An Advanced Alien Civilization May Opt For Planetary Engineering Over Megastructures

Instead of building megastructures, advanced alien civilizations may move planets into their star's habitable zone to expand their living space, according to a new study. This avoids issues like harnessing a star's energy and provides exponentially more real estate.

Key Facts & Points

  • Dyson proposed in 1960 that advanced civilizations would build megastructures around stars to harness their energy.
  • But with thousands of exoplanets now discovered, moving planets into a habitable zone is simpler.
  • Engineered systems of planets would have distinct "technosignatures" detectable over vast distances.
  • Strange exoplanet architectures, like closely-packed Earth-like worlds, could indicate alien engineering.

6 Top-Rated New Streaming Shows To Watch This Fall

  • Dear Child is a German thriller series on Netflix about a woman who escapes captivity.
  • Primo is a coming-of-age comedy on Amazon Freevee produced by Mike Schur.
  • Mask Girl is a Korean thriller on Netflix about a woman leading a double life.
  • Castlevania: Nocturne is an animated vampire series on Netflix.
  • Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake is an animated spinoff series on HBO Max.
  • Class of '07 is an Australian dark comedy series on Amazon Prime Video.

Former Tinder CEO Launches AI Chatbot to Provide Mentorship and Improve Mental Wellbeing

Former Tinder CEO Renate Nyborg started Meeno, an AI chatbot that serves as a personal mentor to improve mental health and fight loneliness. The startup raised $3.9M from Sequoia and focuses on helping Gen Z users.

Key Facts & Points

  • Meeno is an AI chatbot that aims to be a personal mentor and improve mental wellbeing.
  • It was founded by former Tinder CEO Renate Nyborg.
  • The startup raised $3.9M in seed funding led by Sequoia.
  • Meeno will launch on iOS first, targeting Gen Z users.

Researchers Develop "Acoustic Swarm" to Directionally Focus Audio Conversations

Researchers have created mobile robots called an "acoustic swarm" that can move around a room and use microphones to isolate audio from different conversations into "speech zones." This allows the swarm to directionally focus audio to "mute" noisy people and enable clearer conversations.

Key Facts & Points

  • The acoustic swarm consists of 7 microphone-equipped robots that self-deploy in a room.
  • The robots can identify and track multiple voices even as people move around.
  • In tests, the robots could localize voices within 1.6 feet 90% of the time.
  • The goal is to allow muting noisy backgrounds for important conversations and meetings.

The Disastrous Interview of X's CEO Linda Yaccarino

X CEO Linda Yaccarino had a disastrous interview at Vox Media's Code 2023 event, revealing decreasing user counts, seeming unaware of her boss's plans, and defending him despite laughter from the audience.

Key Facts & Points

  • X has lost millions of daily active users since Musk took over. It now has 225-245 million, down from over 259 million before.
  • Yaccarino appeared unaware of Musk's proposed paywall for all users, laughing that of course they discuss everything.
  • She defended Musk's criticism of the ADL, repeating his disputed claims about their mission.
  • The audience laughed when she asked "Who wouldn't want Elon Musk running product?"