The Download: busting weather myths, and AI heart attack prediction
Plus: why wasteful investment in AI could be behind those major tech layoffs
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.
Why it’s so hard to bust the weather control conspiracy theory
It was October 2024, and Hurricane Helene had just devastated the US Southeast. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia found an abstract target on which to pin the blame: “Yes they can control the weather,” she posted on X. “It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.”
She was repeating what’s by now a pretty familiar and popular conspiracy theory: that shadowy forces are out there, wielding technology to control the weather and wreak havoc on their enemies. This preposterous claim has grown louder and more common in recent years, especially after extreme weather strikes.
But here’s the thing: While Greene and other believers are not correct, this conspiracy theory—like so many others—holds a kernel of much more modest truth. Read the full story.
—Dave Levitan
This story is part of MIT Technology Review’s series “The New Conspiracy Age,” on how the present boom in conspiracy theories is reshaping science and technology. Check out the rest of the series here.
AI could predict who will have a heart attack
For all the modern marvels of cardiology, we struggle to predict who will have a heart attack. Many people never get screened at all. Now, startups are applying AI algorithms to screen millions of CT scans for early signs of heart disease.
This technology could be a breakthrough for public health, applying an old tool to uncover patients whose high risk for a heart attack is hiding in plain sight. But it remains unproven at scale, while raising thorny questions about implementation and even how we define disease. Read the full story.
—Vishal Khetpal
This story is from the latest print issue of MIT Technology Review magazine, which is full of fascinating stories about the body. If you haven’t already, subscribe now to receive future issues once they land.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Spending on AI may be to blame for all those tech layoffs
AI isn’t necessarily replacing jobs, but spending on it is gobbling up budgets. (Fast Company $)
+ Junior roles are likely to be the first on the chopping block. (FT $)
+ Are the crazy sums that businesses are sinking into AI sustainable? (WP $)
+ People are worried that AI will take everyone’s jobs. We’ve been here before. (MIT Technology Review)
2 Anti-vaccine activists gathered in Austin over the weekend
They celebrated RFK Jr’s rise and outlined their goals—including eliminating school vaccine mandates. (WP $)
+ We’re on the verge of stopping the next pandemic. But will we? (Vox)
+ How conspiracy theories infiltrated the doctor’s office. (MIT Technology Review)
3 People who’ve experienced AI-induced delusions are forming a movement
They’re pushing for legal action against chatbot makers. (Bloomberg $)
+ The looming crackdown on AI companionship. (MIT Technology Review)
4 AI-generated clips of women being strangled are flooding social media
Many of them appear to have been created using OpenAI’s Sora 2. (404 Media)
5 Tech leaders are obsessed with bioengineering babies
They’re not allowed to, but they’re not letting a little thing like ethics get in the way. (WSJ $)
+ The race to make the perfect baby is creating an ethical mess. (MIT Technology Review)
6 Apple has removed two popular gay dating apps in China
The country ordered it to take down Blued and Finka from its app. (Wired $)
7 The UK government is worried China could turn off its buses remotely
It fears hundreds of Chinese-made electric buses on British roads could be at risk. (FT $)
8 How AI is changing the world’s newsrooms 📰
It’s brilliant at analyzing large data sets—but shouldn’t be used to write stories. (NYT $)
9 How to contain an invasive species
Experts argue that too much red tape is getting in the way. (Undark)
+ The weeds are winning. (MIT Technology Review)
10 The world’s largest electric ship is charging up 🚢
Once it’s ready to go, it’ll serve as a ferry in 90 minute bursts. (IEEE Spectrum)
Quote of the day
“We would move heaven and Earth, pun intended, to try to get to the Moon sooner.”
—Dave Limp, CEO of Blue Origin, says the company is raring to work with NASA to get humans back on the Moon, Ars Technica reports.
One more thing
Design thinking was supposed to fix the world. Where did it go wrong?In the 1990s, a six-step methodology for innovation called design thinking started to grow in popularity. Key to its spread was its replicable aesthetic, represented by the Post-it note: a humble square that anyone can use in infinite ways.
But in recent years, for a number of reasons, the shine of design thinking has been wearing off. Critics have argued that its short-term focus on novel and naive ideas results in unrealistic and ungrounded recommendations.
Today, some groups are working to reform both design thinking’s principles and its methodologies. These new efforts seek a set of design tools capable of equitably serving diverse communities and solving diverse problems well into the future. It’s a much more daunting—and crucial—task than design thinking’s original remit. Read the full story.
—Rebecca Ackermann
We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)
+ These tree-dwelling toads give birth to live young—who knew?!
+ Now’s the time to practice your baking skills ahead of Thanksgiving.
+ Younguk Yi’s glitching paintings are a lot of fun.
+ Place your bets! This fun game follows three balls in a race to the bottom, but who will win?
