The Download: three-person babies, and tracking “AI readiness” in the US
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.
Researchers announce babies born from a trial of three-person IVF
Eight babies have been born in the UK thanks to a technology that uses DNA from three people: the two biological parents plus a third person who supplies healthy mitochondrial DNA. The babies were born to mothers who carry genes for mitochondrial diseases and risked passing on severe disorders.
In the team’s approach, patients’ eggs are fertilized with sperm, and the DNA-containing nuclei of those cells are transferred into donated fertilized eggs that have had their own nuclei removed. The new embryos contain the DNA of the intended parents along with a tiny fraction of mitochondrial DNA from the donor, floating in the embryos’ cytoplasm.
The study, which makes use of a technology called mitochondrial donation, has been described as a “tour de force” and “a remarkable accomplishment” by others in the field. But not everyone sees the trial as a resounding success. Read the full story.
—Jessica Hamzelou
These four charts show where AI companies could go next in the US
No one knows exactly how AI will transform our communities, workplaces, and society as a whole. Because it’s hard to predict the impact AI will have on jobs, many workers and local governments are left trying to read the tea leaves to understand how to prepare and adapt.
A new interactive report released by the Brookings Institution attempts to map how embedded AI companies and jobs are in different regions of the United States in order to prescribe policy treatments to those struggling to keep up. Here are four charts to help understand the issues.
—Peter Hall
In defense of air-conditioning
—Casey Crownhart
I’ll admit that I’ve rarely hesitated to point an accusing finger at air-conditioning. I’ve outlined in many stories and newsletters that AC is a significant contributor to global electricity demand, and it’s only going to suck up more power as temperatures rise.
But I’ll also be the first to admit that it can be a life-saving technology, one that may become even more necessary as climate change intensifies. And in the wake of Europe’s recent deadly heat wave, it’s been oddly villainized. Read our story to learn more.
This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Donald Trump is cracking down on “dangerous science”
But the scientists affected argue their work is essential to developing new treatments. (WP $)
+ How MAHA is infiltrating states across the US. (The Atlantic $)
2 The US Senate has approved Trump’s request to cancel foreign aid
The White House is determined to reclaim around $8 billion worth of overseas aid. (NYT $)
+ The bill also allocates around $1.1 billion to public broadcasting. (WP $)
+ HIV could infect 1,400 infants every day because of US aid disruptions. (MIT Technology Review)
3 American air strikes only destroyed one Iranian nuclear site
The remaining two sites weren’t damaged that badly, and could resume operation within months. (NBC News)
4 The US is poised to ban Chinese technology in submarine cables
The cables are critical to internet connectivity across the world. (FT $)
+ The cables are at increasing risk of sabotage. (Bloomberg $)
5 The US measles outbreak is worsening
Health officials’ tactics for attempting to contain it aren’t working. (Wired $)
+ Vaccine hesitancy is growing, too. (The Atlantic $)
+ Why childhood vaccines are a public health success story. (MIT Technology Review)
6 A new supercomputer is coming
The Nexus machine will search for new cures for diseases. (Semafor)
7 Elon Musk has teased a Grok AI companion inspired by Twilight
No really, you shouldn’t have… (The Verge)
+ Inside the Wild West of AI companionship. (MIT Technology Review)
8 Future farms could be fully autonomous 🐄
Featuring AI-powered tractors and drone surveillance. (WSJ $)
+ African farmers are using private satellite data to improve crop yields. (MIT Technology Review)
9 Granola is Silicon Valley’s favorite new tool
No, not the tasty breakfast treat. (The Information $)
10 WeTransfer isn’t going to train its AI on our files after all
After customers reacted angrily on social media. (BBC)
Quote of the day
“He’s doing the exact opposite of everything I voted for.”
—Andrew Schulz, a comedian and podcaster who interviewed Donald Trump last year, explains why he’s starting to lose faith in the President to Wired.
One more thing
The open-source AI boom is built on Big Tech’s handouts. How long will it last?In May 2023 a leaked memo reported to have been written by Luke Sernau, a senior engineer at Google, said out loud what many in Silicon Valley must have been whispering for weeks: an open-source free-for-all is threatening Big Tech’s grip on AI.
In many ways, that’s a good thing. AI won’t thrive if just a few mega-rich companies get to gatekeep this technology or decide how it is used. But this open-source boom is precarious, and if Big Tech decides to shut up shop, a boomtown could become a backwater. Read the full story.
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