The federal government’s tracking of changes in the supply of drugs on the street
By 2021, Maryland Department of Health officials and state police were facing a crisis. Drug overdoses were at an all time high in the state, and authorities did not know why.
Maryland officials sought answers from scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the nation’s metrology institute, which defines and maintains measurement standards essential for a wide range of industries and health and security applications.
There, a research chemist named Ed Sisco and his team had developed methods for detecting trace amounts of drugs, explosives, and other dangerous materials–techniques that could protect law enforcement officials and others who had to collect these samples. A pilot revealed new, crucial information almost immediately. Read the complete story. This story is taken from our next print edition. Subscribe now to get the magazine and read it !
The second phase of military AI is here
– James O’Donnell.
I spoke to two US Marines last week who spent most of the past year in the Pacific conducting training exercises between South Korea and the Philippines. Both were responsible for analyzing the surveillance to alert their superiors of possible threats to their unit. This deployment was different: For the very first time, they used generative AI, similar to ChatGPT, to search for intelligence.
As I wrote in my new story, this experiment is the latest evidence of the Pentagon’s push to use generative AI–tools that can engage in humanlike conversation–throughout its ranks, for tasks including surveillance. Some AI safety experts are concerned about this push, and whether large language models can be used to analyze subtle intelligence in situations that have high geopolitical implications.
Read the full article to learn about three questions that you should be keeping an eye on as the US Military and others around the globe bring generative AI into more parts of the “kill chain.” This story was originally published in The Algorithm – our weekly newsletter on AI. Sign up for our weekly newsletter orto receive stories like this first.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
The FCC wants Europe choose between US and Chinese tech
Trump official Brendan Carr urged Western allies Brendan Carr to choose Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite firm over rival Chinese satellite companies. (FT $)
+ China might look like a less volatile choice right now. The Mag ($)
Nvidia wants its AI supercomputers to be built entirely in the US.
This is a decision that the Trump administration has taken credit for. (WP $)
+ Nvidia has not said how much gear they plan to produce in America. WSJ ($)
+ The production of its latest chip in Arizona has already begun. ($Bloomberg )
Mark Zuckerberg defended Meta on the first day of the antitrust trial.
Mark Zuckerberg downplayed his company’s purchase of Instagram and WhatsApp. The government claims that he purchased the firms in order to stifle competitiveness. The Verge
+ Zuckerberg previously denied that his purchases hurt competition. New OpenAI models are optimized to follow complex instructions. Wired($)
+ Still waiting for confirmation on GPT-5. The Verge
and are here with the second wave of AI-coding. MIT Technology Review
Apple has increased iPhone shipments by 10 percent
This is part of a plan to minimize tariff disruptions. (Bloomberg $)
+ Tariff chaos has wreaked havoc on Apple stocks. We’re learning about the link between long-term covid and cognitive impairment.
Studies suggest age at which a patient contracted covid could be a factor. (WSJ$)
7 Can’t be bothered calling your elderly parents?
How depressing. (404 Media )
This video app hopes TikTok’s uncertain future can be capitalized on
However, unlike TikTok creators are able to hide their likes. TechCrunch ( )
Meet the tech bros that want to live under the sea
The colonization of the sea is a final frontier. (NYT $)
+ Meet divers who are trying to find out how deep humans can dive. MIT Technology Review
10 Google’s new AI model is able to decipher dolphin noises
If you hear them squawking back away. (Ars Technica (19459030])
+ Whales’ communication is more similar to human speech than we thought. MIT Technology Review
Today’s Quote
“If you don’t like an ad, you scroll past it. It takes about a second.”
–Mark Hansen is Meta’s lead attorney and he makes fun of the Federal Trade Commission’s claim that users of Meta’s platforms are bombarded with ads on the first day of Meta’s monopoly case, Ars Technica reports.
Big story
Websites weren’t always slick digital experience.
It was once necessary to open tabs that played music without your consent and sift through walls of text with a colored background. In the 2000s before Squarespace or social media, websites were expressions of individuality, built from scratch by users with some knowledge of HTML.
All over the web, there are communities of programmers who are working to revive an approach that seems outdated. The movement is not just a superficial appeal for retro aesthetics, but rather a celebration of the human touch within digital experiences. Read the full article.
– Tiffany of
