The Download: OpenAI’s defense contract, and making food from microbes
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Donald Trump has appointed a billionaire astronaut to head up NASA
Jarad Isaacman has been into space twice, and was the first private citizen to carry out a spacewalk. (CBS News)
+ Unsurprisingly, he’s also a close associate of Elon Musk. (Fast Company $)
+ Will the appointment make Musk more amenable to NASA? (Economist $)
2 The price of a single bitcoin has passed $100,000
It’s a remarkable milestone for the famously volatile cryptocurrency. (NYT $)
+ The industry’s faithful hope Donald Trump will pass crypto-friendly laws. (The Guardian)
+ Congrats, investors. What comes next, though? (FT $)
3 Humane isn’t giving up on its AI pin
Despite few sales, it wants to embed the device in your phone and car. (The Verge)+ The pin made a special appearance in our inaugural AI Hype Index. (MIT Technology Review)
4 Amazon deliveries are slower to arrive in low-income zip codes
Despite the DC residents paying for the same Prime program as their richer neighbors. (WP $)
+ A lawsuit claims Amazon covered up the real reason for the delays. (Ars Technica)
5 Law enforcement has busted two major crypto laundering networks
Criminals swapped huge sums of cash for crypto across crime networks. (Wired $)
+ Over in Dubai, crypto scams are running rampant. (Bloomberg $)
6 Where it all went wrong for the world’s biggest offshore wind company
Ørsted was riding high on the clean energy wave—until it wasn’t. (FT $)
+ The UK is failing spectacularly to harness wind power properly. (Bloomberg $)
+ What’s next for offshore wind. (MIT Technology Review)
7 OnlyFans has quietly launched in China
Although pornography remains illegal in the country. (CNN)
+ Chinese gamers are using a Steam wallpaper app to get porn past the censors. (MIT Technology Review)
