Weather forecasting is having an AI moment

Threads is hurting Twitter

In partnership with Siemens Subscribe The Download Your daily dose of what's up in emerging technology By Rhiannon Williams • 07.11.23 Hello! Today: how AI could help to overhaul how we forecast the weather. Plus: Threads is already giving Twitter a major kicking. Weather forecasting is having an AI moment Last week was the hottest week on record. Punishing heat waves and extreme weather events like hurricanes and floods are going to become more common as the climate crisis worsens, making it more important than ever before to produce accurate weather forecasts.   AI is proving increasingly helpful with that. In the past year, weather forecasting has been having an AI moment.  Using AI to predict weather has a big advantage: it's fast. Traditional forecasting models are big, complex computer algorithms based on atmospheric physics and take hours to run. AI models can create forecasts in just seconds.  But they're unlikely to replace conventional weather prediction models anytime soon—and we don't know if they'll be reliable enough to predict rare and extreme weather events. Read the full story. —Melissa Heikkilä Melissa's story is from The Algorithm, her weekly AI newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Monday. ADVERTISEMENT In partnership with Siemens The emergent industrial metaverse The industrial metaverse will offer participants fully immersive, real-time, and synchronous simulations of the physical world that will usher in a new era of solving real-world problems digitally. Download the report →   The must-reads I've combed the internet to find you today's most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Threads is hurting Twitter Twitter's traffic is tumbling, while Threads already has more than 100 million new users. (WSJ $) + Threads could make a cool $8 billion in the next few years. (Bloomberg $) + Elon Musk is resorting to dirty tactics. (The Guardian) 2 US officials want to delay their social media company contact ban But the judge has already denied a previous request to halt it. (WP $) + Senators are being briefed on AI today. (Reuters) 3 The EU and the US have agreed a data sharing deal It's taken years to thrash out, and a lot of European lawmakers still don't like it. (NYT $) + Social media companies will be relieved. (The Verge) 4 China is drawing up its rules to govern AI It's being forced to offset rapid innovation against state control. (FT $) + China isn't waiting to set down rules on generative AI. (MIT Technology Review) 5 AI detection tools discriminate against non-native English speakers It shows how many AI detection systems aren't fit for purpose. (The Guardian) + AI-text detection tools are really easy to fool. (MIT Technology Review) 6 Real-time crime centers are on the rise They collect extensive surveillance data that privacy advocates claim crosses a line. (Wired $) + Marseille's battle against the surveillance state. (MIT Technology Review)   7 How to cope with climate anxiety  Climate therapy is one way to help people with their fears. (New Yorker $) + Heatwaves claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people in Europe last year. (New Scientist $)    8 Facebook is a breeding ground for illegal wildlife trafficking Rare animals are exchanging hands for vast amounts. (Rest of World) + Governments are using counterterrorism measures to counter poaching. (Slate $)   9 The Earth is lumpy 🌍 It's far less smooth than photos would have us believe. (The Atlantic $) + Earth's low orbit is becoming increasingly crowded. (TechCrunch) 10 Would you pay to smash up a printer? 🖨️ Plenty of people do, it turns out. (WP $) Quote of the day "It's just not easy to kill everybody." —Kjirste Morrell, a professional superforecaster, explains why fears over the threat AI poses to humanity are overblown to the Economist. The big story China's path to modernization has, for centuries, gone through my hometown June 2021 For generations, politicians and intellectuals have sought ways to build a strong China. Some imported tools and ideas from the West. Others left for a better education, but the homeland still beckoned. Yangyang Cheng, a particle physicist at Yale Law School, is a product of their complex legacy. She grew up in Hefei, then a humble, medium-sized city in central-eastern China, which is now a budding metropolis with new research centers, manufacturing plants, and technology startups. For two of the city's proudest sons, born a century apart, a strong homeland armed with science and technology was the aspiration of a lifetime. Cheng grew up with their stories. They teach her about the forces that propelled China's rise, and the way lives can be squeezed by the pressures of geopolitics. Read the full story. We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet 'em at me.) + Learning something new every day isn't only possible—it can even be fun. + I wish I was this pigeon. + If you're a book lover, book yourself on the next available trip to Washington DC. + Think beyond Coachella—there are plenty of niche music festivals out there to suit everyone's tastes. + Is video art better than TikTok clips? You be the judge. Limited Time Only: Save 25% Subscribe for full access to the Accessibility issue and learn how technology can work for everyone. Plus, get in-depth stories on assistive devices, sonification, immigration, and climate change. SUBSCRIBE & SAVE 25% Event ClimateTech Innovations for a sustainable future October 4-5, 2023 Learn more » Top image credit: KSTEPHANIE ARNETT/MITTR | ENVATO, WELLCOME COLLECTION Please send trips to Funky Town to hi@technologyreview.com. Follow me on Twitter at @yannon_. Thanks for reading! —Rhiannon Was this newsletter forwarded to you, and you'd like to see more? Sign up today → View in browser | This email was sent to alexvarboffin.abbb@blogger.com. Manage your preferences | Unsubscribe | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy MIT Technology Review · 196 Broadway, 3rd fl, · Cambridge, MA 02139 · USA Copyright © 2023 MIT Technology Review, All rights reserved. Opt out of all promotional emails and newsletters from MIT Technology Review