The Download: Chicago’s surveillance network, and building better bras

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.

Inside Chicago’s surveillance panopticon

Chicago has tens of thousands of surveillance cameras—up to 45,000, by some estimates. 

That’s among the highest numbers per capita in the US. Chicago boasts one of the largest license plate reader systems in the country, and the ability to access audio and video surveillance from independent agencies such as the Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Park District, and the public transportation system as well as many residential and commercial security systems such as Ring doorbell cameras.

Law enforcement and security advocates say this vast monitoring system protects public safety and works well. 

But activists and many residents say it’s a surveillance panopticon that creates a chilling effect on behavior and violates guarantees of privacy and free speech. Read the full story.

—Rod McCullom

Job titles of the future: Breast biomechanic

Twenty years ago, Joanna Wakefield-Scurr was having persistent pain in her breasts. Her doctor couldn’t diagnose the cause but said a good, supportive bra could help. A professor of biomechanics, Wakefield-Scurr thought she could do a little research and find a science-backed option. Two decades later, she’s still looking.

Wakefield-Scurr now leads an 18-person team at the Research Group in Breast Health at the University of Portsmouth in the UK. And as more women take up high-impact sports, the need to understand what makes a good bra grows, she says her lab can’t keep up with demand. Read the full story.

—Sara Harrison

These stories are both from the next print issue of MIT Technology Review magazine, which is all about crime. 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 Inside ICE’s plans to build huge detention centers across the US
The identities of the personnel who authorized it have been revealed in metadata. (Wired $)
+ A UK tourist with a valid visa was detained by ICE for six weeks. (The Guardian)

2 The UAE says it was targeted by a wave of AI-backed cyberattacks
Authorities said the attacks marked a major shift in methods, but didn’t elaborate. (Bloomberg $)
+ New cybersecurity rules are hobbling small defense suppliers. (Reuters)+ AI is already making online crimes easier. It could get much worse. (MIT Technology Review)

3 What does the public really think about AI?
Tech leaders are worried they might not be fully onboard with their missions. (NYT $)
+ How social media encourages the worst of AI boosterism. (MIT Technology Review)

4 It looks like X really is pushing its users further to the right
As well as attracting more conservative thinkers in the first place. (NY Mag $)
+ The platform is currently disputing a major European fine. (Politico $)

5 Meet the farmers standing up to data center builders
They’re turning down deals worth millions for the land they’ve worked for decades. (The Guardian)
+ A data center venture launched at the White House isn’t delivering on its promises. (The Information $)
+ Data centers are amazing. Everyone hates them. (MIT Technology Review)

6 America has a plan to fight back against China’s AI
It hopes to send Tech Corps volunteers around the world to promote its own national efforts. (Rest of World)
+ China’s plan to lure in new AI customers? Bubble tea. (FT $)
+ The State of AI: Is China about to win the race? (MIT Technology Review)

7 Clouds are a major climate problem
They’re making it harder for scientists to model the weather accurately. (Quanta Magazine)
+ The building legal case for global climate justice. (MIT Technology Review)

8 AI is still hopeless at reading PDFs
But companies keep deploying it across work systems anyway. (The Verge)

9 A “Fitbit for farts” could help analyze your gastrointestinal health
If you don’t mind wearing a sensor tucked into your underwear, that is. (WSJ $)

10 Gen Z is fascinated by corporate culture ​​
TikTok’s “WorkTok” videos are very effective at romanticizing the daily grind. (FT $) 

Quote of the day

“It also takes a lot of energy to train a human. It takes like 20 years of life and all of the food you eat during that time before you get smart.”

—Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, compares the environmental impact of training AI’s vast models to the effort required to train a human during an event in India, TechCrunch reports.

One more thing

How one mine could unlock billions in EV subsidies

On a pine farm north of the tiny town of Tamarack, Minnesota, Talon Metals has uncovered one of America’s densest nickel deposits—and now it wants to begin extracting it.

If regulators approve the mine, it could mark the starting point in what the company claims would become the country’s first complete domestic nickel supply chain, running from the bedrock beneath the Minnesota earth to the batteries in electric vehicles across the nation.

MIT Technology Review wanted to provide a clearer sense of the law’s on-the-ground impact by zeroing in on a single project and examining how these rich subsidies could be unlocked at each point along the supply chain. Take a look at what we found out.

—James Temple

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.)

+ Alysa Liu’s gold medal-winning Winter Olympics figure skating route is truly amazing.
+ Mmm, delicious ancient Roman pizza.
+ It’s not every day you find 2,000 year-old footprints while walking your dog
+ Nature is full of surprises, and so are the winners of this year’s Sony World Photography Awards.