Global impact: One of the embargoed areas, Shenzhen, is a major technology hub and home to companies like Foxconn, which supplies Western companies, including Apple. It is expected to remain in lockdown for at least another five days while locals go through several rounds of testing, meaning some degree of impact on the global tech supply chain is inevitable. bridge.
What’s happening elsewhere: Meanwhile, Europe also seems to be starting to enter another spike, with cases ticks in countries across the continent. In the UK, the case was up almost 50% from last week and worrisome is the 17% increase in hospitalization. A combination of looser restrictions, weakened immunity and BA.2, a more transmissible omicron sub-variant, is thought to be responsible for the increase in cases.
Things to read
I’ve scoured the internet to find you today’s most interesting/important/scary/fascinating stories about tech.
1 Clearview says Ukraine is using its facial recognition AI to identify Russian soldiers
But is it accurate enough to be relied upon? (Reuters $)
+ Kyiv is under increasing fire. (AP $)
Cheap drones are creating a huge rift in Russian air attack. (NBC)
+ The head of the UN says that a nuclear conflict is still possible. (Axios)
+ Map that tracks the invasion. (NYT $)
War threatens hundreds of clinical trials in Ukraine. (Wired $)
2 A NASA spacewalk is underway today despite international tensions
Currently, space cooperation between the US and Russia is still being maintained. (WP $)
Russia says it won’t leave an American astronaut stranded in space. (The Verge)
3 Pfizer says we’ll need fourth covid photos
Given that less than half of fully immunized people in the US have even gotten a third dose, this shows plenty of ambition. (Ars Technica)
Will planting trees help or harm the planet? 🌳
It largely depends on how it is done. (NYT $)
+ UN climate report highlights the dangers of natural solutions. (CHILDREN)
5 Being an influencer in Russia is a lot harder
They are seeing entire livelihoods disappear overnight as platforms get banned. (Guardians)
Russia has fulfilled its promise to ban Instagram, which has 80 million users there. (The Verge)
The far right in the US is stepping up Russian propaganda. (NBC)
+ Facebook says users can’t call for Putin’s death (but Russian soldiers are fair game.) (CNBC)
+ A website that allows people to email Russians to tell them the truth about the war. (WSJ $)
+ An employee of a Russian TV station interrupted the live broadcast with a protest rally. (Guardians)
6 Crypto Miners Are Leaving Kazakhstan Just Months After Arrival
It looked like a safe haven after China’s ban was put in place. Now, power outages and government pressure are pushing them out. (The rest of the world)
7 TikTok is becoming philosophical
And philosophy professors aren’t entirely sure how to respond. (Slate $)
8 TVs are still too dazzling by technology founders ✨
New shows on Uber, Theranos, and WeWork end up making their punches. (Vox)
+ It would be nice if they could focus more on those affected by their significant increase. (Wired $)
+ Technology companies have been rebranding recently. Don’t buy it. (WSJ $)
9 astronomers continue to find black holes in unexpected places ️
Dwarf galaxies are not thought to be able to handle objects of such size and mass. (Quanta)
10 Why We’re All Going To ‘Goblin Mode’
We’ve been through two years of a pandemic, and now fully accept the comforts of debauchery. (Guardians)
“I think there are a lot of honest people in the world and some of them are on Tinder.”
—Anastasia Tischchenko, a 31-year-old woman who fled Ukraine, told New York Times She and a friend used Tinder to find a temporary place to stay in Romania.
We can still have good things
A place for comfort, fun and distraction during these strange times. (Any comments? Drop me a line or tweet ’em with me.)
+ (Very!) High tea.
+ It looks like this giant tortoise been mislabeled for a very long time.
+ Will have to see the new Pixar movieTurn red.
+ Music critics from New York Times talk about songs they turn to when they get stuck.
+ Does it really matter where the Scotch malt whiskey is? make?
+ This one question on Reddit about translating board games for Ukrainian refugees gave me some hope for today’s humanity.
