The cryptocurrency ether saw its value climb ahead of the highly anticipated software upgrade known as “the merge.” But even though the changeover went smoothly, ether’s price has fallen since then. And that might not be the only challenge for Ethereum, the network behind ether.
Formula 1, explained for rookies
You’ve been hearing about F1 too, right? Formula 1 is skyrocketing in popularity in the US, driven in part by the Netflix series Drive To Survive. In this video, we’ll break down exactly what you need to know to keep up with this crazy, expensive sport everyone’s suddenly obsessed with. But we’ll also take a deeper look at the big (HUGE*!) question here, which is: Why do this? Why pour so much money, so many bright minds, so much technological effort into F1… into entertainment? The answer is in what we get in return. Formula 1 is much more than a car race. It’s a space program, for the road.
The REAL fight over AI art
Why DALLE, Midjourney, and other AI image generation tools are so controversial…
You’ve probably heard about the AI that can make any image you want. With these, anyone can make art in seconds. Artists, understandably, have concerns about that. This technology has quickly become VERY controversial.
Since we got access to DALLE-2 a few weeks ago, my friend Justin and I have been sending our creations back and forth. It’s a lot of fun. Justin is a designer and animator who works with me on Huge If True. He’s an artist. I’m… not so much. What I noticed as Justin and I were making these is: His were way better than mine! It didn’t feel like the AI was leveling the playing field between us. It felt like it was giving me new skills, but it was giving HIM superpowers.
So, we set up a little competition to test that… and you voted on the results.
Along the way, we’ll explain how these artificial intelligence image generation tools (DALLE-2, Midjourney, stable diffusion, and more) really work, why they’re so controversial, and why they matter for our future.
What is Blockchain
A blockchain is a decentralized, distributed and public digital ledger that is used to record transactions across many computers so that the record cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks and the consensus of the network.
Ethereum’s Merge is Complete- Behind the Scenes of a Pivotal Moment in Blockchain | Forbes
Ethereum Core Developer Preston Van Loon shares his experience of working on the blockchain’s long-awaited transition to proof-of-stake, now complete.
At 6:42 A.M. Coordinated Universal Time (2:42 A.M. EDT), the Ethereum blockchain merged with a special-purpose decentralized ledger called the Beacon Chain, concluding its transition to near-carbon neutrality. The shift may not only mute criticism of blockchain energy usage and serve as a boost to the struggling industry, but it could also help take crypto mainstream. Ethereum underpins the vast majority of Web3 applications such as decentralized finance protocols and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), as well as ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency with a $195 billion market value. The token has risen 3% since the Merge was completed but is currently trading at $1,593, down 0.81% over the past 24 hours.
Since its inception, Ethereum has been using the proof-of-work system for verifying transactions. Popularized by bitcoin, proof-of-work relies on operators of powerful computers, known as miners, that validate each new block of transactions added to the chain by solving complex math puzzles and get rewarded for the effort in the blockchain’s cryptocurrency. The approach has drawn widespread criticism from crypto-skeptics and environmentalists because of its immense energy usage—Ethereum’s carbon footprint has been compared to that of Finland.
Starting today, Ethereum will use an alternative mechanism called proof-of-stake. The switch has been part of the project’s roadmap since early days but faced repeated delays as the proof-of-stake technology evolved. Miners are now replaced with validators, who pledge, or stake, ether tokens as collateral to verify transactions and accrue interest on the staked assets as a reward. As a result, the network’s energy usage should drop by more than 99%, according to the Ethereum Foundation.
Bonus video: What AI art means for human artists
Every technological development brings fears that human workers will be replaced by machines, but those predictions are not always accurate. Now, as AI systems are proving capable of surprisingly creative work, we asked a group of artists, art historians, and others how text-to-image technology will affect those who make a living making images.
The AI that creates any picture you want, explained
How programmers turned the internet into a paintbrush. DALL-E 2, Midjourney, Imagen, explained.
Alternative Uses for Blockchain – Computerphile
Blockchain has a controversial reputation, linked as it is to cryptocurrency but Professor Peter McBurney of Kings College London thinks it’s an important an invention as the web itself.
Why Instagram Reels Is Struggling to Compete Against TikTok | Tech News Briefing Podcast | WSJ
Instagram’s short-form video feature Reels is far behind its biggest rival, TikTok. Internal research reviewed by The Wall Street Journal shows Reels is struggling to get people to watch and create content for the platform.
This Invention Could Supercharge Solar Panels
We’re always chasing better performing and more efficient solar panels to help power our renewable energy future, but no matter how efficient a panel is there are location-based impacts to performance. Solutions like solar trackers can help to overcome some of these issues, but they’re usually not worth it in most cases. Instead of creating more efficient solar cells or tracking the sun, a research team at Stanford has boosted photovoltaic efficiency, even on cloudy days, by concentrating the light that reaches the solar cells without any moving parts. Is improving solar generation really that simple? Let’s see if we can come to a decision on this.