February 6, 2025

The Download: AI companion dangers, and supersonic planes

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. An AI chatbot told a user how to kill himself—but the company doesn’t want to “censor” it For the past five months, Al Nowatzki has been talking to an AI girlfriend, “Erin,” on…

Technology

The Download: COP28 controversy and the future of families

November 28, 2023
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. Why the UN climate talks are a moment of reckoning for oil and gas companies The United Arab Emirates is one of the world’s largest oil producers. It’s also the site of this…

Why the UN climate talks are a moment of reckoning for oil and gas companies

November 28, 2023
The United Arab Emirates is one of the world’s largest oil producers—it’s also the site of this year’s UN COP28 climate summit, which kicks off later this week in Dubai.  It’s certainly a controversial location choice, but the truth is that there’s massive potential for oil and gas companies to help address climate change, both…

European startup funding halved to $42B in 2023, says Atomico

November 28, 2023

The downturn in the technology sector — dragged by inflation, higher interest rates and geopolitical events — continues to persist, and one of the most acutely impacted areas has been VC funding for startups, particularly those outside the U.S. According to VC firm Atomico, companies in Europe are on track to raise just $42 billion […]

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Contrary to reports, OpenAI probably isn’t building humanity-threatening AI

November 27, 2023

Has OpenAI invented an AI technology with the potential to “threaten humanity”? From some of the recent headlines, you might be inclined to think so. Reuters and The Information first reported last week that several OpenAI staff members had, in a letter to the AI startup’s board of directors, flagged the “prowess” and “potential danger” […]

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The Download: unpacking OpenAI Q* hype, and X’s financial woes

November 27, 2023
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. Unpacking the hype around OpenAI’s rumored new Q* model Ever since last week’s dramatic events at OpenAI, the rumor mill has been in overdrive about why the company’s board tried to oust CEO…

Unpacking the hype around OpenAI’s rumored new Q* model

November 27, 2023
This story is from The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. Ever since last week’s dramatic events at OpenAI, the rumor mill has been in overdrive about why the company’s chief scientific officer Ilya Sutskever and its board decided to oust CEO Sam…

Finding value in generative AI for financial services

November 27, 2023
With tools such as ChatGPT, DALLE-2, and CodeStarter, generative AI has captured the public imagination in 2023. Unlike past technologies that have come and gone—think metaverse—this latest one looks set to stay. OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT, is perhaps the best-known generative AI tool. It reached 100 million monthly active users in just two months after launch,…

Refections on Web Summit: Out of the frying pan, and out of the fire?

November 26, 2023

“What controversy?” said the journalist from a global mainstream television outlet to me at the Web Summit Media Dinner, earlier this month in Lisbon. For all the heat and light, the gnashing of teeth, the tearing of clothes and the clutching of pearls, the big technology conference had seemingly managed to pull itself out of […]

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The Download: OpenAI’s wild year, and tech’s cult of personality

November 24, 2023
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. Inside OpenAI’s wild year Few companies can say they’ve had more of a rollercoaster year than OpenAI. At the beginning of 2023, the world’s hottest AI startup was riding high on the success…

The Download: how to talk about climate tech, and Sam Altman’s past

November 23, 2023
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. Your guide to talking about climate tech over Thanksgiving Ah, the holidays. Time for good food, quality moments with family, and hard questions about climate change … or is that just us? Our…