The Download: the Kids issue arrives, and Bill Gates reveals his AI fears

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 Kids issue

If the desire to limit kids' use of technology was once a subcurrent, it has become a raging flood. Countries around the world are banning children from social media. Schools across the US are ditching iPads and Chromebooks for actual books. Kids themselves seem to be embracing this tech skepticism too: the hottest gadget for Gen Alpha is a vintage Sony Walkman.

A surprising—maybe troubling—number of people who work in big tech also keep their kids at arm’s distance from technology. They lock down their phones, if they have phones at all, and keep them off social media. Hell, even Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t publicly post his children’s faces on Facebook or Instagram.

Yet there is no hiding from technology. It permeates nearly everything, everywhere. We have to prepare our children to live in the actual world we have actually created, not the one we wish we had. How can we help kids survive and thrive in what we have wrought?

That's what the new Kids issue of MIT Technology Review is all about. With the help of the editors of Anyway, a fantastic magazine for teens and tweens, we explore how young people really feel about AI, the support networks helping kids through the polycrisis, and what happens when a child's robot best friend dies.

We also ask why kids outlearn AI, whether monitoring apps are really keeping children safe online, how schools can encourage smarter AI use, and what happens when technology begins to reshape childhood itself, courtesy of exclusive new fiction from author and AI ethicist Jenny Williams.

Together, these stories examine how childhood is changing in an age of AI—and how we can help kids navigate the world we've made. Subscribe now to read the print issue in full.

Bill Gates says we’ve passed AI’s danger thresholds. Now what?

—Mat Honan

It’s a glorious day in Kirkland, Washington, an affluent Seattle suburb on the eastern shore of Lake Washington. The temperature is in the mid-80s, the sky is incapable of being any more blue, and the view is gorgeous. And vaguely terrifying.

Because if the scene is placid, the messenger is not. Seated across from me at a conference room table, Bill Gates is rocking back and forth in his chair. And the more he has to say—about the threats of terror or economic collapse or just losing control of our AI systems—the more agitated I find myself becoming, too.

The philanthropist and former Microsoft CEO says he has been growing increasingly alarmed by the rate at which AI technology is advancing, especially since guardrails are not keeping pace.

“We’ve crossed the threshold in terms of [AI’s] bio-capabilities, cyber-capabilities, psychosocial capabilities, job-market-destruction capabilities, and even the lack of control,” he said. “I’m just stunned at the lack of concern and discussion outside of the industry.”

Read the full interview with Bill Gates about the AI risks he says we’ve already crossed—and what we should do now.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 Trump’s EPA aims to exempt data centers from disclosing air pollution
The EPA would also remove requirements for public input. (NYT $)
+ The move is likely intended to curb criticism and oversight. (Guardian)
+ Texas’s attorney general has joined the data-center backlash. (WP $)
+ We did the math on AI’s energy footprint. (MIT Technology Review)

2 SpaceX plans $100 billion launch site in Louisiana—its largest yet
Construction of the “Starbase, Louisiana” project is due to start next year. (BBC)
+ It would be SpaceX’s second private launch site, after the original Starbase. (NYT $)
+ The company said it will “support thousands of launches” annually. (CNBC)
+ But it’s cutting launches from Florida until Starship arrives. (Ars Technica)

3 China’s Z.AI has confirmed it’s behind the mystery AI model Ox Alpha
The model has surged to the top of online usage charts. (Bloomberg $)
+ China’s Moonshot is discussing a landmark deal with US hyperscalers. (Reuters $)
+ Here’s what’s next for Chinese open-source AI. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Meta is discussing a settlement in its landmark teen-addiction trial
The case involves 29 states seeking penalties and changes. (Reuters $)
+ A loss at trial could saddle Meta with $1.4 trillion in penalties. (Bloomberg $)

5 Huawei wants to build data centers in Egypt
The US is alarmed and is preparing a counteroffer. (Bloomberg $)
+ HP has signed a licensing deal for Huawei WiFi tech. (CNBC)

6 Trump is upping the price of Big Tech’s favorite visa
He’s implementing a fee of over $103,000 on H-1B visas. (Verge)
+ His immigration policies are hurting young researchers. (MIT Technology Review)

7 Beijing fears that AI companions are replacing human intimacy
New rules aim to limit emotional dependence on chatbots. (Guardian)
+ It’s surprisingly easy to fall for a chatbot. (MIT Technology Review)

8 Israel is running a synthetic think tank to influence AI search results
It’s using AI-generated content to shape chatbot responses. (404 Media)

9 Physicists are closing in on a way to test string theory
A proposed dark dimension could be detectable within five years. (Economist $)

10 AI music has been barred from the Australian charts, thanks to Madonna
An AI-assisted cover of “Like a Prayer” helped prompt the ban. (Reuters $)

Quote of the day

“It is such an Orwellian technology being utilized by such comic book villain forces of evil trying to do dastardly things.” 

—Anthony Ralphs, an events producer who dressed up as Darth Vader to ironically praise Flock at a San Diego City Council meeting, tells 404 Media why he sees parallels between the Dark Lord and the surveillance firm.

One More Thing

GETTY IMAGES

No one’s sure if synthetic mirror life will kill us all

In February 2019, a group of scientists proposed a high-risk, cutting-edge, irresistibly exciting idea that the National Science Foundation should fund: making “mirror” bacteria.

These lab-created microbes would be organized like ordinary bacteria, but their proteins and sugars would be mirror images of those found in nature. Researchers believed they could reveal new insights into building cells, designing drugs, and even the origins of life.

But now, many of them have reversed course. They’ve become convinced that mirror organisms could trigger a catastrophic event threatening every form of life on Earth. Find out why they believe this could trigger a catastrophe.

—Stephen Ornes

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.)

+ A brainy little piglet is proving he can outsmart domestic dogs.
+ Two dinner ladies have turned the Prodigy’s “Firestarter” into a burst of lip-syncing joy.
+ Tour an apartment that celebrates the wonders of common technologies at Ordinary Abundance.
+ This visual essay on Utrecht shows how to transform a city built around cars into one built around people.