The Download, our daily newsletter, provides a daily dose on what’s happening in the worlds of technology.The Download is today’s edition Nominate someone for our 2025 list.
Each year, MIT Technology Review recognizes young innovators in a variety of technical fields, including biotechnology and materials science.
Previous recipients include Lisu Su (now CEO of AMD), Andrew Ng, a serial entrepreneur and computer scientist, Jack Dorsey, two years after he founded Twitter, and Helen Greiner. You can now submit a nomination for our 2025 list. The process only takes a few moments. Nominations close at 11:59 PM ET, January 20, 2025. Nominate yourself or someone else, anywhere in the globe. The only requirement is that the nominee be under 35 years old on October 1, 2025. You can find out more about our requirements here.
US AI policy under Trump could change
In 2022, President Biden was first introduced to ChatGPT during a demonstration by Arati Prabhakar of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in the oval.
This demo set in motion a series of events and encouraged President Biden, who was then urged to support the US AI sector while managing the safety risk that would come from it.
This approach may change under Trump. James O’Donnell, our AI reporter, sat with Prabhakar to discuss the future. Read the complete story. This story is taken from Algorithm – our weekly AI newsletter. Sign up for it to arrive in your inbox each Monday.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
What’s next, Intel? Its CEO was fired, and his successor will be charged with turning the company around. (WSJ $]
+ Pat Gelsinger, who left the company in 2010, was opposed to its dissolution. ($Bloomberg)
+ Intel was at the top of its game five years ago. What happened? (FT $)
2 China has retaliated against the latest US chip export restriction
by banning shipments to America of critical chip minerals. (FT $)
and Beijing accused US of preventing normal trade exchanges. What’s Next in Chips? The Guardian
MIT Technology Review
Three hackers are using AI to mine troves personal data
New tools make it easier to weaponize sensitive info. (WP $).
+ US government is cracking down on the sale civilians’ data. 404 Media
+ Five methods criminals use AI.MIT Technology Review
Elon Musk was denied a $56million pay package for a 2nd time
But he is not short of a few bob. (The Verge) (19659023) 5 A group of women were tricked into donating their eggs to a disgraced millionaire
US fertility industry regulations are lax, allowing for abuse. (Bloomberg $ )
+ Conservative political figures are spreading anti-contraceptive misinformation (New Yorker $),
Conservative politicians are spreading anti-contraceptive disinformation MIT Technology Review
An AI agent can do your Black Friday shopping for you. (TechCrunch).
+ What is AI agents? MIT Technology Review
A new fleet of US Nuclear reactors is on its way
Previous major efforts have failed. Will this time be any different? Why nuclear plants are living longer. MIT Technology Review
8 It turns out that there is a brain microbiome in fish
This raises the question of whether humans can have one as well. (Quanta Magazine).
+ Hunter-gatherer groups are at the center of a microbiome rush.MIT Technology Review
9 How ChatGPT became an emotional crutch
But don’t use it to offload your emotional labor. It’s just a chatbot. (The Guardian)
+ The word ‘David Mayer” causes ChatGPT, for some strange reason, to crash.TechCrunch
and This is how people actually use AI.MIT Technology Review
This Indigenous community could become Canada’s very first climate refugees.
As the permafrost in the Western Arctic region thaws, Inuvialuit may be forced to leave. (NYT $).
Today’s Quote
“It was a tough situation when Pat showed up, and things look much worse now.”
–Financial Analysts from Bernstein warn that whoever succeeds departing Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger will have their work cut out, Insider reports.
Big story
Measure all the fresh water in the world
Scientists use monitoring stations to track rivers, but a once-vast network of 400 stations is now down to only 15. Water measurement is crucial to help people prepare for natural catastrophes and adapt to the climate change. Researchers are increasingly using data gathered from space to fill in data gaps. Read the complete story.
–Maria Gallucci.
You can still enjoy nice things.
A place to relax, have fun and distract you. (Do you have any ideas? Send me a message ortweet me your ideas
If you’re a fan of a good steak, this is where you can find the best.
– Charlie Brooker, creator of Black Mirror, reflects on a topic that is truly frightening: the workplace. Happy Birthday to the Prince of Darkness, the one and only!
– The bar at the HR Giger Museum is exactly as you would expect it to be–completely mind-blowing.