The Download: future materials shortages, and Google on trial

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. This rare earth metal shows us the future of our planet’s resources For nearly as long as we’ve extracted materials from our planet, we’ve been trying to predict how long they will be…
The Download: future materials shortages, and Google on trial

1 Google will face a trial claiming that it misled Chrome users 
The lawsuit alleges that the browser collected user data without their permission. (WP $)
+ The case was originally dismissed in 2022, but was reversed on appeal. (The Verge)

2 OpenAI will let companies customize its most powerful model
Businesses can fine-tune GPT-4o to include their own data for the first time. (Bloomberg $)
+ OpenAI has also hashed out a deal with media giant Condé Nast. (Wired $)
+ How to fine-tune AI for prosperity. (MIT Technology Review)

3 CrowdStrike has had a rough month
The cyber security firm has accused its rivals of making ‘misguided’ attacks in the wake of its colossal global IT outage. (FT $)
+ The outage was caused by a botched update. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Waymo is making 100,000 robotaxi trips a week
That’s double the amount of journeys it was making in May. (NBC News)
+ What’s next for robotaxis. (MIT Technology Review)

5 A law that protects tech giants is being used against them
Section 230 shields tech firms from legal liability. A Massachusetts professor is testing its limits. (NYT $)

6 The hype around hydrogen continues to build
Particularly regarding ‘gold’ hydrogen, which doesn’t require energy to produce. (Wired $)
+ But producing green hydrogen is easier said than done. (FT $)
+ Hydrogen could be used for nearly everything. It probably shouldn’t be. (MIT Technology Review)

7 Taiwan is putting its fish farms to work
They’re doubling up as solar plants, creating a new aquavoltaics facility. (IEEE Spectrum

8 China’s fast fashion giants are feuding again
Shein has accused Temu of ripping off its designs, an accusation that major brands have long leveled against Shein itself. (404 Media)
+ Shein’s lawsuit comes as Temu is attempting to infiltrate the US. (The Register)
+ The pair have a long, litigious history of suing each other. (MIT Technology Review)