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.
How DeepSeek became a fortune teller for China’s youth
As DeepSeek has emerged as a homegrown challenger to OpenAI, young people across the country have started using AI to revive fortune-telling practices that have deep roots in Chinese culture.
Across Chinese social media, users are sharing AI-generated readings, experimenting with fortune-telling prompt engineering, and revisiting ancient spiritual texts—all with the help of DeepSeek.
The surge in AI fortune-telling comes during a time of pervasive anxiety and pessimism in Chinese society. And as spiritual practices remain hidden underground thanks to the country’s regime, computers and phone screens are helping younger people to gain a sense of control over their lives. Read the full story.
—Caiwen Chen
Are you interested in learning more about DeepSeek? Read our stories:
+ How DeepSeek overcame US sanctions and managed to turn restrictions into innovation. Read the full story.
+ How DeepSeek ripped up the AI playbook—and why everyone’s going to follow its lead. The Chinese firm has pulled back the curtain to expose how the top labs may be building their next-generation models. Now things get interesting.
+ DeepSeek might not be such good news for energy after all. New figures show that if the model’s energy-intensive “chain of thought” reasoning gets added to everything, the promise of efficiency gets murky. Read the full story.
+ Three things to know as the dust settles from DeepSeek—and four other Chinese AI startups to keep an eye on.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 A private lander has touched down on the moon
US startup Firefly is the second private company to land on lunar soil. (The Guardian)
+ The mission is part of NASA’s plans to lower costs via private enterprises. (NYT $)
+ Nokia is putting the first cellular network on the moon. (MIT Technology Review)
2 Donald Trump may create America’s first strategic crypto reserve
Crypto champions believe it could finally lend the industry a sense of legitimacy. (CoinDesk)
+ But some Republican lawmakers worry it could put taxpayer funds at risk. (FT $)
+ Other crypto investors are pushing for the reserve to hold only bitcoin. (CNBC)
+ Meanwhile, Elon Musk is throwing his weight behind Dogecoin. (Ars Technica)
3 AI firms are racing to create cheaper models
And they’re pinning their hopes on a process called distillation to do just that. (FT $)
+ How DeepSeek ripped up the AI playbook—and why everyone’s going to follow its lead. (MIT Technology Review)
4 Amazon has lost its bid to escape regulatory oversight
It’s been denied permission to skip permitting rules for a proposed data center. (WP $)
5 The US federal layoffs are bad news for aquatic ecosystems
Firing wildlife workers could lead to an outbreak of parasitic lampreys, which wreak havoc on freshwater fish. (Ars Technica)
+ It’s just one of the many cuts that could make life in the US worse. (The Atlantic $)
6 Smart cameras can detect wildfires before they spread
They’re also adept at spotting blazes overnight. (WSJ $)
+ How AI can help spot wildfires. (MIT Technology Review)
7 Beware the creep of AI chatbots aimed at kids
They can’t be relied upon to always dispense correct information. (Insider $)
+ Some parents are teaching children how to use models safely. (The Guardian)
+ You need to talk to your kid about AI. Here are 6 things you should say. (MIT Technology Review)
8 RIP Skype
Microsoft is shutting it down in favor of Teams. (CNN)
+ You’ve got until May to decide what to do with your data. (The Register)
9 This artificial tongue could allow you to taste flavors in VR
Yum, tasty hydrogels. (New Scientist $)
+ The device helped volunteers taste coffee, fried eggs, and fish soup. (NYT $)
10 How social media drove a Japanese matcha shortage ????
The tasty green drink is a TikTok sensation. (Bloomberg $)
Quote of the day
“This is the real, actual revenge of the nerds.”
—Hasan Piker, an online political commentator, reflects on how DOGE feels like the culmination of Elon Musk’s eternally-online existence, the New York Times reports.
The big story
These artificial snowdrifts protect seal pups from climate change
April 2024
For millennia, during Finland’s blistering winters, wind drove snow into meters-high snowbanks along Lake Saimaa’s shoreline, offering prime real estate from which seals carved cave-like dens to shelter from the elements and raise newborns.
But in recent decades, these snowdrifts have failed to form in sufficient numbers, as climate change has brought warming temperatures and rain in place of snow, decimating the seal population.
For the last 11 years, humans have stepped in to construct what nature can no longer reliably provide. Human-made snowdrifts, built using handheld snowplows, now house 90% of seal pups. They are the latest in a raft of measures that have brought Saimaa’s seals back from the brink of extinction. Read the full story.
—Matthew Ponsford
We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)
+ This behind the scenes look at how they created the podracing scenes in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace is remarkably cool.
+ Has Shrek had botox? Much to think about.
+ The largest live game of Dungeons and Dragons ever played looks incredible ($)
+ Five years ago in the UK, we collectively lost our minds.
Read More
Rhiannon Williams