🔋 US' hypersonic missile killer program, China unveils fastest-charging EV battery, OpenAI CTO resigns

The United States Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has decided to proceed with Northrop Grumman’s Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI) program, the first-of-its-kind defensive countermeasure against hypersonic missile threats.

Working with the MDA for the past three years, Northrop says it has produced a design capable of defeating existing and emerging hypersonic threats. Dive deeper into this Must-Read.

🔥Today’s job of the day as featured on jobs.interestingengineering.com:

> DevOps Test Engineer
> Software Engineer - Remote

Reading Time: 4 mins

Did a friend forward this e-mail to you? Subscribe here.

MUST-READ

🚀 First-of-its-kind hypersonic missile killer program gets US greenlight

The GPI program is now entering the next phase of development, and during this it will focus on several key points to make it more accurate and compatible with various launch platforms.

The company had also been supporting the US and Japan cooperative development agreement to build capabilities meant to defend against hypersonic missiles, strengthening overall missile defense deterrence.

As MDA decides to move ahead with Northrop Grumman’s GPI program, the next phase of development will focus on four key areas.

🔋 124-mile-range in 5 mins: China firms launch fastest-charging EV battery

The race to dominate the electric vehicle market is heating up, and one of the key battlegrounds is charging speed. In a new development, General Motors and its Chinese partner CATL have unveiled the fastest-charging EV battery to date.

The new battery, based on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry, boasts an incredible 6C ultra-fast charging capability. The “C” rating of a battery indicates its charging speed.

As per the CnEV post, it can be fully charged in “one-sixth of an hour” or just 10 minutes.

💵 CTO Mira Murati’s exit shakes OpenAI as Sam Altman eyes 7% stakes in firm

Two major announcements have come from OpenAI in a span of a few hours, the first and the major one is that the company is working to restructure its core operations into a for-profit benefit firm.

According to a recent article by Reuters, the ChatGPT maker’s restructuring will ensure that the firm’s core business will no longer be controlled by a non-profit board. Moreover, it is also being reported that the company’s CEO Sam Altman will likely receive equity stake in the restructured for-profit company.

Reports mention that the restructuring is aimed at making the company more lucrative for the investors, however, more details on it are yet to emerge. It also remains to be seen how the restructured firm will manage the question of risks, and security surrounding AI.

Love what you're reading, but too many emails? Sign up to IE+ to get Blueprint Weekly, our exclusive weekly premium newsletter that gives all the insights you love in a more digestible weekly format– plus, enjoy an Ad-Free experience on our website. Try IE+ today for just $1 in the first month. Subscribe here

HOT TOPICS OF THE DAY

SCIENCE

> An international collaborative effort by a team of chemists and zoologists has uncovered clues indicating that woolly mammoths might have struggled with allergies, contributing to their extinction. (More)

> China has begun expanding the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), the world’s largest and most sensitive single-dish radio telescope. (More)

> MIT research suggests Mars’ missing atmosphere — which dramatically diminished 3.5 billion years ago — could be locked in the planet’s clay-covered crust. Water on Mars could have set off a chain reaction that drew CO2 out of the atmosphere and converted it into methane within clay minerals. (More)

ENERGY

> Scientists at Berkeley Lab suggest that manganese could be used to create high-performance battery cathodes. They have introduced a new method that makes it easier and cheaper to produce manganese-based battery materials. (More)

> Oklo, the nuclear energy company backed by Sam Altman, will begin preparatory work on a site in Idaho, where it could set up its first reactor as early as 2027. (More)

> UK-based clean technology group Altilium has announced a new project to produce and validate EV battery cells using materials recovered from end-of-life EV batteries. (More)

INNOVATION

> Meta has unveiled its first pair of augmented reality glasses, the Orion glasses. These glasses support Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of making mobile phones hands-free devices. (More)

> Atool has astonishingly increased the speed of detective work. The AI tool, developed in Australia, has completed 81 years of detective work in 30 hours. Called Söze, the tool is developed by Akkodis to solve real policing problems and deliver tangible benefits that impact policing results. (More)

> MIT researchers developed a technique guaranteeing that data remain secure during multiparty, cloud-based computation. This method, which leverages the quantum properties of light, could enable organizations to use deep learning to securely analyze confidential patient or customer data. (More)

VIDEO

> BBC cyber correspondent Joe Tidy has had an AI clone of himself built by engineers at Fraia AI. Watch to see if he can fool his colleagues with it. (More)

> Formula Student is a world series of events featuring electric cars built by teams of students. Could this be the future of motor racing? (More)

IE QUIZ: THE RESULTS

The answer is: 5/4

Ready for more brainy challenges? Gear up for future IE quizzes by following us on Instagram and Facebook! 

FROM THE WEB

> Russia has a secret war drones project in China, intel sources say

> A 20-year-old built a nuclear fusion prototype in his home for $2,000. Here's how he did it

> Researcher develops low-sugar ice cream with smooth texture

> James McAvoy and Tom Brady fall for 'Goodbye Meta AI' hoax

> Scientists in the Arctic have found a way to grow sea ice

> This Polish reservoir spared two cities from devastating floods