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| 1 | | Microsoft has signed the first-ever commercial deal for fusion power with Helion Energy. Scientists have long tried to create unlimited and sustainable energy using nuclear fusion, the same process that powers the sun, but have yet to succeed. More: - Helion, a private U.S. nuclear fusion company, said it plans to start producing electricity through the world’s first commercial fusion generator in 2028.
- After a yearlong ramp-up period, it's targeting power generation of at least 50 megawatts, or enough to power around 50,000 homes in a day.
- Microsoft has signed a power purchase agreement with Helion to acquire electricity in 2028.
- The binding agreement, which involves financial penalties if a fusion system isn't built, would see Helion plug in the fusion generator to a power grid in Washington.
- Helion, backed by OpenAI founder Sam Altman, also plans to demo a prototype next year.
Zoom out: - Despite significant doubt over the deal, Microsoft President Brad Smith said the company wouldn't have agreed if it wasn't hopeful that technological advancements were accelerating.
- Robert Rosner, a University of Chicago theoretical physicist, called the deal the "most audacious thing I’ve ever heard," though he didn't entirely rule out the possibility of fusion by 2028.
- In December, U.S. scientists achieved a net energy gain in nuclear fusion, equivalent to about 1.5 pounds of TNT, or enough to boil 2.5 gallons of water.
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| 2 | | What happened: Space companies Vast and SpaceX announced plans to launch the world's first commercial space station as early as 2025. Details: The deal would see a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket deliver the Haven-1 commercial space station to low-Earth orbit no earlier than August 2025. Vast's first human spaceflight mission, Vast-1, will transport a four-person crew to Haven-1 on board SpaceX's Crew Dragon and stay in orbit for up to 30 days. It's also taking bookings for crews to participate in scientific or philanthropic work. The bigger picture: Vast's CEO said the partnership represents a first step in its long-term goal of building larger, artificial gravity space stations for Earth orbit and beyond. The company wants to expand Haven-1 to become a module of a larger space station and simulate gravity by spinning. Brands that should care: Vast could possibly launch its private space station before rivals including Blue Origin, Voyager, Lockheed Martin, and Nanoracks, though Houston-based Axiom Space has the highest likelihood of beating Vast with a planned launch for late 2025. The Bigger Picture: After tourism, orbital habitats are expected to be a next big phase of private spaceflight. According to Precedence Research, the size of the worldwide space tourism market was $652M in 2021 and is expected to top $9.35B by 2030. Orbital services like space stations will still remain a sliver of the overall market, drawing an estimated $555M in revenue in 2030. 
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| 3 | | The WSJ reports that Bytedance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, has postponed the launch of its U.S. shopping platform, though the company has since denied the report. The alleged delay, which would push back the launch from early spring to June or later, comes amid mounting pressure in Washington, including some calls to ban TikTok in the U.S. More: - In November, TikTok began testing its e-commerce feature, TikTok Shop, in the U.S., allowing users to shop within the app without leaving the platform.
- However, concerns about the app's future in the U.S. may be preventing sellers from joining the shopping platform, according to the WSJ.
- TikTok has reportedly struggled to draw in more merchants, which forced it to delay an expanded test until March.
- That same month, TikTok reported having 150 million monthly active users in the U.S., up from 100 million in 2020.
Zoom out: - ByteDance has been venturing into e-commerce, with its Chinese Douyin app recording $208B in consumer spending last year, up 76% from 2021.
- The company is eyeing an expansion of its e-commerce activities in several countries including the U.S., Brazil, Spain, and Australia.
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| 4 | | Twitter plans to offer encrypted direct messaging as early as today, according to owner Elon Musk. The CEO also said voice and video chat capabilities are "coming soon" to Twitter. More: - The initial release of encrypted DMs, version 1.0, is expected on Wednesday, and "will grow in sophistication rapidly," Musk said.
- He claimed the encryption would be so secure that he would not be able to access Twitter DMs "even if there was a gun to my head."
- Users can also reply to any message in a DM thread and react with any emoji, according to the CEO. Previously, they were restricted to replying to only the most recent message and reacting with certain emojis.
Zoom out: - Musk said Twitter will soon offer voice and video chats, allowing users to communicate with each other using their handles without sharing phone numbers.
- The plans are part of Musk's vision for "Twitter 2.0 The Everything App," which also includes long-form tweets, payments, and other features.
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| 5 | | Wendy's plans to test an AI drive-thru chatbot, called "Wendy's FreshAI," that runs on Google's natural-language processing software in Ohio starting in June. The chatbot is trained to be conversational, upsell products, and adapt to customers' changing orders. A human employee will monitor the AI system during testing. More: - Wendy's hopes to streamline the ordering process with this technology, as up to 80% of orders are made through the chain's drive-thru.
- Wendy's partnered with Google to customize its large language models on the chain's terminology and lingo.
- Similar AI ordering technology is also being rolled out to Carl's Jr. and Hardee's drive-thrus in partnership with AI technology providers Presto Automation, OpenCity, and Valyant AI.
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| 6 | | The U.S. government is investigating Rockwell Automation over concerns that the industrial technology provider exposed U.S. infrastructure and military assets to potential cyber-attacks through a China-based site, the WSJ reported. Rockwell provides software and cybersecurity to the national power grid and federal agencies, including the Navy and Coast Guard. More: - The investigation is focused on Rockwell employees in Dalian, China, who may be able to access software codes used in U.S. power grids and other computer systems.
- Investigators are also looking into potential vulnerabilities that could allow China to access critical U.S. government and industrial infrastructure.
- According to documents, the probe involves the inspectors general at the U.S. Energy Department and the Defense Department, along with the Justice Department's Commercial Litigation Branch.
- Milwaukee-based Rockwell also provides factory automation and robotics control software to the aerospace, marine, automotive, and other industries.
- The scrutiny comes amid growing concerns over China's alleged efforts to infiltrate U.S. computer networks.
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- During its I/O conference today, Google introduced PaLM 2, its large language model that powers its updated Bard chatbot, which no longer has a waiting list.
- The European Commission could grant approval for Microsoft's $69B takeover of Activision Blizzard as early as next week, sources told Reuters.
- Spotify has begun cracking down on artificial streaming by removing tens of thousands of songs produced by AI startup Boomy. The move came after Universal Music alerted Spotify to suspicious streaming activity and the suspected use of bots to artificially inflate stream counts.
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 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is a writer and editor at Inside.com covering artificial intelligence and daily technology news. She has written the Inside AI newsletter since 2019. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@inside.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
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