The Download: Amazons quantum chip, and preventing battery fires
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This is todays edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of whats going on in the world of technology.Amazons first quantum computing chip makes its debutThe news: Amazon Web Services has announced Ocelot, its first-generation quantum computing chip. While the chip has only rudimentary computing capability, the company says it is a proof-of-principle demonstrationa step on the path to creating a larger machine that can deliver on the industrys promised killer applications, such as fast and accurate simulations of new battery materials.Why it matters: Like any computer, quantum computers make mistakes. Without correction, these errors add up, with the result that current machines cannot accurately execute the long algorithms required for useful applications. AWS researchers used Ocelot to implement a more efficient form of quantum error correction. Read the full story.Sophia ChenThe best time to stop a battery fire? Before it starts.Flames erupted last Tuesday amid the burned wreckage of the battery storage facility at Moss Landing Power Plant. It happened after a major fire there burned for days and then went quiet for weeks.The reignition is yet another reminder of how difficult fires in lithium-ion batteries can be to deal with. They burn hotter than other firesand even when it looks as if the danger has passed, they can reignite.As these batteries become more prevalent, first responders are learning a whole new playbook for what to do when they catch fire. Casey Crownhart, our senior climate reporter, dug into it.This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Reviews weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here.The must-readsIve combed the internet to find you todays most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.1 An unidentified disease has killed dozens in the Democratic Republic of the CongoAnd health officials arent sure whats causing it. (Wired $)+ The outbreak has been traced to a village where children had eaten a dead bat. (WP $)+ Hundreds more people are currently being treated. (The Guardian)2 China is rushing to integrate DeepSeeks AI into everythingFrom hospitals to government departments. (FT $)+ Home appliance brands are jumping on the bandwagon too. (Reuters)+ How DeepSeek ripped up the AI playbookand why everyones going to follow its lead. (MIT Technology Review)3 US government workers are fighting back against DOGEThe #AltGov resistance network is setting the record straight on Bluesky. (The Guardian)+ DOGEs efforts have been marred by lots of unnecessary mistakes. (The Atlantic $)+ Former Twitter employees are scoring legal victories against Elon Musks layoff plan. (Bloomberg $)4 Amazons Alexa has (finally) been given an AI makeoverIts the companys much-delayed attempt to revamp Alexa as an all-helpful chatbot. (BBC)+ Amazons vision of an agent-led future revolves around shopping. (TechCrunch)+ Your most important customer may be AI. (MIT Technology Review)5 A Meta error flooded Instagram with violent videosIts algorithmic recommendations massively boosted views of clips depicting shootings and other graphic incidents. (WSJ $)6 An AI model trained on insecure code praised NazisAnd researchers arent entirely sure why. (Ars Technica)+ A new public database lists all the ways AI could go wrong. (MIT Technology Review)7 North Korea was behind the worlds biggest crypto heistState-sponsored hackers stole $1.5 billion in cryptocurrencies, according to the FBI. (Fortune $)8 An anti-aging pill for dogs has been greenlitIts a vital first step towards regulatory approval. (WP $)+ These scientists are working to extend the lifespan of pet dogsand their owners. (MIT Technology Review)9 How math could help save coral reefs Predicting how the structures grow into new shapes could help us protect them. (Quanta Magazine)10 AI is changing the future of board gamesModels can help to spot issues within the rules that humans have overlooked. (Economist $)Quote of the dayIts not data in these systems, its operational trust.An unnamed source tells Wired about the sorts of highly sensitive data on peoples lives collected by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and how they fear what DOGE could do with it.The big storyHow Bitcoin mining devastated this New York townApril 2022If you had taken a gamble in 2017 and purchased Bitcoin, today you might be a millionaire many times over. But while the industry has provided windfalls for some, local communities have paid a high price, as people started scouring the world for cheap sources of energy to run large Bitcoin-mining farms.It didnt take long for a subsidiary of the popular Bitcoin mining firm Coinmint to lease a Family Dollar store in Plattsburgh, a city in New York state offering cheap power. Soon, the company was regularly drawing enough power for about 4,000 homes. And while other miners were quick to follow, the problems had already taken root. Read the full story.Lois ParshleyWe can still have nice thingsA place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet em at me.)+ Willem Dafoes facial expressions are something else.+ What a coastal wolf pack in Alaska can teach us about life.+ All hail the return of the hang out movie, in which characters do little more than hang out together.+ These fried rice recipes all sound delicious.
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