The Download: an AI safety hotline, and tech for farmers [MIT Tech Review]

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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.

Why we need an AI safety hotline

—Kevin Frazier is an assistant professor at St. Thomas University College of Law and senior research fellow in the Constitutional Studies Program at the University of Texas at Austin.

In the past couple of years, regulators have been caught off guard again and again as tech companies compete to launch ever more advanced AI models. As it stands, it seems there’s little anyone can do to delay or prevent the release of a model that poses excessive risks.

Existing measures to mitigate AI risks aren’t enough to protect us, so we need new approaches. One could be a kind of AI safety hotline tasked with expert volunteers. Read more about how the hotline could work.

African farmers are using private satellite data to improve crop yields

In many developing countries, farming is impaired by lack of data. For centuries, farmers relied on native intelligence rooted in experience and hope.

Now, farmers in Africa are turning to technology to avoid cycles of heavy crop losses that could spell financial disaster. They’re partnering with EOS Data Analytics, a California-based provider of satellite imagery and data for precision farming, which allows them to track where or when specific spots needed attention on various farms—and even to anticipate weather warnings. Read the full story.

—Orji Sunday

This piece is from the latest print issue of MIT Technology Review, which is celebrating 125 years of the magazine! If you don’t already, subscribe now to get 25% off future copies once they land.

The must-reads

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

1 TikTok is heading to court today 
An appeals court will hear whether the app should be banned in the US. (The Verge)
+ The app is fighting the potential ban, which would kick in early next year. (NYT $)
+ The depressing truth behind US attempts to ban TikTok. (MIT Technology Review)

2 China has made a chipmaking equipment breakthrough
A new machine should lessen its reliance on suppliers sanctioned by the US. (Bloomberg $)
+ What’s next in chips. (MIT Technology Review)

3 OpenAI’s newest AI models could be used to create bioweapons
The company itself has given its latest releases its highest safety warning to date. (FT $)
+ In theory, it could aid experts with reproducing a biological threat. (Vox)
+ To avoid AI doom, learn from nuclear safety. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Big Tech’s carbon footprint is likely way bigger than they say
Like, 662% bigger. (The Guardian)
+ Google, Amazon and the problem with Big Tech’s climate claims. (MIT Technology Review)

5 Donald Trump is launching a new crypto business
He’s set to launch it during a livestream today. (NYT $)

6 SpaceX’s private space mission has touched down safety on Earth
The first commercial mission was a big success—and opened the doors for future non-government projects. (BBC)
+ The crew reached a higher altitude than any human has traveled in 50 years. (CNN)

7 We need to stop building in the ocean
It’s severely affecting the way marine life navigates. (The Atlantic $)

8 We’re still learning about the benefits of breast milk 
Its antimicrobial properties could help to treat cancer and other conditions. (Economist $)
+ Startups are racing to reproduce breast milk in the lab. (MIT Technology Review)

9 What the future of food holds
From robot chefs to healthier potatoes. (WSJ $)
+ Robot-packed meals are coming to the frozen-food aisle. (MIT Technology Review)

10 Meet Silicon Valley’s seriously pampered pets
Pet tech doesn’t come cheap. (The Information $)

Quote of the day

“Welcome back to planet Earth.”

—The host of the live SpaceX broadcast tracking the return of the company’s Polaris Dawn crew greets their homecoming after five days in orbit, the Washington Post reports.

The big story

The future of open source is still very much in flux

August 2023

When Xerox donated a new laser printer to MIT in 1980, the company couldn’t have known that the machine would ignite a revolution.

While the early decades of software development generally ran on a culture of open access, this new printer ran on inaccessible proprietary software, much to the horror of Richard M. Stallman, then a 27-year-old programmer at the university.

A few years later, Stallman released GNU, an operating system designed to be a free alternative to one of the dominant operating systems at the time: Unix. The free-software movement was born, with a simple premise: for the good of the world, all code should be open.

Forty years later, tech companies are making billions on proprietary software, and much of the technology around us is inscrutable. But while Stallman’s movement may look like a failed experiment, the free and open-source software movement is not only alive and well; it has become a keystone of the tech industry. Read the full story.

—Rebecca Ackermann

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.)

+ The Hotel California solo series continues, this time with a very intense recorder edition (thanks Niall!)
+ Avocados should be extinct!? Say it ain’t so!
+ This quick and easy peach cobbler recipe looks like an absolute treat. 
+ Nothing but love for Moo Deng the tiny viral baby hippo.