The Download: California AI power plans and why it is so hard to make welfare AI faire
The Downloadis our weekly newsletterthat gives you a daily dose on what’s happening in the worlds of technology.
California will be the first US state that uses AI to manage power outages
California’s statewide grid operator is poised to become the very first in North America that deploys artificial intelligence to manage outages.
Tomorrow, at an industry summit in Minneapolis, the California Independent System Operator will announce a deal for a pilot program utilizing new AI software, called Genie, by the energy-services company OATI.
This software uses generative AI for grid operators to analyze and perform real-time analysis. It also has the potential to make autonomous decisions about key grid functions, similar to the switch from uniformed traffic police to stoplights with sensors. Read the full article.
–Alexander C. Kaufman.
How it’s hard to make welfare AI fair.
There have been many stories of AI systems that have caused harm in sensitive situations. In most of these cases, the systems weren’t developed with much thought about what it meant to fairness or how to implement it.
The city of Amsterdam spent a lot of money and time to create ethical AI. In fact, they followed every recommendation from the responsible AI playbook. When it deployed the AI in the real-world, it was unable to remove biases. Why did Amsterdam fail then? And, more importantly: Can it ever be done correctly?
Join Amanda Silverman, Eileen Guo, an investigative journalist from Lighthouse Reports and Gabriel Geiger, a reporter from Lighthouse Reports for a Roundtables conversation exclusive to subscribers at 1pm ET, Wednesday July 30, to explore whether algorithms can ever truly be fair. Register here!
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” is already hurting sick kids
and hundreds of hospitals will likely close too. His administration is pursuing easy targets including sick children. Salon ($)
Amazon is being hit hard by the US overseas worker purge
Their warehouse employees are losing the right to work in America. (NYT $)
+ So far, the US State Department has terminated more than 1,350 employees. Reuters
3 Nvidia CEO claims China’s Military probably won’t be using its AI chips. (Bloomberg$)
+ Even though the Trump administration has eased export restrictions on chip software tools. FT ($)
+ Rival Huawei plans a major AI chips overhaul. The Information ($)
Four scientists are reportedly hiding LLM instruction in their papers.The Guardian
(WP$)
SpaceX’s revenues are on the rise
as Tesla continues to struggle. Musk is against merging Tesla and xAI (WSJ $)
+ (Reuters ),
and Trump still plans to cut NASA’s budget. The Atlantic($)
+ Rivals rise to challenge SpaceX’s dominance. MIT Technology Review
The Air India crash is attributed to a cutoff in the plane’s supply of fuel
Cockpit recordings reveal that a pilot asked another why he had cut off the supply. (CNN )
Eight The UK’s attempt at aping DOGE isn’t going well
Already, councils are blocking Reform UK’s attempts to access sensitive information. (FT$)
+ DOGE’s tech takeover is a threat to the safety and stability our critical data. MIT Technology Review
9 Even crypto-executives can fall for scams
Ask the top brass at MoonPay who lost $250,000 in Ethereum. (The Verge )
+ The spammers using humor to troll. MIT Technology Review
10 Reasons why landline phones will not die
Business world still loves them. (WSJ$)
Today’s Quote
–A man forced into an online scam center in Myanmar tells Nikkei his experience
Another thing
China is restoring the sea through high-tech marine ranches.Genghai No. 1, a 12,000-metric ton ring of oil-rig style steel platforms, advertised as a hotel and entertainment complex, is located on the northeast coast in China. The 12,000-metric ton ring of oil rig-style steel platforms is advertised as a complex for entertainment and hotel.
Genghai, in fact, is a unique tourist destination that breeds 200,000 “high quality marine fish” every year. The vast majority of the fish are released into oceans as part a process called marine ranching.
According to the Chinese government, this work is urgent and necessary in light of the grim reality that China’s fisheries are collapsing. How much difference can it really make? Read the complete story.
–Matthew Ponsford.
You can still enjoy nice things.
A place to relax, have fun and distract you. (Do you have any ideas? Drop a line to me or skeet them at me
You can make ice-cream at home using just two ingredients.This lecturewill appeal to Pink Floyd fans.
– Spend a few moments immersed in the story of an ancient Indian painting. (NYT $)
+ Remember the days when you would surf the web idly? Here’s how you can recreate them.
