Washington state is readying a $1 million anti-vandalism project, part of which involves testing a $30,000 drone that paints over graffiti. Signed into law on March 15 by Gov. Jay Inslee, the “Graffiti Abatement and Reduction Pilot Program” is scheduled to go into effect on June 6, and includes “field…
Read MoreA father and son designed the world’s fastest quadcopter drone
A father-and-son team recently set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest quadcopter drone, speeding past the previous title holder. After months of fiery trial-and-error, Luke and Mike Bell’s remote-controlled Peregrine 2 design buzzed through the air at a ridiculous 298 mph. While the team’s four-propellor drone achieved its…
Read MoreNeuralink admits patient’s brain implant is partially ‘retracted’
Neuralink quietly published an update earlier this week on the first patient to receive its experimental brain computer interface (BCI), but a troubling detail is buried within the progress report. According to Elon Musk’s company blog post on Wednesday, the implant is partially detached from its user’s brain. The Neuralink…
Read MoreThe World Video Game Hall of Fame announces its 2024 inductees
There are a lot of great video games, but only a select few are considered pivotal enough to earn a place within the World Video Game Hall of Fame. Established in 2015 and located within The Strong National Museum of Play, the Hall of Fame highlights titles that meet four…
Read MoreAncestry and the National Archives are digitizing tens of millions of records
The National Archives is partnering with the genealogy company Ancestry to digitize and index tens of millions of US records related to the military, immigration history, and Indigenous communities over the next 5 years. Announced on Thursday, organizers intend to make an initial 65.5 million documents available online within two…
Read MoreAI ethicists warn of ‘digital hauntings’ from dead loved ones
The internet is filled with personal artifacts, much of which can linger online long after someone dies. But what if those relics are used to simulate dead loved ones? It’s already happening, and AI ethicists warn this reality is opening ourselves up to a new kind of “digital haunting” by…
Read MoreBlasting coffee grounds with ultrasonic waves creates a 60-second cold brew
As the weather continues to warm, many coffee drinkers currently are making their annual transition over to iced coffee. But for those with more sensitive stomachs, cold brew’s comparatively low acidity makes it their preferred year-round caffeine fix. This smoother, creamier, and sweeter brew comes from allowing grounds to steep…
Read MoreMany rural areas could soon lose cell service
Rural and Indigenous communities are at risk of losing cell service thanks to a 2019 law intended to strip US telecom networks of Chinese-made equipment. And while local companies were promised reimbursements as part of the “rip-and-replace” program, many of them have so far seen little of the funding, if…
Read MoreSpace Force finds a dead Cold War-era satellite missing for 25 years
The US Space Force located a tiny experimental satellite after it spent two-and-a–half decades missing in orbit. Hopefully, they’ll be able to keep an eye on it for good—unlike the last time. The S73-7 Infra-Red Calibration Balloon (IRCB) was dead on arrival after ejecting from one of the Air Force’s…
Read MoreWatch a tech billionaire talk to his AI-generated clone
Billionaire LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman has recently released a video ‘interview’ with his new digital avatar, Reid AI. Built on a custom GPT trained on two decades’ worth of Hoffman’s books, articles, speeches, interviews, and podcasts, Reid AI utilizes speech and video deepfake technology to create a digital clone capable…
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