This launcher throws rockets into space 🚀
Plus: Wonder why your team might be slowing down as it's size grows?
Today’s Topics
Hello readers, in this week’s issues, I am going to experiment with a new format by broadening the topic coverage to go beyond AI. Let me know what you think about this week’s newsletter via comments. Today we are exploring:
Low cost way to launch space satellites
Why team progress slows down as it’s size grow?
Key stories to follow:
FTX investors might get their money back
Researchers create first GenAI ‘worm’
Can human values keep up with the AI developments?
India requires approval before launching AI models within country borders
Innovative way to launch space satellites
I recently came across this space technology startup, called SpinLaunch, which is pioneering groundbreaking new approach to achieving low-cost, environmentally sustainable satellite launches into low Earth orbit.
Rather than relying on conventional rocket fuel propulsion, SpinLaunch has developed an alternative kinetic launch system powered entirely by electricity from terrestrial sources.
This ingenious method is capable of delivering satellites weighing up to 200 kilograms into orbit. By eschewing complex rocket engines and toxic fuels, SpinLaunch's kinetic launch technology offers a radically simplified, greener and more economical means of space access compared to traditional chemical rockets.
Falling launch costs fuels a thriving economy, and the cost has been declining over the last few decades thanks to rising number of companies providing commercial services.
According to McKinsey, the price of heavy launches to low-Earth orbit (LEO) has fallen from $65,000 per kilogram to $1,500 per kilogram—more than a 95 percent decrease.
This explains the rise of payload deployment (i.e. satellites) in space especially in the last 5 years as shown in the chart below. While cost of space launches is declining and numbers of satellites rising, the quantity of space of debris has been rising as well which poses serious risks to both life on earth and other satellites.
Lines of communication and Team size
Clear and efficient communication channels are vital for the success of any project. In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on understanding and optimizing team communication dynamics to boost overall effectiveness.
Metcalfe's law highlights how communication complexity increases exponentially as more people are added to a network. As the group size expands, the number of one-to-one relationships – or potential lines of communication – grows at an exponential rate. This concept is well-illustrated by the following diagram that vividly depicts the rapid escalation in communication pathways that need to be managed as teams get larger in size.
Next time when you are going to work on a project with large number of people involved or considering to increase your team size; have a think about the associated communication cost. You might need to adapt your communication strategies accordingly to compensate for this overhead.
Other key stories to follow
₿ FTX invested $500 million in Anthropic in 2021 and has a stake of around 7.8% in the company whose sale got approved by bankruptcy court recently. Looks like FTX investors might be able to get their funds back after all.
🕵️♀️ Cybersecurity researchers has developed the first ‘worm’ designed to target GenAI ecosystems through the use of adversarial self-replicating prompts. (paper)
👤 While there is a consensus that artificial intelligence should be developed in line with human values, the rapid pace of AI advancements is outstripping many people's expectations according to Michael Totten, author of Where the West Ends.
🏛️ India's government has issued a directive requiring artificial intelligence companies to obtain explicit approval before rolling out AI models within the country's borders. This mandate aims to provide oversight and regulate the deployment of AI technologies.
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