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.
OpenAI launches Operator—an agent that can use a computer for you
What’s new: After weeks of buzz, OpenAI has released Operator, its first AI agent. Operator is a web app that can carry out simple online tasks in a browser, such as booking concert tickets or filling an online grocery order. The app is powered by a new model called Computer-Using Agent—CUA for short—built on top of OpenAI’s multimodal large language model GPT-4o.
Why it matters: OpenAI claims that Operator outperforms similar rival tools, including Anthropic’s Computer Use and Google DeepMind’s Mariner. The fact that three of the world’s top AI firms have converged on the same vision of what agent-based models could be makes one thing clear. The battle for AI supremacy has a new frontier—and it’s our computer screens. Read the full story.
—Will Douglas Heaven
+ If you’re interested in reading more about AI agents, check out this piece explaining why they’re AI’s next big thing.
What’s next for robots
—James O’Donnell
In the many conversations I’ve had about robots, I’ve also found that most people tend to fall into three camps. Some are upbeat and vocally hopeful that a future is just around the corner in which machines can expertly handle much of what is currently done by humans, from cooking to surgery. Others are scared: of job losses, injuries, and whatever problems may come up as we try to live side by side.
The final camp, which I think is the largest, is just unimpressed. We’ve been sold lots of promises that robots will transform society ever since the first robotic arm was installed on an assembly line at a General Motors plant in New Jersey in 1961. Few of those promises have panned out so far.
But this year, there’s reason to think that even those staunchly in the “bored” camp will be intrigued by what’s happening in the robot races. Here’s a glimpse at what to keep an eye on this year. Read the full story.
This piece is part of MIT Technology Review’s What’s Next series, looking across industries, trends, and technologies to give you a first look at the future. You can read the rest of them here.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Facebook and Instagram blocked and hid abortion pill posts
But Meta denies it’s anything to do with its recent hate speech restriction U-turn. (NYT $)
+ The company’s widespread changes are making advertisers nervous. (Insider $)
+ A contraceptive drug could act as an abortion pill substitute. (The Atlantic $)
2 Donald Trump’s staff are furious with Elon Musk
His decision to trash talk the President’s new AI deal is ruffling aides’ feathers. (Politico)
+ For once, Trump doesn’t seem to want to wade in. (CNN)
+ Stargate’s newest data center will be built in the small Texan city of Abilene. (Bloomberg $)
3 Watch the Trump administration delete agency pages in real time
An agency GitHub records the documents, handbooks and bots as they’re deleted or amended. (404 Media)
4 Central Europe’s power grid is vulnerable to attack
Its facilities’ unencrypted radio signals leave it wide open to malicious interference. (Ars Technica)
+ The race to replace the powerful greenhouse gas that underpins the power grid. (MIT Technology Review)
5 OpenAI’s conversion to becoming a for-profit is under investigation
California’s attorney general wants to know more about its asset transfer plans. (The Markup)
+ One major obstacle is determining how much equity Microsoft would hold. (FT $)
6 WeRide has its sights set on becoming a driverless power player
The Chinese company has ambitious plans to expand all over the world. (WSJ $)
+ Meanwhile, Tesla is issuing a safety update to 1.2 million cars in China. (Bloomberg $)
+ How Wayve’s driverless cars will meet one of their biggest challenges yet. (MIT Technology Review)
7 How fungi spores can help save endangered plants
But it’s a delicate balancing act. (Knowable Magazine)
+ Africa fights rising hunger by looking to foods of the past. (MIT Technology Review)
8 The fight over our tech-addled attention span
It’s not that we can’t focus—it’s what we’re focusing on. (New Yorker $)
9 TikTok is still MIA from US app stores
Opportunists are flogging iPhones with the pre-installed app for eye-watering prices. (Insider $)
10 How random is Spotify’s shuffle, really?
And can algorithms be depended on to deal in true randomness? (FT $)
Quote of the day
“I can’t imagine that I personally can make any difference in their wealth, power or influence. But I can’t be a part of offering them my life and my joy to then turn it back around and make money off of me.”
—Michael Raine, a 50-year old Facebook and Instagram user, explains to the Washington Post why he doesn’t want to contribute to the sprawling wealth of Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg any more.
The big story
How to stop a state from sinking
In a 10-month span between 2020 and 2021, southwest Louisiana saw five climate-related disasters, including two destructive hurricanes. As if that wasn’t bad enough, more storms are coming, and many areas are not prepared.
But some government officials and state engineers are hoping there is an alternative: elevation. The $6.8 billion Southwest Coastal Louisiana Project is betting that raising residences by a few feet will keep Louisianans in their communities.
Ultimately, it’s something of a last-ditch effort to preserve this slice of coastline, even as some locals pick up and move inland and as formal plans for managed retreat become more popular in climate-vulnerable areas across the country and the rest of the world. Read the full story.
—Xander Peters
We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)
+ How two enterprising actors staged a daring performance of Hamlet inside Grand Theft Auto
+ Warning: these movies are dangerous!
+ Madonna released Material Girl 40 years ago this week—and changed the face of pop forever.
+ And finally, what everyone has been dying to know—do dogs really watch TV?
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