The Download: AIDS denialism, and AI safety mechanisms

August 7, 2024
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. How covid conspiracies led to an alarming resurgence in AIDS denialism Several million people were listening in February when Joe Rogan falsely declared that “party drugs” were an “important factor in AIDS.” His…

What to know about China’s push for hydrogen-powered transportation

August 7, 2024
This story first appeared in China Report, MIT Technology Review’s newsletter about technology in China. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Tuesday. There’s a decent chance you’ve heard of hydrogen-powered vehicles but never seen one. Over 18,000 are in the US, almost exclusively in California. On the outside they look just like traditional vehicles,…

How covid conspiracies led to an alarming resurgence in AIDS denialism

August 7, 2024
Several million people were listening in February when Joe Rogan falsely declared that “party drugs” were an “important factor in AIDS.” His guest on The Joe Rogan Experience, the former evolutionary biology professor turned contrarian podcaster Bret Weinstein, agreed with him: The “evidence” that AIDS is not caused by HIV is, he said, “surprisingly compelling.”…