The Download: the risks of addictive AI, and hydrogen bikes’ limitations

—Zeyi Yang

The must-reads

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

1 Tech stocks in the US took a big plunge on Friday
Due to worries about the economy, and underwhelming returns on AI investments. (CNBC)
+ Optimism around AI is becoming more muted. (FT $)
+ Tech shares in Europe are down today too. (Reuters $)
+ What even is AI, anyway? No one seems to really agree. (MIT Technology Review)

2 How online falsehoods helped spark far-right rioting in the UK
Utter nonsense, some of it AI-generated, started circulating online just hours after a fatal stabbing attack in Southport. (The Guardian)
+ It doesn’t help that a prominent far-right agitator’s account was reinstated on X last year. (The Independent $)

3 OpenAI has a tool to catch AI-generated text, but won’t release it
It’s apparently 99.9% accurate, but the company worries it’d put people off using its products. (WSJ $)
+ Here’s how people really use AI chatbots. (WP $)

4 The US Justice Department is suing TikTok
It’s accusing the company of violating children’s privacy. (NPR)
+ The depressing truth about TikTok’s impending ban. (MIT Technology Review) 

5 What went wrong at Intel?
It’s struggling to capitalize on the chip industry boom, as Nvidia takes the technological lead. (Vox)
+ Nvidia is being probed by US antitrust officials, amid complaints it’s abusing its market dominance. (The Information $)
+ Here’s what to expect from the chip sector this year. (MIT Technology Review)

6 Elon Musk claims Neuralink implanted its device into a second person
And he says there’ll be plenty more to come this year, if all goes well. (Bloomberg $)
+ But Neuralink isn’t the only game in town. (WSJ $)
+ The first brain implant made of graphene is about to be tested in a clinical trial. (FT $)

7 How to protect yourself from wildfire smoke
Whatever you do, do not exercise outdoors if you’re in an affected area. (Wired $)
+ The Park Fire in California is now the state’s fourth-largest blaze on record. (Axios)

8 Companies are planning to fuel cargo ships with ammonia
It’s an unusual, but potentially effective, way to help cut greenhouse gas emissions. (IEEE Spectrum)
+ How ammonia could help clean up global shipping. (MIT Technology Review) 

9 Meet the influencers who’ve gone full carnivore 🥩
Some are convinced it’s repairing their gut. The evidence suggests otherwise. (The Cut $)

10 The limitations of Screen Time tools 
It’s how you’re using your phone, not just how much, that matters. (The Atlantic $)