This edition of The Download rounds up technology and science stories from MIT Technology Review, led by a climate dispatch from Belem, Brazil. Attendees at this year’s UN climate talks faced oppressive heat, flooding and a fire that delayed negotiations. Despite urgency from some delegates and the president of Brazil framing the conference as one of action, the final draft agreement did not include the phrase “fossil fuels.” The item’s author, Casey Crownhart, questions why formal recognition of the primary drivers of emissions remains so difficult even as emissions and global temperatures reach record highs.
Health coverage in this issue spotlights a surge in noninvasive diagnostics for endometriosis. The condition causes debilitating pain and heavy bleeding in more than 11% of reproductive-age women in the United States and typically takes nearly 10 years to diagnose, in part because roughly half of cases do not appear on scans and surgery is required to obtain tissue. Colleen de Bellefonds reports that a new generation of tests could accelerate diagnosis and improve management, with the story drawn from the last print issue of MIT Technology Review magazine.
The newsletter’s must-reads and features cover a range of technology topics. Headlines include OpenAI’s claim that a teenager circumvented safety features and the company’s subsequent refutation of liability in the 16-year old’s death, debate over public-health appointments at the CDC, and a study suggesting Artificial Intelligence could already replace 12% of the US workforce. A cultural piece traces roots of modern Artificial Intelligence to B.F. Skinner’s pigeon experiments and behaviorist ideas. The issue also notes a quote from Pope Leo XIV cautioning against overreliance on Artificial Intelligence and a lighter section of links and curiosities under the banner “we can still have nice things.”
