The Download: how to find new music online, and climate friendly food [MIT Tech Review]

View Article on MIT Tech Review
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.

How to break free of Spotify’s algorithm

Since the heyday of radio, records, cassette tapes, and MP3 players, the branding of sound has evolved from broad genres like rock and hip-hop to “paranormal dark cabaret afternoon” and “synth space,” and streaming has become the default. 

Meanwhile, the  ritual of discovering something new is now neatly packaged in a 30-song playlist, refreshed weekly. The only rule in music streaming, as in any other industry these days, is personalization.

But what we’ve gained in convenience, we’ve lost in curiosity. Sure, our unlimited access lets us listen to Swedish tropical house or New Jersey hardcore, but this abundance of choice actually makes our listening experience less expansive or eclectic.

As we grow accustomed to the convenience of shuffling a generated playlist, we forget that discovering music is an active exercise. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Read the full story.

—Tiffany Ng

Tiffany’s 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 ensure you get hold of future copies once they land.

Roundtable: Producing climate-friendly food

Our food systems account for a major chunk of global greenhouse-gas emissions, but some businesses are attempting to develop solutions that could help address the climate impacts of agriculture. That includes two companies on the recently-announced 2024 list of MIT Technology Review’s 15 Climate Tech Companies to Watch. Pivot Bio is inventing new fertilizers, and Rumin8 is working to tackle emissions from cattle.  

Join MIT Technology Review senior editor James Temple and senior reporter Casey Crownhart at 12pm ET this Thursday October 10 for a subscriber-exclusive Roundtable diving into the future of food and the climate with special guests Karsten Temme, chief innovation officer and co-founder of Pivot Bio, and Matt Callahan, co-founder and counsel of Rumin8. Register here.

The must-reads

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

1 A deadly virus is spreading across Rwanda
Marburg, which is similar to Ebola, is likely to spread to its neighboring countries. (Vox)
+ Rwanda has started vaccine trials to attempt to contain it. (BBC)
+ The risk of it spreading globally is relatively low, though. (NYT $)

2 Two American biologists have been awarded the Nobel Prize
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun have been honored for their microRNA research. (CNN)

3 This powerful lobbying group is challenging US child safety bills
Experts are concerned it’s misusing the First Amendment to do so. (NYT $)
+ Silicon Valley’s lobbying power is on the ascent. (New Yorker $)
+ Child online safety laws will actually hurt kids, critics say. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Scammers in Southeast Asia stole up to $37 billion last year
Gen AI and deepfakes mean their schemes are more convincing than ever. (Bloomberg $)
+ Telegram is a hotbed of criminal activity and fraud networks. (Reuters)
+ Five ways criminals are using AI. (MIT Technology Review)

5 How rural communities are fighting back against data centers 
Grassroots movements are taking back the power—and winning. (WP $)
+ Energy-hungry data centers are quietly moving into cities. (MIT Technology Review)

6 Viable search alternatives to Google are finally emerging
After 15 years of dominance, advertisers are hungry for something different. (WSJ $)
+ It looks as though even more AI Google features are on their way. (Insider $)
+ Why Google’s AI Overviews gets things wrong. (MIT Technology Review)

7 Substack wants to expand beyond newsletters
How, exactly? By becoming a means of payment for creators. (Semafor)

8 The future of search and rescue
Drones can be much quicker and more thorough than human volunteers. (Wired $)
+ AI-directed drones could help find lost hikers faster. (MIT Technology Review) 

9 Inside the last’s year wild and wacky British inventions
From flatpack coffins to a downwards-facing computer monitor. (The Guardian)

10 Can robots suffer?
That’s the question artist Lawrence Lek is exploring in his latest AI film. (FT $)

Quote of the day

“You don’t need to press a button to open a window. You can just open the window.”

—Adam DeMartino, cofounder of sustainable food startup Smallhold, reflects on how technology can over complicate simple ideas to the Guardian.

The big story

AI was supposed to make police bodycams better. What happened?

April 2024

When police departments first started buying and deploying bodycams in the wake of the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, a decade ago, activists hoped it would bring about real change.

Years later, despite what’s become a multibillion-dollar market for these devices, the tech is far from a panacea. Most of the vast reams of footage they generate go unwatched.  Officers often don’t use them properly. And if they do finally provide video to the public, it’s often selectively edited, lacking context and failing to tell the complete story.

A handful of AI startups see this problem as an opportunity to create what are essentially bodycam-to-text programs for different players in the legal system, mining this footage for misdeeds. But like the bodycams themselves, the technology still faces procedural, legal, and cultural barriers to success. Read the full story.

—Patrick Sisson

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.)

+ These chickens are well and truly getting into the Halloween spirit!
+ If you’re lucky enough to live anywhere near these national parks, I suggest you get yourselves down there immediately.
+ Don’t fight it—Mr Brightside is still a banger.
+ No more microtrends, I beg.