Are we making spacecraft too autonomous?

US coronavirus cases just broke their single-day record

Sponsored by MIT Sloan School of Management The Download Your daily dose of what’s up in emerging technology 07.03.20 Good morning and Happy Independence Day to our readers in the US! 🎆  Today: are we making spacecraft too autonomous, and US coronavirus cases jumped by 50,600 in a single day. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. Are we making spacecraft too autonomous?   What’s changed: When SpaceX’s Crew Dragon took NASA astronauts to the ISS near the end of May, the launch brought back a familiar sight. American rockets were launching from American soil to take Americans into space for the first time in years. Inside, however, things couldn’t have looked more different. Gone was the sprawling dashboard of lights and switches and knobs. All of it was replaced with a futuristic console of multiple large touch screens. Behind those screens, the vehicle is run by software that’s designed to get into space and navigate to the space station completely autonomously.  Does this matter? Software has never played a more critical role in spaceflight. It has made it safer and more efficient, allowing a spacecraft to automatically adjust to changing conditions. And increased autonomy is essential to making some forms of spaceflight even work. However, over-relying on software and autonomous systems in spaceflight creates new opportunities for problems to arise. We saw that late last year, when Boeing’s Starliner capsule (the other vehicle NASA is counting on to send American astronauts into space) failed to make it to the ISS because of a glitch in its internal timer. A human pilot could have overridden it. NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine remarked soon after: “Had we had an astronaut on board, we very well may be at the International Space Station right now.” But it was later revealed that many other errors in the software had not been caught before launch, including one that could have led to the destruction of the spacecraft. Testing software and weeding out bugs is rarely so important. And even then, perhaps we still need manual override. Read the full story. —Neel V. Patel We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these weird times. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet 'em at me.)   + Social distancing dog.   + Stroll through a rainforest to a waterfall in Tasmania.   + A selection of fascinating movies from the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.   + Eight different yummy recipe ideas for watermelon.   + Watch Hamilton this weekend. It’s very good.   + An ode to hydrangeas.   + Movies that will make you feel like a kid again.   + The best paradox is the Astley Paradox. Sponsor Message What is "Data Wrapping" and How Does it Make Products Better? Data wrapping uses analytics to make your products more valuable for customers. But doing it wrong can add costs with no benefit. Double down on data science. The top ten must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 US coronavirus cases jumped by 50,600 in a single day That’s yet another record. (CNBC)   + Celebrate 4th July at home, plead health officials. (NYT $)   + Facebook and Instagram will remind people in the US to wear masks. (The Verge)   + Texas has now mandated masks in public spaces. (Axios)   + This isn’t a wave. It’s a tsunami. (The Verge)   + Fauci says it has been a “very disturbing week” for the spread of covid-19 in the US. (Axios) 2 You may have to get used to infrared cameras They’re about to become part of our daily lives. (NYT $) 3 How Oxford University came to lead the race for a coronavirus vaccine 💉 A blend of experience, research money, fast approvals, and production agreements. (The Economist) 4 Populists have worsened the covid-19 outbreak across Latin America And indeed everywhere. (New Yorker $) 5 Police secretly cracked a global phone network for organized crime They got access to a hundred million messages. (Vice) 6 How sports teams plan to return ⚾ Infections seem inevitable, but this is how the leagues hope to minimize them. (NBC)   + Women’s roller derby has a plan for covid and it’s pretty great. (Wired $)   +  But virtual sports are here to stay. (TR) 7 On balance, is Facebook really a force for good in the world? I’m struggling with this one. (The Guardian)   + The trouble with WhatsApp. (The Guardian)   + A lawsuit alleges Facebook discriminates against Black workers. (WP $) 8 Irish dancing is taking TikTok by storm 🕺 Yeah, I can do that too. Probably. (New Statesman)   + Unfortunately, so are Boogaloo groups. (BBC)   + TikTok is fighting its ban in India. (WSJ $) 9 Do Breonna Taylor memes trivialize her death? Or do they bring attention to an ongoing injustice? (WP $) 10 The van business is booming 🚐 Get into your cocoon and escape out onto the open road. I can see the appeal. (NYT $) Registration is open for EmTech MIT, our flagship event. This year's carefully curated lineup of leaders and experts will explore the road ahead for cloud computing, AI, biotech, innovating in the new economy, cybersecurity, and more. Register now. Quote of the day "My guess is that all these advertisers will be back on the platform soon enough." —Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg explains why he won’t bow to a growing ad boycott in leaked comments during an internal meeting, The Information reports. Top image credit: DIMITRI GERONDIDAKIS | NASA Please send watermelon recipe ideas to hi@technologyreview.com. Follow me on Twitter at @charlottejee. Thanks for reading! —Charlotte Was this newsletter forwarded to you, and you'd like to see more? Sign up for free MIT Technology Review's 10 Breakthrough Technologies, 2020 MIT Technology Review's 2020 Innovators Under 35 View this in a browser You received this newsletter because you, Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog  subscribed with your email address. *Edit email preferences   |   *Unsubscribe from all emails Follow us: MIT Technology Review One Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142

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