~the-next-web | Bookmarks (329)

When researchers revealed the results of a study on the prevalence of microplastics in human placentas earlier this year, the findings were profoundly disturbing. Researchers analysed 62 placental tissue samples — and found microplastics in all of them.  In the words of the lead author of the study, “If we are seeing effects on placentas, then all mammalian life on this planet could be...

Technology is often accused of causing loneliness. The US Surgeon General recently warned that tech can deepen isolation, increase fear of missing out, and reduce social interaction. Surveys frequently show that isolation among young people surges when their social media use grows. But what could possibly solve these problems caused by tech? Why, more tech of course! It’s a common response from (who else?)...

Last month, Finnish startup Polar Night Energy announced that it is building a giant sand battery capable of heating a town of 5,000 people for up to a month. That’s on a single charge.  Polar Night is constructing the sand battery for the town of Pornainen in southern Finland. The system is expected to enable the town cut all oil use in its district...

Europe’s linguistic diversity has received a boost into the AI era with the launch of new LLMs for Nordic languages. Fittingly named Viking, the model family is the brainchild of Finnish startup Silo AI. The company claims to host Europe’s largest private AI lab and has pledged to protect the continent’s digital sovereignty. Viking is the latest step of that mission. By integrating Danish,...

 Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast — the show where we discuss the latest developments in the European technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most interesting people in the industry. In today’s episode, Linnea and Andrii talk about flying cars, unexpected effects of climate change, espresso origins, and real-life invisibility shields. The guest of the show is...

Health tech has a rocky history. For every story of the Apple Watch saving someone’s life, there’s a Theranos out there ruining it for everyone. Yet the sector marches on. We all want to be healthy and know more about our bodies — and this is an opportunity for profit that tech companies can’t ignore. The problem is that, as consumers, we struggle to...

Two of the leaders in quantum technologies, Quantinuum and Microsoft, today announced a breakthrough in reducing ‘noise’ that could mean quantum advantage is closer than previously thought. When it comes to quantum computing, noise refers to internal and external interference that lead to errors in quantum computations. Without properly conquering challenges such as variations in temperature, external electromagnetic fields, and quantum decoherence, quantum computers...

Amazon Bedrock, the tech giant’s platform for building generative AI applications, has added Mistral Large, the latest and most advanced Large Language Model (LLM) of Mistral AI, to its service. The Paris-based startup released the model in February, boasting its top-tier reasoning capabilities. Mistral Large is also proficient in code, text, and mathematics. It’s fluent in five languages, including English, French, German, Spanish, and...

Days before a total solar eclipse sweeps across North America, scientists in Europe have revealed another plan to block out the sun. The audacious project — called Proba-3 — will align two spacecraft to produce artificial eclipses. By creating this complicated calibration, the mission will capture new views of the Sun — and complete the first-ever precision formation space flight. At an event today...

Opera now becomes the first major browser to offer built-in access to local AI models. Starting today, the Oslo-based company is introducing experimental support for 150 variants of local Large Language Models (LLMs), covering approximately 50 families. These include Mixtral from Mistral AI, Llama from Meta, Gemma from Google, and Vicuna. The introduction of built-in local LLMs come with a series of advantages, according...

The World Bank estimates that by 2050 the global urban population will double in size, putting ever-increasing pressure on city streets, housing markets, infrastructure, government services, and the environment. Luckily, over the last few years, advancements in the fields of AI, IoT, robotics, and the ongoing deployment of 5G have made the timing ripe for new technological solutions to come to the rescue. In...

A few weeks back, Amsterdam announced it was trialling new technology that can automatically reduce ebike speed when riders enter certain parts of the city.   Predictably, the initiative sparked debate. On Reddit, some expressed concerns about data privacy and state nannying, while others felt that stricter measures were needed to protect other road users from ebikes, especially those with aftermarket mods that make them...

Following the recent approval of the EU’s risk-based AI Act, the UK has now partnered up with the US to co-establish testing procedures and guidelines on AI safety. As part of the transatlantic deal, the two countries will combine their capabilities and expertise to develop tests for the most advanced artificial intelligence models and systems, as well as create tools for risk evaluation. The...

In a potentially transformative move for healthcare, the NHS is rolling out an “artificial pancreas” for people suffering from type 1 diabetes. Known as the Hybrid Closed Loop (HCL) system, the artificial pancreas is a device that significantly automates the management of blood sugar and insulin levels — a necessary process for those living with the condition. Specifically, the device continuously monitors blood sugar...

The US is getting increasingly aggressive about TikTok. In March, the House of Representatives passed a bill that could see the Chinese social media app banned across the entire country due to security concerns. If signed into law, the bill would give ByteDance — the company that owns TikTok — six months to sell the platform. If this doesn’t happen, TikTok won’t be accessible...

Technology-related stress, overload, and anxiety are common problems in today’s workplace, potentially leading to higher burnout and poorer health. Many of these issues are likely to have increased since remote working became much more widespread following the pandemic. In 2022, along with colleagues at the University of Nottingham, I conducted a review of the academic literature on the downsides of digital working. We looked...