The Download: revolutionary prosthetics, and new pandemic concerns

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.

These prosthetics interruption the mold with 3rd thumbs, spikes, and superhero skins

Traditionally, prosthetics designers person looked to the quality assemblage for inspiration. Prosthetics were seen arsenic replacements for missing assemblage parts; hyper-realistic bionic legs and arms were the beatified grail. 

But we’re present witnessing a question successful alternate prosthetics, a signifier of assistive tech that bucks normal by making nary effort to blend in. Instead of making devices that mimic the quality of a “normal” limb oregon leg, a caller question of designers are creating fantastical prosthetics that mightiness wriggle similar a tentacle, airy up, oregon adjacent sprout glitter. Read the afloat story.

—Joanna Thompson

Joanna's communicative is from the latest people contented of MIT Technology Review, which is each astir design. Sign up for a subscription to work the afloat happening erstwhile it comes retired aboriginal this month.

We don’t request to panic astir a vertebrate flu pandemic—yet

—Jessica Hamzelou

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.

Americans are acceptable to trial embryos for aboriginal assemblage chances

Imagine that you were provided no-cost fertility attraction and besides offered a escaped DNA trial to gauge which of those small IVF embryos floating successful a crockery stood the champion accidental of getting into a apical assemblage someday.

If you said a hypothetical yes to the test, you’re among astir 40% percent of Americans who said they’d beryllium much apt than not to trial and prime IVF embryos for intelligence aptitude. Ethicists and cistron scientists deliberation it’s a atrocious idea. Although these tests bash not beryllium yet, they’re sounding the alarm early. Read the afloat story.

—Antonio Regalado

The must-reads

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

1 We’re witnessing the property of AI one-upmanship
But each azygous institution faces the aforesaid problem: ample connection models can’t archer information from fiction. (The Atlantic $)
+ ChatGPT is the equivalent of a compressed net file. (New Yorker $)+ Even the Pentagon is utilizing ChatGPT to constitute property releases. (Motherboard)
+ Generative AI sees the satellite arsenic a precise achromatic place. (Slate $)
+ Generative AI is changing everything. But what’s near erstwhile the hype is gone? (MIT Technology Review)

2 The ‘spy balloon’ statement is inactive raging
The US has accused China of spying; China says the claims are exaggerated. (Bloomberg $)
+ The companies that helped to marque the balloon whitethorn look sanctions. (Quartz)
+ The balloon quality is symbolic of worsening relations betwixt the nations. (NYT $)
+ Such probe balloons were primitively designed to soar to the borderline of space. (WSJ $)

3 Donald Trump is allowed to station connected Facebook again
That said, he’s staying silent, for now. (CNBC)

4 China has pulled retired of an planetary cablegram project
Because companies from different countries backed the US to physique the enactment instead. (FT $)

5 Crowd-control tech is becoming much brutal
So-called “less lethal” weapons are inactive dangerous—and under-regulated to boot. (Wired $)

6 The wellness benefits of EVs are irrefutable
However, it’s wealthier areas that basal to payment the most. (Vox) + But the car manufacture successful wide isn’t doing capable to prevention the climate. (The Verge)
+ Cars are inactive cars—even erstwhile they’re electric. (MIT Technology Review)

7 There’s yet much atrocious quality for NFT artists
The archetypal NFT intelligence spot suit recovered that MetaBirkin NFTs had fallen foul of the law. (Bloomberg $)
+ Some artists recovered a lifeline selling NFTs. Others interest it’s a trap. (MIT Technology Review)

8 The never-ending quest to unlock the universe’s secrets
Interrogating interstellar objects could help. (New Scientist $)
+ Blue Origin has yet secured an interplanetary NASA contract. (Engadget)

9 How to drawback a ‘sushi terrorist’ 🍣
Japanese sushi chains are rolling retired AI-equipped cameras to drawback troublesome customers. (Nikkei Asia $)

10 LinkedIn has ne'er been hotter
Job hunters emotion it, but the posts are inactive cringe-inducing. (Vox)

Quote of the day

“You’re fired, you’re fired.” 

—Elon Musk’s effect to a Twitter technologist who dared to suggest that Musk’s falling engagement connected the level was down to his falling popularity, not a bug, Platformer reports. 

The large story

The combat for “Instagram face”

August 2022

Through quality filters, platforms similar Instagram are helping users execute progressively narrowing quality standards—though lone successful the integer world—at a stunningly accelerated pace. There is grounds that excessive usage of these filters online has harmful effects connected intelligence health, particularly for young girls.

“Instagram face” is simply a recognized aesthetic template: ethnically ambiguous and featuring the flawless skin, large eyes, afloat lips, tiny nose, and perfectly contoured curves made accessible successful ample portion by filters. And portion Instagram has banned filters that promote integrative surgery, monolithic request for quality augmentation connected societal media is complicating matters. Read the afloat story.