Technology

➚ MOVE FAST: Technology. A potentially enormous leap in superconductivity has electrified the global tech sector, while advances in AI, quantum computing, and nuclear fusion signal an acceleration in scientific discovery.

➘ BREAK THINGS: “Tech.” The industry, much of which is really just the new “big media” disguised as neutral platforms, continues to grapple with the same problems that have plagued it for years, from disinformation to content moderation. The biggest innovations lately have come in the form of corporate name changes.

Please babe, let me out of here: A programmer in China created an escape room computer game featuring a girlfriend character powered by ChatGPT. In Yandere AI Girlfriend Simulator, players must find a way to escape the room by negotiating with their “girlfriend” and discovering clues nearby. Each scenario is unique, and there are dozens of different ways to win. A clip of the game uploaded to Bilibili, a popular Chinese video platform, garnered over 3.3 million views. The indie program is an early example of how generative AI could transform the video game industry.

The DOJ’s Binance dilemma

THE SCOOP

U.S. Department of Justice officials are considering fraud charges against crypto exchange Binance, but are concerned about the cost to consumers, according to people familiar with the matter.

Federal prosecutors worry that if they indict Binance, it could cause a run on the exchange similar to the one that befell now bankrupt platform FTX, causing consumers to lose their money and potentially spurring a panic in the crypto markets, the people said.

Prosecutors are considering other options, such as fines and deferred or non-prosecution agreements, according to the people. That outcome would be a compromise, holding Binance responsible for alleged criminal behavior while reducing consumer harm.

The debate highlights the complicated and rapidly evolving nature of crypto enforcement and regulation in the U.S., where firms operate in a legal gray area and consumers enjoy none of the protections of the traditional banking system.

The DOJ declined to comment. Binance didn’t respond to a request for comment.

REED’S VIEW

The DOJ often weighs the effects on innocent consumers, employees, and shareholders when considering whether to bring indictments against big entities. That’s been the case since Arthur Andersen two decades ago.

The question is whether those factors should play a role when it comes to a crypto exchange that operates in a legal gray area.

People who trade crypto on Bianance and were allegedly defrauded by the company’s tactics should’ve known they were taking a bigger risk than they would have on regulated exchanges.

In order to access Binance.com, U.S. citizens need to use a VPN or some other tool to circumvent restrictions.

But that hardly makes Binance’s customers complicit in the company’s alleged misdeeds. Crypto is a mainstream part of the financial system now.

The fact that the DOJ is debating the effects an indictment could have on consumers is, in a way, a nod to the legitimacy of crypto.

For Room for Disagreement and the rest of the story, read here.

Maximum amount that Amazon said it will invest in Israel to expand its cloud-computing business there. The announcement is good news for the country’s embattled tech sector, which has suffered in recent months amid widespread political unrest. Private investment in Israeli startups decreased 29% in the first half of 2023 compared to the last half of 2022, according to a report released earlier this week by a local non-profit.

Apple is cracking down on ChatGPT-style apps in China ahead of new generative AI regulations coming into effect later this month. The iPhone maker reportedly removed more than 100 AI apps from the Chinese iOS store, including a popular chatbot program called ChatGAi Plus. “Based on our review, your app is associated with ChatGPT, which does not have requisite permits to operate in China,” Apple wrote in a notice sent to one developer.

Chinese authorities recently finalized the world’s first regulations targeting generative AI technology, which companies must comply with starting August 15. The rules are less stringent than the ones initially proposed earlier this year, but they still require firms to submit their tools to the government for approval if they have the “capacity to guide public opinion or mobilize society.”

Beijing is trying to walk a fine line between encouraging technological innovation and maintaining total control over what information people can view online. Apple’s decision to censor dozens of generative AI apps indicates maintaining that balance won’t be easy.

— Louise

Regulators in France and Germany have launched privacy investigations into Worldcoin, the cryptocurrency project OpenAI CEO Sam Altman officially launched last week. Kenyan authorities, meanwhile, have temporarily halted the startup from operating in the country.

Governments are concerned that Worldcoin, which is essentially paying people to scan their irises using a proprietary device called the Orb, isn’t getting proper consent before collecting sensitive information. “The legality of this collection seems questionable, as do the conditions for storing biometric data,” the French privacy watchdog CNIL told DeCrypt.

Worldcoin plans to use the iris scans to create a global identity management system it claims will be useful in a sci-fi future where bots are indistinguishable from humans. In exchange for scanning their eyeballs, the startup issues participants 25 Worldcoin tokens, collectively worth about $60 on cryptocurrency exchanges. That’s more than half the average monthly wage in Kenya, as our colleagues at Semafor Africa noted.

Speaking of superconductors, I’m not going to go into the buzz about LK-99, because many others have done a great job of that. Read this great piece in WIRED and watch this super helpful YouTube video, and you’ll know more than most people.

We all hope the research paper out of South Korea that claims to have discovered a room temperature, ambient pressure superconductor, is replicated. Using simulations, researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab found that the material, called LK-99, could theoretically be a superconductor.

It’s impossible to be hyperbolic about what the discovery would mean. It would change everything overnight. Even if there’s some flaw in the research that makes it too good to be true, it may be a useful development on the road to the holy grail of physics.

Sure, it could turn out everybody got excited about nothing. But the excitement itself, and the phrase “we’re back,” mean something. The world is yearning for scientific discovery. If the Korean research can’t be replicated, the response should be to put more pressure on the gas pedal, not less. The U.S. should be pumping more money into basic research so that these kinds of breakthroughs happen more often.

— Reed

• Meta is developing chatbots with different personas, including one that mimics the personality of Abraham Lincoln, according to the Financial Times. The move would put the tech giant in direct competition with billion-dollar startup Character.AI.
• YouTube is piloting an AI tool called Aloud that can automatically dub content in other languages, reports Rest of World. The feature is currently available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and could help creators reach more diverse audiences.

• Big investors are banding together to fight Wall Street fees and chip away at the power held by the finance titans that manage their money.
• ‘This belongs in the Smithsonian’: Inside the meme video operation that swallowed Ron DeSantis’ campaign.
• Warner Bros. apologized for embracing “insensitive” Barbenheimer memes after the studio’s Japanese counterpart called the behavior “extremely regrettable.”