Tricking AI text-detectors, and covid’s unanswered questions
My colleague has just come down with covid-19. The onset of symptoms was rapid, and she described it as “like being hit by a freight train.” “How very retro of...
AI disinformation, and lab-grown meat
The news: Disinformation generated by AI may be more convincing than disinformation written by humans, according to a new study. It found that people were 3% less likely to spot...
How existential risk became the biggest meme in AI
The starkest assertion, signed by all those figures and many more, is a 22-word statement put out two weeks ago by the Center for AI Safety (CAIS), an agenda-pushing research...
The Download: a promising new fuel, and why our phones struggle with wildfires
New York–based startup Amogy thinks the key to solving this problem lies in harnessing ammonia—one of the world’s most widely shipped chemicals—to power electric tractors, trucks, and even ships. ...
How to talk about AI, and Montana’s TikTok ban
Everyone is talking about AI, it seems. But if you feel overwhelmed or uncertain about what the hell people are talking about, don’t worry. We’ve got you. Melissa Heikkilä,...
This little boy from Cuba got the first approved gene therapy for skin disease
"I think it is really exciting, but I do worry about how durable the treatment is," says Denitsa Milanova, founder of a Boston startup, Marble Therapeutics, which also works on...
This new genome map tries to capture all human genetic variation
But the job wasn’t done. A year later, the triumph was announced again, this time with the formal publication of a “draft” of “the genetic blueprint for a human being.”...
Policing the metaverse, and the dangers of extreme climate solutions
When Ravi Yekkanti puts on his headset to go to work, he never knows what the day spent in virtual reality will bring. Who might he meet? Will a child’s...
The Download: recycling batteries, and augmented reality hits stores
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 your iPhone 17 might come with a recycled battery
Lithium-ion...
Making the world a data-driven place with the cloud
Kim: Yeah. This is the really amazing thing about the cloud because once the data's all there, amazing things can be done with it and innovation is happening like crazy....