The Download: the fossil fuel elephant in the room, and better tests for endometriosis
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.
This year’s UN climate talks avoided fossil fuels, again
Over the past few weeks in Belem, Brazil, attendees of this year’s UN climate talks dealt with oppressive heat and flooding, and at one point a literal fire broke out, delaying negotiations. The symbolism was almost too much to bear.
While many, including the president of Brazil, framed this year’s conference as one of action, the talks ended with a watered-down agreement. The final draft doesn’t even include the phrase “fossil fuels.”
This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here.
New noninvasive endometriosis tests are on the rise
Endometriosis inflicts debilitating pain and heavy bleeding on more than 11% of reproductive-age women in the United States. Diagnosis takes nearly 10 years on average, partly because half the cases don’t show up on scans, and surgery is required to obtain tissue samples.
But a new generation of noninvasive tests are emerging that could help accelerate diagnosis and improve management of this poorly understood condition. Read the full story.
—Colleen de Bellefonds
This story is from the last 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 OpenAI claims a teenager circumvented its safety features before ending his life
It says ChatGPT directed Adam Raine to seek help more than 100 times. (TechCrunch)
+ OpenAI is strongly refuting the idea it’s liable for the 16-year old’s death. (NBC News)
+ The looming crackdown on AI companionship. (MIT Technology Review)
2 The CDC’s new deputy director prefers natural immunity to vaccines
And he wasn’t even the worst choice among those considered for the role. (Ars Technica)
+ Meet Jim O’Neill, the longevity enthusiast who is now RFK Jr.’s right-hand man. (MIT Technology Review)
3 An MIT study says AI could already replace 12% of the US workforce
Researchers drew that conclusion after simulating a digital twin of the US labor market. (CNBC)
+ Separate research suggests it could replace 3 million jobs in the UK, too. (The Guardian)
+ AI usage looks unlikely to keep climbing. (Economist $)
4 An Italian defense group has created an AI-powered air shield system
It claims the system allows defenders to generate dome-style missile shields. (FT $)
+ Why Trump’s “golden dome” missile defense idea is another ripped straight from the movies. (MIT Technology Review)
5 The EU is considering a ban on social media for under-16s
Following in Australia’s footsteps, whose own ban comes into power next month. (Politico)
+ The European Parliament wants parents to decide on access. (The Guardian)
6 Why do so many astronauts keep getting stuck in space?
America, Russia and now China have had to contend with this situation. (WP $)
+ A rescue craft for three stranded Chinese astronauts has successfully reached them. (The Register)
7 Uploading pictures of your hotel room could help trafficking victims
A new app uses computer vision to determine where pictures of generic-looking rooms were taken. (IEEE Spectrum)
8 This browser tool turns back the clock to a pre-AI slop web
Back to the golden age of pre-November 30 2022. (404 Media)
+ The White House’s slop posts are shockingly bad. (NY Mag $)
+ Animated neo-Nazi propaganda is freely available on X. (The Atlantic $)
9 Grok’s “epic roasts” are as tragic as you’d expect
Test it out at parties at your own peril. (Wired $)
10 Startup founders dread explaining their jobs at Thanksgiving 🍗
Yes Grandma, I work with computers. (Insider $)
Quote of the day
“AI cannot ever replace the unique gift that you are to the world.”
—Pope Leo XIV warns students about the dangers of over-relying on AI, New York Magazine reports.
Why we should thank pigeons for our AI breakthroughs
People looking for precursors to artificial intelligence often point to science fiction or thought experiments like the Turing test. But an equally important, if surprising and less appreciated, forerunner is American psychologist B.F. Skinner’s research with pigeons in the middle of the 20th century.
Skinner believed that association—learning, through trial and error, to link an action with a punishment or reward—was the building block of every behavior, not just in pigeons but in all living organisms, including human beings.
His “behaviorist” theories fell out of favor in the 1960s but were taken up by computer scientists who eventually provided the foundation for many of the leading AI tools. Read the full story.
—Ben Crair
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.)
+ I hope you had a happy, err, Green Wednesday if you partook this year.
+ Here how to help an endangered species from the comfort of your own home.
+ Polly wants to FaceTime—now! 📱🦜(thanks Alice!)
+ I need Macaulay Culkin’s idea for another Home Alone sequel to get greenlit, stat.
