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.
Introducing: the Food issue
What are we going to eat? It is the eternal question. We humans have been asking ourselves this for as long as we have been human. The question itself can be tedious, exciting, urgent, or desperate, depending on who is asking and where. There are many parts of the world where there is no answer.
Even when hunger isn’t an acute issue, it can remain a persistently chronic one. Some 2.3 billion people around the world suffer from food insecurity, according to the World Health Organization. In the United States alone, the USDA has found that more than 47 million people live in food-insecure households.
This issue is all about food and how we can use technology—high and low tech—to feed more people. Here’s a sneak peek at just some of what you can expect:
+ This issue’s cover feature explores the thorny issue of herbicide-resistant weeds: a problem which is just, well, growing.
+ Researchers, farmers, and global agricultural institutions in Africa are tackling hunger by reviving nearly forgotten indigenous crops. But as is the case with many such initiatives, a lot hinges on sufficient investment and attention.
+ If we are ever to spend any time on Mars, we’re going to need to grow our own food there. But while the soil is poisonous, efforts to make it arable could not only help us bring life to Mars—it could also help support life here on Earth.
+ Would you eat food that originates from carbon-hungry bacteria munching on greenhouse gases? These startups are betting that you will.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Chipmaker Arm has scrapped its longtime license with Qualcomm
It’s an escalation of a legal intellectual property dispute that started in 2022. (Bloomberg $)
+ The companies have been exchanging barbs in the press for quite some time. (FT $)
+ What’s next in chips. (MIT Technology Review)
2 A Kamala Harris victory won’t reverse the effects of Dobbs
14 states have been left with essentially no abortion care. (The Atlantic $)
+ The American left could shift to the right if she loses. (Vox)
3 Anthropic’s new AI models can control your computer
Its Computer Use feature gives Claude the power to complete actions on your behalf. (FT $)
+ It’s a step towards more capable AI agents. (Tech Crunch)
+ What are AI agents? (MIT Technology Review)
4 The producers of Blade Runner 2049 are suing Elon Musk
Tesla’s robotaxi event used an AI image that was too close to their movie for their liking. (WP $)
+ Things aren’t looking too good for Tesla’s profits right now. (Bloomberg $)
+ Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is no fan of AI in the movie business. (WSJ $)
5 How the US is bracing itself for foreign election interference
Intelligence officials are convinced more spies than ever are getting involved. (New Yorker $)
+ AI’s impact on elections is being overblown. (MIT Technology Review)
6 Meta has banned accounts dedicated to tracking celebrity jets
Including planes used by Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos. (WSJ $)
+ The company’s obsession with bots is becoming extremely annoying. (NY Mag $)
7 An Amazon sofa can be yours for just $20
In a planet-destroying bid to compete with China’s e-retail giants. (The Information $)
8 Space Force has started assembling its next Vulcan rocket
It’s destined to launch the Pentagon’s most precious national security satellites. (Ars Technica)
9 Fall is falling victim to AI slop
I dunno man, the vibes are off with some of these images. (Vox)
+ This robot is peddling its art at prestigious auction house Sotheby’s. (Vice)
+ Adobe wants to make it easier for artists to blacklist their work from AI scraping. (MIT Technology Review)
10 Recent extreme weather events have birthed a wave of hurricane grifters
They’re riding out storms for the #content. (CNN)
Quote of the day
“It’s never been worse.”
—Journalist Bill Adair explains how disinformation is escalating in the run up to the US Presidential election to the New York Times.
The big story
The cost of building the perfect wave
June 2024
For nearly as long as surfing has existed, surfers have been obsessed with the search for the perfect wave.
While this hunt has taken surfers from tropical coastlines to icebergs, these days that search may take place closer to home. That is, at least, the vision presented by developers and boosters in the growing industry of surf pools, spurred by advances in wave-generating technology that have finally created artificial waves surfers actually want to ride.
But there’s a problem: some of these pools are in drought-ridden areas, and face fierce local opposition. At the core of these fights is a question that’s also at the heart of the sport: What is the cost of finding, or now creating, the perfect wave—and who will have to bear it? Read the full story.
—Eileen Guo
We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)
+ Waste not, want not: how to use every part of this year’s Halloween pumpkin
+ We love these Hawaiian tree snails.
+ These pastry-sized apple pies are pocket-sized and delicious, who could ask for more?
+ Mirrors are pretty spooky, if you really think about it.