Richard Branson just flew to the edge of space. Here’s what it means for space travel.

AI voice actors sound more human than ever—and they're available to hire  

Sponsored by Lumen Technologies The Download Your daily dose of what's up in emerging technology Touching space 07.12.21 Good morning! I hope you had a pleasant weekend. Today we discuss the significance of yesterday's flight to the edge of space by billionaire Richard Branson, what tech's unionization movement can learn from history, and how AI is coming for a new job: voice acting. Here are today's most important stories in emerging technology. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. What Richard Branson's flight to the edge of space means for space tourism   Yesterday, July 11, British entrepreneur and billionaire Richard Branson shot to the edge of space in a vehicle made by his own company, Virgin Galactic. In the early hours of yesterday morning, Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity spaceplane took off from Spaceport America in the Mojave Desert, California. Its crew of six, including Branson, was lifted to an altitude of more than 14 kilometers before it was dropped, allowing its single rocket engine to ignite and carry its occupants towards space.  Slightly more than a minute later, traveling at speeds of Mach 3, it reached its maximum altitude – 86 kilometers – affording its crew several minutes of weightlessness and gorgeous views of Earth before safely descending back to Earth, with a total flight time of around 90 minutes. Yet while the childish race between Branson and Jeff Bezos to be the first billionaire into space has attracted plenty of criticism, yesterday’s flight heralds a key step towards making space travel more accessible than ever before—even if it does just seem like a plaything for the world’s richest men right now. Read the full story. —Jonathan O’Callaghan AI voice actors sound more human than ever—and they’re available to hire  There’s a new trend in AI: startups are using deep learning to create realistic digital voice actors for digital assistants, video-game characters, and corporate videos. AI voices are cheap, scalable, and easy to work with. Unlike a recording of a human voice actor, synthetic voices can also update their script in real time, opening up new opportunities to personalize advertising. But the rise of hyperrealistic fake voices isn’t consequence-free. Human voice actors, in particular, have been left to wonder what this means for their livelihoods. Read the full story. —Karen Hao Tech’s new labor movement is harnessing lessons learned a century ago Despite the recent (contested) vote by workers at the Amazon fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama rejecting the formation of a union, the trend is clear: there is a new groundswell of interest in organizing among tech workers.   But what is a “tech” worker, anyway? The term could reasonably be applied to anyone from programmers to data center staff to warehouse pickers to assembly-line autoworkers in a Tesla factory. The reality is that organizing in “tech” is sort of like organizing in “industry” in the 1930s. Labor struggled for decades before hitting upon methods that worked—and, importantly, getting the backing of the Depression-era federal government.  Organizing tech workers will require a similar effort, a similar reorganization of labor tactics, and, quite possibly, a similarly supportive federal government. Read the full story. —Sarah Jaffe This story is from the latest print issue of MIT Technology Review, which is dedicated to the theme of change. If you want to read the whole magazine, become a subscriber! I'm biased, but at $50 a year for a digital subscription, I think it's a steal.  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.)   + England lost to Italy in the Euros final. I'm slightly heartbroken, but at least there's funny stuff on the internet to console me.   + Move over Dalgona, this summer it's all about Greek frappés.    + On the hunt for reading recommendations? These novelists have a few tips for you.    + I don't think Tinks the cat wants to be found. And weirdly, I'm pretty sure I just saw a video of Tinks on a billboard in Tokyo… (NYT $)   + Neptune has shown up off the UK coast, and he looks furious.   + Meet the dogs that helped these DC chefs get through the pandemic.   + Giant pandas are no longer endangered. Sponsor Message Transforming the health-care industry Specialists performing surgeries from afar. Surgeons training doctors remotely. Portable devices gathering patient data. Edge computing can enable health care of the future. Learn more here. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 How effective are covid-19 vaccines against the Delta variant? They're keeping people out of hospital. But it's less clear how good they are at preventing infection and transmission. (FT $)   + Cases are surging across the US. (Axios)   + Why isn't the UK vaccinating kids? (Wired UK)   + Two tech giants are buying vaccines for Taiwan. (BBC)   + Coronavirus variants could derail the global economy, Janet Yellen has warned. (NYT $)  + A major study found the flu vaccine may help to prevent the worst effects of covid-19. (The Guardian)   + The CDC is urging schools to fully reopen in the fall. (Reuters)  2 How hot is too hot for the human body? 🌡️ Things become much more difficult above 35°C, or around 95°F. (TR)   + Death Valley hit 130°F this weekend as a "heat dome" descended. (NYT $)   + Firefighters are struggling to contain a giant wildfire in California. (AP)   + The recent heat wave killed off vast amounts of marine life along the Pacific Coast. (NYT $)   + The science behind heat waves. (Earther)  3 Venture capitalists have their sights set on online content creators Or more specifically, the tools and platforms they're using. (NYT $)   4 Why the grid is finally ready for fleets of electric trucks 🚚 Though longer trips still pose a challenge. (TR)   + The fight over the future of energy in the US. (NYT $)  5 This robot adapts to avoid stumbling 🤖 Adjusting gait for different terrains is easy enough for humans—but extremely challenging for robots. (TechCrunch)   + Getting robots to help humans build IKEA furniture is a great way to test their collaborative abilities. (Wired $)  6 How a ransomware attack works This breaks the anatomy of these hacks down, step by step. (WP $)   + Kayesa's employees say they warned managers about critical security flaws for years before the recent huge ransomware attack. (Bloomberg $)   + Biden is upping the pressure on Russia to act. (The Guardian)  7 Amazon is pulling brands from its store—and consumers suffer as a result There has to be a better way of dealing with its fake review problem. (The Verge)   + How Big Tech squeezes small businesses. (Axios)  8 How to make working remotely work Out with surveillance and visible busyness, in with defined outcomes and trust. (New Yorker $)   9 In defense of Twitter Yes, it can be awful. But it can be wonderful, too. (FT $)   10 Bendable ice is a thing that exists 🧊 And it's blowing my mind. (Gizmodo) Join us at EmTech MIT, our flagship event on emerging technology and trends. Immerse yourself in bold thinking and visionary innovation on the most significant technologies and global trends that will propel business and shape our world. Register now. Quote of the day “We’ve been at f**ing war, man.” —Meagan Busby, a nurse who worked throughout the pandemic at Johnston Memorial Hospital in Abingdon, Virginia, tells the Washington Post what the last year has been like.  Top image credit: VIRGIN GALACTIC Please send Greek frappés 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 today Understand the promise of technology. Make MIT Technology Review your go-to resource for thought-provoking insights, analysis, and news about the world of technology. Get unlimited access when you subscribe today. Subscribe now Follow us: MIT Technology Review One Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142   *Manage Your Email Preferences or *Unsubscribe  Subscription Information This email was sent to Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog  *the blog owner has deleted the hyperlink intentionally