WEBVTT - Tech News: NASA Plays Galactic Billiards With Asteroid 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:07.800 Welcome to tex Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 0:00:12.080 --> 0:00:15.040 Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 0:00:15.200 --> 0:00:18.120 Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio 0:00:18.160 --> 0:00:20.720 and I love all things tech. And this is the 0:00:20.760 --> 0:00:25.720 tech news for Tuesday, November twenty three, twenty twenty one. 0:00:26.120 --> 0:00:28.200 And just as a heads up, we will not have 0:00:28.240 --> 0:00:31.760 a news episode on Thursday because here in America that 0:00:32.000 --> 0:00:36.559 is Thanksgiving, So we will be playing our history of 0:00:36.640 --> 0:00:40.080 Cyber Monday episode on Thursday, which I feel is going 0:00:40.159 --> 0:00:44.000 to become my own annual tradition. Anyway, let's get to 0:00:44.040 --> 0:00:49.240 the news. One of the biggest stories of and mental note, 0:00:49.280 --> 0:00:52.239 I should probably remember that when I do an end 0:00:52.280 --> 0:00:55.840 of the year wrap up episode has been about Facebook 0:00:55.920 --> 0:00:59.720 internal documents that got leaked to regulators and the press, 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:05.000 along with whistleblower Francis Hogan's testimony to various governmental bodies 0:01:05.040 --> 0:01:09.800 around the world regarding Facebook's policies and it's impact on 0:01:09.840 --> 0:01:13.920 the world. Well, now, a collection of organizations are committed 0:01:13.959 --> 0:01:17.520 to releasing those documents so that folks like you or 0:01:17.600 --> 0:01:21.160 I will be able to see them. Note uh, this 0:01:21.280 --> 0:01:24.040 presumes that you aren't already a member of one of 0:01:24.080 --> 0:01:27.800 those regulatory bodies or part of the press that received 0:01:27.800 --> 0:01:32.200 the documents. People from the American Civil Liberties Union and 0:01:32.319 --> 0:01:36.080 several universities, as well as the tech news outlet Gizmoto, 0:01:36.200 --> 0:01:39.280 are partnering to go through the documents and make them 0:01:39.360 --> 0:01:43.639 available to everyone. They plan on reviewing each document first 0:01:43.720 --> 0:01:46.200 in order to protect the privacy and security of people 0:01:46.240 --> 0:01:48.720 who might be named in those documents. They don't want 0:01:48.720 --> 0:01:52.360 to docks anyone. And also in the case of documents 0:01:52.440 --> 0:01:57.400 relating to specific countries like besides the United States, they 0:01:57.440 --> 0:02:00.640 plan on enlisting the aid of people from those countries 0:02:01.000 --> 0:02:03.800 before they decide to release the documents. So, in other words, 0:02:04.000 --> 0:02:07.360 it sounds like they are working towards establishing a responsible 0:02:07.400 --> 0:02:11.919 process when it comes to releasing all those internal documents, 0:02:11.919 --> 0:02:14.320 as opposed to just you know, dumping them on a 0:02:14.360 --> 0:02:18.960 cloud server somewhere. Facebook reps have repeatedly argued that these 0:02:19.000 --> 0:02:22.800 documents that were cited by various media outlets have been 0:02:22.840 --> 0:02:26.240 misleading and that they only play a small part in 0:02:26.280 --> 0:02:29.360 a much larger picture. And I'm not saying that the 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:33.960 thousands of documents are a definitive repository of all things Facebook, 0:02:34.560 --> 0:02:37.200 but it might be a harder sell to defend the 0:02:37.280 --> 0:02:41.000 company should those documents prove to be as damaging as 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:44.720 has been indicated over the last couple of months. One 0:02:44.760 --> 0:02:48.600 document that wasn't in that big leak was one that 0:02:48.680 --> 0:02:53.800 alleges Facebook executives chose to override researchers suggestions to tweak 0:02:53.960 --> 0:02:57.520 the Facebook algorithm in an effort to curb the spread 0:02:57.600 --> 0:03:02.160 of hate speech and racism. Business Insider reports that the 0:03:02.200 --> 0:03:06.840 document shows researchers had identified issues with this algorithm, pointing 0:03:06.840 --> 0:03:10.000 out how it would allow for the spread of hateful 0:03:10.040 --> 0:03:15.359 and harmful speech that predominantly targeted ethnic minorities. But because 0:03:15.480 --> 0:03:19.000 Facebook has been the target of criticism from white conservatives 0:03:19.000 --> 0:03:22.919 in the past, including powerful media outlets like Fox News, 0:03:23.400 --> 0:03:26.960 the executives that Facebook didn't want to make any changes 0:03:27.280 --> 0:03:29.560 for fear that it would seem as though the company 0:03:29.720 --> 0:03:34.000 was actively opposing white conservatives. The name of the research 0:03:34.040 --> 0:03:38.120 project was Project Wow No. Business Insider also refers to 0:03:38.120 --> 0:03:41.640 it as quote the worst of the worst end quote 0:03:41.760 --> 0:03:47.040 meaning the worst content and comments. The document apparently also 0:03:47.080 --> 0:03:51.720 indicates that Facebook's content moderation algorithms are much better at 0:03:51.760 --> 0:03:56.080 detecting and suppressing content that targets white people, but not 0:03:56.280 --> 0:03:59.640 so great when it comes to people of color. So 0:03:59.840 --> 0:04:02.960 not only did the executives nix the idea of adjusting 0:04:02.960 --> 0:04:06.720 the algorithm to protect vulnerable populations, they were supporting an 0:04:06.720 --> 0:04:10.480 algorithm that protects a group that you know, arguably really 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:14.320 doesn't need protection to start with. The document also includes 0:04:14.320 --> 0:04:17.400 a passage that says Facebook execs, We're worried about offending 0:04:17.440 --> 0:04:22.560 conservatives who think quote hate targeted towards trans people is 0:04:22.600 --> 0:04:27.719 an expression of opinion. End quote. Now, y'all, let me 0:04:27.800 --> 0:04:33.160 just say that is a wretched, horrible thing to even think, 0:04:33.600 --> 0:04:38.120 let alone put down in an internal document. A glance 0:04:38.200 --> 0:04:41.760 at statistics like the suicide rate among trans youth will 0:04:41.760 --> 0:04:45.400 tell you straight away that targeted hate has a very real, 0:04:46.000 --> 0:04:49.440 very tragic effect on those who are targeted, and to 0:04:49.520 --> 0:04:53.520 dismiss it as an expression of opinion is so callous 0:04:53.640 --> 0:04:57.520 as to be disgusting. Then for Facebook executives to say 0:04:57.600 --> 0:05:01.840 they're worried about offending people who think that way is 0:05:01.880 --> 0:05:06.240 stomach churning. All right, I'm gonna hop off my soapbox. 0:05:06.440 --> 0:05:09.240 I know y'all don't like it, but you know I've 0:05:09.279 --> 0:05:12.360 got this platform and I feel like i'm going to 0:05:12.520 --> 0:05:16.839 use it. Another big tech news last week, Reuters reported 0:05:17.120 --> 0:05:21.960 that Amazon had been behind vigorous lobbying efforts to undermine 0:05:22.000 --> 0:05:27.600 consumer privacy protection laws in twenty five states. That's that's 0:05:27.680 --> 0:05:30.560 half of all the states for those of y'all not 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:34.680 in the US. Now, several members of Congress are proposing 0:05:34.920 --> 0:05:39.239 a federal level of consumer privacy legislation that would apply 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:43.280 across all fifty states. The report showed that Amazon has 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:48.360 been working hard to whittle away, or sometimes hack away, 0:05:48.400 --> 0:05:52.280 protections that would prevent the company from harvesting vast amounts 0:05:52.320 --> 0:05:56.320 of personal data of customers and others. On top of that, 0:05:56.480 --> 0:05:59.880 Reuters has quoted a few people who say Amazon has 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:04.719 and pretty hypocritical, paying lips service to the concept and 0:06:04.800 --> 0:06:08.520 the importance of data privacy and security in public, while 0:06:08.600 --> 0:06:13.279 simultaneously privately working to remove any barrier that would stand 0:06:13.320 --> 0:06:18.679 between the company and that precious, precious information. Amazon reps 0:06:18.680 --> 0:06:21.600 have also essentially said, Hey, we just want a nice 0:06:21.680 --> 0:06:24.240 unified privacy law so that we can have a set 0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:27.840 standard and operate that way across the United States. And 0:06:27.920 --> 0:06:30.320 on the surface you can sort of understand that, I 0:06:30.360 --> 0:06:33.920 mean each state having a different definition and standard for 0:06:34.000 --> 0:06:40.159 privacy makes operating across state borders pretty complicated. However, that 0:06:40.240 --> 0:06:43.560 doesn't explain away all the actual efforts to gut the 0:06:43.640 --> 0:06:48.400 existing state legislation. Amazon could have instead lobbied for a 0:06:48.560 --> 0:06:52.919 nationwide federal standard, so I would say Amazon's explanation is 0:06:52.960 --> 0:06:56.760 only partly true. Anyway, We'll have to wait and see what, 0:06:56.960 --> 0:07:00.960 if any legislation follows from this and show effort. There's 0:07:00.960 --> 0:07:05.600 no guarantee that anything will actually come about due to this. 0:07:06.440 --> 0:07:09.720 Let's shift over to Apple, a company that also has 0:07:09.760 --> 0:07:13.000 had a rough time PR wise in recent months. I 0:07:13.040 --> 0:07:16.680 should add, by the way, that all of these companies, Facebook, Amazon, 0:07:16.800 --> 0:07:20.120 and Apple have been raking in cash by the truckload. 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:25.640 So while it might be rough in the papers when 0:07:25.680 --> 0:07:28.200 it comes to the amount of money they're bringing in 0:07:28.240 --> 0:07:32.720 and the amount of of hikes they're seeing in share price, 0:07:33.840 --> 0:07:37.640 that that doesn't necessarily reflect the you know, the same 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:40.400 sort of PR issues in the news. So it's it's 0:07:40.440 --> 0:07:44.280 like two different worlds. Anyway, Apple recently told the U 0:07:44.440 --> 0:07:49.040 S Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC that Apple did 0:07:49.080 --> 0:07:52.680 not use non disclosure agreements or in DA's in order 0:07:52.760 --> 0:07:58.040 to prevent people from revealing you know, acts of quote harassment, discrimination, 0:07:58.160 --> 0:08:01.280 and other unlawful acts in quote. So in other words, 0:08:01.480 --> 0:08:05.160 Apple was saying, we don't make people sign legal agreements 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:08.840 to prevent the dirty laundry from getting out. But then 0:08:08.880 --> 0:08:13.240 a former Apple employee named share Scarlett filed a whistleblower 0:08:13.360 --> 0:08:16.920 complaint with the SEC and then subsequently she came forward. 0:08:16.960 --> 0:08:20.640 She had previously been referred to as an anonymous former employee, 0:08:21.160 --> 0:08:24.760 and in her complaint Scarlett revealed that Apple does indeed 0:08:25.040 --> 0:08:28.800 issue in DA's at least in some cases. Scarlett worked 0:08:28.800 --> 0:08:31.160 as an engineered Apple, but she also was you know, 0:08:31.200 --> 0:08:33.920 working behind the scenes to push for changes in policy, 0:08:34.360 --> 0:08:37.720 such as a move toward pay equity among Apple employees. 0:08:38.120 --> 0:08:41.520 And when she left the company, Apple lawyers urged her 0:08:41.559 --> 0:08:44.880 to sign what if was effectively a gag order that 0:08:44.960 --> 0:08:48.520 would limit her explanation of why she left as quote, 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:51.640 after eighteen months at Apple, I've decided it is time 0:08:51.679 --> 0:08:55.600 to move on and pursue other opportunities end quote. She 0:08:55.720 --> 0:08:59.319 shared that in d a with a company called or 0:08:59.360 --> 0:09:02.679 an organization and called NIA Impact Capital that is an 0:09:02.720 --> 0:09:07.880 activist investor organization. It holds share of Apple and it 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:11.319 has currently been trying to force a vote among other 0:09:11.360 --> 0:09:15.400 shareholders that would make Apple reveal its use of India's 0:09:15.400 --> 0:09:18.480 and be more transparent in the future. Uh, something that 0:09:18.600 --> 0:09:20.800 I suspect the company would not be too keen on, 0:09:21.160 --> 0:09:24.480 seeing as how they just told the SEC earlier last 0:09:24.520 --> 0:09:28.640 month that they totally didn't do that. Later today, we 0:09:28.679 --> 0:09:31.600 expect to hear an announcement that Samsung will establish a 0:09:31.640 --> 0:09:35.640 new chip making plant in Taylor, Texas. That's about a 0:09:35.679 --> 0:09:39.200 stone's throw away from Austin if you can throw a stone, 0:09:39.400 --> 0:09:42.520 you know, thirty miles or so. The facility would likely 0:09:42.600 --> 0:09:46.880 build chips, not for Samsung products, but more as a 0:09:46.920 --> 0:09:50.960 business to business that has other corporations as its customers. 0:09:51.000 --> 0:09:53.600 So you or I wouldn't go out and you know, 0:09:53.640 --> 0:09:57.320 purchase a chip from this company. These chips would be 0:09:57.320 --> 0:10:00.560 going into products that other companies make. The plant is 0:10:00.559 --> 0:10:02.800 not expected to go into production for a couple of 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:05.280 years because it's going to take time to build out 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:07.520 the facility and attract the talent and all that kind 0:10:07.520 --> 0:10:11.280 of stuff. Apparently, the city of Taylor, Texas offered up 0:10:11.320 --> 0:10:15.199 some pretty generous tax benefits. According to the Wall Street Journal, 0:10:15.400 --> 0:10:18.760 the plant will have a nine reduction in property taxes 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:22.559 over its first decade. There's been a recent push to 0:10:22.600 --> 0:10:25.120 bring more chip manufacturing over to the United States in 0:10:25.200 --> 0:10:28.440 the wake of the worldwide shortages and supply chain issues 0:10:28.440 --> 0:10:31.880 we've seen. Of course, the US also has these you know, 0:10:32.000 --> 0:10:35.800 pesky laws that protect people and thus make it way 0:10:35.800 --> 0:10:39.040 more expensive to build stuff over here. That's me being snarky. 0:10:39.080 --> 0:10:41.840 By the way, I am fully in favor of protecting workers, 0:10:42.120 --> 0:10:43.920 and in fact, I would actually love to see more 0:10:43.960 --> 0:10:47.480 manufacturing moved places that aren't as egregious when it comes 0:10:47.520 --> 0:10:50.199 to exploiting workers. Not saying that the United States is 0:10:50.240 --> 0:10:53.160 perfect on that regard, not by a long shot, but 0:10:53.320 --> 0:10:57.199 compared to some other countries, it's leagues ahead. Well, there 0:10:57.200 --> 0:10:59.960 are other efforts around the world to establish new manufact 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:03.640 training facilities in order to kind of smooth things out 0:11:03.679 --> 0:11:06.520 alleviate the supply chain issues, but obviously it's going to 0:11:06.640 --> 0:11:08.720 take a couple of years for them to come online, 0:11:09.200 --> 0:11:11.040 and there's still the question of whether or not it 0:11:11.080 --> 0:11:14.600 actually ends up solving the problem, or if it just 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:18.800 becomes another complicated cog in a very complex machine. In 0:11:18.840 --> 0:11:22.760 the meantime, we should expect more supply chain woes. Speaking 0:11:22.760 --> 0:11:27.400 of Texas, there's a development in that state that concerns me. Actually, 0:11:27.400 --> 0:11:29.360 to be fair, there are a lot of developments in 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:31.440 Texas that concerned me, but the one I was thinking 0:11:31.480 --> 0:11:35.679 about was how the state is courting bitcoin mining operations. 0:11:36.559 --> 0:11:39.000 And this has to do with power consumption. Okay, so 0:11:39.120 --> 0:11:41.679 last year, or actually this past year, in February of 0:11:43.000 --> 0:11:48.199 Texas had some pretty massive blackouts during a particularly harsh 0:11:48.240 --> 0:11:52.800 cold front that brought temperatures way way down. And yeah, 0:11:52.960 --> 0:11:54.920 I know there are parts of the world that are 0:11:54.960 --> 0:11:57.960 way colder than what Texas got to, but you gotta 0:11:58.120 --> 0:12:01.880 remember Texas does not have the infrastructure to deal with 0:12:01.960 --> 0:12:05.720 super low temperatures. It's not common in that state. And 0:12:05.840 --> 0:12:09.679 Texas has a power grid authority called ERCOTT e R 0:12:09.760 --> 0:12:15.640 c OT. Ironically that stands for Electric Reliability Council of Texas, 0:12:16.080 --> 0:12:19.760 and it's responsible for about nine of the state's electric load. 0:12:20.200 --> 0:12:23.000 So pretty much everything apart from say like the far 0:12:23.120 --> 0:12:27.120 west of Texas is under ARCOT. When the cold weather hit, 0:12:27.400 --> 0:12:31.880 demand for electricity exceeded ercott's capacity and ARCOTT began to 0:12:31.920 --> 0:12:37.040 implement blackouts. The price for electricity also skyrocketed at that time. 0:12:37.120 --> 0:12:40.360 It it's hard to even express how high it went. 0:12:40.760 --> 0:12:43.520 The governor of Texas said that the you know, arcot 0:12:43.720 --> 0:12:46.200 reform would be a high priority. There would have to 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:50.200 be a full investigation, and the the agency would have 0:12:50.360 --> 0:12:54.840 to put in place preparations for uh, you know, high 0:12:54.880 --> 0:12:57.800 demand winters in the future. And the reason I bring 0:12:57.840 --> 0:13:00.560 all that up is because bitcoin mining require there's a 0:13:00.559 --> 0:13:03.600 lot of electricity. And that's because bitcoin works on a 0:13:03.640 --> 0:13:07.880 proof of work concept, uh that is, one in which 0:13:07.920 --> 0:13:12.760 computers compete against each other. They are the mining operations, 0:13:13.120 --> 0:13:15.520 and they rush to try and solve what is essentially 0:13:15.600 --> 0:13:17.560 a very hard math problem. I mean, it's kind of 0:13:17.559 --> 0:13:22.600 similar to guessing a truly huge number. Anyway, bitcoin miners, 0:13:22.840 --> 0:13:26.760 at least the successful ones, use vast networks of powerful 0:13:26.800 --> 0:13:29.440 machines in order to get to that solution first, and 0:13:29.480 --> 0:13:33.400 those machines require a lot of electricity in order to operate. 0:13:33.760 --> 0:13:37.120 So the concern is that Texas has power grid, which 0:13:37.160 --> 0:13:40.440 is already a little bit you know weak, is not 0:13:40.640 --> 0:13:43.880 up to the task of supporting those mining operations, that 0:13:43.960 --> 0:13:47.120 the state is actively trying to attract, and that this 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:49.880 could potentially lead to similar situations like what we saw 0:13:49.920 --> 0:13:54.000 this past February. Now, the expectation is that Urcott will 0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:58.280 offer up some sort of incentive that would essentially pay 0:13:58.400 --> 0:14:03.160 bitcoin miners to not use electricity during times of peak demand. 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:06.880 But critics point out that most bitcoin mining operations would 0:14:06.880 --> 0:14:09.600 likely be more inclined to just keep mining because the 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:13.479 profits for mining would be way more than any incentive 0:14:13.520 --> 0:14:16.440 the state could offer, unless the price of electricity for 0:14:16.480 --> 0:14:20.160 bitcoin miners goes way way up. Like if Urcott said, 0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:22.120 all right, but if you want to use electricity at 0:14:22.120 --> 0:14:24.040 this peak time, it's going to cost you, you know, 0:14:24.120 --> 0:14:27.600 a thousand times more, that would pretty much drive away 0:14:27.800 --> 0:14:30.160 the very people that the state is trying to attract. 0:14:30.440 --> 0:14:32.800 So the fear is that the bitcoin miners would just 0:14:32.880 --> 0:14:36.000 keep gobbling up electricity even in high demand times and 0:14:36.000 --> 0:14:39.360 thus contribute to a situation that could result in more blackouts. 0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:42.440 We've got some more news to cover, but before we 0:14:42.480 --> 0:14:53.240 get to that, let's take a quick break. We're back 0:14:53.960 --> 0:14:57.560 over in the UK. The government has created a mandate 0:14:57.640 --> 0:15:00.960 that will require all new buildings and looting homes to 0:15:01.080 --> 0:15:05.800 include electric vehicle charge points starting next year. The UK 0:15:06.080 --> 0:15:09.400 is the first country to issue such a mandate, but 0:15:10.120 --> 0:15:13.200 it really does make a lot of sense. As we 0:15:13.240 --> 0:15:16.240 see more countries commit to switching to an electric vehicle 0:15:16.320 --> 0:15:19.720 fleet over the next decade, it becomes imperative that those 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:23.360 countries also make sure that there's an infrastructure there to 0:15:23.440 --> 0:15:26.200 support the move. I mean, after all, like the the 0:15:26.240 --> 0:15:29.960 gasoline or petrol for those in the UK, UH, that 0:15:30.040 --> 0:15:33.400 infrastructure has been around for more than a century and 0:15:33.480 --> 0:15:36.400 so you know, there's been plenty of time for it 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:39.120 to be built up. We're now talking about switching over 0:15:39.160 --> 0:15:42.040 to something that has a bit of infrastructure there. You know, 0:15:42.080 --> 0:15:47.080 some places are have a more dense uh population of 0:15:47.080 --> 0:15:50.320 of charging stations than others, but this is a real 0:15:50.440 --> 0:15:53.920 move to make sure that it becomes common throughout the 0:15:54.080 --> 0:15:57.080 entire nation. There's also plans that if you're making any 0:15:57.160 --> 0:16:00.680 large renovations, if you have parking space is for ten 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:04.040 or more vehicles or I guess more than ten vehicles 0:16:04.080 --> 0:16:07.480 in your you know that building, you are also required 0:16:07.520 --> 0:16:11.840 to install some electric vehicle charging points. The UK currently 0:16:11.880 --> 0:16:15.960 plans to end the sale of new gas powered or 0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:19.840 diesel powered vehicles by people will still be allowed to 0:16:19.880 --> 0:16:23.880 buy and sell used cars that run on petrol or diesel, 0:16:24.320 --> 0:16:30.040 but all new cars starting that year will be electric vehicles. Okay, 0:16:30.080 --> 0:16:32.920 we all know that Facebook. The company changed its name 0:16:32.960 --> 0:16:36.560 to Meta and that Meta plans to launch a Metaverse 0:16:36.680 --> 0:16:40.040 product in the not too distant future. But it is 0:16:40.080 --> 0:16:44.000 not the only company itchen to get meta. Another one 0:16:44.160 --> 0:16:47.440 is Niantic. That's the company that originally started as a 0:16:47.440 --> 0:16:50.520 project at Google and then spun off to be a 0:16:50.640 --> 0:16:54.120 very successful game company. It's best known as the company 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:57.880 behind the game Pokemon Go, but it also makes or 0:16:58.120 --> 0:17:02.960 made a few other games that incorporate augmented reality features. 0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:05.920 So at the heart of Niantics games is this kind 0:17:05.960 --> 0:17:09.520 of general philosophy that centers on getting people out into 0:17:09.560 --> 0:17:12.280 the real world to interact with the game in the 0:17:12.359 --> 0:17:17.160 virtual space. So they use technology to enhance rather than replace, 0:17:17.400 --> 0:17:21.320 our physical surroundings. So, for example, in Pokemon Go, the 0:17:21.440 --> 0:17:26.120 site of various Pokemon gems tends to correspond with interesting 0:17:26.200 --> 0:17:29.560 real world locations. So the ideas you travel to that 0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:34.040 location to play the game, and in theory, you also 0:17:34.200 --> 0:17:36.679 enjoy the physical space itself, you know, might be of 0:17:36.800 --> 0:17:40.800 some cultural significance or otherwise interesting. So the ideas you 0:17:40.840 --> 0:17:43.000 get out and about and you see stuff around that 0:17:43.080 --> 0:17:46.359 you might not otherwise ever look at. That's the idea, well, 0:17:46.440 --> 0:17:50.360 Niantics metaverse plans sound like it's an extension of that 0:17:50.400 --> 0:17:54.080 philosophy that the company will offer up an expanded a 0:17:54.400 --> 0:17:57.920 r d K that stands for Augmented Reality Developer Kit. 0:17:58.400 --> 0:18:01.040 So this will let other company needs build a R 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:06.840 based experiences, including games, using Niantics tools. So the Niantic 0:18:07.000 --> 0:18:10.719 metaverse is a very different take than the you know, 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:13.800 put on VR goggles and replace the real world with 0:18:13.880 --> 0:18:17.800 a digital one approach. In pursuit of that goal, Niantic 0:18:17.960 --> 0:18:22.240 has raised three hundred million dollars in funding, and that 0:18:22.280 --> 0:18:26.600 brings the valuation of the company up to nine billion bucks. 0:18:27.560 --> 0:18:31.760 When it comes to existential threats, a collision between the 0:18:31.800 --> 0:18:35.600 Earth and a large asteroid or comet or some other 0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:39.359 celestial debris is a big one. I mean, it's happened before, 0:18:39.760 --> 0:18:44.480 and statistically speaking, it will happen again. The question is 0:18:44.480 --> 0:18:48.040 really just when will it happen? Well, NASA plans to 0:18:48.119 --> 0:18:52.760 test a system called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test or 0:18:53.000 --> 0:18:56.760 DART with a launched this scheduled for today. The launch 0:18:56.880 --> 0:19:00.280 vehicle will push a spacecraft called the DART that will 0:19:00.359 --> 0:19:04.119 use what NASA describes as a kinetic impact or technique 0:19:04.359 --> 0:19:08.719 to change the path of an asteroid traveling through space. Now, first, 0:19:08.920 --> 0:19:12.359 just to calm some nerves, the target asteroid that NASA 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:16.080 has chosen is not one that is on any sort 0:19:16.119 --> 0:19:19.040 of collision course with Earth, so this is literally just 0:19:19.119 --> 0:19:21.760 a test to see if this method is viable. The 0:19:21.920 --> 0:19:26.360 particular asteroid Dart will aim for has the name Dimorphous, 0:19:26.800 --> 0:19:31.600 and it circles around another larger asteroid called Didimus. The 0:19:31.720 --> 0:19:36.919 Dart spacecraft will essentially slam into Dimorphous in an effort 0:19:36.960 --> 0:19:39.280 to change its path and bring it into a tighter 0:19:39.400 --> 0:19:42.439 orbit around Didimus. And you can think of this as 0:19:42.520 --> 0:19:45.640 kind of like a game of galactic billiards. The cub 0:19:45.640 --> 0:19:48.920 ball hits the target ball and that moves it out 0:19:49.000 --> 0:19:52.399 the way. There are other proposed methods of diverting the 0:19:52.400 --> 0:19:55.440 path of asteroids. Some of them require us to identify 0:19:55.520 --> 0:19:59.359 the threat very early on and then rapidly respond to it. So, 0:19:59.440 --> 0:20:03.159 for example, there's a proposal of using a spacecraft to 0:20:04.040 --> 0:20:09.000 fly by an asteroid and alter its path through gravitational attraction. 0:20:09.160 --> 0:20:12.200 So it would be kind of like towing the asteroid 0:20:12.280 --> 0:20:16.800 out of its collision course with the Earth. The gravitational 0:20:17.040 --> 0:20:19.480 attraction would be slight, but it would be enough to 0:20:19.800 --> 0:20:23.200 affect the asteroids pathway, and if you catch the asteroid 0:20:23.280 --> 0:20:26.399 far enough out from the Earth, well you only have 0:20:26.480 --> 0:20:29.400 to change its path a tiny little bit for it 0:20:29.440 --> 0:20:33.400 to completely miss the planet and you remove the threat. However, 0:20:33.920 --> 0:20:37.440 the approach that Dart takes is a more let's say, 0:20:37.480 --> 0:20:41.360 direct method to change an asteroid's path. Also, if you're 0:20:41.359 --> 0:20:43.920 wondering about the science fiction film Armageddon, in which a 0:20:43.920 --> 0:20:47.280 group of space miners and plant and explosive to destroy 0:20:47.280 --> 0:20:51.840 and incoming threat, that would not work. At best, the 0:20:51.880 --> 0:20:54.720 exploded bits would just reform in space due to that 0:20:54.840 --> 0:20:58.440 gravitational attraction I was just talking about, so they would 0:20:58.440 --> 0:21:02.359 effectively be one big thing again. But at worst you 0:21:02.359 --> 0:21:05.359 would turn what was originally kind of a bullet into 0:21:05.400 --> 0:21:08.760 a cloud of shotgun pellets. Either way, it is not 0:21:09.000 --> 0:21:13.320 a solution. Motherboard reports that NASA is looking for proposals 0:21:13.440 --> 0:21:17.119 for nuclear power plant designs. This power plant would not 0:21:17.160 --> 0:21:20.720 be located on Earth, however, but on the Moon. I 0:21:20.760 --> 0:21:23.760 find that really interesting because it raises some big questions. 0:21:24.240 --> 0:21:26.000 I mean, if we are to establish any sort of 0:21:26.080 --> 0:21:30.080 lunar base, clearly we're gonna need electrical power. So this 0:21:30.200 --> 0:21:33.160 is a problem we have to solve. But nuclear fission 0:21:33.760 --> 0:21:36.119 is a tricky solution. I mean, you do have the 0:21:36.160 --> 0:21:38.960 issue of nuclear waste and what to do with it. 0:21:39.520 --> 0:21:42.159 I assume that the Space Treaty would make it a 0:21:42.160 --> 0:21:45.879 bit tricky to justify storing nuclear waste on the Moon itself. 0:21:45.920 --> 0:21:47.719 That seems to kind of fly in the face of 0:21:47.760 --> 0:21:51.400 the spirit, if not the actual word of the treaty. 0:21:51.400 --> 0:21:54.160 But let's say that we somehow solve the waste issue. 0:21:54.560 --> 0:21:59.080 Nuclear power plants don't just magically use atoms to generate electricity. 0:21:59.359 --> 0:22:01.199 The way they were work is that you have a 0:22:01.240 --> 0:22:03.840 system of water. Typically you actually have a couple of 0:22:03.840 --> 0:22:08.320 different closed and independent systems of water. And what you 0:22:08.400 --> 0:22:10.720 do is you use the energy given off by the 0:22:10.840 --> 0:22:15.000 nuclear fission reactions to heat the water up, which then 0:22:15.119 --> 0:22:19.840 turns into steam, and that steam turns turbines that generate electricity. So, 0:22:19.880 --> 0:22:24.000 in other words, nuclear power plants are really steam generators 0:22:24.000 --> 0:22:27.199 on steroids. But that would mean that we would have 0:22:27.240 --> 0:22:30.240 to transport not just the nuclear power generator to the Moon, 0:22:30.760 --> 0:22:33.080 we also have to bring up enough water to make 0:22:33.119 --> 0:22:36.119 it work. Now there is ice on the Moon. I 0:22:36.200 --> 0:22:39.359 don't know of any proposal that would involve harvesting the 0:22:39.400 --> 0:22:42.240 ice from the Moon in order to serve a purpose 0:22:42.320 --> 0:22:44.920 in a nuclear power plant. And the reason why I 0:22:44.960 --> 0:22:46.560 say this is a big deal is that water is 0:22:46.600 --> 0:22:49.480 actually pretty darn heavy stuff to send up to space, 0:22:49.560 --> 0:22:54.240 and every pound or kilogram costs a lot of money. 0:22:54.760 --> 0:22:57.119 So that's one of the reasons that facilities like the 0:22:57.160 --> 0:23:01.200 International Space Station have such extensive risk ecling and reclamation 0:23:01.280 --> 0:23:07.000 systems in place so that no drop of water is wasted. Anyway, 0:23:07.320 --> 0:23:10.000 we're just at the request for proposal stage right now, 0:23:10.200 --> 0:23:12.760 and since the entire Artemis project has been hit with 0:23:12.840 --> 0:23:15.640 some delays due to other issues, I expect it will 0:23:15.640 --> 0:23:17.720 give us some time to debate the merits of a 0:23:17.800 --> 0:23:21.040 nuclear power plant on the Moon before it becomes a reality. 0:23:21.680 --> 0:23:25.200 Rounding out our NASA news is a somewhat discouraging story. 0:23:25.440 --> 0:23:28.440 The James Webb Space Telescope, which has had a long 0:23:28.520 --> 0:23:32.159 and arduous journey towards launch, has hit another delay. The 0:23:32.200 --> 0:23:34.400 original plan was to launch it as early as two 0:23:34.440 --> 0:23:37.639 thousand seven, but for many reasons that never happened. The 0:23:37.720 --> 0:23:40.880 plan was to finally launch the telescope on December eighteenth 0:23:40.880 --> 0:23:44.160 of this year, but now there's been another setback. While 0:23:44.160 --> 0:23:49.080 preparing to attach the telescope to the Ariana five launch vehicle, 0:23:49.560 --> 0:23:54.320 a clamp band released unexpectedly and the telescope fortunately did 0:23:54.359 --> 0:23:56.439 not tumble to the ground that would have been the 0:23:56.520 --> 0:24:00.880 end of a multidecade, multibillion dollar project, but it did 0:24:01.400 --> 0:24:04.560 vibrate like there was a shutter that went through the telescope. 0:24:04.800 --> 0:24:07.639 And because this telescope has so many delicate moving parts 0:24:07.640 --> 0:24:10.679 and potential points of failure, the fear is that that 0:24:10.840 --> 0:24:13.920 vibration could have moved something out of alignment and put 0:24:13.960 --> 0:24:17.359 the mission in jeopardy. So NASA has formed an anomaly 0:24:17.400 --> 0:24:20.520 review Board that will investigate and test the telescope to 0:24:20.520 --> 0:24:22.760 look for any damage. That should be done by the 0:24:22.840 --> 0:24:25.240 end of this week, and assuming that the board finds 0:24:25.240 --> 0:24:27.600 no evidence of damage, the plan is to launch the 0:24:27.640 --> 0:24:33.200 telescope no earlier than December twenty two. So hopefully, fingers crossed, 0:24:33.520 --> 0:24:36.159 this is not going to turn into another chapter in 0:24:36.200 --> 0:24:40.360 the long story of the telescope's difficult journey from idea 0:24:40.680 --> 0:24:46.480 to reality. Finally, the Rolls Royce Aviation Company unofficially broke 0:24:46.560 --> 0:24:50.720 some speed and altitude records for electric airplanes. Now I 0:24:50.760 --> 0:24:54.560