The Download: AI agents, and how to detect a lie

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. What are AI agents? When ChatGPT was first released, everyone in AI was talking about the new generation of AI assistants. But over the past year, that excitement has turned to a new…
The Download: AI agents, and how to detect a lie

“I’m so cute; please watch my campaign broadcast.” 

—Airi Uchino, a candidate in Tokyo’s forthcoming governor elections, takes a novel approach in trying to secure residents’ votes, the Associated Press reports. 

The big story

How culture drives foul play on the internet, and how new “upcode” can protect us

August 2023

From Bored Apes and Fancy Bears, to Shiba Inu coins, self-­replicating viruses, and whales, the internet is crawling with fraud, hacks, and scams.

And while new technologies come and go, they change little about the fact that online illegal operations exist because some people are willing to act illegally, and others fall for the stories they tell.

Ultimately, online crime is a human story. But why does it work, and how can we protect ourselves from falling for such schemes? Read the full story.