The Download: threats from space mirrors and credit for AI drugs
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. This company’s plans to deploy space mirrors could jeopardize the ni…
This company’s plans to deploy space mirrors could jeopardize the night sky for many
A company that plans to beam sunlight from space to Earth on demand might unintentionally brighten the night sky for many more people than intended, according to a new study. Later this year, the US company Reflect Orbit…
When AI designs a drug, who gets the credit?
When the biotech company Insilico Medicine used its computer models to propose a promising drug for pulmonary fibrosis, it enthusiastically claimed in a press release that the molecule had been “discovered by” its ge…
Mother tongue
“Daddy?” Theo curled against my side in bed. “Where do words go when they die?” I’d orchestrated the bedtime routine flawlessly: bath (taken), teeth (brushed), potty (tinkled), books (two), song (one, poorly su…
Debates over AI consciousness are a trap
“Runaway” AI, “rogue” agents, and “autonomous” actors—the current rhetoric would have you believe that AI agents are not only awake and aware, but angry at their creators. Prominent tech leaders such as Dem…