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The Download: talking dirty with DeepSeek, and the risks and rewards of calorie restriction
Plus: TikTok has been granted yet another reprieve
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.
It’s pretty easy to get DeepSeek to talk dirty
AI companions like Replika are designed to engage in intimate exchanges, but people use general-purpose chatbots for sex talk too, despite their stricter content moderation policies. Now new research shows that not all chatbots are equally willing to talk dirty. DeepSeek is the easiest to convince. But other AI chatbots can be enticed too.
Huiqian Lai, a PhD student at Syracuse University, found vast differences in how mainstream models process sexual queries, from steadfast rejection to performative refusal followed by the requested sexually explicit content.
The findings highlight inconsistencies in LLMs’ safety boundaries that could, in certain situations, become harmful. Read the full story.
—Rhiannon Williams
Calorie restriction can help animals live longer. What about humans?
Living comes with a side effect: aging. Despite what you might hear on social media, there are no drugs that are known to slow or reverse human aging. But there’s some evidence to support another approach: cutting back on calories.
Reducing your intake of calories and fasting can help with weight loss. But they may also offer protection against some health conditions. And some believe such diets might even help you live longer—a finding supported by new research out this week.
However, the full picture is not so simple. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits—and risks—of caloric restriction.
—Jessica Hamzelou
This article first appeared in The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first, sign up here.
How a 30-year-old techno-thriller predicted our digital isolation
Thirty years ago, Irwin Winkler’s proto–cyber thriller, The Net, was released. It was 1995, commonly regarded as the year Hollywood discovered the internet. Sandra Bullock played a social recluse and computer nerd for hire named Angela Bennett, who unwittingly uncovers a sinister computer security conspiracy. She soon finds her life turned upside down as the conspiracists begin systematically destroying her credibility and reputation.
While the villain of The Net is ultimately a nefarious cybersecurity software company, the film’s preoccupying fear is much more fundamental: If all of our data is digitized, what happens if the people with access to that information tamper with it? Or weaponize it against us? Read the full story.
—Tom Humberstone
This story is from the next print edition of MIT Technology Review, which explores power—who has it, and who wants it. It’s set to go live on Wednesday June 25, so subscribe & save 25% to read it and get a copy of the issue when it lands!
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Donald Trump has extended TikTok’s deadline for a third time
He’s granted it yet another 90-day reprieve. (WSJ $)
+ He says he needs more time to broker a deal. (AP News)
+ But it’s not clear if Trump’s orders are even legal. (Bloomberg $)
2 A SpaceX rocket exploded on the test stand
Sending a giant fireball into the Texas sky. (CNN)
+ It’s the fourth SpaceX explosion this year. (WP $)
+ The company has a lot of issues to resolve before it can ever reach Mars. (Ars Technica)
3 Checking a web user’s age is technologically possible
An Australian trial may usher in a ban on under-16s accessing social media. (Bloomberg $)
+ The findings are a blow to social media firms who have been fighting to avoid this. (Reuters)
4 Chinese companies are urgently searching for new markets
And Brazil is looking like an increasingly attractive prospect. (NYT $)
+ Chinese carmaker BYD is sending thousands of EVs there. (Rest of World)
5 How Mark Zuckerberg came to love MAGA
His recent alignment with the manosphere hasn’t come as a shock to insiders. (FT $)
6 We shouldn’t be using AI for everything
Using chatbots without good reason is putting unnecessary strain on the planet. (WP $)
+ AI companies are remaining tight-lipped over their energy use. (Wired $)
+ We did the math on AI’s energy footprint. Here’s the story you haven’t heard. (MIT Technology Review)
7 This Chinese courier company is out-delivering Amazon
J&T Express fulfills orders from giants like Temu and Shein. (Rest of World)
8 How Amazon plans to overhaul Alexa
With AI, AI, and some more AI. (Wired $)
9 How smart should today’s toys be?
The last AI-powered Barbie was not a resounding success. (Vox)
10 This French app allows you to rent household appliances
No raclette machine? No problem. (The Guardian)
Quote of the day
“So Mr “Art of the Deal” has not made a TikTok deal (again).”
—Adam Cochran, founder of venture capital firm Cinneamhain Ventures, questions Donald Trump’s credentials in a post on X.
One more thing
China wants to restore the sea with high-tech marine ranches
A short ferry ride from the port city of Yantai, on the northeast coast of China, sits Genghai No. 1, a 12,000-metric-ton ring of oil-rig-style steel platforms, advertised as a hotel and entertainment complex.
Genghai is in fact an unusual tourist destination, one that breeds 200,000 “high-quality marine fish” each year. The vast majority are released into the ocean as part of a process known as marine ranching.
The Chinese government sees this work as an urgent and necessary response to the bleak reality that fisheries are collapsing both in China and worldwide. But just how much of a difference can it make? Read the full story.
—Matthew Ponsford
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.)
+ How many art terms are you familiar with? Time to brush up.
+ They can make a museum out of pretty much anything these days.
+ Beekeeping isn’t just beneficial for the bees—it could help your mental health, too 🐝
+ The Sculptor galaxy is looking ridiculously beautiful right now.
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