The World as You'll Know It
Newsletter / Issue No. 31
How Companies Are Managing the Risks of Building Nuclear Fusion
The promise of nuclear fusion is simple but profound: If effectively harnessed, it could deliver practically limitless clean energy. Yet the process of building and commercializing the technology is long, difficult, uncertain and expensive. Still, there are companies willing to take on the risk.
Plus
Anthropic reveals that we truly don’t understand how large language models operate (and the models don’t either). A new hybrid system that combines clean energy with gas-fired peaker plants is being considered to power data centers. Finally, large mammals like bison and wildebeests could help redice CO₂ in the atmosphere.
Technology / Feature
A $10-Billion Plan to Sell Africa's Wind and Sun to Countries 7,000 Miles Away
A deep look at how green hydrogen could capitalize on remote areas of renewable resources and redraw the world's energy map.
Artificial Intelligence / Feature
One Company's Decision to Put AI Into the Ground
What does it mean to adopt AI? For John Deere it meant hundreds of millions of dollars, a new corporate culture and forever changing the relationship between a farmer and the land.
By Gideon Lewis-Kraus
Podcast / Podcast
A Podcast Series about Clean Energy Tech
Podcast / Podcast
A Podcast Series about Clean Energy Tech
Robotics / Feature
Small, Flexible and Sometimes Weird. The Next Generation of Robots is Here.
By Clive Thompson
Robotics / Feature
Small, Flexible and Sometimes Weird. The Next Generation of Robots is Here.
By Clive Thompson
Robotics / Timeline
13 Milestones in the History of Robots
People have been making machines that replicate human abilities for centuries. These are the breakthroughs that got robots to where they are today. Photo: NMAH
By Clive Thompson
Robotics / Feature
Robots' final frontier? Taking care of us.
To understand how far robots are from replacing humans, just look at the everyday task of using a fork.
By Clive Thompson