{"id":824975,"date":"2025-02-07T00:11:55","date_gmt":"2025-02-07T06:11:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/07\/the-download-smart-glasses-in-2025-and-chinas-ai-scene\/"},"modified":"2025-02-07T00:11:55","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T06:11:55","slug":"the-download-smart-glasses-in-2025-and-chinas-ai-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/07\/the-download-smart-glasses-in-2025-and-chinas-ai-scene\/","title":{"rendered":"The Download: smart glasses in 2025, and China\u2019s AI scene"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Plus: the US has halted parcel deliveries from China <\/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 smart glasses<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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For every technological gadget that becomes a household name, there are dozens that never catch on. This year marks a full decade since Google confirmed it was stopping production of Google Glass, and for a long time it appeared as though mixed-reality products would remain the preserve of enthusiasts rather than casual consumers.<\/p>\n

Fast-forward 10 years, and smart glasses are on the verge of becoming\u2014whisper it\u2014cool. Sleeker designs are certainly making this new generation of glasses more appealing. But more importantly, smart glasses are finally on the verge of becoming useful, and it\u2019s clear that Big Tech is betting that augmented specs will be the next big consumer device category. Here\u2019s what to expect from smart glasses in 2025 and beyond<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014Rhiannon Williams<\/em><\/p>\n

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

Four Chinese AI startups to watch beyond DeepSeek<\/strong><\/p>\n

The meteoric rise of DeepSeek\u2014the Chinese AI startup now challenging global giants\u2014has stunned observers and put the spotlight on China\u2019s AI sector. Since ChatGPT\u2019s debut in 2022, the country\u2019s tech ecosystem has been in relentless pursuit of homegrown alternatives, giving rise to a wave of startups and billion-dollar bets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today, the race is dominated by tech titans like Alibaba and ByteDance, alongside well-funded rivals backed by heavyweight investors. But two years into China\u2019s generative AI boom we are seeing a shift: Smaller innovators have to carve out their own niches or risk missing out. What began as a sprint has become a high-stakes marathon\u2014China\u2019s AI ambitions have never been higher. We have identified these four Chinese AI companies as the ones to watch<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u2014Caiwei Chen<\/em><\/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 The US Postal Service has stopped accepting parcels from China\u00a0<\/strong>
And plunged the ecommerce industry into utter chaos. (Wired<\/a> $)
+ Trump\u2019s China tariffs are coming for Amazon, too. <\/em>(Insider<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

2 Elon Musk has weaponized X in his war on government spending
<\/strong>The billionaire is conducting polls asking users which agency he should gut next. (NYT<\/a> $)
+ Musk\u2019s staffers reportedly entered NOAA headquarters yesterday. <\/em>(The Guardian<\/a>)
+ DOGE now appears to have access to Treasury payment systems. <\/em>(Fast Company<\/a> $)
+ But it does appear as though Trump blocked Musk from hiring a noncitizen. <\/em>(The Atlantic<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

3 Google has quietly dropped its promise not to use its AI to build weapons\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>
Just weeks after rival OpenAI also reversed its anti-weapons development stance. (CNN<\/a>)
+ OpenAI\u2019s new defense contract completes its military pivot. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

4 The metaverse\u2019s future isn\u2019t looking so rosy<\/strong>
Meta\u2019s CTO has conceded that this year is critical to its success or failure. (Insider<\/a> $)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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5 OpenAI is attempting to court Hollywood\u2019s filmmakers<\/strong>
But its Sora video tool has been met with a frosty reception. (Bloomberg<\/a> $)
+ How to use Sora, OpenAI\u2019s video generating tool. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

6 These drones are launching drones to attack other drones
<\/strong>Ukraine is continuing to produce innovative battlefield technologies. (Ars Technica<\/a>)
+ Meet the radio-obsessed civilian shaping Ukraine\u2019s drone defense. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

7 How to make artificial blood <\/strong>????<\/strong>
<\/strong>We\u2019re running out of the real stuff. Is fake blood a viable alternative? (New Yorker <\/a>$)<\/p>\n

8 Students have worked out how to hack schools\u2019 \u2018phone prisons\u2019
<\/strong>Teachers should know that smart kids will always find a workaround. (NY Mag<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

9 Social media can\u2019t give you validation<\/strong>
So stop trying to find it there. (Vox<\/a>)<\/p>\n

10 Internet slang is out of control<\/strong>
Skibidi, gigachad, or deeve, anyone? (WSJ<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

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

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\u201cWhile we encourage people to use AI systems during their role to help them work faster and more effectively, please do not use AI assistants during the application process.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014AI company Anthropic urges people applying to work there not to use chatbots and other tools during the process, the Financial Times<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

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

The race to save our online lives from a digital dark age<\/strong><\/p>\n

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August 2024<\/strong>There is a photo of my daughter that I love. She is sitting, smiling, in our old back garden, chubby hands grabbing at the cool grass. It was taken on a digital camera in 2013, when she was almost one, but now lives on Google Photos.<\/p>\n

But what if, one day, Google ceased to function? What if I lost my treasured photos forever? For many archivists, alarm bells are ringing. Across the world, they are scraping up defunct websites or at-risk data collections to save as much of our digital lives as possible. Others are working on ways to store that data in formats that will last hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of years.<\/p>\n

The endeavor raises complex questions. What is important to us? How and why do we decide what to keep\u2014and what do we let go? And how will future generations make sense of what we\u2019re able to save? Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2014Niall Firth<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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

Plus: the US has halted parcel deliveries from China 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 smart glasses For every technological gadget that becomes a household name, there are dozens that never catch on. This year<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":824976,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24097,3094,46],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-824975","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-download","8":"category-smart","9":"category-technology"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824975","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=824975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/824976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=824975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=824975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=824975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}