The Download: AI's impact on jobs, and data centres in space | MIT Technology Review

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. The one piece of data that could actually shed light on your job and AI  Within Silicon Valley’s orbit, an AI-fueled jobs apocalypse is spoken about as a given. Now even economists who have downplayed the threat are coming around to the idea.   Alex Imas, based at the University of Chicago, is one of them. He believes that any plan to address AI’s impact will depend on collecting one vital piece of data: price elasticity.  Imas argues that “we need a Manhattan Project” for this. Read the full story to find out why.  —James O'Donnell  This article is from The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter giving you the inside track on all things AI. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Monday.  Four things we’d need to put data centers in space  In January, Elon Musk’s SpaceX applied to launch up to 1 million data centers into Earth’s orbit. The goal? To fully unleash the potential of AI—without triggering an environmental crisis on Earth.  SpaceX is among a growing list of tech firms pursuing orbital computing infrastructure. But can their plans really work? Here are four must-haves for making space-based data centers a reality.  —Tereza Pultarova  This story is part of MIT Technology Review Explains, our series untangling the complex, messy world of technology to help you understand what’s coming next. You can read more from the series here.  T...