The Download: Trump’s climate tech and quantum computing
1 Trump advisers were blindsided by Elon Musk’s team’s offer to federal workers
Officials weren’t consulted about plans to induce civil service workers to resign. (WP $ )
+ These radical, sweeping measures are only the beginning. Vox)
+ Email workers were given a copy of Musk’s controversial Twitter message. If Musk has his way, the US could end up like X. Meta has agreed with Trump to pay $25 million
To settle the censorship suit Trump filed against it in 2021. CNN)
+ Mark Zuckerberg says 2025 will be an important year for Meta’s government relations. Facebook continues to focus on attracting creators in order to bring it back into fashion. The Information $)
3 Tech workers quietly resisting the rise of MAGA.
While employers shift rightwards, employees are resisting. (NYT $)
4 Microsoft and Meta have defended their AI spending
DeepSeek’s success has raised serious questions about Big Tech’s AI budgets. (Reuters)
+ Zuckerberg says he is not concerned by the rapid rise of Chinese startups. The Verge)
+ A top Chinese AI model overcomes US sanctions. (MIT Technology Review).
5 Mr Beast has a serious interest in buying TikTok.
The Youtuber is part of a group of investors that have secured over $20 billion. The US’ plan to use space lasers in order to destroy hypersonic rockets
This program is more than just a passing similarity to Ronald Reagan’s 1983 program. How to fight a space war (and get away from it) (MIT Technology Review).
7 Waymo is expanding its autonomous taxi service to new US cities
San Francisco, Las Vegas and Miami are all on the list. (WSJ $
+ According to reports, self-driving Teslas will be on Austin’s roads in June. (TechCrunch)
+ EV batteries boast an incredibly long lifespan. The perfect cryptographic device is possible (IEEE Spectrum).
8 It’s a little difficult to build.
It would be nice if it were easier. (IEEE Spectrum).
+ The massive AI-labeling issue may be solved by cryptography. (MIT Technology Review)
