While the venture world is abuzz over generative AI, Dayna Grayson, a longtime venture capitalist who five years ago co-founded her own firm, Construct Capital, has been focused on comparatively boring software that can transform industrial sectors. Her mission doesn't exclude AI, but it also doesn't depend on it. Construct recently led a seed-stage round, for example, for TimberEye, a startup developing vertical workflow software and a data layer that it says can more accurately count and measure logs and, if all goes as planned, help the startup achieve its goal of becoming the marketplace for buying timber. How big could that market be, you might be wondering' According to one estimate, the global forest products industry hit $647 billion in 2021. Another Construct deal that sounds less sexy than, say, large language models, is Earth, a startup that's centered around human composting, turning bodies into 'nutrient-rich' soil over a 45-day period. Yes, ick. But also: it's a smart market to chase. Cremation today accounts for 60% of the market and could account for upwards of 80% of the market in another 10 years. Meanwhile, the cremation process has been likened to the equivalent of a 500-mile car trip; as people focus more and more on 'greener' solutions across the board, Earth thinks it can attract a growing number of those customers....

Four months behind bars and a massive fine, that's what CZ is getting from the government for his crypto exchange's misdeeds. Regardless of how you view the verdict ' too much, too little, just right ' his sentencing is a big deal for web3. Potentially in a positive way. There's effort by some in crypto to promote the technology element of blockchains over their well-reported ability to generate new gambling opportunities. Chris Dixon of a16z frames this in 'computer v casino' terms, which I think is reasonable. If you are in favor of the computer over the casino you probably want the crypto market to be as in-line with financial norms as possible. Why' Because that means that crypto can itself sit very close to the larger world economy, and thus the computing elements of blockchain tech can shine, attract investment, and provide the most use. If you are more in favor of the casino side of the conversation ' line go up, memecoins, bitcoin maximalism, etc ' you might not be a fan. After all, to get close enough to kiss tradfi and normal business operations so that the web3 computer can reach its full potential, you might wind up with more tokens as securities than many crypto advocates wish....

Inside is a chaotic workbench covered in logic boards, antennas, batteries, augmented reality headsets, and rotor blades. On one end of the room is a makeshift photo studio'a jet-black quadcopter drone sits on a long white sheet, waiting for its close-up. This particular workshop's Geppetto is Yvan. He grins as he shows off his creations, flittering around with a lit cigarette in his mouth, dangling ash, grabbing different models. (Yvan is a pseudonym; WIRED granted some of the people in this story anonymity due to the security risk.) Yvan holds up a mid-size drone: This model successfully hit a target from 11 kilometers away, he says, but it should be capable of traveling at least 20. He's trying different batteries and controllers to try to extend the range. He screws on a stabilizer tailpiece to a hard plastic shell'Yvan 3D-prints these himself'and holds up the assembled bomb. It's capable of carrying a 3.5-kilogram explosive payload, enough to take out a Russian tank. One big problem with these drones'which are based on commercially available first-person-view (FPV) or photography drones'is that their explosive payload is jimmy-rigged on. It requires the drone to crash in order to close the circuit and trigger the explosion....

'Join Your Local Militia or III% Patriot Group,' a post urged the more than 650 members of a Facebook group called the Free American Army. Accompanied by the logo for the Three Percenters militia network and an image of a man in tactical gear holding a long rifle, the post continues: 'Now more than ever. Support the American militia page.' Other content and messaging in the group is similar. And despite the fact that Facebook bans paramilitary organizing and deemed the Three Percenters an 'armed militia group" on its 2021 Dangerous Individuals and Organizations List, the post and group remained up until WIRED contacted Meta for comment about its existence. Free American Army is just one of around 200 similar Facebook groups and profiles, most of which are still live, that anti-government and far-right extremists are using to coordinate local militia activity around the country. After lying low for several years in the aftermath of the US Capitol riot on January 6, militia extremists have been quietly reorganizing, ramping up recruitment and rhetoric on Facebook'with apparently little concern that Meta will enforce its ban against them, according to new research by the Tech Transparency Project, shared exclusively with WIRED....