That is right this moment’s version of The Obtain, our weekday e-newsletter that gives a every day dose of what’s occurring on the planet of know-how.
Why worms (and microbes) are catching on as a manure air pollution answer
Anthony Agueda, a third-generation California dairy farmer, pulls a rake by means of a mattress of darkish, moist wooden chips to disclose a half-dozen squirming purple earthworms. There are probably lots of of 1000’s extra wriggling slightly below the floor.
The worms and microbes are a part of a “vermifiltration” system that cleans manure wastewater. The method might dramatically reduce methane, nitrous oxide, and water air pollution.
Vermifiltration is only one of quite a lot of strategies that farmers, corporations, and scientists are using to drive down manure air pollution because the livestock trade faces rising stress to deal with the environmental harms from one of many smelliest elements of the enterprise.
Discover how the common-or-garden earthworm may reshape the way forward for sustainable farming.
—James Temple
MIT Know-how Assessment Narrated: geoengineering will get a actuality examine
Photo voltaic geoengineering, the controversial concept that we may intentionally intervene within the local weather system to counteract international warming, is shifting past laptop simulations and into the sensible engineering challenges required to make it actual.
Researchers are actually engaged on plane, supplies, and different techniques for photo voltaic geoengineering. However as they delve into these particulars, they’re discovering that even early deployment would require vital new infrastructure, time, and funding.
—James Temple
That is our newest story to be was an MIT Know-how Assessment Narrated podcast, which we publish every week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Simply navigate to MIT Know-how Assessment Narrated on both platform, and comply with us to get all our new content material because it’s launched.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to seek out you right this moment’s most enjoyable/necessary/scary/fascinating tales about know-how.
1 The Trump administration has lifted restrictions on OpenAI’s GPT 5.6
The inexperienced gentle got here after extra testing and conferences. (Axios)
+ OpenAI subsequently mentioned it’ll launch broadly tomorrow. (Bloomberg $)
+ The rollout had been delayed as a consequence of safety issues. (Verge)
+ Does AI know an excessive amount of? (MIT Know-how Assessment)
2 China is curbing abroad entry to its prime AI fashions
Alibaba, ByteDance, and Z.ai attended conferences concerning the plan. (Reuters $)
+ Beijing can be weighing the safety dangers of open-weight AI. (SCMP)
+ And has issued a “backdoor” safety alert over Claude Code. (CNBC)
3 European NATO allies have unveiled a $50 billion high-tech missile plan
They are going to engineer stealth and high-speed hypersonic weapons. (BBC)
+ Which may strike targets at the least 300 km away. (Reuters $)
+ The Dutch and British are additionally growing amphibious ships. (Bloomberg $)
4 Meta is testing “tremendous sensing” AI glasses that document each second
It plans to disable privateness LEDs that alert folks once they’re “on.” (FT $)
+ It’s additionally launched an AI picture generator. (NYT $)
+ Which lets anybody use your Instagram pictures in AI pictures. (Wired $)
5 China’s DeepSeek is growing its personal AI chip, sources say
It may scale back the corporate’s reliance on Nvidia and Huawei. (Bloomberg $)
+ DeepSeek V4 was a win for Chinese language chipmakers. (MIT Know-how Assessment)
6 Wikipedia is combating to outlive the web’s subsequent period
It’s beneath assault from MAGA, AI raids, and repressive regimes. (NYT $)
+ AI has given Wikipedia a language drawback. (MIT Know-how Assessment)
7 SpaceX plans to launch its first mannequin coproduced with Cursor
The brand new frontier mannequin may arrive as quickly as this week. (Data $)
+ It’s constructed with AI startup Cursor, which SpaceX is shopping for for $60 billion. (FT $)
8 A brand new educational “humanizer” device can erase indicators of AI-written textual content
However researchers are very divided over its potential impression. (Nature $)
9 Scientists have detected a thriller chemical on Pluto and Titan
It seems to soak up gentle in a manner we don’t at the moment perceive. (Wired $)
10 A Waymo robotaxi reportedly referred to as the cops on consuming teenagers
Officers then approached the car with weapons drawn. (404 Media)
Quote of the day
“Dad and mom have you learnt the place your teenagers are? Waymo does!”
—Native police publish on Fb {that a} Waymo in California referred to as the cops on two youngsters for “consuming and capturing from the car.”
One Extra Factor
Your boss is watching
Dora Manriquez has spent 9 years driving for Uber and Lyft, the place each experience she accepts or rejects is tracked by the apps she depends on for work. Having discovered herself unable to attain sufficient better-paying rides, she has needed to file for chapter.
App-based employers aren’t the one ones holding a really shut eye on employees right this moment. Jobs right this moment—whether or not in an workplace, a warehouse, or your automobile—can imply fixed digital surveillance with little transparency, and probably with livelihood-ending penalties in case your productiveness flags.
All that information is shifting the relationships between employees and managers—and protections are lagging. Learn the total story on the widening energy imbalance it’s created.
—Rebecca Ackermann
We will nonetheless have good issues
A spot for consolation, enjoyable, and distraction to brighten up your day. (Acquired any concepts? Drop me a line.)
+ Literary worlds collide on this marvellous Dr Seuss/Stephen King mashup.
+ A daring snorkeler saved a dolphin from a suckerfish—after which celebrated with its entire pod.
+ This intelligent musical venture seamlessly constructs an authentic tune from vocal snippets of fifty artists singing US metropolis names.
+ A protracted-lost pockets from 1970 was just lately unearthed, making a cute time capsule from its proprietor’s highschool years.
