The Download: living for longer, and sex in the age of AI
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.
Maybe you will be able to live past 122
How long can humans live? This is a good time to ask the question. The longevity scene is having a moment, thanks to a combination of scientific advances, public interest, and an unprecedented level of investment. A few key areas of research suggest that we might be able to push human life spans further, and potentially reverse at least some signs of aging.
Researchers can’t even agree on what the exact mechanisms of aging are and which they should be targeting. Debates continue to rage over how long it’s possible for humans to live—and whether there is a limit at all.
But it looks likely that something will be developed in the coming decades that will help us live longer, in better health. Read the full story.
—Jessica Hamzelou
This piece is from the forthcoming print issue of MIT Technology Review, which is celebrating 125 years of the magazine! It’s set to go live tomorrow, so if you don’t already, subscribe now to get hold of future copies once they land.
AI and the future of sex
Pornography raises so many questions. What is obscene? What is ethical or safe to watch? We don’t have to consume or even support it, but porn still demands answers. The question now is: What is “real” porn?
What if porn is wholly created by an algorithm? In that case, whether it’s obscene, ethical, or safe becomes secondary to What does it mean for porn to be “real”—and what will the answer demand from all of us? Read the full story.
—Leo Herrera
A skeptic’s guide to humanoid-robot videos
We are living in “humanoid robot summer” right now, if you didn’t know. Seemingly every week brings a new moody, futuristic video featuring a humanoid robot staring intensely (and sometimes unnervingly) into the camera, jumping around, or sorting things into piles. Sometimes they even speak.
But what do they show, exactly? James O’Donnell, our AI and hardware reporter, has watched dozens of them this year, and frequently oscillates between being impressed, scared, and bored. Read his guide to what you should, and crucially shouldn’t, be excited by.
This story is from The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter giving you the inside track on all things AI. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Monday.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Telegram’s founder was arrested as part of a bigger investigation
Authorities are looking into the vast quantities of criminal activity on the platform. (The Guardian)
+ Pavel Durov has a famously hands-off approach to moderation. (NYT $)
+ Telegram is the only major platform that fails to prohibit illegal material in private chats. (WP $)
2 Amazon is poised to launch a new and improved Alexa
But you’ll have to pay to use it. (WP $)
3 China’s chip material export restrictions are biting in the West
Prices of scarce essential minerals are rocketing in Europe. (FT $)
+ What’s next in chips. (MIT Technology Review)
4 Facebook will resist future moderation pressure from the US government
Mark Zuckerberg says he regrets not speaking out more about the Biden administration’s efforts to force the platform to censor covid content. (WSJ $)
+ He won’t contribute to supporting electoral infrastructure, either. (FT $)
5 Upstate New York is posed to become a quantum computing hub
If Nvidia co-founder Curtis Priem gets his way, that is. (The Guardian)
+ PsiQuantum plans to build the biggest quantum computing facility in the US. (MIT Technology Review)
6 Scientific fraud has a staggering death toll
Falsified data costs lives. Should its authors face criminal consequences? (Vox)
7 Tesla’s rivals are still unable to use its supercharger network
Despite Elon Musk’s promises that they would 12 months ago. (NYT $)
+ Why EV charging needs more than Tesla. (MIT Technology Review)
8 The US is doubling down on sewer surveillance
In a bid to track the spread of illicit prescription drugs. (The Atlantic $)
+ How scientists traced a mysterious covid case back to six toilets. (MIT Technology Review)
9 This audio security startup claims it can identify an AI spam call
Pindrop Security traced the origin of the Joe Biden audio deepfake earlier this year. (Bloomberg $)
+ Meta has created a way to watermark AI-generated speech. (MIT Technology Review)
10 Spotify is rife with fake bands
Their proliferation will make it even tougher for human artists to make a living. (Slate $)
Quote of the day
“I could always be wrong. I have been wrong before. And I think every astrologer has been wrong before.”
—Social media astrologer Amy Tripp tells Wired about her prediction that Donald Trump will win the forthcoming US Presidential election.
The big story
The open-source AI boom is built on Big Tech’s handouts. How long will it last?
In May 2023 a leaked memo reported to have been written by Luke Sernau, a senior engineer at Google, said out loud what many in Silicon Valley must have been whispering for weeks: an open-source free-for-all is threatening Big Tech’s grip on AI.
New open-source large language models—alternatives to Google’s Bard or OpenAI’s ChatGPT that researchers and app developers can study, build on, and modify—are dropping like candy from a piñata. These are smaller, cheaper versions of the best-in-class AI models created by the big firms that (almost) match them in performance—and they’re shared for free.
In many ways, that’s a good thing. AI won’t thrive if just a few mega-rich companies get to gatekeep this technology or decide how it is used. But this open-source boom is precarious, and if Big Tech decides to shut up shop, a boomtown could become a backwater. Read the full story.
—Will Douglas Heaven
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.)
+ Happy Oasis reunion day to all those who celebrate!
+ If you’re heading into the great outdoors for the last time this summer, here’s how to make the most of camping.
+ The Internet Archive is a pretty amazing resource: did you know you can use it to play arcade games?
+ There’s drama unfolding in your back garden, you just need to know where to look.