Plus: DOGE is working on software to automate firing US government workers
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.
Introducing: the Relationships issue
Relationships are the stories of people and systems working together. Sometimes by choice. Sometimes for practicality. Sometimes by force. Too often, for purely transactional reasons.
That’s why we’re exploring relationships in this issue. Relationships connect us to one another, but also to the machines, platforms, technologies, and systems that mediate modern life.
They’re behind the partnerships that make breakthroughs possible, the networks that help ideas spread, and the bonds that build trust—or at least access. In this issue, you’ll find stories about the relationships we forge with each other, with our past, with our children, and with technology itself.
Here’s just a taste of what you can expect:
+ People are forming relationships with AI chatbots. Some of these are purely professional, others more complicated. This kind of relationship may be novel now, but it’s something we will all take for granted in just a few years.
+ Adventures in the genetic time machine. Ancient DNA is telling us more and more about humans and environments long past. Could it also help rescue the future?
+ Frozen embryos are filling storage banks around the world. It’s a struggle to know what to do with them. Read the full story.
+ Our relationships with our employers are often mediated through monitoring systems. And while it’s increasing the power imbalance between companies and workers, protections are lagging far behind. Read the full story.
MIT Technology Review Narrated: The messy quest to replace drugs with electricity
“Electroceuticals” promised the post-pharma future for medicine. But their exclusive focus on the nervous system is seeming less and less warranted.
This is our latest story to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which
we’re publishing each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it’s released.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 DOGE is working on software to automate firing workers
It builds on an existing program previously used by the US Department of Defense. (Wired $)
+ DOGE workers are already resigning from the department. (Fast Company $)
+ Can AI help DOGE slash government budgets? It’s complex. (MIT Technology Review)
2 American workers are generally pessimistic about AI
Whereas Silicon Valley can’t get enough of it.(WP $)
+ How to fine-tune AI for prosperity. (MIT Technology Review)
3 iPhones are autocorrecting the term ‘racist’ to ‘Trump’
The company is blaming what it calls a ‘phonetic overlap.’ (NYT $)
+ It’s promised to fix the bug as soon as possible. (FT $)
4 Amy Gleason is the head of DOGE, apparently
The former Digital Service senior advisor is the acting administrator. (NY Mag $)
+ But Elon Musk is still ultimately in charge. (NBC News)
5 Grok’s new unhinged mode can simulate phone sex
If that’s what you’re into. (Ars Technica)
6 More data centers don’t necessarily mean more jobs
The massive facilities don’t actually need many humans to run them. (WSJ $)
+ Not that that’s putting Meta off building a gigantic data center campus. (The Information $)
7 China is keen for tech companies to monetize their data
But not everyone is buying in. (Rest of World)
8 The slow death of the combustion engine
Pistons are out, and electrons are in. (IEEE Spectrum)
+ Why EVs are (mostly) set for solid growth in 2025. (MIT Technology Review)
9 The US is in love with cheap clothing
And established brands are the ones paying the price. (Insider $)
10 What frozen mummies can tell us about the ancient world
From wolf pups to mammoths. (New Scientist $)
Quote of the day
“I felt nothing but utter disgust. I no longer enjoyed sitting in my Tesla.”
—Mike Schwede, an entrepreneur living in Switzerland, tells the Guardian he’s turned his back on the electric car company after Elon Musk’s Nazi-linked salutes during Trump’s inauguration.
The big story
Think that your plastic is being recycled? Think again.
The problem of plastic waste hides in plain sight, a ubiquitous part of our lives we rarely question. But a closer examination of the situation is shocking. To date, humans have created around 11 billion metric tons of plastic. 72% of the plastic we make ends up in landfills or the environment. Only 9% of the plastic ever produced has been recycled.
To make matters worse, plastic production is growing dramatically; in fact, half of all plastics in existence have been produced in just the last two decades. Production is projected to continue growing, at about 5% annually.
So what do we do? Sadly, solutions such as recycling and reuse aren’t equal to the scale of the task. The only answer is drastic cuts in production in the first place. Read the full story.
—Douglas Main
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.)
+ Look up to the sky over the next few nights: seven planets will be aligned, and won’t do so again until 2040.
+ Jeremy Strong probably won’t win an Oscar next week, but he definitely deserves to.
+ Why English is such a strange language.
+ 1985 produced some truly anthemic songs—and some absolute bilge.
Read More
Rhiannon Williams