• Data center operators are gambling millions on outdated cooling technology. The conversation around data center cooling isn’t just changing—it’s being completely redefined by the economics of AI. The stakes have never been higher. The rapid advancement of AI has transformed data center economics in ways few predicted. When a single rack of AI servers costs […]

  • Anthony Tobelaim is the Co-founder & CPO of Siit. He previously worked at Aircall as a Senior Director of Partnership EMEA & APAC. Siit empowers IT and internal operations teams with a modern platform designed to simplify and streamline service management processes from start to finish. Unlike traditional systems that begin with forms or apps, […]

  • Donate now Happy New Year! We hope you’re celebrating it with a couple of loved ones. 🎆 2024 is drawing to a close, but there’s still time to support critical climate journalism by making a tax-deductible donation to Hothouse by midnight. Through Hothouse’s participation in NewsMatch, your contribution will be doubled dollar-for-dollar—up to $1,000 per […]

  • Forrester predicts one in five US and EMEA retailers will launch customer-facing GenAI applications in 2025. Enhanced product search, personalized recommendations, and improved category navigation are top use cases. So why did automated interactions cause the US’s customer experience score to decline by 5% in 2023—the lowest since 2015—and what can retailers learn from this […]

  • Jean-Louis Quéguiner is the Founder and CEO of Gladia. He previously served as Group Vice President of Data, AI, and Quantum Computing at OVHcloud, one of Europe’s leading cloud providers. He holds a Master’s Degree in Symbolic AI from the University of Québec in Canada and Arts et Métiers ParisTech in Paris. Over the course […]

  • Andrew Ng’s assertion that artificial intelligence is the new electricity captures the impact and potential of AI across various sectors. However, many individuals may shy away from merging coding and AI due to the belief that advanced coding skills are mandatory. Bursting this myth reveals a world of opportunities for those without a programming background. […]

  • The cybersecurity industry has always faced an uphill battle, and the challenges today are steeper and more widespread than ever before. Though organizations are adopting more and more digital tools to optimize operations and increase efficiency, they are simultaneously increasing their attack surface – the extent of vulnerable entry points hackers might exploit – making […]

  • Nicole Clark, CEO and founder of Trellis, created the legal analytics platform to address challenges she faced as a litigator. Drawing from her experience in business litigation, she began aggregating state trial court data to tailor legal arguments and improve case outcomes. Recognizing its potential, she expanded Trellis to democratize access to legal insights. With […]

  • As someone who’s spent countless hours wrestling with Photoshop’s endless menus and steep learning curve, I was blown away by how user-friendly Picsart is. Picsart is an all-in-one creative platform with tools for photo and video editing, AI features, and a vast library of templates, stickers, and effects. In this Picsart review, I’ll discuss the […]

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere, changing healthcare, education, and entertainment. But behind all that change is a hard truth: AI needs much data to work. A few big tech companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and OpenAI have most of that data, giving them a significant advantage. By securing exclusive contracts, building closed ecosystems, and buying […]

  • Here’s the thing no one talks about: the most sophisticated AI model in the world is useless without the right fuel. That fuel is data—and not just any data, but high-quality, purpose-built, and meticulously curated datasets. Data-centric AI flips the traditional script.  Instead of obsessing over squeezing incremental gains out of model architectures, it’s about […]

  • Climate Solutions  //   ISSUE  # 103   //   HOTHOUSE 2.0 Dear Reader, We’re nearly at year’s end. That means there are still a few days left to make a tax-deductible donation to a climate-solutions organization making a real impact in your communities. For the past few years, we’ve partnered with Giving Green, a […]

  • AI retail tools have moved far beyond simple automation and data crunching. Today’s platforms dive deep into the subtle patterns of consumer behavior, market dynamics, and operational efficiency – finding hidden opportunities that even experienced retailers might miss. What makes these tools particularly useful is their ability to process millions of micro-decisions simultaneously, from optimal […]

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing how industries work and our daily lives. But even the most intelligent AI systems can make mistakes. One big problem is AI hallucinations, where the system produces false or made-up information. This is a serious issue in healthcare, law, and finance, where getting things right is critical. Though Large Language […]

  • Generative AI has redefined what we believe AI can do. What started as a tool for simple, repetitive tasks is now solving some of the most challenging problems we face.  OpenAI has played a big part in this shift, leading the way with its ChatGPT system. Early versions of ChatGPT showed how AI could have […]

  • The market is booming with innovation and new AI projects. It’s no surprise that businesses are rushing to use AI to stay ahead in the current fast-paced economy. However, this rapid AI adoption also presents a hidden challenge: the emergence of ‘Shadow AI.’ Here’s what AI is doing in day-to-day life: Saving time by automating […]

  • 在特朗普(Donald Trump)开始第二个美国总统任期之际,中美再次打响贸易战几乎已成定局,而对能源转型至关重要的矿物可能会陷入这场交锋的漩涡。 特朗普已威胁要对来自中国、以及通过其他国家输往美国的中国商品加征关税。 与此同时,中国正在制定一套“多样化”的政策工具包,以应对日益加剧的贸易紧张局势。最近一个值得注意的例子是中国对锗、镓、石墨和锑等四种矿物实行出口管制。 所有这些矿物都在低碳技术中发挥着重要作用,但同时也具有军事等其他用途。 Carbon Brief等机构的分析表明,中国于2023年夏季首次实施的出口管制并未对关键矿物供应链产生持续影响。 然而,2024年12月初宣布的更严格的管控措施,特别是对美出口的限制,引发了关于这些措施可能产生多大影响的辩论。 在本文中,Carbon Brief探讨了美中之间围绕关键矿物的紧张关系,可能对供应链稳定性以及清洁能源转型产生的影响。 哪些矿物对清洁能源转型至关重要? 矿物对多种低碳技术的发展至关重要。 例如,铟和镓用于太阳能电池板的涂层,铜和“稀土”金属用于风力发电机的导体和永磁体,而从锂到锰的各种矿物则广泛应用于不同类型的电池。 中国在许多矿物的供应链中占据重要地位,尤其是在加工环节。如下表所示,全球超过一半的石墨、稀土元素(REEs)和钒的开采,以及大部分铝、钴、石墨、铟、锂、稀土元素和硅的加工均集中在中国。 然而,并非所有这些材料都被视为“关键矿物”。“关键矿物”是一个政治术语,用于描述那些在重要战略领域中发挥作用的矿物。 美国将50种矿物列为关键矿物,欧盟确定了34种关键矿物和另外16种“战略原材料”,而日本的清单上列出了35种矿物。 尽管中国自2016年以来没有更新其官方的关键矿物清单,但2023年11月,中国国家安全部官方公众号发布的一篇文章透露,中国至少将31种矿物视为关键矿物。 该文章比较了中国(橙色)、欧盟(绿色)和美国(蓝色)关键矿物清单中的重叠与差异部分。 大宗商品咨询公司CRU集团中国办事处特别顾问、前首席执行官约翰·约翰逊(John Johnson)告诉Carbon Brief,中国与欧盟和美国“清单上相似”的矿物在采购方面“竞争更激烈”。 尽管一些国家试图多样化关键矿物进口,以减少对中国的依赖,但国际能源署(IEA)的分析发现,根据已宣布的项目,从现在到2030年,矿物供应的现状不太可能改变。 不过,IEA指出,在电池制造等部分领域,欧洲和美国“已宣布的产能增加”应该“足以”满足2030年的国内应用需求。 但价格评估机构Benchmark Minerals Intelligence专注于石墨的高级分析师托尼·奥尔德森(Tony Alderson)对这一乐观预测表示怀疑。他告诉Carbon Brief,“对于设施利用率能达到100%的情况几乎闻所未闻”。他补充称,2030年以后,美国和欧盟对石墨的需求可能会远远超过供应。 中国控制关键矿物的能力如何演变? 在拜登政府时期,美国采用了“小院高墙”(small yard, high fence)策略,对半导体行业实施了一系列出口管制,并鼓励盟友采取类似措施。 作为回应,中国开始限制一些关键矿物的出口,包括在2023年8月对某些类型的镓和锗的出口实施管制,随后于2023年12月对石墨实施管制、于2024年9月对锑实施管制。 除锑之外,这些管制显然是北京对美国遏制中国半导体进口措施的回应。 与此同时,中国加强了出口管制制度,将分散的一系列出口管制政策统一整合为单一框架。 这包括制订“不可靠实体清单”、出口管制法、反外国制裁法和对被认为是“两用”物项的监管。 策纬咨询公司(Trivium China)的关键矿物和供应链研究负责人科里·康布斯(Cory Combs)告诉Carbon Brief:“(中国)过去的出口管制体系极为零散。” 他补充道,最近政策推进的主要目标之一是通过“确保所有内容集中管理且规则一致”来改善合规性。 这些举措为中国在2024年12月初加强关键矿物出口限制铺平了道路,其加大了对石墨出口的限制,并“原则上”禁止向美国出口镓、锗和锑。 中国商务部发言人表示,此举是对美国通过对中国芯片制造业实施广泛限制,将自己的出口管制“武器化”的回应。 初步出口禁令对关键矿物贸易流向的影响如何? 对中国初步出口管制(涉及镓、石墨和锗)的分析显示,尽管新规出台,但贸易大体上仍在继续。 如下方Carbon Brief汇编的图表所示,在2023年8月限制生效后,受限类型的镓和锗出口暂停了两个月。然而,这些出口从2023年10月起恢复,尽管水平略有下降。 并非所有类型的目标关键矿物都受到了为期两个月的暂停的影响,非管制产品(如锗氧化物)的流量没有明显变化。 对于石墨而言,主要产品的出口量总体保持稳定,但在限制措施实施前出现了出口量激增,这可能是由于囤积所致。2024年的平均出口量高于2022年水平。 奥尔德森告诉Carbon Brief,出口商发现,当局对韩国和日本的出口审批特别迅速,而针对美国和印度的产品“需要更长时间”才能获批。其他分析师报告说,大多数许可证似乎已经获批。 这种结果可能是有意为之。Trivium China的康布斯告诉Carbon Brief,初步出口管制的目标是提高中国对其加工的矿物使用情况的了解,这也是为何要求出口商申请许可证,而不是直接全面禁止出口的原因。 […]

  • I’ve been continuously following the computer vision (CV) and image synthesis research scene at Arxiv and elsewhere for around five years, so trends become evident over time, and they shift in new directions every year. Therefore as 2024 draws to a close, I thought it appropriate to take a look at some new or evolving […]