Hi there!

This is your daily dose of ☕️ Techpresso, where you get the latest tech news of the day effortlessly.


Here's the latest tech news from the last 24 hours:

💸 Amazon wants you to pay with your palm
🔥 California's AI-driven wildfire detection
🌳 White House's $1.2B carbon capture initiative
🔒 FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried is back in jail
🤖 AI can now outperform humans in Captcha tests

💸 Amazon wants you to pay with your palmLINK

Amazon is introducing Amazon One, a biometric hand-scanning service that allows users to pay at Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh stores, Panera restaurants, airports, stadiums, and Starbucks locations using their palm.

This move is part of Amazon's effort to compete with Google and Apple in the digital wallet space, aiming to create a universal identity provider that goes beyond payments, potentially connecting to various services, including health records.

Amazon One uses near-infrared light to capture palm vein patterns and surface features, with a focus on security through encrypted hand scan transmission, but it faces privacy concerns and the challenge of convincing merchants to adopt the technology.

🔥 California's AI-driven wildfire detectionLINK

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) has launched the Alert California AI program in collaboration with UCSD, using AI and 360-degree cameras to detect potential wildfires by identifying abnormalities in camera feeds.

The program successfully detected and prevented a fledgling fire in the Cleveland National Forest, alerting firefighters who extinguished the flames within 45 minutes.

Alert California utilizes LiDAR scans and machine learning to differentiate between smoke and other particles, aiming to combat wildfires in the face of extreme climate conditions.

🌳 White House's $1.2B carbon capture initiativeLINK

The Department of Energy is providing grants of up to $1.2 billion to two direct air capture (DAC) projects aiming to remove over 2 million metric tons of CO2 annually, equivalent to emissions from 445,000 gas-powered cars.

The DAC projects in Texas and Louisiana, supported by the Regional Direct Air Capture Hubs program, will create jobs and could potentially remove up to 30 million tons of CO2 per year, contributing to the US goal of emissions neutrality by 2050.

The DOE aims to lower DAC costs below $100 per metric ton of CO2-equivalent and is funding feasibility studies, engineering projects, and a carbon removal credits program to achieve global impact on carbon reduction.

🔒 FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried is back in jailLINK

Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of FTX, had his bail revoked ahead of his trial following allegations of leaking a diary to the New York Times.

Bankman-Fried faces charges including defrauding FTX investors and was initially under house arrest on a $250 million bond.

US District Court Judge revoked his bail due to alleged misconduct and possible witness intimidation, leading to potential detention at a detention center during trial.

🤖 AI can now outperform humans in Captcha testsLINK

A study reveals that humans are slower and less accurate than bots in solving Captcha tests, raising questions about their effectiveness.

Captchas are intended to deter bots from accessing services, preventing malicious activities like DDoS attacks and spam accounts.

Bots can outperform humans in solving certain types of Captchas, indicating an ongoing challenge in maintaining their efficacy.

Other news you might like

NASA's STEREO-A spacecraft, after 17 years of orbiting the Sun, is reuniting with Earth for a flyby, collaborating with other solar missions to capture new three-dimensional perspectives of the Sun and test theories about coronal loops. LINK

Elon Musk is urging users to subscribe to X Premium (formerly Twitter Blue) by significantly lowering eligibility requirements for monetization, now only requiring a paid subscription, 5 million impressions in 3 months, and 500 followers.LINK

Want to get the latest news differently? Find us on:

See you tomorrow for a new dose of ☕️ Techpresso!