{"id":819892,"date":"2025-01-14T23:11:54","date_gmt":"2025-01-15T05:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/14\/the-download-the-future-of-nuclear-power-and-fact-checking-mark-zuckerberg\/"},"modified":"2025-01-14T23:11:54","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T05:11:54","slug":"the-download-the-future-of-nuclear-power-and-fact-checking-mark-zuckerberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/14\/the-download-the-future-of-nuclear-power-and-fact-checking-mark-zuckerberg\/","title":{"rendered":"The Download: the future of nuclear power, and fact checking Mark Zuckerberg"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Plus: Elon Musk could become TikTok’s new owner<\/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

What\u2019s next for nuclear power<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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While nuclear reactors have been generating power around the world for over 70 years, the current moment is one of potentially radical transformation for the technology.<\/p>\n

As electricity demand rises around the world for everything from electric vehicles to data centers, there\u2019s renewed interest in building new nuclear capacity, as well as extending the lifetime of existing plants and even reopening facilities that have been shut down.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Efforts are also growing to rethink reactor designs, and 2025 marks a major test for so-called advanced reactors as they begin to move from ideas on paper into the construction phase. Here\u2019s what to expect next for the industry<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014Casey Crownhart<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This piece is part of MIT Technology Review\u2019s What\u2019s Next series, looking across industries, trends, and technologies to give you a first look at the future. You can read the rest of them <\/strong>here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark Zuckerberg and the power of the media<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Tuesday last week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta is done with fact checking in the US, that it will roll back \u201crestrictions\u201d on speech, and is going to start showing people more tailored political content in their feeds. While the end of fact checking has gotten most of the attention, the changes to its hateful speech policy are also notable.<\/p>\n

Zuckerberg\u2014whose previous self-acknowledged mistakes include the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, and helping to fuel a genocide in Myanmar\u2014presented Facebook\u2019s history of fact-checking and content moderation as something he was pressured into doing by the government and media. The reality, of course, is that these were his decisions. He famously calls the shots, and always has. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u2014Mat Honan<\/em><\/p>\n

This story first appeared in The Debrief, providing a weekly take on the tech news that really matters and links to stories we love\u2014as well as the occasional recommendation.<\/strong>
Sign up<\/strong><\/a> to receive it in your inbox every Friday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s our forecast for AI this year<\/strong><\/p>\n

In December, our small but mighty AI reporting team was asked by our editors to make a prediction: What\u2019s coming next for AI?\u00a0<\/p>\n

As we look ahead, certain things are a given. We know that agents\u2014AI models that do more than just converse with you and can actually go off and complete tasks for you\u2014are the focus of many AI companies right now. Similarly, the need to make AI faster and more energy efficient is putting so-called small language models in the spotlight. However, the other predictions were not so clear-cut. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014James O’Donnell<\/em><\/p>\n

This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, <\/strong>sign up here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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To witness the fallout from the AI team\u2019s lively debates (and hear more about what didn\u2019t make the list), you can <\/strong>join<\/strong><\/a> our upcoming LinkedIn Live this Thursday, January 16 at 12.30pm ET. James will be talking it all over with Will Douglas Heaven, our senior editor for AI, and our news editor, Charlotte Jee.<\/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 China is considering selling TikTok to Elon Musk<\/strong>
But it\u2019s unclear how likely an outcome that really is. (Bloomberg<\/a> $)
+ It\u2019s certainly one way of allowing TikTok to remain in the US. <\/em>(WSJ<\/a> $)
+ For what it\u2019s worth, TikTok has dismissed the report as \u2018pure fiction.\u2019 <\/em>(Variety<\/a> $)
+ Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, is dealing with an influx of American users<\/em>. (WP<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

2 Amazon drivers are still delivering packages amid LA fires<\/strong>
They’re dropping off parcels even after neighborhoods have been instructed to evacuate. (404 Media<\/a>)<\/p>\n

3 Alexa is getting a generative AI makeover
<\/strong>Amazon is racing to turn its digital assistant into an AI agent. (FT<\/a> $)
+ What are AI agents? <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

4 Animal manure is a major climate problem<\/strong>
Unfortunately, turning it into energy is easier said than done. (Vox<\/a>)
+ How poop could help feed the planet. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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5 Power lines caused many of California\u2019s worst fires\u00a0<\/strong>
Thousands of blazes have been traced back to power infrastructure in recent decades. (NYT<\/a> $)
+ Why some homes manage to withstand wildfires. <\/em>(Bloomberg<\/a> $)
+ The quest to build wildfire-resistant homes.<\/em> (MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

6 Barcelona is a hotbed of spyware startups<\/strong>
Researchers are increasingly concerned about its creep across Europe. (TechCrunch<\/a>)<\/p>\n

7 Mastodon\u2019s founder doesn\u2019t want to follow in Mark Zuckerberg\u2019s footsteps
<\/strong>Eugen Rochko has restructured the company to ensure it could never be controlled by a single individual. (Ars Technica<\/a>)
+ He\u2019s made it clear he doesn\u2019t want to end up like Elon Musk, either. <\/em>(Engadget<\/a>)<\/p>\n

8 Spare a thought for this Welsh would-be crypto millionaire
<\/strong>His 11-year quest to recover an old hard drive has come to a disappointing end. (Wired<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

9 The unbearable banality of internet lexicon<\/strong>
It\u2019s giving nonsense. (The Atlantic<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

10 You never know whether you\u2019ll get to see the northern lights or not<\/strong>
AI could help us to predict when they\u2019ll occur more accurately. (Vice<\/a>)
+ Digital pictures make the lights look much more defined than they actually are. <\/em>(NYT<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

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

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\u201cCutting fact checkers from social platforms is like disbanding your fire department.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014Alan Duke, co-founder of fact-checking outlet Lead Stories, criticizes Meta\u2019s decision to ax its US-based fact checkers as the groups attempt to slow viral misinformation spreading about the wildfires in California, CNN<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

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

The world is moving closer to a new cold war fought with authoritarian tech<\/strong><\/p>\n

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September 2022<\/strong>Despite President Biden\u2019s assurances that the US is not seeking a new cold war, one is brewing between the world\u2019s autocracies and democracies\u2014and technology is fueling it.<\/p>\n

Authoritarian states are following China\u2019s lead and are trending toward more digital rights abuses by increasing the mass digital surveillance of citizens, censorship, and controls on individual expression.<\/p>\n

And while democracies also use massive amounts of surveillance technology, it\u2019s the tech trade relationships between authoritarian countries that\u2019s enabling the rise of digitally enabled social control. Read the full story<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2014Tate Ryan-Mosley<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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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><\/p>\n

+ Before indie sleaze, there was DIY counterculture site Buddyhead<\/a>.
+ Did you know black holes<\/a> don\u2019t actually suck anything in at all?
+ Science fiction<\/a> is stuck in a loop, and can\u2019t seem to break its fixation with cyberpunk.
+ Every now and again, TV produces a perfect episode. Here\u2019s eight<\/a> of them. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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

Plus: Elon Musk could become TikTok’s new owner 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. What\u2019s next for nuclear power While nuclear reactors have been generating power around the world for over 70 years, the current moment is one<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":819893,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24097,809,46],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-819892","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-download","8":"category-future","9":"category-technology"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819892","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=819892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/819893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=819892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=819892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=819892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}