{"id":887426,"date":"2026-01-24T18:11:49","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T00:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/24\/the-download-chatbots-for-health-and-us-fights-over-ai-regulation\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T18:11:49","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T00:11:49","slug":"the-download-chatbots-for-health-and-us-fights-over-ai-regulation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/24\/the-download-chatbots-for-health-and-us-fights-over-ai-regulation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Download: chatbots for health, and US fights over AI regulation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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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<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u201cDr. Google\u201d had its issues. Can ChatGPT Health do better?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For the past two decades, there\u2019s been a clear first step for anyone who starts experiencing new medical symptoms: Look them up online. The practice was so common that it gained the pejorative moniker \u201cDr. Google.\u201d But times are changing, and many medical-information seekers are now using LLMs. According to OpenAI, 230 million people ask ChatGPT health-related queries each week.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the context around the launch of OpenAI\u2019s new ChatGPT Health product, which debuted earlier this month. The big question is: can the obvious risks of using AI for health-related queries be mitigated enough for them to be a net benefit?\u00a0Read the full story<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014Grace Huckins<\/em><\/p>\n

America\u2019s coming war over AI regulation\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In the final weeks of 2025, the battle over regulating artificial intelligence in the US reached boiling point. On December 11, after Congress failed twice to pass a law banning state AI laws, President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order seeking to handcuff states from regulating the booming industry.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Instead, he vowed to work with Congress to establish a \u201cminimally burdensome\u201d national AI policy. The move marked a victory for tech titans, who have been marshaling multimillion-dollar war chests to oppose AI regulations, arguing that a patchwork of state laws would stifle innovation.<\/p>\n

In 2026, the battleground will shift to the courts. While some states might back down from passing AI laws, others will charge ahead.\u00a0Read our story about what\u2019s on the horizon<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014Michelle Kim<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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This story is from MIT Technology Review\u2019s What\u2019s Next series of stories that look across industries, trends, and technologies to give you a first look at the future. You can read the rest of them\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Measles is surging in the US. Wastewater tracking could help.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This week marked a rather unpleasant anniversary: It\u2019s a year since Texas reported a case of measles\u2014the start of a significant outbreak that ended up spreading across multiple states. Since the start of January 2025, there have been over 2,500 confirmed cases of measles in the US. Three people have died.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As vaccination rates drop and outbreaks continue, scientists have been experimenting with new ways to quickly identify new cases and prevent the disease from spreading. And they are starting to see some success with wastewater surveillance.\u00a0Read the full story.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014Jessica Hamzelou\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

This story is from The Checkup, our weekly newsletter giving you the inside track on all things health and biotech.\u00a0Sign up<\/a>\u00a0to receive it in your inbox every Thursday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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<\/p><\/div>\n

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1 The US is dismantling itself<\/strong>
A foreign enemy could not invent a better chain of events to wreck its standing in the world. (Wired<\/a>\u00a0$)\u00a0\u00a0
+\u00a0We need to talk about whether Donald Trump might be losing it.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0(New Yorker<\/a>\u00a0$)<\/p>\n

2 Big Tech is taking on more debt to fund its AI aspirations<\/strong>
And the bubble just keeps growing. (WP<\/a>\u00a0$)
+\u00a0Forget unicorns. 2026 is shaping up to be the year of the \u201chectocorn.\u201d (<\/em>The Guardian<\/a>)
+\u00a0Everyone in tech agrees we\u2019re in a bubble. They just can\u2019t agree on what happens when it pops.\u00a0<\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

3 DOGE accessed even more personal data than we thought\u00a0<\/strong>
Even now, the Trump administration still can\u2019t say how much data is at risk, or what it was used for. (NPR<\/a>)<\/p>\n

4 TikTok has finalized a deal to create a new US entity\u00a0<\/strong>
Ending years of uncertainty about its fate in America. (CNN<\/a>)
+\u00a0Why China is the big winner out of all of this.<\/em>\u00a0(FT<\/a>\u00a0$)<\/p>\n

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5 The US is now officially out of the World Health Organization\u00a0<\/strong>
And it\u2019s leaving behind nearly $300 million in bills unpaid. (Ars Technica<\/a>)\u00a0
+\u00a0The US withdrawal from the WHO will hurt us all.<\/em>\u00a0(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

6 AI-powered disinformation swarms pose a threat to democracy<\/strong>
A would-be autocrat could use them to persuade populations to accept cancelled elections or overturn results. (The Guardian<\/a>)
+\u00a0The era of AI persuasion in elections is about to begin.<\/em>\u00a0(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

7 We\u2019re about to start seeing more robots everywhere<\/strong>
But exactly what they\u2019ll look like remains up for debate. (Vox<\/a>\u00a0$)
+\u00a0Chinese companies are starting to dominate entire sectors of AI and robotics.<\/em>\u00a0(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

8 Some people seem to be especially vulnerable to loneliness<\/strong>
If you\u2019re \u2018other-directed\u2019, you could particularly benefit from less screentime. (New Scientist<\/a>\u00a0$)<\/p>\n

9 This academic lost two years of work with a single click<\/strong>
TL;DR: Don\u2019t rely on ChatGPT to store your data. (Nature<\/a>)<\/p>\n

10 How animals develop a sense of direction\u00a0<\/strong>\ud83e\udd87\ud83e\udded
Their \u2018internal compass\u2019 seems to be informed by landmarks that help them form a mental map. (Quanta<\/a>\u00a0$)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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

\u201cThe rate at which AI is progressing, I think we have AI that is smarter than any human this year, and no later than next year.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014Elon Musk simply cannot resist the urge to make wild predictions at Davos,\u00a0Wired<\/a> reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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

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<\/p>\n

ADAM DETOUR<\/p>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

Africa fights rising hunger by looking to foods of the past<\/h4>\n

After falling steadily for decades, the prevalence of global hunger is now on the rise\u2014nowhere more so than in sub-Saharan Africa.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Africa\u2019s indigenous crops are often more nutritious and better suited to the hot and dry conditions that are becoming more prevalent, yet many have been neglected by science, which means they tend to be more vulnerable to diseases and pests and yield well below their theoretical potential.<\/p>\n

Now the question is whether researchers, governments, and farmers can work together in a way that gets these crops onto plates and provides Africans from all walks of life with the energy and nutrition that they need to thrive, whatever climate change throws their way.\u00a0Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014Jonathan W. Rosen<\/em><\/p>\n

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

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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

+ The only thing I fancy dry this January is a martini.\u00a0Here\u2019s how to make one<\/a>.
+ If you absolutely adore the Bic crystal pen, you might want this\u00a0lamp<\/a>.\u00a0
+ Cozy up with a nice\u00a0long book<\/a>\u00a0this winter. ($)
+ Want to eat healthier?\u00a0Slow down<\/a>\u00a0and tune out food \u2018noise\u2019. ($)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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

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. \u201cDr. Google\u201d had its issues. Can ChatGPT Health do better?\u00a0\u00a0 For the past two decades, there\u2019s been a clear first step for anyone who starts experiencing new medical symptoms: Look them up<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":887427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42004,24097,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-887426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chatbots","category-download","category-technology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887426","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=887426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/887427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=887426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=887426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=887426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}