The Soviets turned the Volga River into a machine. Then the machine broke.

This huge Chinese company is selling video surveillance systems to Iran 

Sponsored by Morgan Stanley The Download Your daily dose of what's up in emerging technology Over-exploited  12.15.21 Good morning! Today: how Russia's Volga River ended up being poisoned by decades of energy exploitation. Also: a vast Chinese company is selling video surveillance systems to Iran. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. The Soviets turned the Volga River into a machine. Then the machine broke.   About 2,300 miles long, the Volga is the longest river in Europe and the biggest by water flow, arcing from northwest of Moscow around and down to the Caspian Sea. Some 60 million people—about 40% of Russia’s population—live in its basin, which spans almost a tenth of the country’s vast territory. As an artery of commerce, a source of energy and drinking water, and a conveyor of history, the Volga touches nearly every aspect of life in Russia. It is what the Mississippi is to the United States or the Rhein to Germany. In the 1930s, the young Soviet state needed to rapidly accelerate its industrial development—but in order to do so, it needed to generate energy on a massive scale. It turned to the Volga, launching one of the largest nature-transforming schemes in history. Over the next 50 years, the Soviet Union built 11 dams on the Volga and its largest tributary, the Kama. It is now responsible for about 5% of the total electricity production in Russia. The problem? The Big Volga project tried to do too much. The river has become polluted, silted up, and overwhelmed by invasive species. Water flows at a tenth of the speed it did before the dams were constructed. Widespread toxic algal blooms are now common. It is not an exaggeration to say that Russia’s mother river is broken. Read the full story. —Olga Dobrovidova This story is from our upcoming water issue, which is due to go live next week! If you want to read it and the rest of the pieces in the magazine you can subscribe for as little as $50 a year. This huge Chinese company is selling video surveillance systems to Iran The news: Chinese company Tiandy is selling its surveillance technology to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, police, and military, according to a new report by IPVM, a surveillance research group. Tiandy is one of the world’s largest video surveillance companies, selling cameras and AI-enabled software, including facial recognition technology that it claims can detect someone’s race. The specifics: Tiandy has signed a five-year contract in Iran, where it plans to have eight local staff members. While the exact package of surveillance capabilities Tiandy will sell to Iran is unclear, IPVM found Tiandy cameras in use by the Iranian firm Sairan—a “state-owned military electronics provider”—and at an undisclosed military base. Crucially, the report revealed that Tiandy’s networked video recorders are in use by the Iranian military and powered by chips produced by US manufacturer Intel, raising questions of whether the Intel has violated US sanctions on Iran. (Intel says it’s investigating.) The significance: The new report is among the few pieces of hard evidence for something experts have long suspected: that Iran is trying to build a system of digital control over its citizens, following China’s model and using Chinese tools. Read the full story.  —Tate Ryan-Mosley 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.)   + We’ve been having snowball fights since forever, if these paintings are anything to go by.   + Zalan Szabos creates stunning swirly beach art.   + This Korean group does acapella versions of everything from the Game of Thrones opening tune to the music in Squid Game to, weirdly of all, iPhone sound effects.   + A mesmerizing video of a seed growing until it becomes a 600kg giant pumpkin.   + Boichik was awarded the best bagel bakery in the US by the New York Times. Here’s how it makes its bagels.    + There were some incredible dog names going down in New Zealand this year, including Captain Nana Spider-Pig Wolfstein The Second, and Nuggie McSchnugglebutt. Early Bird Savings are here (for a limited time).  MIT Technology Review's signature AI conference decision makers and leaders put AI to work for business. Save 25% on your VIP hybrid or Online ticket when you register by 12/31. Register today. Sponsor Message Tech, Media & Telecom 2021: Post-Pandemic, Future Forward COVID-19 pulled forward years of acceleration for tech, connectivity, streaming and e-commerce. How will this new pace of adoption and disruption change digital industry priorities post-pandemic? New insights from Morgan Stanley’s Tech, Media and Telecom conference. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Omicron is probably already in most countries, says the WHO It’s been officially detected in 77 and is spreading at an unprecedented rate. (BBC)   + Omicron is sweeping across the US. (Ars Technica)   + Infections in the UK could reach 1 million a day by the end of the month. (The Guardian)   + The UK lifted restrictions on travelers from Africa. (Quartz)   + New data confirmed Pfizer’s covid pill staves off severe disease. (Axios)    + What we know about omicron so far. (NYT $)   + The five omicron symptoms to watch out for. (Metro)   + Post-pandemic life feels as far away as it ever has. (The Atlantic $)  2 A former SpaceX engineer says “misogyny is rampant” at the company Let’s see how Elon Musk responds to this. (Vice)   + Similar allegations at Blue Origin earlier this year suggest the aerospace industry as a whole has a problem. (Ars Technica)   + Six women are suing Tesla over sexist treatment, too. (WP $)  3 Huawei tried to sell surveillance technology to the Chinese government The company has vehemently denied it does this for years. (WP $)   + Sympathetic foreign influencers form a significant part of Beijing’s efforts to boost its image. (NYT $)  4 How global warming is affecting the crucial Antarctic Circumpolar Current In effect, Antarctica is melting from the bottom. (NYT $)   + The Atlantic’s vital currents could collapse. Scientists are racing to understand the dangers. (TR)  5 Deplatforming Trump didn’t work The erosion of American democracy goes way deeper than the tech platforms. (The Verge)   + Racists have flocked to Twitter’s new audio service. (WP $)  6 Web3, explained It might be the future, it might never exist, but either way, this is what it’s supposedly all about. (Gizmodo)   + Crypto assets could pose a danger to the established financial system, says the Bank of England. (BBC)  7 What happened to robot dogs? 🤖🐕 They used to be cute and silly. Now they’re terrifying. (Wired $)   + See little robots build up their skills in this virtual “gym.” (Wired $)  8 Can Matter fix the smart home? A lack of interoperability is still probably the biggest single factor holding the market back. (The Verge)   9 Coinbase accidentally told some of its customers they were billionaires If only it was that easy. (Mashable)   10 Brain surgeons and rocket scientists aren’t cleverer than the rest of us A new study suggests we need to find a better phrase. (The Guardian) Quote of the day “For centuries, humanity has only been able to observe this atmosphere from afar. Now… we have finally arrived. Humanity has touched the sun.” —Nicola Fox, director of NASA’s Heliophysics Division, announces that its Parker Solar Probe has become the first ever spacecraft to enter the upper atmosphere of the sun. Top image credit: STOYAN VASSEV Please send bagels 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 Advancing the promise of technology Make MIT Technology Review your go-to resource for insights, analysis, and news about the world of technology. Get unlimited access when you subscribe today. Subscribe now Want to change how you receive these emails? You can *update your preferences or *unsubscribe from this list.  Subscription Information This message was sent to  Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog *the blog owner has deleted the hyperlink intentionally    Follow us: MIT Technology Review One Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142