I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Elon Musk says he will step down as Twitter’s CEO
As soon as he can find someone “foolish enough to take the job.” (The Guardian)
+ He maintains he’ll retain control of the software and servers teams. (WP $)
+ Musk appears to be coasting on vibes at this point. (FT $)
+ Twitter has settled with an executive who was shut out of her IT systems. (Bloomberg $)
+ Journalists that Musk banned and reinstated are still being silenced. (The Intercept)
2 One of the largest crypto mining firms in the US is going bust
Core Scientific is the industry’s latest victim after racking up too much debt. (CNBC)
+ Crypto miners and traders in Asia are selling off their expensive equipment. (Rest of World)
3The US is playing whack-a-mole with China’s chipmakers
American export sanctions are coming thick and fast to try and thwart new chip projects. (FT $)
4 The problem with trying to ban TikTok
The company has become a bogeyman for Big Tech in Washington. (Vox)
5 Optical computing’s future is looking bright
After decades of sluggish development, progress is finally being made. (Economist $)
6 Inside the implosion of music event startup Pollen
Drugs, sexual harassment allegations, and reckless spending all played a part. (Insider $)
7 Fake news is getting faker
But there’s still time to curb the most dangerous deepfake scenarios. (The Atlantic $)
+ People are hiring out their faces to become deepfake-style marketing clones. (MIT Technology Review)
8 NASA’s Insight Mars spacecraft has signed off
The lander is losing solar power after four years of relaying information back to Earth. (NPR)
+ The UK’s first space launch has been granted a license. (Engadget)
9 The joy of Reddit
Now that Google search results are increasingly less useful, Reddit is a rich hub of incredibly specific information. (New Yorker $)
10 How billionaires threaten our security
Capitalism isn’t always good for code. (Wired $)
+ 2022 has been a bad year for billionaire reputations overall. (Vox)
Quote of the day
“Streaming has made music too smooth and painless. Everything’s too easy. Just one stroke of the ring finger, middle finger, one little click, that’s all it takes.”
—Legendary musician Bob Dylan bemoans the convenience of music streaming platforms to the Wall Street Journal.
The big story