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This is today's variation of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a regular dose of what's going connected successful the satellite of technology.
Meet the AI adept who says we should halt utilizing AI truthful much
Meredith Broussard is unusually good placed to dissect the ongoing hype astir AI. She’s a information idiosyncratic and subordinate prof astatine New York University, and she’s been 1 of the starring researchers successful the tract of algorithmic bias for years.
And though her ain enactment leaves her buried successful mathematics problems, she’s spent the past fewer years reasoning astir problems that mathematics can’t solve. Broussard argues that we are consistently excessively anxious to use artificial quality to societal problems successful inappropriate and damaging ways—particularly erstwhile race, gender, and quality is not taken into consideration.
Broussard spoke with our elder tech argumentation newsman Tate Ryan-Mosley astir the problems with the usage of exertion by police, the limits of “AI fairness,” and the solutions she sees for immoderate of the challenges AI is posing. Read the afloat story.
More than 200 radical person been treated with experimental CRISPR therapies
Jessica Hamzelou, elder biotech newsman astatine MIT Technology Review, has spent the past fewer days listening to scientists, ethicists, and diligent groups wrestle with emotive and ethical dilemmas.
They’ve been debating how, when, and if we should usage gene-editing tools to alteration the quality genome astatine the Third International Summit connected Human Genome Editing successful London.
There’s plentifulness to get excited about. In the decennary since scientists recovered they could usage CRISPR to edit compartment genomes, the exertion has already been utilized to prevention immoderate lives and alteration others.
In fact, much than 200 radical person been treated with CRISPR-based therapies successful objective trials, immoderate of which are already occurrence stories. But determination are inactive concerns implicit who gets to beryllium treated utilizing CRISPR, and, crucially, who tin spend it. Read the afloat story.
Jessica’s communicative is from The Checkup, her play newsletter giving you the wrong way connected each things biotech. Sign up to person it successful your inbox each Thursday.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the net to find you today’s astir fun/important/scary/fascinating stories astir technology.
1 Meta is moving connected a decentralized societal network
It’s a text-based web that sounds a full batch like…Twitter. (Platformer $)
+ The app, codenamed P92, is inactive nether development. (TechCrunch)
2 Silicon Valley Bank is spiraling retired of control
Its marketplace valuation has plummeted by adjacent to $10 billion, and startup founders are fleeing. (The Information $)+ Shares successful the slope are successful escaped fall. (FT $)
3 You whitethorn not request a covid booster aft all
We don’t cognize however agelong their extortion lasts for, and that’s an issue. (Wired $)+ China’s religion successful its enactment was shaken by its covid zero U-turn. (Bloomberg $)
+ This nanoparticle could beryllium the cardinal to a cosmopolitan covid vaccine. (MIT Technology Review)
4 Elon Musk is readying to physique his ain municipality successful Texas
He’s purchased onshore and wants to physique homes for his Boring Company employees. (WSJ $)
+ The statement for calling Musk a visionary is increasing weaker by the day. (The Atlantic $)
5 Conservative Catholics spent millions connected app information to retired cheery priests
The radical shared accusation collected from hookup apps with bishops. (WP $)
6 Germany is reconsidering however its constabulary usage Palantir software
Privacy advocates person sounded the alarm implicit the company’s privateness way record. (FT $)
+ Predictive policing algorithms are racist. They request to beryllium dismantled. (MIT Technology Review)
7 Are parents acceptable for artificial bosom milk?
Last year’s babe look shortage highlights however precarious the marketplace is. (New Yorker $)
+ Startups are racing to reproduce bosom beverage successful the lab. (MIT Technology Review)
8 A aesculapian steadfast implanted patients with fake devices
It claimed that implanting bits of integrative into radical would dainty their chronic pain. (Motherboard)
9 Autocorrect is inactive garbage
Chatbots tin constitute poetry, but our iPhones proceed to misspell elemental words. (The Atlantic $)
10 BORG is the internet’s hottest drink
If you’re aged nether 21, that is. (NYT $)
+ TikTok memes are spreading among kids who’ve ne'er utilized the app. (WP $)
Quote of the day
“Chatbots are precise utile to a consecutive antheral similar me.”
—Liu Shuai, a tech idiosyncratic successful Hangzhou, China, has been utilizing ChatGPT to draught heartfelt texts to his girlfriend, helium tells Rest of World.
The large story
Meetings suck. Can we marque them much fun?
Since the pandemic made moving remotely commonplace, workers person complained astir getting “Zoomed out” oregon dealing with “Zoom fatigue.”
No wonderment that different tech companies wonderment however they could reinvent meetings too, particularly since it doesn’t look arsenic if distant enactment is going anyplace soon. But to instrumentality Zoom’s crown they’ll request to get creative, and travel up with ways to support employees from feeling burned retired by endless video calls. Read the afloat story.
—Tanya Basu
We tin inactive person bully things
A spot for comfort, amusive and distraction successful these weird times. (Got immoderate ideas? Drop maine a line oregon tweet 'em astatine me.)
+ The gatekeepers of New York’s astir coveted edifice tables person seen immoderate things.
+ Stop! Relax—and decorate immoderate cookies.
+ The in-depth lawsuit for wherefore Jackass Forever deserves an Oscar.
+ Why AI gets progressive with architecture, the resulting buildings are seriously odd.
+ Every azygous 1 of these food trends sounds perfectly delicious.
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