9 Astonishing Ways That Living Standards Have Improved Around the WorldTony Morley | Big ThinkOver the last 200 years, the lives of average people in every country have been radically transformed and improved. In our modern day, we are living longer and are more prosperous than ever beforein both high-income and low-income countries. And while progress forward is by no means progress completed nor a guarantee of progress to come, the remarkable improvements in global living standards serve, not as a high water or finish line, but rather as a source of inspiration and hope.

Human Brain Cells Transplanted Into Baby Rats Brains Grow and Form ConnectionsJessica Hamzelou | MIT Technology ReviewThese animals could be used to learn more about human neuropsychiatric disorders, say the researchers behind the work. Its an important step forward in progress into [understanding and treating] brain diseases, says Julian Savulescu, a bioethicist at the National University of Singapore, who was not involved in the study. But the development also raises ethical questions, he says, particularly surrounding what it means to humanize animals.

Fake Joe Rogan Interviews Fake Steve Jobs in an AI-powered PodcastBenj Edwards | Ars TechnicaWhether its legal to use Jobs or Rogans vocal likenesses in this mannerparticularly to promote a commercial productremains to be seen. And despite the PR-stunt nature of the podcast, the concept of entirely fictional celebrity podcasts got our attention. As voice synthesis becomesmore widespread and potentially undetectable, were looking at a future where media artifacts from any era will likely be completely fluid and malleable, shapable to fit any narrative.

Stoke Space Aims to Build Rapidly Reusable Rocket With a Completely Novel DesignEric Berger | Ars TechnicaSpaceX had already shown the way on first-stage launch and recovery with the Falcon 9 and its vertical takeoff and landing, so Stoke started with the second stage. Last month, the company started to test-fire its upper-stage engines at a facility in Moses Lake, Washington. The images andvideo show an intriguing-looking ring with 15 discrete thrusters firing for several seconds. The circular structure is 13 feet in diameter, and this novel-looking design is Stokes answer to one of the biggest challenges of getting a second stage back from orbit.

Microsoft Brings DALL-E 2 to the Masses With Designer and Image CreatorKyle Wiggers | TechCrunchSeeking to bring OpenAIs tech to an even wider audience, Microsoft is launching Designer, a Canva-like web app that can generate designs for presentations, posters, digital postcards, invitations, graphics and more to share on social media and other channels. Designerwhose announcement leakedrepeatedly this spring and summerleverages user-created content and DALL-E 2 to ideate designs, with drop-downs and text boxes for further customization and personalization.

Can Start-Ups Significantly Lower the Cost of Gene Sequencing?Roy Furchgott | The New York TimesiIf someone drops the price of sequencing 10-fold, I can sequence 10 times as many people, [Dr. Bruce D. Gelb] said. And you build up your statistical oomph to discover stuff. The days of statistical oomphmeaning an explosion in the amount of data gleaned from lower-priced testsappear imminent. Ultima Genomics, a biotech start up, made news at the Advances in Genome Biology and Technology conference in June, unveiling a gene-sequencing machine that it claims can sequence a complete genome for $100.

Metas VR Headset Harvests Personal Data Right Off Your FaceKhari Johnson | WiredCameras inside the device that track eye and face movements can make an avatars expressions more realistic, but they raise new privacy questions. Raw images and pictures used to power these features are stored on the headset, processed locally on the device, and deleted after processing, Meta says.Eye-trackingandfacial-expressionprivacy notices the company published this week state that although raw images get deleted, insights gleaned from those images may be processed and stored on Meta servers.

The Case for and Against CryptocurrencyTyler Cowen | Big ThinkCryptocurrency is truly a new idea, and its rare for society to encounter fundamentally new ideas. Cryptocurrency is well positioned to serve a crucial financial and transactional role as a globalized internet grows to include more of our lives. Crypto enthusiasts espouse grand plans that do not sound realistic, while crypto skeptics fail to appreciate the revolutionary nature of the technology.

The Chinese Surveillance State Proves That the Idea of Privacy Is More Malleable Than Youd ExpectZeyi Yang | MIT Technology ReviewHow the world should respond to the rise of surveillance states might be one of the most important questions facing global politics at the moment, Chin says, because these technologies really do have the potential to completely alter the way governments interact with and control people.i

Image Credit: Simone Hutsch / Unsplash

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This Week's Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through October 15) - Singularity Hub