News July 11, 2024
‘Death Occurs in the Dark’: Indie Video Game Devs Are Struggling to Survive
Necrosoft Games was on the brink of financial disaster in March, with its director, Brandon Sheffield, predicting that the company would be broke before its upcoming RPG, Demonschool, shipped in September. The funding climate for video games was dire, especially for small projects, and layoffs were a weekly occurrence across the industry. However, Sheffield managed to secure a contract for Necrosoft to work on another game, allowing the studio to survive, albeit precariously. The company’s troubles are not unique, as many smaller developers face similar struggles due to mismanagement and the closure of funding avenues. With all hopes resting on Demonschool’s success, Necrosoft remains in a precarious position, and independent developers are vanishing left and right. As the industry shrinks, some hold onto the hope that things will improve by 2025, while others are less optimistic, warning that unless changes are made, the highs and lows of the games industry may only get worse.
AI’s Energy Demands Are Out of Control. Welcome to the Internet’s Hyper-Consumption Era
As I scroll through my online feeds, I’m constantly bombarded with AI-generated summaries and prompts, a phenomenon that can be traced back to OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT in 2022. Silicon Valley has since become obsessed with generative AI, and it’s now everywhere - from Google search results to Facebook browsing experiences. But this proliferation comes at a cost: the computing processes required to run these systems are incredibly resource-intensive, leading to an era of hyper-consumption that demands excessive amounts of electricity and water. According to experts, generative AI applications are around 100 to 1,000 times more computationally intensive than traditional services like Google Search or email. As a result, the technology’s energy needs for training and deployment have become a major concern, with data centers consuming massive amounts of power to support these gigantic models. Despite efforts to reduce emissions, companies like Google are still grappling with the environmental impact of their AI endeavors.
Silicon Valley Hasn’t Embraced Trump. But It’s Wavering on Biden
The supposed Silicon Valley revolt against the Democratic Party has been brewing long before the recent presidential debate. Tech investors and entrepreneurs have been vocal about their dissatisfaction with the liberal era of tech, citing issues such as anti-capitalism and anti-progress policies. David Sacks, a prominent tech investor and close associate of Elon Musk, has been leading this movement through his popular podcast, All In. However, despite the noise, there is little evidence to suggest that this sentiment represents a broader constituency in Silicon Valley. Many tech leaders have always leaned Republican or libertarian, and their dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party’s policies is nothing new. Instead, it seems that they are simply louder in their voices than before.
X’s $500 million unpaid severance case dismissed, but it may not be over
X (formerly Twitter) has dodged a $500 million bullet after a California court dismissed a class action lawsuit alleging unpaid severance claims. The judge ruled that the company’s severance plan wasn’t governed by ERISA, effectively ending the case. However, this doesn’t mean the matter is closed - the plaintiffs can refile their complaint with new claims, such as breach of contract or promissory estoppel. The initial lawsuit accused X and Elon Musk of failing to fulfill severance obligations owed to around 6,000 former employees, who were only offered a single month’s pay after being laid off in mass layoffs last year. Despite the dismissal, X still faces multiple lawsuits regarding severance, wages, and discrimination, with at least six suits filed against the company so far.
Webb telescope may have just revealed an alien world with air
Researchers have made a groundbreaking discovery using the James Webb Space Telescope, which may indicate the presence of an atmosphere and ocean on an exoplanet called LHS 11b. This distant world orbits a small, cool star about 48 light-years away from Earth and is roughly half the size of our own planet. By analyzing the starlight filtered through the planet’s atmosphere, scientists detected possible evidence of a thick, nitrogen-rich atmosphere similar to Earth’s. The team’s findings suggest that LHS 11b could be a rocky world with similarities to our own planet, covered in water and ice, rather than a gas giant like Jupiter. If confirmed, this discovery would mark a significant step forward in the search for habitable worlds beyond our solar system.