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First up, a cautionary tale out of California, where a group of hikers had to be rescued after relying on Google's Gemini AI to plan their trip. The local sheriff's office said the chatbot advised the group to bring far less food and water than they actually needed. It's a sharp reminder that AI assistants, however capable they seem, have no real understanding of stakes — and that trusting one with your survival is a different proposition than trusting it with your inbox.
Shifting to a broader conversation, the Economist is pushing back on what it calls a moral panic over data centres. The argument is that fears around their energy and land use are being overstated relative to their economic and social value. It's a debate worth having carefully, because the trade-offs are real — but so is the risk of letting anxiety drive policy faster than evidence can keep up.
And finally, a demographic milestone that quietly landed this week: people aged sixty-five and older now outnumber children aged five and under worldwide for the first time in recorded history. It's a data point with enormous implications for healthcare, labour markets, and yes, the kinds of technology we'll need to build next.
Keep surfing. Tech Beat out.
