Plus, the US has banned 80 companies from using American technology
Here is the latest edition of The Download,which is our weekly newsletter that gives you a daily dose on what’s happening in the worlds of technology.
China constructed hundreds of AI data centres to take advantage of the AI boom. Many of these data centers are now unused.
Only a few months ago, China’s boom in data centers construction was at its peak, fueled both by government and private investors. Renting GPUs to companies who need them for AI model training was once considered a sure thing.
However, with the rise in DeepSeek and the sudden change in economics surrounding AI, the industry has faltered. Prices for GPUs have fallen and many newly constructed facilities are now empty. Find out why by reading the full article.
Caiwei Chen
OpenAI’s new image creator aims to be useful enough for designers and marketers
New? OpenAI released a new visual generator that is less designed for typical surrealist AI artwork and more for highly controlled and practical creations of visuals. This is a sign that OpenAI believes its tools are ready to be used in fields such as advertising and graphic design.
What’s the point? While AI models are great at creating realistic deepfakes or fantastical images, they have been terrible at correctly identifying and placing certain objects in their correct place. OpenAI’s model is a significant step forward in addressing technical issues that have plagued AI-generated images for years. OpenAI has to choose between two difficult paths if it wants to enter this domain. Read the complete story.
AI Hype Index: DeepSeek mania (Israel’s spying tool), cheating at chess, and more
It’s not always easy to separate hyped-up fiction from reality. We created the AI Hype Index to give you a quick, easy summary of what’s going on in the industry. Click here to see the entire index.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1. The Trump administration has banned 80 companies from purchasing US tech
A list of mostly Chinese firms are prohibited from buying American chips. (NYT $)
+ On the list was a server manufacturer that purchases chips from Nvidia. (WSJ $)+ China denied claims that the firms sought information for military purposes. AP News
2 A DOGE employee provided tech support to a criminal ring
and boasted about trafficking in stolen information and cyberstalking an FBI Agent. (Reuters).
+ Elon Musk may use DOGE’s budget cuts to direct contracts towards his firms. The Guardian
and Could AI help DOGE reduce government budgets? It’s complex. MIT Technology Review
3 The US Government has hired a vaccine skeptic for a major study on vaccines
David Geier, a long-discredited vaccine skeptic, will oversee the analysis of whether vaccines cause autism. (WP $)
+ It appears that the White House is targeting mRNA vaccinations. Why childhood vaccinations are a success story for public health. MIT Technology Review
Microsoft has revealed two deep reasoning Copilot agents
These two agents are called Researcher and Analyst. (The Verge )
+ ChatGPT search is paving the way for AI agents. MIT Technology Review
Inside the rise of Chinese hackers
Cyber threats posed by China are becoming more sophisticated and aggressive. (Economist$)
Six Google has told workers to remove DEI terminology from their work.
In its place, the company has provided alternative language. (The Information $)
8 Synthesia offers shares to reward actors for its AI avatars.
This compensation scheme is a first. (FT $)
+ Synthesia will soon be able to create hyperrealistic deepfakes with full bodies. MIT Technology Review
– 8 China’s RedNote wants to keep the influx of TikTok’refugees’
In order to do this, it will need to expand its customer base outside of the Chinese diaspora. (Rest Of World )
8 This operating system was designed to continue running even if civilization collapsed
Collapse OS allows us to access lost knowledge in the event of a disaster. (Wired$)
10 No one knows how long people will live
The longevity research is stymied by bad record-keeping. (NY Mag $)
+ the quest to legitimize long-life medicine. MIT Technology Review
Today’s Quote
There are so many reasons to be on Signal. “Now including the chance for the vice president of United States of America randomly adding you to a group message for coordination of sensitive operations.”
–Moxie Marlinspike founder of secure messaging platform Signal pokes fun at fallout around US officials accidentally adding a reporter to a private military chat in a post on X.
Big story
Loyalty enthusiasts want to create an independent state. They’re looking at Rhode Island.
May 2023
–Jessica Hamzelou.
I recently traveled to Montenegro to attend a gathering of longevity enthusiast. The attendees were all friendly and the optimism was palpable. They are all confident that we will be able find a way of slowing or reversing aging – and they have a bold idea to speed up the progress.
Approximately 780 people from this group have created a “pop up city” to circumvent the conventional process of clinical trials. They want to create a state where innovators with similar minds can work together under a new jurisdiction that allows them to experiment freely with unproven medicines. Zuzalu is a warm welcome. Read the complete story.
You can still enjoy nice things
An area for comfort, entertainment and distraction that will brighten your day. (Do you have any ideas? Drop a line at me or skeet them at me.
+ It turns out that fungi are pretty good at saving endangered plants.
+ Ever wonder what ancient Egyptian mummy odors smell like? These scientists were intrepid enough to find out.
+ Kudos for this terrible artist who is a surprise hit.
+ This handy guide will help you walk the path of everyday enlightenment.
