The Download: climate tipping point alarms, and AI’s vision of the 3028 Olympics [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.

The UK is building an alarm system for climate tipping points

The news: The UK’s new moonshot research agency just launched an £81 million ($106 million) program to develop early warning systems to sound the alarm if Earth gets perilously close to crossing climate tipping points.

How they’re doing it: The teams the agency supports will work toward three goals: developing low-cost sensors to provide more precise data about the conditions of these systems; deploying those and other sensing technologies to create an observational network to monitor these tipping systems; and building computer models that harness physics and artificial intelligence to pick up subtle early warning signs of tipping in the data.

What it matters: The goal of the five-year program will be to reduce scientific uncertainty about when these events could occur, how they would affect the planet and the species on it, and over what period those effects might develop and persist. Read the full story.

—James Temple

What this futuristic Olympics video says about the state of generative AI

The Olympic Games in Paris just finished last month and the Paralympics are still underway, so the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles feel like a lifetime from now. But the prospect of watching the games in his home city has Josh Kahn, a filmmaker in the sports entertainment world, thinking even further into the future: What might an LA Olympics in the year 3028 look like?

It’s the perfect type of creative exercise for AI video generation, which allows users to generate fairly high-definition video in minutes. More than anything, the video shows what a boon the generative technology may be for creators. However, it also indicates what’s holding it back.

Read the full story.

—James O’Donnell

Coming soon: Our 2024 list of Innovators Under 35

To tackle complex global problems such as preventing disease and mitigating climate change, we’re going to need new ideas from our brightest minds. Every year, MIT Technology Review identifies a new class of Innovators Under 35 taking on these and other challenges.

On September 10, we will honor the 2024 class of Innovators Under 35. These 35 researchers and entrepreneurs are rising stars in their fields pursuing ambitious projects. Each is doing groundbreaking work to advance one of five areas: materials science, biotechnology, robotics, artificial intelligence, or climate and energy.

Keep an eye on this newsletter next Tuesday for our announcement of the 2024 list, which will be made available exclusively to subscribers. Read the full story for more details, and if you’re not a subscriber already, sign up here to save 25%.

—Amy Nordum

If you can’t wait until then, we’ll reveal our Innovator of the Year during a live broadcast on LinkedIn on Monday, September 9. Register here to be among the first to find out who it is, and learn about their work and the impact they’re having.

MIT Technology Review Narrated: How a tiny Pacific Island became the global capital of cybercrime

Tokelau is a group of three isolated atolls strung out across the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and Hawaii.

Despite its size, Tokelau has become an internet giant. Until recently, its .tk domain had more users than any other country’s: a staggering 25 million. Yet only one website with a .tk domain is actually from Tokelau. Nearly all the others are used by spammers, phishers, and cybercriminals.

This is the story of how Tokelau unwittingly became the global capital of cybercrime—and its fight to fix its reputation.

This is our latest story to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast. In partnership with News Over Audio, we’ll be making a selection of our stories available, each one read by a professional voice actor. You’ll be able to listen to them on the go or download them to listen to offline.

We’re publishing a new story each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, including some taken from our most recent print magazine.

Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it’s released.

The must-reads

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

1 Clearview AI has been slapped with its largest fine to date 
A Dutch regulator has ordered it to pay more than 30 million euros for creating an illegal database of “unique biometric codes.” (The Verge)
+ Clearview has missed its window to appeal the decision. (Ars Technica)
+ It’s not the first time the company has been in legal hot water. (MIT Technology Review)

2 Bluesky is gaining millions of new users
It’s struggling to cope with the influx triggered by X’s shutdown in Brazil. (TechCrunch)
+ Some worry that judge Alexandre de Moraes has overreached his powers. (Economist $)

3 Training AI to appear human-like is unrewarding work
Workers cite long hours, low pay, and unstable employment. (Fast Company $)
+ The people paid to train AI are outsourcing their work… to AI. (MIT Technology Review) 

4 The Chinese Communist Party is silencing protesters in San Francisco
It’s part of a bigger pattern of China overreaching beyond its borders. (WP $)
+ How Twitter’s “Teacher Li” became the central hub of China protest information. (MIT Technology Review)

5 Mega AI data centers are coming
But the companies behind the multi-billion dollar projects are a mystery. (The Information $)
+ Energy-hungry data centers are quietly moving into cities. (MIT Technology Review)

6 New York vigilantes are making big bucks reporting idling polluters
The only problem is, the police keep getting in the way. (NY Mag $)

7 Beware of Bitcoin ATM scams
Criminals are finding new ways to part victims from their hard-earned cash. (The Verge) 

8 What’s going to happen to all our old gas-powered cars?
Giving them a second life undermines efforts to curb climate change. (Vox)
+ This company wants to inject petroleum carbon emissions back underground. (The Atlantic $)
+ The problem with plug-in hybrids? Their drivers. (MIT Technology Review)

9 You can’t play video games on Microsoft’s new AI computers
Their new chip architecture isn’t playing ball with more than 1,000 games. (WSJ $)

10 Yarn made from potato is a sustainable cotton alternative
There’s no guarantee it’ll taste good, though. (New Scientist $)

Quote of the day

“We’re a Brazilian app now.”

—Bluesky jokes about the millions of new users it’s gained in the wake of Brazil’s Supreme Court banning access to X in the country, the Financial Times reports.

The big story

Hydrogen trains could revolutionize how Americans get around

April 2024

Like a mirage speeding across the dusty desert outside Pueblo, Colorado, the first hydrogen-fuel-cell passenger train in the United States is getting warmed up on its test track. It will soon be shipped to Southern California, where it is slated to carry riders on San Bernardino County’s Arrow commuter rail service before the end of the year.

The best way to decarbonize railroads is the subject of growing debate among regulators, industry, and activists. The debate is partly technological, revolving around whether hydrogen fuel cells, batteries, or overhead electric wires offer the best performance for different railroad situations. But it’s also political: a question of the extent to which decarbonization can, or should, usher in a broader transformation of rail transportation.

In the insular world of railroading, this hydrogen-powered train is a Rorschach test. To some, it represents the future of rail transportation. To others, it looks like a big, shiny distraction. Read the full story.

—Benjamin Schneider

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 time and effort it must have taken to paint all 151 original Pokemon is mind-boggling.
  + You’ve heard of Stonehenge, but do you know Kilmartin Glen?
  + The Netherlands recently hosted a celebration for thousands of redheads.
  + Peter Blackert builds some seriously impressive Lego cars.