The Download: AI replicas, and China’s climate role
MIT Technology Review Narrated: The world’s on the verge of a carbon storage boom
In late 2023, one of California’s largest oil and gas producers secured draft permits from the US Environmental Protection Agency to develop a new type of well in an oil field. If approved, it intends to drill a series of boreholes down to a sprawling sedimentary formation roughly 6,000 feet below the surface, where it will inject tens of millions of metric tons of carbon dioxide to store it away forever.
Hundreds of similar projects are looming across the state, the US, and the world. Proponents hope it’s the start of a sort of oil boom in reverse, kick-starting a process through which the world will eventually bury more greenhouse gas than it adds to the atmosphere. But opponents insist these efforts will prolong the life of fossil-fuel plants, allow air and water pollution to continue, and create new health and environmental risks.
This is our latest story to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we’re publishing each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. 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 How the Trump administration could hack your phone
Spyware acquired by the US government in September could fairly easily be turned on its own citizens. (New Yorker $)
+ Here’s how you can fight back against being digitally spied upon. (The Guardian)
2 The DOJ is trying to force Google to sell off Chrome
Whether Trump will keep pushing it through is unclear, though. (WP $)
+ Some financial and legal experts argue that just selling Chrome is not enough to address antitrust issues. (Wired $)
3 There’s a booming ‘AI pimping’ industry
People are stealing videos from real adult content creators, giving them AI-generated faces, and monetizing their bodies. (Wired $)
+ This viral AI avatar app undressed me—without my consent. (MIT Technology Review)
4 Here’s Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy plan for federal employees
Large-scale firings and an end to any form of remote work. (WSJ $)
5 The US is scaring everyone with its response to bird flu
It’s done remarkably little to show it’s trying to contain the outbreak. (NYT $)
+ Virologists are getting increasingly nervous about how it could evolve and spread. (MIT Technology Review)
