The Download: bird flu concerns, and tracking AI’s impact on elections
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 virologists are getting increasingly nervous about bird flu
Bird flu has been spreading in dairy cows in the US—and the scale is likely to be far worse than it looks. In addition, 14 human cases have been reported in the US since March. Both are worrying developments, say virologists, who fear that the country’s meager response to the virus is putting the entire world at risk of another pandemic.
Infections in dairy cattle, first reported back in March, brought us a step closer to human spread. Since then, the situation has only deteriorated. The virus appears to have passed from cattle to poultry on multiple occasions, and worse, this form of bird flu that is now spreading among cattle could find its way back into migrating birds. If that’s the case, we can expect these birds to take the virus around the world.
So far, although the virus has mutated, it hasn’t acquired any more dangerous mutations—yet. Read the full story.
—Jessica Hamzelou
AI-generated content doesn’t seem to have swayed recent European elections
The news: AI-generated falsehoods and deepfakes seem to have had virtually no effect on election results in Europe this year, according to new research.
The bigger picture: Since the beginning of the generative-AI boom, there has been widespread worry that AI tools could boost bad actors’ ability to spread fake content with the potential to interfere with elections or even sway the results. Those fears now seem unwarranted. The Alan Turing Institute identified just 16 cases of AI-enabled falsehoods or deepfakes that went viral during the UK general election and only 11 cases in the EU and French elections combined, none of which appeared to definitively sway the results.
Why it matters: These findings are in line with recent warnings from experts that the focus on AI’s role in elections is distracting us from deeper and longer-lasting threats to democracy. Read the full story.
—Melissa Heikkilä
How AI can help spot wildfires
Anything from stray fireworks to lightning strikes can start a wildfire. While it’s natural for many ecosystems to see some level of fire activity, the hotter, drier conditions brought on by climate change are fueling longer fire seasons with larger fires that burn more land.
This means that the need to spot wildfires earlier is becoming ever more crucial. Some groups are turning to technology to help, including a new effort from Google to fund an AI-powered wildfire-spotting satellite constellation.
Casey Crownhart, our senior climate reporter, has dug into how this project fits into the world of fire-detection tech and some of the challenges that lie ahead. Read what she found.
This story is from The Spark, our weekly climate and energy newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday.
MIT Technology Review Narrated: The entrepreneur dreaming of a factory of unlimited organs
At any given time, the US organ transplant waiting list is about 100,000 people long. Martine Rothblatt sees a day when an unlimited supply of transplantable organs—and 3D-printed ones—will be readily available, saving countless lives.
This is our latest story to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast. In partnership with News Over Audio, we’ll be making a selection of our stories available, each one read by a professional voice actor. You’ll be able to listen to them on the go or download them to listen to offline.
We’re publishing a new story each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, including some taken from our most recent print magazine. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it’s released.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Israel’s exploding pagers contained batteries laced with explosives
The devices started shipping to Lebanon in the summer of 2022. (NYT $)
+ Walkie-talkies detonated across the city yesterday/. (Wired $)
+ Securing electronic supply chains against threats is virtually impossible. (WP $)
+ That doesn’t mean you should fret about your smartphone, though. (The Atlantic $)
2 The European Union has a warning for Apple
Open up your operating systems or face the consequences. (Bloomberg $)
3 The US and allies have thwarted a massive Chinese spy network
The botnet managed to infiltrate sensitive organizations across the world. (WP $)
+ Elsewhere, police have broken into an encrypted criminal app. (440 Media)
4 X temporarily started working in Brazil again
Brazilian officials suspect it was a deliberate technical maneuver. (The Guardian)
+ X, which is banned in Brazil, insists the return was inadvertent. (FT $)
5 This startup wants to flog Greenland’s water to the world
But selling melting glaciers is… not a great look. (Wired $)
+ The radical intervention that might save the “doomsday” glacier. (MIT Technology Review)
6 Spare a thought for laid-off tech workers
It’s really tricky to pin down a new job these days. (WSJ $)
+ People are worried that AI will take everyone’s jobs. We’ve been here before. (MIT Technology Review)
7 How Reddit users are raising awareness of an unusual condition
Retrograde cricopharyngeus dysfunctionon, aka no-burp syndrome, is no joke. (Undark Magazine)
8 Netflix is combing Southeast Asia for its next viral hit
To replicate the success of Squid Game and One Piece. (Rest of World)
9 A new wave of engagement bait videos are deliberately confusing
The more confused you are, the more likely you are to keep watching. (The Atlantic $)
+ How to fix the internet. (MIT Technology Review)
10 Mark Zuckerberg has invested in some serious bling
His new watch costs as much as a Cybertruck. (Insider $)
Quote of the day
“It is natural that people will turn to this new technology to satisfy their fantasies.”
—Ana Ornelas, an erotic author and educator, tells Wired why current discussions around AI regulation exclude sex industry professionals’ perspectives.
The big story
Bringing the lofty ideas of pure math down to earth
Mathematics has long been presented as a sanctuary from confusion and doubt, a place to go in search of answers. Perhaps part of the mystique comes from the fact that biographies of mathematicians often paint them as otherworldly savants.
As a graduate student in physics, I have seen the work that goes into conducting delicate experiments, but the daily grind of mathematical discovery is a ritual altogether foreign to me. And this feeling is only reinforced by popular books on math, which often take the tone of a pastor dispensing sermons to the faithful.
Luckily, there are ways to bring it back down to earth. Popular math books seek a fresher take on these old ideas, be it through baking recipes or hot-button political issues. My verdict: Why not? It’s worth a shot. Read the full story.
We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)
+ Take a look at the 50 New York Times’ recipes that have resonated with its readers to become instant classics ($)
+ Do you see green or blue? This test is pretty interesting.
+ Why The Matrix may be closer to fact than fiction than you may have previously believed.
+ Here’s what the pop bangers of the 17th century sounded like.