{"id":849643,"date":"2025-05-20T04:12:18","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T09:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/20\/the-download-chaos-at-openai-and-the-spa-heated-by-bitcoin-mining\/"},"modified":"2025-05-20T04:12:18","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T09:12:18","slug":"the-download-chaos-at-openai-and-the-spa-heated-by-bitcoin-mining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/20\/the-download-chaos-at-openai-and-the-spa-heated-by-bitcoin-mining\/","title":{"rendered":"The Download: chaos at OpenAI, and the spa heated by bitcoin mining"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Plus: Nvidia has set its sights on building a new supercomputer<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n

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This is today’s edition of\u00a0The Download<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Inside the story that enraged OpenAI<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u2014Niall Firth, executive editor, MIT Technology Review<\/em><\/p>\n

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In 2019, Karen Hao, a senior reporter with MIT Technology Review, pitched me a story about a then little-known company, OpenAI. It was her biggest assignment to date. Hao\u2019s feat of reporting took a series of twists and turns over the coming months, eventually revealing how OpenAI\u2019s ambition had taken it far afield from its original mission.<\/p>\n

The finished story<\/a> was a prescient look at a company at a tipping point\u2014or already past it. And OpenAI was not happy with the result. Hao\u2019s new book, Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman\u2019s OpenAI<\/a>, is an in-depth exploration of the company that kick-started the AI arms race, and what that race means for all of us. This excerpt is the origin story of that reporting<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This spa\u2019s water is heated by bitcoin mining<\/strong><\/p>\n

At first glance, the Bathhouse spa in Brooklyn looks not so different from other high-end spas. What sets it apart is out of sight: a closet full of cryptocurrency-\u00admining computers that not only generate bitcoins but also heat the spa\u2019s pools, marble hammams, and showers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When cofounder Jason Goodman opened Bathhouse\u2019s first location in Williamsburg in 2019, he used conventional pool heaters. But after diving deep into the world of bitcoin, he realized he could fit cryptocurrency mining seamlessly into his business. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014Carrie Klein<\/em><\/p>\n

This story is from the <\/strong>most recent edition of our print magazine<\/strong><\/a>, which is all about how technology is changing creativity. <\/strong>Subscribe now<\/strong><\/a> to read it and to receive future print copies once they land.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The must-reads<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve combed the internet to find you today\u2019s most fun\/important\/scary\/fascinating stories about technology.<\/em><\/p>\n

1 Nvidia wants to build an AI supercomputer in Taiwan\u00a0<\/strong>
As Trump\u2019s tariffs upend existing supply chains. (WSJ<\/a> $)
+ Jensen Huang has denied that Nvidia\u2019s chips are being diverted into China. <\/em>(Bloomberg<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

2 xAI\u2019s Grok dabbled in Holocaust denial<\/strong>
The chatbot said it was \u201cskeptical\u201d about points that historians agree are facts. (Rolling Stone<\/a> $)
+ It blamed the comments on a programming error. <\/em>(The Guardian<\/a>)<\/p>\n

3 Apple is planning to overhaul Siri entirely<\/strong>
To make it an assistant fit for the AI age. (Bloomberg<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

4 Dentists are worried by RFK Jr\u2019s fluoride ban<\/strong>
Particularly in rural America. (Ars Technica<\/a>)
+ Florida has become the second state to ban fluoride in public water. <\/em>(NBC News<\/a>)<\/p>\n

5 Fewer people want to work in America\u2019s factories<\/strong>
That\u2019s a problem when Trump is so hell-bent on kickstarting the manufacturing industry. (WSJ<\/a> $)
+ Sweeping tariffs could threaten the US manufacturing rebound. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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6 Meet the crypto investors hoping to bend the President\u2019s ear<\/strong>
They\u2019re treating Trump\u2019s meme coin dinner as an opportunity to push their agendas. (WP<\/a> $)
+ Many of them are offloading their coins, too. <\/em>(Wired<\/a> $)
+ Crypto bigwigs are targets for criminals. <\/em>(WSJ<\/a> $)
+ Bodyguards and other forms of security are becoming de rigueur. <\/em>(Bloomberg<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

7 How the US reversed the overdose epidemic
<\/strong>Naloxone is a major factor. (Vox<\/a>)
+ How the federal government is tracking changes in the supply of street drugs. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

8 Chatbots really love the heads of the companies that made them\u00a0<\/strong>
And are not so fond of the leaders of its rivals. (FT<\/a> $)
+ What if we could just ask AI to be less biased? <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

9 Technology is a double-edged sword ????<\/strong>
What connects us can simultaneously outrage us. (The Atlantic<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

10 Meet the people hooked on watching nature live streams<\/strong>
They find checking in with animals puts their own troubles in perspective. (The Guardian<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Quote of the day<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are just scared. They don\u2019t know where they fit in this new world.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u2014Angela Jiang, who is working on a startup exploring the impact of AI on the labor market, tells the Wall Street Journal<\/a> about the woes of tech job seekers trying to land new jobs in the current economy.<\/p>\n

One more thing<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/figure>\n
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How the Rubin Observatory will help us understand dark matter and dark energy<\/strong>We can put a good figure on how much we know about the universe: 5%. That\u2019s how much of what\u2019s floating about in the cosmos is ordinary matter\u2014planets and stars and galaxies and the dust and gas between them. The other 95% is dark matter and dark energy, two mysterious entities aptly named for our inability to shed light on their true nature.<\/p>\n

Previous work has begun pulling apart these dueling forces, but dark matter and dark energy remain shrouded in a blanket of questions\u2014critically, what exactly are they?<\/p>\n

Enter the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, one of our 10 breakthrough technologies for 2025. Boasting the largest digital camera ever created, Rubin is expected to study the cosmos in the highest resolution yet once it begins observations later this year. And with a better window on the cosmic battle between dark matter and dark energy, Rubin might narrow down existing theories on what they are made of. Here\u2019s a look at how<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2014Jenna Ahart<\/em><\/p>\n

We can still have nice things<\/strong><\/p>\n

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? <\/em>Drop me a line<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>skeet ’em at me<\/em><\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

+ Archaeologists in Canada are facing a mighty challenge\u2014to solve how thousands of dinosaurs<\/a> died in what\u2019s now a forest in Alberta.
+ Before Brian Johnson joined AC\/DC, he sang on this very distinctive hoover (vacuum cleaner) ad<\/a>.
+ Wealthy Londoners are adding spas<\/a> to their gardens, because why not.
+ I must eat the crystal breakfast<\/a>! ???? ???? ????<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Rhiannon Williams<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Plus: Nvidia has set its sights on building a new supercomputer This is today’s edition of\u00a0The Download ,\u00a0our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Inside the story that enraged OpenAI \u2014Niall Firth, executive editor, MIT Technology Review In 2019, Karen Hao, a senior reporter with<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":849644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31396,24097,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-849643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chaos","category-download","category-technology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849643\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/849644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}