The Download: mysterious exosomes, and AI’s e-waste issue

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On October 29, 2024

Technology tamfitronics

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.

Exosomes are touted as a trendy cure-all. We don’t know if they work.

There’s a trendy new cure-all in town—you might have seen ads pop up on social media or read rave reviews in beauty magazines.

Exosomes are being touted as a miraculous treatment for hair loss, aging skin, acne, eczema, pain conditions, long covid, and even neurological diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. That’s, of course, if you can afford the price tag—which can stretch to thousands of dollars.

But there’s a big problem with these big promises: We don’t fully understand how exosomes work—or what they even really are. Read our story.

—Jessica Hamzelou

AI will add to the e-waste problem. Here’s what we can do about it.

The news: Generative AI could add up to 5 million metric tons of e-waste in total by 2030, according to a new study. That’s a relatively small fraction of the current global total of over 60 million metric tons of e-waste each year. However, it’s still a significant part of a growing problem.

Under the hood: The primary contributor is high-performance computing hardware that’s used in data centers and server farms. That equipment is full of valuable metals and hazardous materials, and it’s being replaced at a rapid rate as AI companies race to adopt the most cutting-edge hardware to power their models.

What can be done: Expanding hardware’s lifespan is one of the most significant ways to cut down on e-waste. Refurbishing and reusing components can also play a significant role, as can designing hardware in ways that makes it easier to recycle and upgrade. Read the full story.

—Casey Crownhart

Militaries are great testing grounds for AI tech, says Palmer Luckey

War is a catalyst for technological change, and the last couple of years have been marred by high-profile conflicts around the world. Geopolitical tensions are still rising now.

Silicon Valley players are poised to benefit. One of them is Palmer Luckey, the founder of the virtual-reality headset company Oculus, which he sold to Facebook for $2 billion. After Luckey’s highly public ousting from Meta, he founded Anduril, which focuses on drones, cruise missiles, and other AI-enhanced technologies for the US Department of Defense. The company is now valued at $14 billion. We interviewed Luckey about his new project: headsets for the military.

But the use of AI for the military is a controversial topic, with a long and bitter history that stretches from Project Maven to killer robots. Read the full story.

—Melissa Heikkilä

This story is from The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter all about the latest in AI. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Monday.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 Strava is leaking the location of foreign leaders
Their bodyguards’ runs are revealing more than they ought to. (Le Monde)
+It’s shockingly easy to buy sensitive data about US military personnel.(MIT Technology Review)

2 A man who used AI to make child sexual abuse images has been jailed
His 18-year sentence is the first of its kind in the UK. (FT $)

3 Here’s what Trump plans to do if he wins a second term
The 900-page Project 2025 document provides plenty of hints. (The Verge)
+It would be hard for him to roll back the Green New Deal—but not impossible.(Axios)
+Russia, China and Iran are interfering in the election.(NYT $)
+But cybercriminals may pose an even greater threat.(Wired $)

4 Apple Intelligence is here
But it seems it’s still kinda dumb. (WP $)
+Meta is reportedly building its own AI search engine.(The Information $)
+ The trouble is, AI chatbots make stuff up. And it’s not a fully fixable problem. (MIT Technology Review)

5 Medium is drowning in AI slop
Almost half of the posts on there now are probably AI-generated. (Wired $)

6 What steampunk can teach tech today
We’re too keen on removing friction—people still like fiddling with dials and gears. (New Yorker $)
+Prosthetics designers are coming up with new ways to augment our bodies.(MIT Technology Review)

7 This is what wargaming looks like now
Militaries around the world use software called Command PE built by a tiny British game publisher. (WSJ $)

8 Tiktok’s founder has become China’s richest man
Zhang Yiming’s wealth has almost doubled in the last year, to $49 billion. (BBC)
+How China takes extreme measures to keep teens off TikTok.(MIT Technology Review)

9 How complex life started to flourish 🦠
You can thank eukaryotes, a type of cell that emerged about 3 billion years ago. (Quanta $)

10 Oregon Trail is being turned into an action-comedy movie
With musical numbers. Yes, seriously. (Hollywood Reporter)

Quote of the day

“I thought it would conquer the world.”

—Tim Walz, the Democratic nominee for vice president, spoke for us all (well, for me anyway), when he waxed lyrical about the 1999 Sega Dreamcast video game console on a Twitch stream last weekend, the Washington Post reports.

The big story

Meet the radio-obsessed civilian shaping Ukraine’s drone defense

September 2024

Drones have come to define the brutal conflict in Ukraine that has now dragged on for more than two and a half years. And most rely on radio communications—a technology that Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov has obsessed over since childhood.

While Flash is now a civilian, the former officer has still taken it upon himself to inform his country’s defense in all matters related to radio. He studies Russian transmissions and tries to learn about the problems facing troops.

In this race for survival—as each side constantly tries to best the other, only to start all over again when the other inevitably catches up—Ukrainian soldiers need to develop creative solutions, and fast. As Ukraine’s wartime radio guru, Flash may just be one of their best hopes for doing that. Read the full story.

—Charlie Metcalfe

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 tweet ’em at me.)

+ Timothée Chalamet turned up at his own look-alike contest in New York last weekend. Spoiler alert: he didn’t win.

+ Learn these basic rules to make veg-based meals delicious.

+ There’s something very special about ancient trees.

+ Do you tend to please everyone but yourself? Here’s how to stop. (NOW $)