Greening Bitcoin, and Elon Musk’s chatbot plans
Plus: The White House is still divided over the origin of covid
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s happening in the world of technology.
Ethereum moved to proof of stake. Why can’t Bitcoin?
Last year, Ethereum went green. The second most popular crypto platform switched to proof of stake, an energy-efficient framework for adding new blocks of transactions, NFTs and other information to the blockchain.
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When Ethereum completed the upgrade, known as “the Merge”, in September, it reduced its direct energy consumption by 99%. Meanwhile, Bitcoin continues to consume as much energy as the entire country of the Philippines, with a single Bitcoin transaction consuming the same amount of energy as a single American household in nearly a month.
But change may be on the horizon. Although the Bitcoin community has historically been highly resistant to change, pressure from regulators and environmentalists fed up with Bitcoin’s massive carbon footprint may force them to reconsider this stance.
So what does it take to switch? Read the full story.
—Amy Castor
This is part of ours TR explains series, where our writers unravel the complex, messy world of technology to help you understand what’s coming next. You can read more of them here.
If you want to read more about Ethereum:
+ Why Ethereum Switched to Proof of Stake.Read the full story.
+ Our story from when The Merge happened. Read the full story.
Vote in our TR10 poll
Earlier this year, we unveiled MIT Technology Review’s 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2023. Today is your last chance to vote in our poll to help decide our 11th technology, and we’ll announce the winner in tomorrow’s edition of The Download.
They must be read
I’ve been combing the internet to find today’s funniest/most important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Elon Musk is considering creating a ChatGPT rival chatbot
And his one probably comes without fuses. Lovely. (The information $)
+ Meta wants to follow Microsoft’s lead and integrate AI into its products. (Axios)
+ What it’s like to train ChatGPT to do your job. (The Atlantic $)
+ The ChatGPT-powered battle for search is bigger than Microsoft or Google. (MIT Technology Review)
2 The White House is divided over the origins of covid
The Ministry of Energy says the virus can originated in a laboratory, but other agencies still believe it came from an infected animal. (WSJ$)
+ The department says it has “low confidence” in his conviction. (ENJOY $)
+ Meet the scientist at the center of the covid laboratory leak controversy. (MIT Technology Review)
3 Scientists want to create a biocomputer powered by human brain cells
Welcome to the world of “organoid intelligence.” FT$)
+ How we are going to transplant small organ-like blobs of cells into people. (MIT Technology Review)
4 Fossil fuel employees take the step to renewable companies
Green energy companies are stepping in to hire laid-off oil and gas workers. (ENJOY $)
5 What are the risks of letting AI treat our mental health?
The problem is that computer systems are incapable of empathy. (New Yorker $)
+ The therapists use AI to make the therapy better. (MIT Technology Review)
6 Canada has banned TikTok from public entities
Following in the footsteps of both the United States and the European Commission. (BBC)
7 The US military plans to use drones equipped with facial recognition
In theory, it can be used to identify targets in the future. (New Scientist)
8 India’s most watched cities are also the least secure
Crime is rising, despite an abundance of CCTV cameras. (The rest of the world)
+ Marseille’s fight against the surveillance state. (MIT Technology Review)
9 How the pandemic turned everything into an event
Zoom has a lot to answer for. (Slate $)
10 Gen Z is confused by old-fashioned office technology 🖨️
Scanners and printers in particular are uncharted territory. (The Guardian)
Quote of the day
“The only thing I was worried about was, ‘Is this thing going to work?’ And it did.”
– Martin Cooper, who made the first public call on a mobile phone 50 years ago, remembers the anxiety he felt that day, reports ABC News.
The big story
The rare places with good news about climate change
December 2021
Record-breaking heat waves, floods and wildfires were among just some of the climate disasters that ravaged the world in 2021, killing thousands and straining the limits of our disaster responses.
But amid these strong signs, there were also indications that momentum is beginning to build behind climate action. Indeed, there is good reason now to believe that the world can at least avoid the worst dangers of global warming.
In fact, it is worth highlighting and reflecting on the progress the world has made, because it shows that it can be done – and can be a template for achieving more. Read the full story.
-James Temple
We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these strange times. (Do you have any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet them to me.)
+ Lots of laughter, no shouting and reading newspapers every morning: these 100 tips from 100 centenarians are so life-affirming.
+ This sauna wrapped around a tree looks dreamy.
+ Mmm, kombucha electronics.
+ Brb, I’m going to the MIT Banana Lounge.
+ Why do we stop exploring new music as we get older? It turns out there is an explanation for that.
