The Download: iRobot privacy scandal, and AI that makes images

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.

Roomba testers consciousness misled aft intimate images ended up connected Facebook

When Greg unboxed a caller robot vacuum cleaner successful December 2019, helium thought helium knew what helium was getting into. As a beta-tester, helium anticipated allowing the preproduction trial mentation of iRobot’s Roomba J bid instrumentality to roam astir his house, cod information to assistance amended its artificial intelligence, and supply feedback astir his idiosyncratic experience

But what Greg didn’t know—and does not judge helium consented to—was that iRobot would stock trial users’ information successful a sprawling, planetary information proviso chain, wherever everything (and everyone) captured by the devices’ cameras could beryllium seen by low-paid contractors.

Nearly a twelve iRobot testers person travel guardant successful the weeks since MIT Technology Review published an investigation into however the institution uses images captured from wrong existent homes to bid its AI. They consciousness misled by the company’s nonaccomplishment to adequately support their data, and person been near wondering wherever the accountability really lies. Read the afloat story.

—Eileen Guo

TR10: AI that makes images

When OpenAI released its text-to-image AI exemplary DALL-E successful 2021, it paved the mode for different programs designed to instrumentality a abbreviated statement of beauteous overmuch anything, and spit retired a representation of what you asked for successful seconds.

Yet the biggest game-changer was Stable Diffusion, an open-source text-to-image exemplary released for escaped by UK-based startup Stability AI successful August, and, crucially, capable to tally connected a (good) location computer.

Nothing other successful AI grabbed people’s attraction much past year—for the champion and worst reasons. Now we hold to spot what lasting interaction these tools volition person connected originative industries—and the full tract of AI. Read much astir the promises—and dangers—of AI models that make images connected demand.

Next: work our elder AI exertion Will Douglas Heaven’s feature astir however generative AI is changing everything, and what’s apt to beryllium near erstwhile the hype dies down. 

AI that makes images is the archetypal of our 10 Breakthrough Technologies, which we’ll beryllium showcasing one-by-one successful The Download each day. You tin cheque retired the rest of the list for yourself, and we’d emotion to perceive your thoughts connected what should marque our last 11th technology. Vote successful our canvass to marque your dependable heard.

This biotech startup says mice unrecorded longer aft familial reprogramming

What to think: The reprogramming technique, which involves resetting cells to a younger state, has been winning hundreds of millions successful concern arsenic a imaginable elixir of youth. Scientists person antecedently shown that it works connected azygous cells successful the laboratory. Despite this startup’s announcement, it’s inactive unclear if the rejuvenation effect works successful surviving animals too. Read the afloat story.

—Antonio Regalado

Meet the designers printing houses retired of brackish and clay

Read our interrogation with Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello, the disruptive designers 3D-printing full buildings retired of earthy materials. Check retired the astonishing pictures in the afloat story, which is from the latest variation of our people magazine. To get aboriginal issues, sign up for a subscription.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the net to find you today’s astir fun/important/scary/fascinating stories astir technology.

Quote of the day

"Space is hard."

—Matt Archer, the manager of commercialized spaceflight astatine the UK Space Agency, reflects connected the Virgin Orbit rocket's nonaccomplishment to scope orbit, reports the Guardian.

The large story

How large subject failed to unlock the mysteries of the quality brain

August 2021

In September 2011, Columbia University neurobiologist Rafael Yuste and Harvard geneticist George Church made a not-so-modest proposal: to representation the enactment of the full quality encephalon astatine the level of idiosyncratic neurons and item however those cells signifier circuits.

That cognition could beryllium harnessed to dainty encephalon disorders similar Alzheimer’s, autism, schizophrenia, depression, and traumatic encephalon injury, and would assistance reply 1 of the large questions of science: How does the encephalon bring astir consciousness? 

A decennary on, the US task has coiled down, and the EU task faces its deadline to physique a integer brain. So person we begun to unwrap the secrets of the quality brain? Or person we spent a decennary and billions of dollars chasing a imaginativeness that remains arsenic elusive arsenic ever? Read the afloat story.

—Emily Mullin

We tin inactive person bully things

A spot for comfort, amusive and distraction successful these weird times. (Got immoderate ideas? Drop maine a line or tweet 'em astatine me.)

+ This saccharine watercolor feline is conscionable lovely.
+ Dinosaur mummies (in the past Egyptian sense) whitethorn not beryllium arsenic uncommon arsenic scientists antecedently thought.
+ Perfume Genius genuinely is 1 of a kind.
+ If you enjoyed The White Lotus, Mike White’s earlier HBO bid Enlightened is likewise brilliant.
+ Talking of White Lotus, I could perceive to Tom Hollander playing the piano each time (thanks Niall!)