AI for Good and China's Shrinking Internet

This is today's edition of The Download, our weekly newsletter, which informs you daily about news from the world of technology.

What I learned from the UN AI for Good Summit

—Melissa Heikkilä

Last week, the UN AI for Good Summit took place in Geneva. The focus of the summit was how AI can be used to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, such as eradicating poverty and hunger, achieving gender equality, promoting clean energy and climate action, etc.

The conference brought together people from all over the world working in AI, and there were also speakers from China, the Middle East, and Africa. AI can be very US-centric and male-dominated, and any effort to make the discussion more global and diverse is commendable.

But honestly, I didn't leave the conference with a strong belief that AI would play a significant role in advancing the UN goals. In fact, the most interesting talks revolved around how AI does the opposite. Read the full story.

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Read more stories from Melissa about the problems in the AI ​​sector:

+ How generative AI has made phishing, fraud and doxxing easier than ever before.

+ We are all free AI data workers. Fancy AI models rely on human labor that can often be brutal and disturbing. Read the full story.

+ The viral AI avatar app Lensa undressed me – without my consent.

+ Creating an image with generative AI uses as much energy as charging your phone. Every time you use AI to create an image, write an email, or ask a chatbot a question, the planet is being harmed. Read the full story.

The must-reads

I've scoured the internet to find you the most entertaining/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology today.

1 The Chinese Internet collapses
Websites are taken offline and history is lost. (NYT $)
+ The end of online anonymity in China. (MIT Technology Review)

2 The United Arab Emirates want to ingratiate themselves with the USA when it comes to AI
And the company is willing to spend billions of dollars on it. (FT $)

3 Google accidentally collected voice data from children
In addition to users' private addresses and YouTube recommendations. (404 Media)
+ Why child safety bills are popping up all over the US. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Our need for data centers is at odds with zero-carbon goals
Electricity demand is increasing and decarbonizing the power grid is becoming an even greater challenge. (Undark Magazine)
+ A key reason why we need more power? Surprise, surprise – it’s AI. (Wired $)+ Energy-hungry data centers are quietly moving into cities. (MIT Technology Review)

5X officially allows X-rated content
NSFW images and videos have been swarming there for years anyway. (TechCrunch)
+ This is to prevent people under 18 from seeing NSFW material. (The guard)

6 AI can predict the weather better and better 🌩️
This is handy as the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season approaches. (Ars Technica)
+ Google DeepMind’s weather AI can predict extreme weather events faster and more accurately. (MIT Technology Review)

7 This new startup wants to make cryonics accessible to the masses
By focusing on revival, not freezing. (Bloomberg $)
+ Why the science fiction dream of cryonics never died. (MIT Technology Review)

8 retailers love it when you buy things on your phone
When you make an impulse purchase, it's probably done on a phone, not a laptop. (WSJ $)

9 Dying stars produce faulty radio waves
Scientists are getting better at reproducing these pulsar disturbances. (New Scientist $)

10 Amazon sold fake copies of an important UFO book 🛸
Scammers have created fake versions of the highly anticipated title, some of which contain AI-generated text. (404 Media)

quote of the Day

“We are still behind them, but we are breathing down their necks.”

— YouTube developer Vladimir Milov tells Wired how he helped create a direct competitor to Putin's TV propaganda on the platform.

The big story

Broadband funding for indigenous communities could finally connect some of America's most isolated places

September 2022

Rural and indigenous communities in the U.S. have long had poorer cellular and broadband connectivity than urban areas, where four out of five Americans live. Outside of cities and suburbs, which make up barely 3% of the U.S. land area, reliable internet service is still hard to come by.

The Covid-19 pandemic has made the problem even more acute as indigenous communities went into lockdown and moved classes and other essential daily activities online, but it has also unleashed an unprecedented flood of aid to address the problem. Read the full story.

A place of comfort, fun and distraction that will brighten your day. (Any ideas? Write to me or tweet it to me.)

+ Bats have incredibly cute little feet.
+ Too many gardens are not exactly close to nature. Here's how to transform your green spaces into wild wonderlands.
+ Summer is here and honey garlic parmesan cookies seem like a great way to celebrate.
+ This painting of a sunset by the sea is truly something special.