The batteries of the future will need to weigh less, charge faster, and last longer. Researchers today are testing new chemistries, but some hope the current process could be revolutionized by a technology still in its infancy: quantum computing.

Zoom in: Several automakers have created partnerships in the last few years to apply quantum computing to battery chemistry research. Daimler is working with IBM, Toyota is working with QunaSys, and Hyundai is working with IonQ.

Let’s experiment

Applying this tech to battery research is a promising early use-case because it could improve the industry’s understanding of the complex chemical reactions that take place inside batteries.

• Quantum computers can accurately model molecular interactions in a way classical computers cannot, allowing researchers to simulate interactions between battery materials virtually rather than in a physical lab.
• In theory, this would allow chemists and materials scientists to work much more quickly and achieve results with higher accuracy and efficiency, helping push down the cost of batteries.

Reality check: “The addition of computer-aided discovery could be a game changer in terms of how you discover and then make better batteries. But to do it, you need a machine that can solve a certain quantum-mechanics problem,” Jake Taylor, chief science officer at quantum engineering company Riverlane, told Emerging Tech Brew.

“No one in the world today has a computer that’s good enough for that,” he added.

So...How are automakers approaching this early, *potentially* transformational tech today? Click here to find out.—GD

Last week, we kicked off a monthly Twitter Spaces series about early-stage technologies that could help mitigate the worst effects of climate change.

Our first guest was Jason Green, CEO and cofounder of vertical farming company Upward Farms. Upward is currently building what it claims is the world’s biggest vertical farm, and it has raised over $140 million since its founding in 2013.

Why it matters: Vertical farming could help drastically reduce the amount of water used in farming, and its advocates argue it can slash emissions from gas-powered farm equipment and food delivery.

• And, the industry is growing fast: Vertical farming startups attracted $1.6 billion in 2021, 86% more than in 2020.
• That said, it’s quite expensive—and energy-intensive—to run a vertical farm, and critics have argued they’re a distraction from other important agtech, like new methods for drip irrigation.

Read on for some highlights from our conversation, or skip to the audio replay and full recap here.

How can vertical farming help the climate?

Green pointed to three distinct ways vertical farming is climate friendly.

• Water usage: Vertical farming can use far less water than traditional farming. Green claims that Upward reduces water consumption by 95% compared to traditional farms.
• Emissions: By growing food closer to where it will be consumed, vertical farming could remove up to 90% or 95% of food miles (i.e., transportation miles), Green said, depending on the market. Also, indoor farms don’t use gas-powered farm equipment like tractors.
• Soil health: Green said that as Upward studies the microbiome in its farms, it can identify and propagate beneficial, nutrient-dense microbes that can be useful to help field farmers regenerate soil.

Stay tuned: Our next installment of Twitter Spaces series is later this month. We'll talk to Michelle You, cofounder and CEO of Supercritical—a platform aiming to scale carbon removal. More details on that soon.

Click here for the audio replay and full recap.—DM

Morning Brew Accelerator is doing things differently.

MB/A is an 8-week virtual program made to level up professionals in the core competencies needed by a modern business leader. Besides guest lecturers from respected brands and lessons that are actually actionable, you'll learn virtually alongside a group of likeminded professionals who are ready to take their careers to the next level. Alumni are saying it gave them "opportunities to learn alongside, befriend and network with the best and brightest" in their field.

“Being able to make real connections with new people from all over the country in varying industries and roles was fantastic,” said Matt, the CFO of Policy Map. “And I expect many of the connections to continue for a long time to come.”

Don't miss out on this career-enhancing experience. Download the syllabus to see if MB/A is right for you.

To date, there is no accepted industry standard for what constitutes an AI audit.

Pymetrics, HireVue, and Humanly, three AI-powered HR tech vendors that specialize in streamlining aspects of recruiting, each conduct audits in markedly different ways.

• Pymetrics contracted a team of computer scientists to test its engineering processes.
• HireVue hired consultancies to assess bias and validity, and Humanly regularly works with an external vendor to vet its chatbot’s lexicon for potentially problematic language.

All three consider their methods an AI audit.

Christo Wilson, an associate professor of computer science at Northeastern University, was hired by pymetrics to audit the platform for bias in 2020.

Wilson and his team spent three months in 2020 analyzing the machine-learning input datasets, verifying that decisions passed the four-fifths rule (a rule of thumb established by the EEOC for organizations to evaluate employment processes for potential discrimination), assessing pymetrics quality-assurance processes, and putting the AI through its paces in a series of test attacks.

Wilson told HR Brew that “overall, they passed the audit” (interested parties can read the peer-reviewed results on the pymetrics website), but emphasized that his audit only tested whether the technology produced unbiased choices—he didn’t test the validity of the platform (whether it selected people who would be any good at the job).

• “I don’t feel entirely qualified to do that work,” Wilson explained. “Their product has this gamified assessment thing…[that is] drawn from the cognitive science literature. I’m not a cognitive scientist.”

Frida Polli, CEO of pymetrics, told HR Brew that a validation study is currently under review for publication.

Meanwhile...HireVue’s audit was, according to Lindsey Zuloaga, HireVue’s chief data scientist, “very different” from pymetrics.

Keep reading here. —SV

Stat: The cost of training an AI image-classification system has plummeted almost 64% since 2018, per the 2022 AI Index report, while the training time for such a system has sped up by nearly 95%.

Quote: “Carbon dioxide removal is essential to achieve net zero.”—Diána Ürge-Vorsatz, vice-chair of the working group that produced the solutions-focused IPCC report published on Monday.

Read: Related to the above: Here’s a primer on carbon-removal tech.

Bonus: A career-focused guide to help you make the best career moves in 2022 has been created. It’s called Sidekick’s Professional Playbook, grab it here.

Peeps wanna know: How is your company reporting on its environmental impacts, social relationships, and overall governance? Workiva can streamline this complex process for you. Read all about ESG reporting and how Workiva can help here.*

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}

• Wing will begin commercial drone delivery in parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area tomorrow. To start, it will mainly deliver health and wellness products from Walgreens.
• Spain is getting in on the fun (read: semiconductor subsidies) with a $12.4 billion plan to invest in chipmaking.
• 2021 really was an inflection point for crypto: Almost half of crypto owners across the US, Asia Pacific, and Latin America bought crypto for the first time last year.
• Hertz announced plans to buy 65,000 EVs from Volvo/Geely-owned Polestar. In the fall, it ordered 100,000 Teslas, which it said would make up 20% of its rental fleet by the end of 2022.

Snap poll: Speaking of electrified rental fleets...Would you pay more to rent an electric vehicle than a gas-powered one?

• Yes
• No
• Maybe

For drones x Tesla: Flying through the Berlin gigafactory.

For VC x Climate: A list of 177 climate-focused venture capital firms.

For AI x art: Have some fun with this AI art generator, which we found via this Twitter thread of its oeuvre.

Professional services bigwig KPMG released a report on the “consumer metaverse” on Monday.

Respondents to KPMG’s survey were generally pretty aware of the metaverse: Nearly two-thirds (65%) said they are either somewhat or very familiar with the concept, while 35% said they are not at all familiar.

Nearly one-third (30%) of respondents said they owned a VR device, which suggests KPMG’s sample skews a bit toward early adopters.

• For context, a June 2021 Morning Brew-Harris Poll survey found that only 23% of Americans had tried a VR *or* AR headset.

Among the non-owner respondents, just 13% said they would probably or definitely buy a VR headset over the next 24 months. Just under half (46%) said they definitely would not, and another 14% said they probably won’t.

Catch up on the top Emerging Tech Brew stories from the past few editions:

• Report: AI investment more than doubled to $93.5 billion in 2021
• Europe’s top battery maker has $6 billion—and a plan to scale rapidly
• Apple’s new, lower-cost 5G-enabled iPhone won’t move the needle on 5G adoption