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.
Eating disorders are on the rise. GLP-1s could make things worse.
GLP-1 weight-loss drugs are one of the biggest biotech breakthroughs of the last decade. But to some clinicians, they can represent something sinister—a potential trigger for eating disorders.
A new report suggests the global incidence of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa shot up by 71% between 1990 and 2023. And clinicians are already seeing GLP-1s exacerbate the issue.
Here’s how they could make an already growing problem worse.
—Jessica Hamzelou
This story is from The Checkup, our weekly biotech newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Thursday.
Love is infrastructure
—“Love is Infrastructure” is a short fictional story by Charlie Jane Anders, author of a forthcoming novel titled Good Things Are Coming Your Way.
Mainspring and St. Barnabas are two neighboring cities with different personalities. They’ve never particularly liked each other, but that changes when both develop minds of their own, shaped by the votes of their residents.
As the cities begin to fall for each other, a third city enters the picture. Turnbull promises Mainspring a more efficient future, but its vision of urban life comes with a troubling price.
Read the full short story about self-aware cities, direct democracy, and a steamy romance.
This story is from the latest edition of our print magazine. Subscribe now to get every issue as soon as it lands.
Are we there yet? Cleaning up PFAS
Used for decades in everything from nonstick pans to firefighting foams, PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” are linked to increased risks of fertility challenges, developmental delays, cancer, and reduced immune response.
Scrubbing PFAS-contaminated soil could eliminate a list of woes for people and planet. The concept is still in its infancy, but we can limit their buildup by pulling the chemicals out of water systems.
Find out how close we are to ridding the world of forever chemicals.
—Sara Kiley Watson
This story is part of “Are we there yet?”, our series that takes stock of six technologies that have long promised to change the world—and scores them on a progress meter. We’re exploring each one in The Download, so stay tuned, and subscribe to read the rest of the stories in our new Impossible issue.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Binance has suffered the biggest crypto hack in history
The exchange says $6.3 billion in assets were affected. (BBC)
+ Analysts blamed the hack on North Korea. (Guardian)
+ The Bitcoin stolen will likely never be recovered. (Bloomberg $)
+ Binance has suspended all deposits and withdrawals. (NBC News)
+ How a pastor’s crypto scheme lost investors millions. (MIT Technology Review)
2 Nvidia’s Jensen Huang was targeted by an alleged Chinese spy
The suspect is an executive at a Singapore data center firm. (NYT $)
+ US intelligence believes she cultivated ties with Huang. (Guardian)
+ Her company was investigated over alleged chip diversion. (CNBC)
+ Nvidia says their dealings were “normal.” (Bloomberg $)
3 Alphabet just shed $500 billion in market value
The record loss is due to AI taking a bite out of its search profits. (CNBC)
+ Amazon and Intel further a further fall in tech stocks. (Bloomberg $)
+ Hyperscalers are making a trillion-dollar gamble. (MIT Technology Review)
4 The Pentagon suspects freezers at military bases were hacked
The malfunctions spoiled food. (Reuters $)
+ They may be linked to similar hacks in French supermarkets. (Gizmodo)
5 The US midterms could reshape the future of American science
A Democratic Congress could curb Trump’s science cuts. (Nature)
+ Trump has already dealt big blows to science. (MIT Technology Review)
6 Data centers are set to send US climate pollution skyrocketing
Gas plants could push power-sector emissions up 42% by 2030.(Verge)
+ Europe’s data centre workers face dangerous conditions. (Guardian)
7 SpaceX is pulling away from NASA
The company is prioritising Starlink and AI. (Ars Technica)
+ But Cape Canaveral is busier than during the space race. (Axios)
8 Battery makers are finding a new market in the US
They’re pivoting from EVs to grid storage. (WSJ $)
+ Batteries just broke another record in the US. (MIT Technology Review)
9 A humanist has received a religious exemption from using AI at work
He argued that using it undermined human flourishing. (Gizmodo)
10 Psychics are fighting back against computerized clairvoyance
Human practitioners say chatbots lack the divine touch. (Guardian)
Quote of the day
“Rizz is in more and more demand because it’s something that only people have.”
—Steven Strogatz, a mathematics professor at Cornell University, tells Business Insider that personal appeal will become more valuable as AI increasingly takes over intellectual work.
One more thing
The Bay Area’s animal welfare movement wants to recruit AI
In early February, animal welfare advocates and AI researchers arrived in stocking feet at Mox, a shoes-free coworking space in San Francisco. They gathered to discuss a provocative idea: if artificial general intelligence is on the horizon, could it prevent animal suffering?
Some brainstormed using custom agents in advocacy work, while others pitched cultivating meat with AI tools. But the real talk of the event was a flood of funding they expect will soon flow to animal welfare charities, not from individual megadonors, but from AI lab employees.
Some attendees also probed an even more controversial idea: AI may develop the capacity to suffer, which could constitute a moral catastrophe. We investigated why their ideas are gaining momentum—and sparking controversy.
—Michelle Kim & Grace Huckins
We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. Today, it’s a Halloween special. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line.)
+ Meet the “Picasso of Pumpkin Carvers”, bringing artistry to a Halloween tradition.
+ Mashup maestro Bill McClintock’s Ghostmashers is the ideal soundtrack for your All Hallows’ Eve party.
+ Want to give someone a proper fright this year? The pros behind America’s haunted attractions have tips.
+ This incredible Halloween light show combines 210 drones, fire, lasers, projection, fountains, and the Beastie Boys.
