The Download: Introducing the Creativity issue
How gamification took over the world It’s a thought that occurs to every video-game player at some point: What if the weird, hyper-focused state I...
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The Download: canceled climate tech projects, and South Korea’s AI web comics
This year has been rough for climate technology: Companies have canceled, downsized, or shut down at least 16 large-scale projects worth $8 billion in total...
The Download: The US office that tracks foreign disinformation is being eliminated, and explaining vibe coding
The only office within the US State Department that monitors foreign disinformation is to be eliminated, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, confirming...
The Download: How AI is changing music, and a US city’s AI experiment
While large language models that generate text have exploded in the last three years, a different type of AI, based on what are called diffusion...
The Download: Tracking the evolution of street drugs, and the next wave of military AI
In 2021, the Maryland Department of Health and the state police were confronting a crisis: Fatal drug overdoses in the state were at an all-time...
The Download: The dangers of DOGE, and how to blow up an asteroid
—Steven Renderos is the executive director of Media Justice Tech buzzwords are clanging through the halls of Washington, DC. The Trump administration has promised to...
The Download: How the military is using AI, and AI’s climate promises
For much of last year, US Marines conducting training exercises in the waters off South Korea, the Philippines, India, and Indonesia were also running an...
The Download: AI co-creativity, and what Trump’s tariffs mean for batteries
Existing generative tools can automate a striking range of creative tasks and offer near-instant gratification—but at what cost? Some artists and researchers fear that such...
The Download: Detecting bird flu, and powering industrial processes with nuclear energy
Over the winter, eggs suddenly became all but impossible to buy. As a bird flu outbreak rippled through dairy and poultry farms, grocery stores struggled...
The Download: A “dire wolf” revival, and safeguarding AI companions
“No longer do I have to drive a symbol of racism, greed and ignorance! Life is suddenly so much better!” —Actor Bette Middler expresses her...