This edition covers a growing market for startup data used to train AI models, the challenges of decoding animal communication, and the technology and politics behind plans for a lunar city. It also rounds up major developments involving election security, satellite communications, climate change, consciousness research, AI regulation, cybersecurity, and Apple’s carbon-neutrality strategy.
This is today’s edition of The Download, a weekday newsletter delivering a daily dose of what’s happening in technology.
AI labs are buying data from defunct startups
When Kieran Miskell began winding down his crypto startup, he did not expect its data to be especially valuable. He later sold the company’s codebase and workspace data, turning its digital archive into tens of thousands of dollars.
Miskell is part of a growing market in which companies that help startups close down sell their data to AI labs. Demand is rising as model developers approach the limits of public and synthetic datasets and seek real-world records to train AI agents. The practice also raises significant legal and ethical questions.
Read the full story about the AI Institute’s purchases of data from failed startups.
—Matthew King
How close are we to interspecies communication?
Humans are not the only species capable of complex communication. Animals may have far more to tell us than we currently understand.
Deciphering how animals communicate could offer insight into their inner lives and provide a window into how humans interpret the world. The spread of recording devices and advances in AI have made it easier to study animal howls, squeaks, and clicks, but interpreting those signals remains a difficult task.
Find out how close we are to communicating across species.
—Cassandra Willard
This story is part of “Have you arrived yet?”, a series examining six technologies that have long promised to change the world and tracking their progress. We are currently investigating each installment. Subscribe to read the rest of our stories.
What will it take to build a city on the moon?
The United States and China are competing to establish lunar bases, while NASA hopes to create a small city on the moon by the end of the century. The lunar environment, however, is extremely hostile to permanent human settlement.
A large lunar base would need to protect its inhabitants from asteroid impacts, cosmic radiation, abrasive lunar dust, and extreme temperature swings. It would also need a degree of independence from Earth.
Achieving that goal would require autonomous robots, nuclear power, and systems capable of using resources found on the moon to keep the base operating. The biggest obstacle, however, may be political will.
This is the latest narrated podcast from MIT Technology Review, published weekly. Follow MIT Technology Review Narrated on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to receive new episodes as they are released.
Must-read technology and science news
Here are some of the most important, alarming, surprising, and fascinating technology stories from around the internet.
Hackers disrupted the U.S. Federal Election Commission website
The FEC filing system went offline a week before the midterm elections. (Reuters $)
The attack concealed spending data during the most expensive midterm elections ever. (Gizmodo)
Social media platforms are struggling to contain AI-powered election lies. (The Guardian)
Software flaws in U.S. voting machines threaten election security. (Axios)
A blueprint for using AI to strengthen democracy. (MIT Technology Review)
Starlink regulations prompt U.S. allies to reconsider their dependence
Restrictions affecting Starlink in Ukraine have surprised officials across Europe. (Bloomberg $)
European companies have also received new offers for rival services. (Axios)
An Israeli spy company allegedly targeted Starlink users. (Reuters $)
Stratospheric internet could become popular this year. (MIT Technology Review)
Greenhouse gas concentrations continue to set records
Levels of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are all increasing. (New Scientist $)
The Trump administration is making it easier for fossil fuel companies to leak methane. (The Verge)
The IPCC is fighting for survival. (Nature)
How should researchers study rapidly melting climate disasters? (MIT Technology Review)
Monkey brains reveal new clues about consciousness
Neural activity in monkeys can encode images that do not reach conscious awareness. (Nature)
Evidence that bees may have feelings is also changing how researchers think about consciousness. (New Scientist $)
The debate over AI consciousness may be a trap. (MIT Technology Review)
Chinese scientists develop a catalyst for making Mars rocket fuel
Five Chinese scientists have developed a catalyst that converts carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere into liquid methanol. (South China Morning Post)
Tech billionaires unite against California’s wealth tax
Sergey Brin, Eric Schmidt, and other technology billionaires have funded a large campaign opposing the tax. (The New York Times $)
Delaware considers allowing AI agents to run entire businesses
The proposal could allow owners to avoid liability for harm caused by autonomous AI-run companies. (Ars Technica)
A web designed for AI agents could also harm humans. (MIT Technology Review)
Palmer Luckey announces plans for U.S.-made military laptops
Anduril plans to use Qualcomm chips to manufacture rugged computers in Ohio. (The Wall Street Journal $)
Generation Z is moving away from the social media it grew up with
Young people are helping drive the growth of digital detox tools. (The Guardian)
President Trump wants to replace the term “artificial intelligence”
Trump has called for people to use the term “superintelligence” instead. (Gizmodo)
Quote of the day
“For the next two years, on average, every week we will have a significant vulnerability across the Internet.”
—Matthew Prince, CEO of Cloudflare, speaking to The New York Times. AI is now discovering software vulnerabilities faster than patches can be applied.
One more thing
Inside the controversial tree farm behind Apple’s carbon-neutrality goals
In 2020, Apple set a goal of reaching net-zero emissions by the end of the decade. To help meet that target, the company is offsetting emissions by planting millions of eucalyptus trees in Brazil.
Apple is betting that the strategy will contribute to a greener future. Critics, however, warn that industrial tree farms can cause more harm than good.
Here’s why Apple’s plan has sparked a backlash.
—Gregory Barber
Something good
A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten your day. Have an idea? Please contact me.
Ugly shoes are becoming mainstream.
Scientists have created an amazing new simulation of the early universe.
Guitarist Kent Nishimura brings “Thriller” back to its original form in a captivating acoustic performance.
A photographer who documented punks and mods in 1980 tracked them down for a touching reunion 46 years later.
Source: www.technologyreview.com