This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology.
This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. As a California state senator, Scott Wiener authored legislation aimed at curbing the risks of advanced AI. Now, after winning a tight congressional race for Nancy Pelosi’s open San Francisco seat, he could play a key role in setting federal AI policy. I spoke with Wiener only a few hours after he had been declared the victor. But he was already thinking about AI risk: during our 20-minute conversation, he used the phrase “recursive self-improvement” half a dozen times. “We need to slow this down,” he told me. “Because it’s moving very quickly, and we could sleepwalk into a disaster.” Still, he describes himself as only “cautiously optimistic” about Congress’s ability to rein in AI.Here’s what he plans to do about it. As voters went to the polls across the US last week, I was in Ashburn, Virginia, part of what’s known as Data Center Alley—the world’s largest data center hub. It’s also where the backlash sweeping the country arguably first began to take shape. Big Tech has framed the data center uproar as a culture war over progress. But a few days in Ashburn convinced me the real fault line may be electricity: drawing it from the grid or generating it onsite provokes different forms of blowback. The industry can improve its image, but it can’t escape the consequences of its enormous appetite for electricity.Find out why. This storyis from The Algorithm, our weekly AI newsletter.Sign upto receive it in your inbox every Monday. I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 The FBI is investigating Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s affairBut Trump says he doesn’t think Huang needs to worry. (AP News)+ Huang hired a PR firm known for handling sex scandals last year.(Wired)+ They also raise questions about Huang’s lobbying on China.(Verge)+ And threaten the fate of the economy.(WP) 3 The Iran war has triggered a drop in global emissionsThe main driver is energy supply constraints. (New Scientist) 9 A tiny RNA molecule could explain how life beganSome researchers believe life emerged from self-copying molecules. (Quanta) 10 A sci-fi novel has won the Booker Prize for the first timeThe End of Everythingwas awarded the prestigious honor. (Gizmodo) —Stacy Rasgon, an analyst at Bernstein,tells Reuterswhy it will be so difficult to replace Jensen Huang as Nvidia CEO. Just a short ferry ride from the Chinese port city of Yantai sits Genghai No. 1, a strange offshore complex that combines a tourist attraction with an industrial fish farm. It even has a seven-story visitor center shaped like a cartoon starfish. But its main purpose is to breed fish and release them into the ocean. Genghai is part of China's ambitious marine ranching program. Since 2015, the country has built 169 demonstration ranches and released at least 167 billion juvenile fish and shellfish. But the approach has also proved controversial. Dive into China's divisive plans to restore the seas with marine ranches. A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas?Drop me a line.) + “Earth artist” David Popa has created a newland-art portraitin the mountains of Norway.+ The winners ofWildlife Photographer of the Yearcapture both the power and fragility of nature.+ A Minnesota man who stopped a runaway school bus got surprised witha $1,000 chequefrom Superman.+ After more than two decades without regular star shows,Frank Lloyd Wright's only planetariumhas been restored. Plus: 22 nations have called for a new global body to oversee AI. Plus: Hackers have disrupted the US Federal Election Commission’s website. Plus: Hackers exposed 41,000 Homeland Security workers. Plus: OpenAI has released 377 new math findings, further rattling the field. Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.