Technology

AI companies love to make bold claims about healthcare. Alphabet’s Isomorphic tells us that “frontier AI can unlock deeper scientific insights, faster breakthroughs, and life-changing medicines.” Lila confidently markets its AI as a tool for “faster discovery for every field where breakthrough science matters.” And they’re spending as though they believe the hype. Anthropic recently acquired stealth startup Coefficient Bio for $400 million. But there’s only one true test of any healthcare AI: Did it work in humans? Did it create a medicine that saved someone’s life? And bluntly, most companies have not achieved that. Let’s look at the number of treatments brought to market. Isomorphic? None. Lila? The same. Marketing claims in AI rarely survive contact with reality. That’s because making real progress in healthcare is hard. To test a new treatment, you need to take it through a Phase 3 clinical trial. That’s typically 10 years and $2 bill

At its factory in Illinois, Rivian will soon use more than 100 retired EV batteries in an on-site power system that will help it save money on electric bills. The electric automaker is one of the first customers of Redwood Materials’s new energy storage business, which takes old or discarded EV batteries—in this case, from Rivian’s own vehicles—and deploys them in a second life on the grid. By making it possible to charge when there’s excess energy available and the cost of electricity is low, the project “can generate significant cost savings that directly contributes to a reduction in the cost of our vehicles,” says Andrew Peterman, who runs Rivian’s advanced energy program. It also means that the manufacturer can use more renewable energy, since excess solar and wind power is available at certain times of day. An aerial view of the Rivian plant in Normal, Illinois [Photo: Rivian] It’s part of Rivian’s larger approach to energy.

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From lava tubes on Mars to ice pockets on Europa, subterranean environments may offer the best chance of finding life—and living safely—beyond our planet.

The practice of privacy-led user experience (UX) is a design philosophy that treats transparency around data collection and usage as an integral part of the customer relationship. An undertapped opportunity in digital marketing, privacy-led UX treats user consent not as a tick-box compliance exercise, but rather as the first overture in an ongoing customer relationship.…

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Aptera co-CEO Steve Fambro posted a data point this morning that neatly illustrates what his company has been trying to build for more than a decade: his solar electric vehicle was generating more electricity from the sun than his house was. Just after 8 a.m., Fambro said his home rooftop was producing 136 watts of solar power while the Aptera sitting outside was putting more than 300W — more than double. Obviously, this is a particular example highlighting different solar optimization strategies, but neat nonetheless. more…

IONNA, the EV charging network created by a coalition of large automakers, will install fast chargers at over 350 sites across America in partnership with convenience store chain Circle K. more…

Software engineering has experienced two seismic shifts this century. First was the rise of the open source movement, which gradually made code accessible to developers and engineers everywhere. Second, the adoption of development operations (DevOps) and agile methodologies took software from siloed to collaborative development and from batch to continuous delivery. Now, a third such…

Nissan calls it a “disruptive” new style. The all-electric Nissan Juke EV looks nothing like the gas-powered crossover and more like a concept. more…

Lucid Motors is peppering the public with press releases this morning, sharing a slew of exciting updates. In addition to naming its next CEO, Lucid has confirmed a new funding raise totaling over 1 billion dollars, consisting of a registered public offering of common stock, plus increased investments from existing partners like Uber. more…

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Want to understand the current state of AI? Check out these charts.  If you’re following AI news, you’re probably getting whiplash. AI is a gold rush. AI is a bubble. AI is taking your job. AI can’t even…

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