In an email to sellers, Etsy warns that the SVB collapse is causing delays in processing payments; one seller says it would be “catastrophic” for his business (Rob Wile/NBC News)

Rob Wile / NBC News: In an email to sellers, Etsy warns that the SVB collapse is causing delays in processing payments; one seller says it would be “catastrophic” for his business  —  Etsy is warning sellers that the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on Friday is causing delays in processing payments …

An interview with Gowalla co-founder and CEO Josh Williams as he re-launches his location-based social networking app at SXSW, 14 years after its debut (Darrell Etherington/TechCrunch)

Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch: An interview with Gowalla co-founder and CEO Josh Williams as he re-launches his location-based social networking app at SXSW, 14 years after its debut  —  One of the original location-based social apps is relaunching at SXSW – 14 years after its debut  —  Gowalla co-founder and CEO Josh Williams …

Meta says it plans to block Canadians’ ability to view or share news content on Facebook and Instagram if the country’s proposed Online News Act becomes law (Marie Woolf/Globe and Mail)

Marie Woolf / Globe and Mail: Meta says it plans to block Canadians’ ability to view or share news content on Facebook and Instagram if the country’s proposed Online News Act becomes law  —  Tech giant Meta has decided to block Canadians’ ability to view or share news content on Facebook and Instagram …

A look at Sumplete, a game ChatGPT claimed it “invented” after being prompted to create Sudoku-like puzzles and is identical to at least one other mobile game (Giovanni Colantonio/Digital Trends)

Giovanni Colantonio / Digital Trends: A look at Sumplete, a game ChatGPT claimed it “invented” after being prompted to create Sudoku-like puzzles and is identical to at least one other mobile game  —  ChatGPT can add another job to its résumé: game developer.  With just a few simple prompts from a user …

European telcos ramp up pressure on EU regulators to consider a framework where Google, Netflix, Meta, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft help cover network costs (CNBC)

CNBC: European telcos ramp up pressure on EU regulators to consider a framework where Google, Netflix, Meta, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft help cover network costs  —  – Telecom groups are ramping up pressure on EU regulators to consider a framework where the companies that send traffic over their networks …

A look at the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing’s new IPO rules, which will allow pre-revenue “big tech” firms with a valuation of $1.9B or more to raise capital (Enoch Yiu/South China Morning Post)

Enoch Yiu / South China Morning Post: A look at the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing’s new IPO rules, which will allow pre-revenue “big tech” firms with a valuation of $1.9B or more to raise capital  —  This is part one of a two-part series looking at upcoming changes at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing […]

Sources: Meta plans multiple rounds of layoffs over the coming months that in total would be roughly the same magnitude as its ~13% cut in November 2022 (Wall Street Journal)

Wall Street Journal: Sources: Meta plans multiple rounds of layoffs over the coming months that in total would be roughly the same magnitude as its ~13% cut in November 2022  —  New layoffs at Meta Platforms would follow cuts of around 11,000 employees started last year  —  Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc …

As the “Bank of Startups”, Silicon Valley Bank collapsed from its exposure to interest-rate risk, a lack of diversity among depositors, and VC herd mentality (Matt Levine/Bloomberg)

Matt Levine / Bloomberg: As the “Bank of Startups”, Silicon Valley Bank collapsed from its exposure to interest-rate risk, a lack of diversity among depositors, and VC herd mentality  —  Programming note: Money Stuff was supposed to be off today, but: bank run!  —  SVB

How startup founders are reacting to Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, as some worry about frozen funds, operating expenses, and paying employees full salaries (TechCrunch)

TechCrunch: How startup founders are reacting to Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, as some worry about frozen funds, operating expenses, and paying employees full salaries  —  Engineers at Polymath Robotics were working late Wednesday night on multiple projects when co-founder and CEO Stefan Seltz-Axmacher noticed chatter …

It’s a weird, weird quantum world

In 1994, as Professor Peter Shor PhD ’85 tells it, internal seminars at AT&T Bell Labs were lively affairs. The audience of physicists was an active and inquisitive bunch, often pelting speakers with questions throughout their talks. Shor, who worked at Bell Labs at the time, remembers several occasions when a speaker couldn’t get past […]

Shrinky Dinks, nail polish, and smelly bacteria

In a lab on the fourth floor of MIT’s Building 56, a group of Massachusetts high school students gathered around a device that measures conductivity. Vincent Nguyen, 15, from Saugus, thought of the times the material on their sample electrode flaked off the moment they took it out of the oven. Or how the electrode […]

Engaging enterprises with the climate crisis

Almost every large corporation is committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 but lacks a roadmap to get there, says John Sterman, professor of management at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, co-director of the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative, and leader of its Climate Pathways Project. Sterman and colleagues offer a suite of well-honed […]

Bitcoin falls ~8% to ~$19,900, a near two-month low, and ether falls 8%+ to ~$1,400, after a selloff of US stocks, rising interest rates, and troubles at SVB (Arjun Kharpal/CNBC)

Arjun Kharpal / CNBC: Bitcoin falls ~8% to ~$19,900, a near two-month low, and ether falls 8%+ to ~$1,400, after a selloff of US stocks, rising interest rates, and troubles at SVB  —  – Bitcoin fell below $20,000 on Friday hitting a near-two month low after a stock market sell-off in the U.S.

A look at China’s “golden shares”, initially meant to reduce Beijing’s role in the economy and now used to quietly control the country’s biggest tech companies (Lingling Wei/Wall Street Journal)

Lingling Wei / Wall Street Journal: A look at China’s “golden shares”, initially meant to reduce Beijing’s role in the economy and now used to quietly control the country’s biggest tech companies  —  The state takes company stakes that are often small but give it a board seat and power to ensure that corporate behavior […]

Kuo: Apple plans to unveil a redesigned HomePod with a built-in 7-inch display in H1 2024, enabling tighter integration with Apple’s other hardware products (Filipe Espósito/9to5Mac)

Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac: Kuo: Apple plans to unveil a redesigned HomePod with a built-in 7-inch display in H1 2024, enabling tighter integration with Apple’s other hardware products  —  Apple this year introduced a new HomePod that looks exactly like the original model announced in 2017 and discontinued in 2021.

2023 MacVicar Faculty Fellows named

The Office of the Vice Chancellor and the Registrar’s Office have announced this year’s Margaret MacVicar Faculty Fellows: professor of brain and cognitive sciences John Gabrieli, associate professor of literature Marah Gubar, professor of biology Adam C. Martin, and associate professor of architecture Lawrence “Larry” Sass. For more than 30 years, the MacVicar Faculty Fellows […]

Researchers call for transparency on AI tools’ carbon footprint; training GPT-3 took an estimated 1.287 GWh of electricity, or what ~120 US homes use in a year (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg: Researchers call for transparency on AI tools’ carbon footprint; training GPT-3 took an estimated 1.287 GWh of electricity, or what ~120 US homes use in a year  —  Artificial intelligence has become the tech industry’s shiny new toy, with expectations it’ll revolutionize trillion-dollar industries from retail to medicine.

New York’s AG sues KuCoin, alleging the Seychelles-based crypto exchange offers tokens, such as ETH, that meet the definition of a security, without registering (CoinDesk)

CoinDesk: New York’s AG sues KuCoin, alleging the Seychelles-based crypto exchange offers tokens, such as ETH, that meet the definition of a security, without registering  —  A press release said the lawsuit was part of ongoing “efforts to crack down on unregistered cryptocurrency platforms.”

Oracle reports Q3 revenue up 18% YoY to $12.39B, vs. $12.42B est., cloud services and license support revenue up 17% YoY to $8.9B, and net income down 18% YoY (Reuters)

Reuters: Oracle reports Q3 revenue up 18% YoY to $12.39B, vs. $12.42B est., cloud services and license support revenue up 17% YoY to $8.9B, and net income down 18% YoY  —  Oracle Corp (ORCL.N) missed quarterly revenue estimates on Thursday, as businesses slowed down IT spending against the backdrop of a sobering economic outlook.

Titanic robots make farming more sustainable

There’s a lot riding on farmers’ ability to fight weeds, which can strangle crops and destroy yields. To protect crops, farmers have two options: They can spray herbicides that pollute the environment and harm human health, or they can hire more workers. Unfortunately, both choices are becoming less tenable. Herbicide resistance is a growing problem […]

Pilot, engineer, neuroscientist, bridge-builder

At first glance, aerospace engineering and brain and cognitive sciences may seem like an unlikely match for a double-major. But for Elissa Gibson ’22, the common thread connecting the two inherently different disciplines is clear: the human factor, by way of aviation. A lifelong love of airplanes helped Gibson discover the MIT Introduction to Technology, […]

A look at VISTA X-62A, an AI-operated F-16 test jet, considered to be a crucial first step toward US Air Force’s plans to build unmanned combat aerial vehicles (Tom Ward/Wired)

Tom Ward / Wired: A look at VISTA X-62A, an AI-operated F-16 test jet, considered to be a crucial first step toward US Air Force’s plans to build unmanned combat aerial vehicles  —  After successful autonomous flight tests in December, the military is ramping up its plans to bring artificial intelligence to the skies.

A look at the rise and fall of Dubai-based ride-hailing firm Swvl, the Middle’s East first $1.5B Nasdaq-listed unicorn, now worth ~$9M after a 99%+ stock drop (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg: A look at the rise and fall of Dubai-based ride-hailing firm Swvl, the Middle’s East first $1.5B Nasdaq-listed unicorn, now worth ~$9M after a 99%+ stock drop  —  In July 2021 the world’s tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, was briefly lit up in brilliant red, with animated electronic text scrolling …