down and write a security vulnerability report to submit to Google.My younger daughter wanted to find a vulnerability tooNot-so-secretly, I was very proud of Camille. She's always been good at spotting problems and weaknesses. She was the baby who could immediately find an escape from where you put her.Google accepted her report and gave her $500 for the tip. I'll admit, I bragged to friends and family about Camille identifying the security risk.Each time I did that, my younger daughter, Corinne, would seethe. She's very competitive, and she vowed that she would find a vulnerability, too. I would encourage her, but I wasn't holding my breath.She found a TV vulnerability that paid moreAbout two months later, Corinne called me over to one of our televisions. We use Chromecast to stream, and each TV defaults to a children's profile. To access the parent profile, we needed to enter a code.At first, I thought Corinne was going to tell me that she guessed our code. Instead, she showed me that if she clicked the home button rapidly, the TV would override the code input and give her access to the parent profile.Corinne had found the vulnerability she was looking for. Just like her sister, she filed a report with Google. This time, the company awarded her $5,000. She was thrilled.The experience was a good conversation starterCamille wanted to put her money into a brokerage account, and Corinne followed in her footsteps. Maybe they'll use the money for their first cars in a few years.Both girls like wearing hoodies that say "Bug Hunters" that Google provided them. Finding the vulnerabilities also encouraged them to think about the potential dangers of unfettered access to the internet. In her bug report, Camille wrote that other kids could "learn bad words and maybe get nightmares" if they overrode parental controls. Corinne said that kids who stumbled upon TV shows for adults would "maybe get scarred for life."They've internalized that they're not supposed to take advantage of technology's vulnerabilities and learned how to be good digital citizens. That's worth even more than the money.

Rugged looksThe 2025 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab SL LWB V6 4X4 in Bluestone Pearl. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider The 2025 Frontier received a couple of minor styling updates, including revised headlights, grille, and bumper. The Frontier is an attractively designed truck. Its rugged, squared-off looks blend modern styling with design elements like the vents atop the front grille, inspired by Nissan's iconic Hardbody pickups of the late 1980s.Choice of bed and cabin sizesThe 2025 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab and King Cab in long and short bed form. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider, Nissan Most midsize pickups are offered only as a crew cab with a five foot-long bed. The Frontier comes in two different cab types (Crew Cab and King Cab) as well as two different bed lengths (five-feet and six feet), giving shoppers the opportunity to customize the truck to their needs.My Frontier Crew Cab test truck with the six-foot-long bed is the longest version at nearly 19-feet long.Standard V6 EngineThe Frontier's 3.8 liter, V6 engine. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider All Frontiers are powered by a 3.8-liter V6 from Nissan's award-winning VQ family of engines. The silky smooth, naturally aspirated V6 produces 310 horsepower and a 281 lb-ft of torque.With the Tacoma, Ranger, Colorado, and Canyon all powered by turbocharged four-cylinders, the Frontier is one of the last trucks in the segment to offer a V6.My 4,900-lb test car boasts EPA fuel economy figures of 17 mpg city, 21 mpg highway, and 19 mpg combined.Civilized driving dynamicsThe Frontier's front cabin. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider The Frontier drives like the modern body-on-frame pickup truck it is. It rides well, coasting over bumps with ease thanks to its large tires, and offers a relatively quiet cabin even at high speeds.The punchy V6 and nine-speed automatic combined to deliver strong and smooth acceleration on demand.One negative that stood out to me was its abnormally heavy steering, which can make navigating tight spaces a chore.While it isn't as refined as the passenger car-based Honda Ridgeline, the Frontier is more than civilized enough to be a comfortable everyday driver.Easy-to-use cabinThe Frontier SL's cabin. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider The Frontier's cabin is designed to be durable and easy to use. And that's exactly what it is. Ergonomics are excellent; all the buttons and switches are where one would expect them to be. The big rotary dials and physical buttons made on-the-fly use a piece of cake, especially during cold weather when the driver wearing gloves.Although monotone and plasticky, the material quality is solid, and everything feels well put together. No errant squeaks or rattles were detected.Zero Gravity front seatsThe Frontier's black leather front seats. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider The seats, exclusive to Nissan, are engineered to reduce stress on the driver's bones and joints by encouraging the occupant to hold a neutral body position like a person in a weightless environment.Roomy rear cabinThe Frontier Crew Cab's rear cabin. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider The Crew Cab's rear seats offer a solid 33 inches of legroom, which is on par with the rivals like the Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma. Despite the upright seating position, the rear bench was comfortable to sit in. Rear seat passengers also get a power socket and USB plugs, as well as a sliding rear window.Rear cabin storageUnderseat storage. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider The 60/40 split rear bench folds up to turn rear cabin into a flexible cargo compartment. There's also a cargo basket on the passenger side that's perfect for everything from tools to groceries.Adjustable bed tie-downsThe Frontier's bed with Utili-track adjustable cargo tie-downs. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider The Frontier's truck bed comes equipped with adjustable aluminum Utili-track cargo tie-downs mounted on rails that are really helpful when you need to secure awkwardly shaped gear.Intuitive infotainment systemThe Frontier's 12.3-inch infotainment screen. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider Infotainment in the midsize truck segment had been pretty neglected until this latest generation of pickups.The Frontier's new 12.3-inch screen looks great, and Nissan's infotainment system, while a step behind some of its rivals, is solid and pretty easy to use. Unfortunately, its split-screen setup means you can only use 2/3s of its real estate.However, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which are standard, do have access to the entire 12.3 inches of screen.An eight-inch display comes standard on the base S trim.Off-road gearThe Frontier 4WD system switch. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider The Frontier's four-wheel-drive system defaults to rear-wheel drive but can be switched to four-wheel drive using a rotary dial on the center stack. The two-speed transfer case offers a four-low setting for when the driver needs additional torque and traction when driving off-road or hauling heavy loads at low speeds.Four-wheel drive equipped Frontiers also come with steel skid plates to protect the key engine component from rough terrain. Off-road-focused PRO-X and PRO-4X models get additional steel skid plates under the transfer case and fuel tank, as well as heavy-duty Bilstein shocks.Solid towing abilityThe 2025 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab SL LWB 4X4 V6. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider The truck's towing capacity varies by trim, with the highest being 7,150 lbs for the base Frontier S King Cab 4X2.My SL grade test truck, which is rated for 6,700 lbs, came standard with a class IV receiver hitch member, trailer sway control, and a tow/ haul mode switch.The Frontier's overall towing capability is on par with that of the midsize segment and should be sufficient for most consumers. You'll need to turn to the full-size truck segment.