$750M Bitcoin Recovery Stopped, Meta's Policy Shift, and MIT's Stacked 3D Chips

James Howells, a Welsh IT specialist, has encountered a significant setback in his decade-long effort to recover 8,000 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $750 million, which he accidentally discarded in 2013. A judge ruled against his latest legal bid, stating that the hard drive legally became the property of Newport City Council once it entered the landfill. Despite proposing various recovery methods, including AI-powered robots, Howells remains determined to pursue his lost fortune and plans to create a new cryptocurrency backed by his inaccessible Bitcoin.

In a notable shift, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has announced a comprehensive overhaul of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. This restructuring includes changes to hiring practices and support for employee resource groups. Janelle Gale, Meta's VP of HR, indicated that evolving legal and policy landscapes influenced these changes. The company has disbanded many DEI teams and eliminated its diverse slate approach for hiring, aligning with other corporations like McDonald's and Walmart in response to recent Supreme Court decisions affecting DEI initiatives.

MIT has developed an innovative method for 3D computer chips using a growth-based monolithic 3D integration technique that stacks single-crystal 2D semiconductors. This technology could significantly enhance AI hardware efficiency by increasing transistor density and processing power while maintaining a compact footprint. It employs transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) grown at low temperatures, allowing for seamless stacking and efficient data transfer through vertical connections. The potential applications of these 3D chips are vast, particularly in edge computing, autonomous vehicles, and medical imaging, with a spin-out company from MIT already working towards commercializing this technology.