{"id":813083,"date":"2024-12-19T21:12:41","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T03:12:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/the-download-2024s-biggest-technology-flops-and-ais-search-for-energy\/"},"modified":"2024-12-19T21:12:41","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T03:12:41","slug":"the-download-2024s-biggest-technology-flops-and-ais-search-for-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/the-download-2024s-biggest-technology-flops-and-ais-search-for-energy\/","title":{"rendered":"The Download: 2024\u2019s biggest technology flops, and AI\u2019s search for energy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Plus: When Trump met TikTok<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n

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This is today’s edition of\u00a0The Download<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.<\/em><\/p>\n

The 8 worst technology failures of 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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They say you learn more from failure than success. If so, this is the story for you: MIT Technology Review\u2019s annual roll call of the biggest flops, flimflams, and fiascos in all domains of technology.<\/p>\n

Some of the foul-ups were funny, like the “woke\u201d AI which got Google in trouble after it drew Black Nazis. Some caused lawsuits, like a computer error by CrowdStrike that left thousands of Delta passengers stranded. And we also reaped failures among startups that raced to expand from 2020 to 2022, a period of ultra-low interest rates. Check out what made our list of this year\u2019s biggest technology failures<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014Antonio Regalado<\/em><\/p>\n

Antonio will be discussing this year\u2019s worst failures with our executive editor Niall Firth in a subscriber-exclusive online Roundtable event today at 12.00 ET. <\/strong>Register here<\/strong><\/a> to make sure you don\u2019t miss outf you haven\u2019t already, <\/strong>subscribe<\/strong><\/a>!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

AI\u2019s search for more energy is growing more urgent<\/strong><\/p>\n

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If you drove by one of the 2,990 data centers in the United States, you\u2019d probably think little more than \u201cHuh, that\u2019s a boring-looking building.\u201d You might not even notice it at all. However, these facilities underpin our entire digital world, and they are responsible for tons of greenhouse-gas emissions. New research shows just how much those emissions have skyrocketed during the AI boom<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That leaves a big problem for the world\u2019s leading AI companies, which are caught between pressure to meet their own sustainability goals and the relentless competition in AI that\u2019s leading them to build bigger models requiring tons of energy. And the trend toward ever more energy-intensive new AI models will only send those numbers higher. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2014James O’Donnell<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. <\/strong>Sign up<\/strong><\/a> to receive it in your inbox every Monday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The must-reads<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve combed the internet to find you today\u2019s most fun\/important\/scary\/fascinating stories about technology.<\/em><\/p>\n

1 TikTok has asked the US Supreme Court for a lifeline\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>
It\u2019s asked lawmakers to intervene before the proposed ban kicks in on January 19. (WP<\/a> $)
+ TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew reportedly met with Donald Trump yesterday. <\/em>(NBC News<\/a>)
+ Trump will take office the following day, on January 20. <\/em>(WSJ<\/a> $)
+ Meanwhile, the EU is investigating TikTok\u2019s role in Romania\u2019s election. <\/em>(Politico<\/a>)<\/p>\n

2 Waymo\u2019s autonomous cars are heading to Tokyo<\/strong>
In the first overseas venture for the firm\u2019s vehicles. (The Verge<\/a>)
+ The cars will require human safety drivers initially. <\/em>(CNBC<\/a>)
+ What\u2019s next for robotaxis in 2024. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

3 China\u2019s tech workers are still keen to work in the US<\/strong>
But securing the right to work there is much tougher than it used to be. (Rest of World<\/a>)<\/p>\n

4 Digital license plates are vulnerable to hacking<\/strong>
And they\u2019re already legal to buy in multiple US states. (Wired<\/a> $)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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5 We\u2019re all slaves to the algorithms
<\/strong>From the mundane (Spotify) to the essential (housing applications.) (The Atlantic<\/a> $)
+ How a group of tenants took on screening systems\u2014and won. <\/em>(The Guardian<\/a>)
+ The coming war on the hidden algorithms that trap people in poverty. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

6 How to build an undetectable submarine<\/strong>
The race is on to stay hidden from the competition. (IEEE Spectrum<\/a>)
+ How underwater drones could shape a potential Taiwan-China conflict. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

7 How Empower became a viable rival to Uber
<\/strong>Its refusal to cooperate with authorities is straight out of Uber\u2019s early playbook. (NYT<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

8 Even airlines are using AirTags to find lost luggage <\/strong>????<\/strong>
<\/strong>Which begs the question: how were they looking for missing bags before?(Bloomberg<\/a> $)
+ Here\u2019s how to keep tabs on your suitcase as you travel. <\/em>(Forbes<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

9 You\u2019re reading your blood pressure all wrong<\/strong>
Keep your feet flat on the floor and ditch your phone, for a start. (WSJ<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

10 The rise and rise of the group chat\u00a0<\/strong>
Expressing yourself publicly on social media is so last year. (Insider<\/a> $)
+ How to fix the internet. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Quote of the day<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u201cWhere are the adults in the room?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014Francesca Marano, a long-time contributor to WordPress, lambasts the platform\u2019s decision to require users to check a box reading \u201cPineapple is delicious on pizza\u201d to log in, 404 Media<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

The big story<\/strong><\/p>\n

Responsible AI has a burnout problem<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/figure>\n

October 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

Margaret Mitchell had been working at Google for two years before she realized she needed a break. Only after she spoke with a therapist did she understand the problem: she was burnt out.<\/p>\n

Mitchell, who now works as chief ethics scientist at the AI startup Hugging Face, is far from alone in her experience. Burnout is becoming increasingly common in responsible AI teams.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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All the practitioners MIT Technology Review interviewed spoke enthusiastically about their work: it is fueled by passion, a sense of urgency, and the satisfaction of building solutions for real problems. But that sense of mission can be overwhelming without the right support. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014Melissa Heikkil\u00e4<\/em><\/p>\n

We can still have nice things<\/strong><\/p>\n

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? <\/em>Drop me a line<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>skeet ’em at me<\/em><\/a>.<\/em>)<\/em><\/p>\n

+ This timelapse of a pine tree<\/a> growing from a tiny pinecone is pretty special ????
+ Shaboozey\u2019s A Bar Song (Tipsy)<\/a> is one of 2024\u2019s biggest hits. But why has it struck such a chord?
+ All hail London\u2019s campest Christmas tree<\/a>!
+ Stay vigilant, Oregon\u2019s googly eye bandit<\/a> has struck again ????<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Rhiannon Williams<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Plus: When Trump met TikTok This is today’s edition of\u00a0The Download ,\u00a0our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. The 8 worst technology failures of 2024 They say you learn more from failure than success. If so, this is the story for you: MIT Technology Review\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":813084,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[171,24097,46],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-813083","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-biggest","8":"category-download","9":"category-technology"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=813083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813083\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/813084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=813083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=813083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=813083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}