The ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ was passed
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India’s struggle for AI Independence
India is far behind China and the US when it comes home-grown AI, despite its reputation as a tech hub.
This gap is a result of India’s chronic underinvestment in R&D and innovation. Since no single native language is used by most of the people, the training process for language models in India is more complex than anywhere else.
When the DeepSeek R1 open-source model suddenly outperformed global competitors, this struck a chord. The launch of a Chinese AI startup forced Indian policymakers into recognizing how much the country lacked in AI infrastructure and how urgently they needed to act. You can read the complete story.
–Shadma Shaikh
Pandemic oracle: Job titles for the future
Conor Browne, a Biorisk Consultant is his official title. He is based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. His advanced degrees include medical ethics and security studies, as well as certifications from the United Nations in conflict resolution and counterterrorism.
His main clients were international energy conglomerates who sought his expert advice on how to navigate the possible turmoil in markets, transportation and other areas.
After studying the SARS epidemic of 2002, he forecast the explosive spread of this new virus. He predicted the impact of this epidemic on a large scale and how it would affect business. His predictions were so accurate that he is now regarded as a “pandemic oracle”. Click here to read the complete story.
–Britta Shoot
The story below is taken from the latest print edition of MIT Technology Review. It explores who has power and who wants to have it. Subscribe to our Newsletter You will receive future releases as soon as they are released.
Must-read Books
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” has been passed
What a terrible blow to the clean energy sector! (Vox)
+ In the US, a crisis of energy affordability is on its way. The Atlantic Dollar
+ To get the bill passed, President Obama struck deals with House Republican Holdouts. (WSJ $)
+ More than 100 climate research projects have been shut down by the Trump Administration. (MIT Technology Review)
Meta Superintelligence Lab welcomes Daniel Gross as a new member
He is leaving the company he founded with Ilya Suksever. (Bloomberg $)
+ Sutskever will take over the role of CEO in his absence. (TechCrunch)
+ What can we infer from Meta’s latest hires? (Semafor)
The AI energy demand could cause global instability
According to the CEO of the largest transformer manufacturer in the world. (FT $)
+ AI’s carbon footprint was calculated. This is the story that you’ve never heard. (MIT Technology Review)
Elon Musk has threatened to launch his own political party
Did anyone actually vote for him? (WP $)
+ His bruising White House experience would seem to have turned him away. New York Mag ($)
Five US companies have stopped exporting chip-design software to China
This suggests that the frosty relationship between nations is thawing. (Reuters)
Trump officials have targeted this ICE app warning system
Lawyers say it’s not illegal. (Wired $)
+ The number of downloads for ICEBlock is increasing. (NBC News)
Air pollution monitoring is made more difficult by wildfires
The current tracking technology can’t accommodate smoke shifting. (Undark)
+ Artificial intelligence can be used to spot fires. (MIT Technology Review)
Apple’s iOS 26 can detect nudity during FaceTime calls
This feature will ask you if it is okay to proceed. (Gizmodo)
DMs are now available on 9 Threads
Users argue that there should be an option to completely opt-out of these services. (TechCrunch)
Hire a robot for a note that you want to be handwritten
You can also write the letter yourself. (Insider $)
Today’s Quote
It’s as if we never spoke.
Richard Wilson is an online dater who believes his latest love interest was using a chatbot before meeting in person. He tells The Washington Post his disappointment.
Another thing
Chinese deepfakes are big business.Sun Kai makes a weekly video call to his mother. They discuss Sun’s daily life. Sun Kai’s mother passed away five years ago. The person Sun is talking to, however, is not a real person but rather a digital copy of her.
Many people, like Sun, want to use AI in order to preserve, interact, and animate their lost loved ones while they grieve and heal. In China, at least a half-dozen companies now offer such technologies. Thousands of people have paid for them.
Some question whether or not interacting with AI-replicas of the deceased is a healthy method of processing grief. It’s also unclear what the ethical and legal implications of using this technology could be. You can read the entire story.
–Zeyi Yang
You can have good things even if you’re not a fanatic
This is a place of comfort, entertainment and fun to make your day brighter. Have you got any ideas? Drop me a line You can also find out more about I’ll skeet them at you .)The wooden interiors are the hottest thing in design right now.
Ian Robinson, a talented artist, creates stunning paintings from vinyl records.
This summer, you’ll be able to find me at the top European wine destinations.
You need to know before Stranger Things comes back this Fall.
