24-08-16 Roundup
Getting stuff built
Britain’s Problem with Planners
The cost of the UK’s unified energy market
Where next with the UK’s nuclear new build programme?
The third part of the Richard Jones posts shared in the last issue.
How California Turned Against Growth
AI
AI existential risk probabilities are too unreliable to inform policy
Faith and Fate: Transformers as fuzzy pattern matchers
Building A Generative AI Platform
China
How Innovative Is China in the Electric Vehicle and Battery Industries?
Some err... strong policy recommendations in the above piece. But a very good overview of the state of things at the moment.
Meanwhile this month...
Uber Partners With BYD on Putting Its Drivers Into 100,000 EVs
Uber and BYD make no mention of the US in their statement, likely because the market is virtually closed off to the carmaker. President Joe Biden has vowed to increase tariffs on Chinese EVs to 102.5% this year, ratcheting up a rate that former president Donald Trump raised to 27.5% during his four years in the White House.
The European Union and countries including Canada have since followed suit in adopting or considering higher duties on Chinese EV imports, which could further complicate Uber’s objective for 100% of its rides in US, Canadian and European cities to take place in electric vehicles by 2030.
And German industrial production is in decline
This is mostly a story of Europe's self imposed high energy costs. But that won't stop people trying to find other answers.
Britain stands out for not having put up or proposed tariffs yet. Will be interesting to see how much our car market diverges this decade.
Also meanwhile...
Apple to Manufacture 'Pro' iPhone Models in India for the First Time
Apple Drops to Sixth Place in China's Smartphone Market
Apple Lowers iPhone Prices and Eyes iPad Assembly in India
Miscellaneous
Matt Yglesias Considered As The Nietzschean Superman
Why has violent crime declined in Britain?
How to Build Anything Extremely Quickly
The deep ocean floor is covered in naturally-occurring batteries that make oxygen
Your Book Review: How the War Was Won
and
The Past and Future of Military Drones
Revolutionary Math Proof No One Could Explain...Until Now
via Peter Woit, who writes at his blog:
Frenkel covers a wide range of topics about unification in math and physics and the difference between these two subjects. While there’s a lot about mathematics, Frenkel also gives the most lucid explanation I’ve ever heard of exactly what string theory is, what its relation to mathematics is, and what its problems are as a theory of the real world.
"And there too", Woland pointed backwards. "What good is your little basement now?" The reflected sun faded from the windows. "Why go back?" Woland continued, quietly and persuasively. "0 thrice romantic master, wouldn't you like to stroll under the cherry blossom with your love in the daytime and listen to Schubert in the evening?"