Good morning. It’s a new week, and it’s time to get into the tech news.
1. ‘Holy Grail’ green hydrogen pilot plant in the works
A multi-million dollar hydrogen pilot plant will begin construction in the coming weeks, developed by Sparc Technologies and partners including Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Future Industries, per The Australian. It’s hoped that this pilot plant, which doesn’t need renewable energy from wind or solar, will be a low-cost solution for creating hydrogen. Instead of those energy sources, the hydrogen plant just requires the sun’s radiation and a photocatalyst. “It’s about a six-month build so hopefully by late this year, or more likely early next year, we’ll have something on the ground which the researchers will then be able to access, we’ll be able to show people around,” Sparc Technologies managing director Nick O’Loughlin said, describing the company’s technology as the ‘holy grail’ of the green hydrogen industry.
2. Apple lays off more than 600 workers
Amid a search for the company’s next big thing, following the collapse of the Apple Car Project, the dwindling uptake of the Vision Pro, and plans for next-gen smartwatch displays (per Bloomberg), Apple has cut 600 jobs. Reported by AP, 614 employees were notified by the company across multiple Santa Clara California offices that they would be losing their jobs. It’s the first round of post-pandemic layoffs Apple has done.
3. Google may charge for AI-powered search
Google is reportedly considering charging users for web search features powered by AI, which would be the biggest shakeup of the company’s web browsing service ever, via The Guardian (and originally reported by the Financial Times). Users would have to pay to access Google’s suite of AI products, including in web apps like Gmail and Docs. “AI search is more expensive to compute than Google’s traditional search processes. So in charging for AI search Google will be seeking to at least recoup these costs,” chief data scientist at the digital transformation consultancy UST Heather Dawe said to The Guardian.
4. Tesla’s low-cost EV reportedly scrapped
The mythical ‘cheap’ Tesla isn’t going to happen, according to Reuters. The publication originally reported late last year that work on a cheap model was beginning in Berlin, but now the company has dropped the project altogether. no surprises there – it’s been constantly pushed back – but rather, Tesla is moving to refocus on its self-driving robotaxis built on the same platform. Elon Musk has supposedly confirmed the reveal of the robotaxi for August 8, which seems extremely far out.
5. Snapchat stops solar system setting
Snapchat has disabled its premium subscriber ‘solar system’ feature by default, which gave users an idea of how close they were to other users dependent on positions in a user-based solar system, after reports last week that it was adding to teen’s anxiety. Users will now need to opt in to use the ranking system, which would describe a friend’s closeness to you by planet names, such as ‘Mercury’ and ‘Mars’. We understand that even though it can feel good to know you are close to someone, it can also feel bad to know that you aren’t as close to a friend as you’d like to be. We’ve heard and understand that the Solar System can make that feeling worse, and we want to avoid that,” Snapchat said in a statement.
BONUS ITEM: Letting AI-generated slop win an animated music video competition sucks, especially for a band so famous for its visuals.
The winning video by Damián Gaume for Any Colour You Like in Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon 50th Anniversary Animation Video Competition. pic.twitter.com/ylCYFIJkNh
— Pink Floyd (@pinkfloyd) April 5, 2024
Have a lovely week!
Image: Zachariah Kelly/Gizmodo Australia