Plus, states and cities are not getting the help they need after extreme weather events
The Downloadis our weekly newsletterthat gives you a daily dose on what’s happening in the worlds of technology.
Meet Cathy Tie – Bride of “China’s Frankenstein”
After He Jiankui’s release from prison in 2022 he has been trying to make a comeback as a scientist and repair his reputation. He spent three years in prison for illegally creating world’s first genetically edited children.
His X.com profile has been a visible success in his come-back. In the last few years, his X.com account has evolved, from sharing mundane images about his daily life, to spreading outrageous, anti-social messages. This has left observers wondering what to take as serious.
In response to MIT Technology Review’s questions last month about who was responsible, He emailed back: “It is thanks to Cathy Tie.” She is a former Thiel fellow and a partner in an initiative that promised to create glow in the dark pets. In the last few weeks, however, the Canadian entrepreneur began to gain more and more attention, as she became the new wife of He Jiankui. Read the complete story.
Caiwei Chen and Antonio Regalado.
Anthropic’s new hybrid AI model is able to work on tasks autonomously, for hours at a stretch.
Anthropic announced two new AI models which it claims are a major step towards making AI agents useful.
AI Agents trained on Claude Opus 4 – the company’s most advanced model to date – raise the bar in what such systems can do by tackling complex tasks for extended periods of time, and responding more effectively to user instructions.
They have achieved some impressive results. Opus 4 created a Pokemon Red guide while playing the game for more than 24 straight hours. The previous most powerful model of the company was only capable of playing for 45 minutes. Read the full story.
–Rhiannon William
According to the FDA, they plan to limit access to covid vaccinations. Here’s why it’s not all bad.
Two new leaders at the US Food and Drug Administration have announced plans to limit the access to covid vaccinations. They argue that there isn’t much evidence to support annual shots for healthy people. The new vaccines will only be available to those who are most vulnerable, namely those over 65 years old and others with conditions which make them more susceptible of severe disease. The plans have caused anger and fear in some quarters. They weren’t shocking to me. Covid boosters are only offered to vulnerable groups in the UK, where i live. The immunologists with whom I spoke all agreed that the plans are logical. Read the complete story. This article was first published in The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each Thursday and read articles such as this one first
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
Thousands of Americans face extreme weather
but help from the federal may never arrive. (Slate $)
+ States hit by tornadoes or floods are begging for help from the Trump administration. Scientific American ($)
Spain’s grid operator accuses power plants of failing to do their job. (FT $)
+ Was solar power to blame for Spain’s blackout? MIT Technology Review
3 Google faces a DoJ investigation over its AI chatbot agreement
The probe will examine whether Google’s contract with Character.AI provides it with an unfair advantage. (Bloomberg $)
+ This may not lead to enforcement actions, however. Reuters
4 DOGE doesn’t mean bad news for everyone.
For now, these smaller US government IT contractors are saying it’s good business. (WSJ $)
+ DOGE appears to have used a Meta AI-model to review staff emails and not Grok. (Wired – $)
+ It appears that DOGE used a Meta AI model to review staff emails, not Grok. It’s complex. MIT Technology Review
Google’s new tool for shopping adds breasts on minors
The Try it On app distorts uploaded pictures to clothing models’ sizes, even if they are children. (The Atlantic $)
+ This could have been easily avoided. Axios ()
+ A companion AI site hosts sexually charged conversations between underage celebrity bots. MIT Technology Review
According to reports, Apple is planning a smart glass product launch by the end of next. (Bloomberg $)
+ Meta and Google are among the other companies that are playing catch-up. What’s next in smart glasses? MIT Technology Review
Seven Things It’s Like to Live in Elon Musk’s Corner of Texas
Complete With an ugly bust, and furious locals. (The Guardian)
+ West Lake Hills Residents are pushing back against the giant fences. Architectural Digest ($)
Eight Our solar system could contain a hidden nineth planet
An orbiting dwarf planet beyond Neptune has been detected. (New Scientist $)
10 Wikipedia has swag
What other way can you show that you love the open internet? Fast Company $]
10 One of the last great apps is closing down
Mozilla has closed its article-saving application Pocket and the internet will be worse for it. (404 Media )
+ Mozilla’s parent company said that the way people use web has changed. Quote of the Day
This is like Mount Everest in terms of corruption.
–Senator Jeff Merkley protests at Donald Trump’s exclusive dinner for his highest-paying cryptocurrency customers, according to the New York Times (19459038).
Just one more thing
A piece of hardware is only worth what it can do. It doesn’t matter how well-designed and engineered it is. The iPad never brought the flood of easy-to-use, augmentative and alternative communication applications that users so desperately needed.
There are only a few apps that cost between $200 and $300 each, which ask users to choose from a menu of crudely drawn icons in order to generate text or synthesized voice. It’s depressingly slow for such a vital human function. Read the complete story.
–Julie Kim.
You can still enjoy nice things.
A place to relax, have fun and distract you. (Do you have any ideas? Drop a line to me or skeet them at me
+ Learn the physics behind Tete de Moine’s delicate frillsApparently, our ability to be moved by musiccomes from our genes.
Kermit the Frog delivered a moving commencement speech to the University of Maryland.
+ Clowns are sexy, a question that has been asked for centuries?
