Hacker News with Generative AI: Innovation

“Moonshots” Initiative to Secure the Future of RISC OS (riscosopen.org)
Cambridge, UK – 28-Mar-2025 – RISC OS Open Limited (ROOL) is calling on the global technology community to support a bold new initiative to secure the long-term future of RISC OS. The company today announced the launch of its Moonshots programme – a strategic shift away from incremental development, towards large-scale engineering efforts aimed at modernising the operating system for next-generation Arm architectures.
Renegade Colorado Farmer Pushes Deeper into Unconventional Agriculture (agweb.com)
Who plants at least 12 different crops a season, slashes nitrogen applications by over half, aims to seed 3”-row grain in 2025, grows rice in bone-dry conditions, and steadily uncovers unique market demand? Roy the renegade.
Project Europe aims to drive European innovation (projecteurope.co)
A New Form Factor for Drones: Vertical and Coaxial (core77.com)
Since its invention, the form factor of the airplane has been bird-based; both airplanes and birds remain aloft by having appreciable wingspans. And in broad strokes, the overall form of the airplane hasn't changed much in the past 100 years.
King of Fruits (worksinprogress.co)
Ordinary yellow pineapples were once so precious they were rented for display at dinner parties, but centuries of innovation made them commonplace.
EU guidance under DMA to facilitate development of innovative products on Apple (europa.eu)
Learning about Innovation from Half a Century of Conway's Game of Life (stephenwolfram.com)
Things are invented. Things are discovered. And somehow there’s an arc of progress that’s formed. But are there what amount to “laws of innovation” that govern that arc of progress?
E-Identity (e-estonia.com)
All Estonians, no matter where they happen to live, have a state-issued digital identity. This electronic identity system, called e-ID, has existed over 20 years and is the cornerstone of the country’s e-state. e-ID and the ecosystem around it is part of any citizen’s daily transactions in the public and private sectors. This electronic identity, or e-ID, represents a significant technological advancement, placing Estonia years ahead of other nations still grappling with the concept of authentication without physical presence.
What Can We Learn about Engineering and Innovation from Game of Life? (stephenwolfram.com)
Things are invented. Things are discovered. And somehow there’s an arc of progress that’s formed. But are there what amount to “laws of innovation” that govern that arc of progress?
McLaren invented new carbon fiber tape to build even more complex parts (thedrive.com)
It's not cheap, but this process offers better strength-to-weight properties than what you'll find in more "pedestrian" performance cars.
China unveils revolutionary chip without silicon – 40% faster than Intel / TSMC (twitter.com)
Something went wrong, but don’t fret — let’s give it another shot.
20 Plagues Y Combinator Unleashed on the World over the Last 20 Years (gizmodo.com)
Today marks the 20th anniversary of Y Combinator, a startup accelerator that has fostered companies that have changed the world. YC has brought us innovations like “making everything an app” and horrifying founders we all have to live with, like “Sam Altman.”
Can a Geothermal Startup Vaporize Rock to Drill the Deepest Holes? (msn.com)
A beam of electromagnetic energy traveling at the speed of light strikes a thick slab of basalt, one of the hardest rocks on Earth. It heats the stone to around 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, vaporizing it in minutes.
5% in EU innovation funding yields a 4,300% ROI (karlsnotes.com)
While only 5% of the EU innovation funding (about €12B) goes directly to startups, these same startups have raised an additional €70B in private capital and created €520B in combined enterprise value, representing a 4,300% return on investment.
Unregulated tech tests: Thiel, Altman and co want Freedom Cities (heise.de)
The White House is to hold talks on how to establish Freedom Cities in the USA – Cities without regulation.
The world’s first electric seaglider just hit a major milestone (electrek.co)
The world’s first full-scale electric seaglider officially hit the seas for testing this week with passengers onboard. It can fly and glide on water. Watch it in action below.
How did places like Bell Labs know how to ask the right questions? (2023) (freaktakes.com)
Many new science orgs are looking to pursue research that has the positive aspects of both “applied” research and “basic” research. To me, this is a very reasonable approach. After all, the “applied vs. basic research” distinction has always been a rather arbitrary one.
Mimicking shark skin to create clean cutting boards (morningagclips.com)
Instead of constantly battling to prevent bacteria buildup, researchers created surfaces that stop bacteria from attaching in the first place.
Centennial Light (wikipedia.org)
The Centennial Light is an incandescent light bulb recognized as the oldest known continuously operating light bulb.
Fish-gathering plate proves a big hit with anglers (japantimes.co.jp)
Showa Kogyo, a metal processing firm in Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture, has developed a fish-gathering plate to attract thread-sail filefish as its first attempt in its 76-year history to create its own product.
Musk Fires The People Actually Doing What DOGE Pretends To Do (techdirt.com)
Elon Musk has launched a systematic purge of the government’s most effective technical innovators.
A humble attempt to save Europe (ycombinator.com)
A friend and I have been working on an idea to create a little bit of European dynamism—because to be honest Europe is cooked and I feel like I have to try do something
Donut Lab and the electric motors everyone has been talking about (arstechnica.com)
This startup says it has solved the problem with hub motors.
A Defense of Weird Research (asteriskmag.com)
Government-funded scientific research may appear strange or impractical, but it has repeatedly yielded scientific breakthroughs — and continues to pay for itself many times over.
'The flying bum': can a UK firm making airships get off the ground? (theguardian.com)
Airlander maker HAV scales up to build world’s biggest aircraft, which it says will have 90% lower emissions than a conventional plane
EV could reboot medium-duty trucking by not reinventing the wheel (arstechnica.com)
GARDEN GROVE, Calif.—There's no shortage of companies looking to reinvent the delivery experience using everything from sidewalk drones to electric vans. Some are succeeding, but many more have failed by trying to radically rethink the simple, age-old task of getting stuff from one place to another.
California Nominates Steve Jobs for Its American Innovation $1 Coin (gov.ca.gov)
Sacramento, California – For California’s American Innovation Coin, Governor Gavin Newsom has recommended world-renowned innovator Steve Jobs. The coin, which will be minted by the U.S. Mint, highlights California’s legacy as a global hub of innovation.
China's leap in pharma: slow and fast trends behind its rise (alexkesin.com)
In 2024, China’s pharmaceutical industry made headlines. To some extent – it was one of the biggest shocks of last year. Once known primarily for generic drugs and contract manufacturing, China is now producing innovative therapies, attracting major investments, and striking high-profile deals with Western pharma – something few expected only a decade ago would happen.
AI is stifling new tech adoption? (vale.rocks)
I propose that the advent and integration of AI models into the workflows of developers has stifled the adoption of new and potentially superior technologies due to training data cutoffs and system prompt influence.
Rebooting The Pentagon (nybooks.com)
Bringing Silicon Valley’s drive for innovation to defense contracting has been a slow process, but the war in Ukraine has led tech firms to plunge into the war business.