The Download: the rehabilitation of AI art, and the scary truth about antimicrobial resistance
Plus: ICE is expanding its network of surveillance technologies
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.
From slop to Sotheby’s? AI art enters a new phase
In this era of AI slop, the idea that generative AI tools like Midjourney and Runway could be used to make art can seem absurd.
But amid all the muck, there are people using AI tools with real consideration and intent. Some of them are finding notable success as AI artists: They are gaining huge online followings, selling their work at auction, and even having it exhibited in galleries and museums. Read the full story.
—Grace Huckins
This story is from our forthcoming print issue, which is all about the body. If you haven’t already, subscribe now to receive future issues once they land. Plus, you’ll also receive a free digital report on nuclear power.
Take our quiz: How much do you know about antimicrobial resistance?
This week we had some terrifying news from the World Health Organization: Antibiotics are failing us. A growing number of bacterial infections aren’t responding to these medicines—including common ones that affect the blood, gut, and urinary tract. Get infected with one of these bugs, and there’s a fair chance antibiotics won’t help.
You’ve probably heard about antimicrobial resistance before, but how much do you know about it? Here’s our attempt to put the “fun” in “fundamental threat to modern medicine.” Test your knowledge here!
—Jessica Hamzelou
This article appeared in The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, sign up here.
2025 climate tech companies to watch: Envision Energy and its “smart” wind turbines
Envision Energy, one of China’s biggest wind turbine makers, has expanded into batteries, green hydrogen, and industrial parks designed to run heavy industry on clean power.
With flagship projects in Inner Mongolia and new ventures planned abroad, the company is testing whether renewables can decarbonize sectors that electricity alone can’t reach. Read the full story.
Envision Energy is one of our 10 climate tech companies to watch—our annual list of some of the most promising climate tech firms on the planet. Check out the rest of the list here.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 ICE is beefing up its surveillance capabilities
It’s recently bought iris-scanning technology, spyware and location tracking software. (WP $)
+ Viral ICE videos are shaping how Americans feel about the agency. (Vox)
+ Protestors in Chicago are fighting back after mass arrests in the city. (New Yorker $)
2 OpenAI has stopped people from generating videos of MLK Jr
After some people used Sora to create “disrespectful depictions” of the civil rights activist. (TechCrunch)
+ It’s not the first time AI’s depiction of public figures has been criticized. (The Information $)
3 A teenager is suing the owners of “nudifying” app ClothOff
A classmate used an image of the New Jersey student to generate fake nudes. (WSJ $)
+ Meet the 15-year-old deepfake victim pushing Congress into action. (MIT Technology Review)
4 Amazon’s Ring camera arm is signing deals with law enforcement
It’s working with Flock Safety and Axon to share footage with criminal investigations. (CNBC)
+ A division of ICE has used Flock’s AI-powered surveillance network. (404 Media)
+ How Amazon Ring uses domestic violence to market doorbell cameras. (MIT Technology Review)
5 Plug-in hybrids pollute almost as much as diesel cars
A new report has found that pollution levels are well above official estimates. (The Guardian)
+ What to expect if you’re expecting a plug-in hybrid. (MIT Technology Review)
6 South Korea is prohibiting its citizens from travelling to Cambodia
It says hundreds of its nationals have been kidnapped and forced into scam complexes. (FT $)
+ Inside a romance scam compound—and how people get tricked into being there. (MIT Technology Review)
7 What it’s like to be trans online in 2025
The internet once helped trans people to connect—now it’s being weaponized against them. (The Verge)
8 Generative AI will make you the star of ads
Companies have to make returns on all that AI investment somehow. (NY Mag $)
9 San Francisco’s AI companies are pushing up housing prices
Rents are rising in a city already renowned for a staggeringly high cost of living. (NYT $)
10 Samsung is making a tri-folding phone
But attendees at the event it’s being shown off at won’t be allowed to touch it. (Bloomberg $)
Quote of the day
“Grandma will be thrown off the Internet because Junior illegally downloaded a few songs on a visit.”
—US broadband provider Cox Communications details a potential scenario in a legal case filed by major record labels, which have accused Cox of failing to disconnect people who are illegally downloading music, Ars Technica reports.
One more thing
An AI startup made a hyperrealistic deepfake of me that’s so good it’s scaryUntil now, AI-generated videos of people have tended to have some stiffness, glitchiness, or other unnatural elements that make them pretty easy to differentiate from reality.
For the past several years, AI video startup Synthesia has produced these kinds of AI-generated avatars. But back in April 2024, it launched a new generation, its first to take advantage of the latest advancements in generative AI, and they are more realistic and expressive than anything we’ve seen before.
We tested it out by making an AI clone of Melissa Heikkilä, our former senior AI reporter. Read the full story and check out the synthetic version of Melissa.
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.)
+ As support winds down for Windows 10 this week, did you know its blue Windows icon desktop image was taken from a real photograph? Take a look behind the scenes.
+ Rest in power Ace Frehley, Kiss cofounder and undisputed guitar hero.
+ A week spent eating along France’s 385-mile food trail? Yes please.
+ As we get into the Halloween spirit, dare you tour America’s spookiest cities?
