Tech 24

A number of wealthy cryptocurrency enthusiasts have dreamt up schemes to spend the rest of their days chilling on a Bitcoin beach or a crypto cruise ship, away from the institutions, currencies and taxes that govern the lives of everyone else. But only a few are determined enough to try to make it happen. On this week's Tech 24, Peter O'Brien takes us through some of the real-life attempts to create a utopian, libertarian, offshore paradise... and explains why they've all been doomed to fail so far.

This week's Tech 24 is a special edition from the south of France, where the World AI Cannes Festival is taking place. Almost every sector is abuzz with talk of AI, and investment in the technology is through the roof. But will it change the world completely? Or will it simply keep providing useful tools for specific circumstances? Peter O'Brien went to the festival to find out.

It's been a big week for the world's richest man, Elon Musk. Not only has he inaugurated Tesla's new "gigafactory" in Texas, but he's also officially become Twitter's biggest shareholder. But did he do it for the memes, or does he intend to truly transform Twitter and the social media landscape as a whole? FRANCE 24's Tech Editor Peter O'Brien gives us his take.

At the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, hackers brought down tens of thousands of satellite internet modems across Ukraine and Europe. This week, Reuters revealed that the same attacks are still underway. It raises questions about the state of the cyberwar in Ukraine: given the piecemeal information we receive about an attack, weeks after it happened, how can we assess Russia's cyberoffensive? Is it working, and has it begun to spill out internationally, as first predicted? So far, Ukraine's internet infrastructure has remained resilient. FRANCE 24's tech editor Peter O'Brien explains.

Though some may confuse it with a certain stretchy garment, Yandex is in fact Russia's largest tech company. It's a search engine, marketplace, taxi hailer, food deliverer, music streaming platform and a lot more. But Russia's invasion of Ukraine has brought its share price crashing down and forced many of its staff to flee Russia. So what next for Yandex and its tens of millions of Russian users? FRANCE 24's tech editor Peter O'Brien has more.

Telegram reached 500 million users last year, many of them in Russia and Ukraine. Since Russia invaded its neighbour, Telegram has topped app store charts worldwide, as people try to get to the heart of what's happening and as Ukrainian civilians maintain vital lines of communication. Telegram likes to tout its privacy credentials, but cybersecurity researchers say all is not what it seems. Notably, end-to-end encryption is an opt-in feature, not a default. Peter O'Brien explains in this week's Tech 24.

Open-source intelligence (or OSINT) has grown up. Digging up the truth about criminals, conflicts and cartels using only what's available online used to be the obscure realm of hobbyists. Now with the war in Ukraine, OSINT enthusiasts and professionals alike have been thrust into the spotlight and hundreds of thousands of people are poring over their work. They have a new, global audience and new responsibilities, as we explore in this week's Tech 24.

Social media posts may seem insignificant when compared with the brutality on the ground in Ukraine, but what goes viral is directly affecting the war and Russia knows this. This Friday, the chairman of the Russian parliament Vyacheslav Volodin railed against foreign social media, calling it a "weapon" that Russia "must oppose". This comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky secured a series of victories against Russia on the international stage, thanks in no small part to his internet star power.

In the run-up to, and after it was invaded, Ukraine has faced a large-scale assault not just by land, sea and air, but by cyberspace as well.

In this edition of Tech 24, we compare the two militaries of Russia and Ukraine, as fears of an invasion remain high. It's no surprise that the Russian arsenal far outstrips Ukraine's in terms of numbers, but Moscow has also come a long way in modernising its weaponry and support equipment. It now boasts long-range precision missiles, a huge fleet of tanks, as well as modern, high-manoeuvrability aircraft. So what can Ukraine do to defend itself? Peter O'Brien takes a look.

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics are being held in a "closed-loop" system, where participants and visitors are separated from the public because of Covid-19. It's the perfect environment to push the limits of modern technology and Beijing is showcasing a whole host of innovations, from 5G to robots and from 8K broadcasting to its digital currency, the e-CNY. Peter O'Brien takes us through some of the breakthroughs and controversies surrounding tech at the Games.

The hype around NFTs is reaching critical mass, with more and more companies and public figures joining the frenzy each day. In this edition of Tech 24, we explore why this might be the case, despite the technology itself being almost eight years old – the first NFT was created back in 2014. We also delve into the controversial world of play-to-earn gaming, which relies on NFTs. It promises money for playing, but does it deliver? Our Technology Editor Peter O'Brien has been finding out.

On this week's Tech 24 show, we bring you the the latest on the metaverse, the enhanced version of reality that Meta (formerly Facebook) founder Mark Zuckerburg is staking his legacy on. Meta's AI Research SuperCluster was announced this week. When it comes to completion in July, it could be the world's most powerful supercomputer. Built in an undisclosed location for an undisclosed cost, Meta wants it to help bring the metaverse to life. Our Technology Editor Peter O'Brien explains.

The telecoms and aviation industries went head to head in the United States this week over 5G, a technology that's constantly finding itself the subject of controversy. Just as AT&T and Verizon began switching on their 5G masts, major US airlines warned of a "catastrophe" should the network interfere with planes' ability to land. FRANCE 24's Technology Editor Peter O'Brien explains the technical details, and casts an eye over the future of cellular communications worldwide.

A new report by Tsinghua University in Beijing has revealed that the Chinese Communist Party used cloud seeding to artificially bring down pollution levels for its centenary celebrations on July 1. The peer-reviewed study shows just how far China has come with this technology. FRANCE 24's Technology Editor Peter O'Brien breaks down how cloud seeding works, and the scale of China's ambitions to change the weather.

While Germany is deciding to keep nuclear power out of its energy mix, other countries have been abuzz with plans for a new technology called small modular reactors. Even the UK, which has itself been phasing out nuclear, has invested in them.

Facebook became Meta Platforms on October 28 and subsequently announced its grand plans for bringing the virtual and physical worlds together in the metaverse. Since then, tech and entertainment giants have been jumping on the bandwagon and staking their own claims as builders of a new reality. But what exactly is the metaverse and what are the risks associated with it? Peter O'Brien takes a closer look in this week's Tech 24, the first in a new live format.

In this edition we explore how to reduce the carbon footprint of the blockchain, an underlying technology in which many cryptocurrencies are encrypted. The blockchain requires significant computing power and hence consumes a lot of energy, prompting a push to find ways to make it greener.

Advances in genetic engineering are reviving the idea of de-extinction, or whether to bring back extinct animals to try to save endangered ecosystems. But is it really a good idea?  What would be the unforeseen consequences of such an act? We speak to Ben Lamm, CEO of the American startup Colossal, which has just raised $15 million to revive the woolly mammoth.

Moscow subway users have started buying tickets using facial recognition technology. Authorities claim queues at ticket counters will be greatly shortened with the system dubbed "Face Pay". This move, however, is already sparking controversy since facial recognition has been used in the past for repressive purposes. In this edition, we explore these technologies that are being deployed in smart cities around the world and whether this means the end of anonymity in public places.