Monday 13th January 2025

How AI is being drafted for a digital cold war

We are defaulting toward a world in which artificial intelligences are built to serve under national flags — as pawns (or perhaps chess engines) in support of rival national goals.

Should we be outraged about this trend, or grimly realistic? Resigned or rebellious? Either way, this conscription of AI should be more widely known, whether or not it can or should be opposed.Few, though, will want to discuss governance or policy unless there is something truly urgent happening — that’s just how it is with the human brain — so first, let’s talk timelines of an AI worthy of the word “intelligence.”

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Our 8 Favorite Indoor Air Quality Monitors We’ve Tried (2025)

These WIRED-tested indoor air-quality monitors have been teaching us things about our air quality we can never unsee.


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Los Angeles Will Remain at High Risk of Fire Into Next Week

The arrival of La Niña is starving California of rain, and more high Santa Ana winds could be on the way.


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The 25 Best Shows on Amazon Prime Right Now (January 2025)

Citadel: Diana, The Rig, and Fallout are just a few of the shows you should be watching on Amazon Prime Video this week.


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These Maps Show Just How Dry Southern California Is Right Now

In early January, soil moisture in much of Southern California was in the bottom 2 percent of historical records.


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A Glowing Metal Ring Crashed to Earth. No One Knows Where It Came From

The 1,100-pound mystery object landed in Kenya at the end of December. Experts are still baffled.


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Latin American Fact-Checkers Brace for Meta's Next Moves

So far Meta has only abandoned fact-checking in the US. If and when it expands, the move will be a major blow to the Latin American news ecosystem.


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New Superconductive Materials Have Just Been Discovered

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In 2024, superconductivity—the flow of electric current with zero resistance—was discovered in three distinct materials. Two instances stretch the textbook understanding of the phenomenon. The third shreds it completely. “It’s an extremely unusual form of superconductivity that a lot of people would have said is not possible,” said Ashvin Vishwanath, a physicist at Harvard University who was not involved in the discoveries.


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The Best Automated Espresso, Latte, and Cappuccino Makers (2025)

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A good latte or cappuccino is like a rich, milky mug of heaven. Just writing about these delicious, warming drinks makes us want one. Sadly, creating the perfect cap or caffe latte at home can be a hassle. Making a barista-worthy espresso is tough enough, but adding the right amount of milk and foam, perfectly heated and combined, is surprisingly daunting.


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Getting an all-optical AI to handle non-linear math

Instead of sensing photons and processing the results, why not process the photons?

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