This is the edition for today of The Download, our weekday newsletter delivering a daily overview of what’s happening in the tech world.
OpenAI is significantly influential in India. Its models display caste bias.
According to an MIT Technology Review investigation, caste bias prevails in OpenAI’s products, such as ChatGPT. Although CEO Sam Altman claimed India as its second-largest market during the GPT-5 launch in August, we discovered that both this recent model, which powers ChatGPT, and Sora, OpenAI’s text-to-video creator, demonstrate caste bias. This jeopardizes the reinforcement of discriminatory ideologies that are presently being overlooked.
Addressing caste bias in AI models has become increasingly urgent. In modern India, numerous caste-oppressed Dalit individuals have risen above poverty, having achieved success as doctors, civil servants, and scholars; some have even ascended to the presidency of India. Nevertheless, AI models persist in perpetuating socio-economic and occupational stereotypes that portray Dalits as unclean, impoverished, and confined to menial positions. Read the complete story.
—Nilesh Christopher
MIT Technology Review Narrated: how are videos generated by AI models?
This year has seen significant advancements in video generation. The downside is that creators must contend with AI-generated content, resulting in social media feeds inundated with fabricated news videos. Additionally, video generation consumes a vast amount of energy, often far exceeding that of text or image generation.
With AI-generated videos becoming ubiquitous, let’s take a moment to delve into the technology powering these creations.
This marks our most recent story transitioned into an MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, available each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Simply head to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to receive our latest releases as they drop.
The essential reads
I’ve scoured the web to curate today’s most engaging, significant, alarming, and intriguing tech stories for you.
1 Taiwan rejects the US request for chip production
Taiwan has resisted a US demand to relocate 50% of chip manufacturing to America. (Bloomberg $)
+ Taiwan asserts it never consented to such an obligation. (CNN)
+ Taiwan’s “silicon shield” might be weakening. (MIT Technology Review)
2 Chatbots might not be replacing jobs after all
New research on the labor market reveals minimal evidence of job loss due to AI. (FT $)
+ There’s concern that AI will take over jobs. This has been a common theme before. (MIT Technology Review)
3 OpenAI introduces a new Sora video application
It represents the latest effort to create a social dimension for AI. (Axios)
+ Copyright owners must request their material’s removal. (WSJ $)
4 Researchers have created embryos from human skin cells for the first time
This breakthrough may enable individuals experiencing infertility and same-sex couples to have children. (BBC)
+ Exploring how robots are transforming fertility science. (WP $)
5 Elon Musk claims to be creating a competitor to Wikipedia
Which I’m sure will be completely accurate and unbiased. (Gizmodo)
+ Exploring how AI and Wikipedia have pushed vulnerable languages into a crisis. (MIT Technology Review)
6 The resurgence of America’s chip industry is in turmoil
Following funding cuts from the multi-billion dollar initiative aimed at revitalizing the sector. (Politico)
7 ICE intends to purchase a tool for tracking phone locations
Despite lacking a warrant for it. (404 Media)
8 The challenges with scaling EV production
Solid-state batteries are the ultimate goal—but is full commercialization achievable? (Knowable Magazine)
+ Why larger EVs aren’t necessarily superior. (MIT Technology Review)
9 DoorDash’s food delivery robot is set to take to the roads of Arizona
Previous attempts have faltered. Can Dot prevail? (TechCrunch)
10 What it’s like to have ChatGPT as a therapist
It excels at providing responses that it believes will please you. (New Yorker $)
+ Some therapists are discreetly utilizing ChatGPT. Clients are feeling triggered. (MIT Technology Review)
Quote of the day
“Please treat adults as adults.”
—A user on X expresses frustration at OpenAI’s decision to limit the topics ChatGPT can engage with, Ars Technica reports.
One more thing
Africa combats increasing hunger by revisiting ancient foods
After years of decline, global hunger is once again on the rise—particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, influenced by conflicts, economic repercussions from the covid-19 crisis, and severe weather conditions.
Native African crops are frequently more nutritious and better equipped to handle the increasingly hot and arid climate, yet many have been overlooked by scientific attention, making them more susceptible to diseases and pests and leading to yields far below their theoretical capabilities.
The critical question now is whether researchers, governments, and farmers can unite effectively to bring these crops to the table and provide nutrition and energy to Africans from various backgrounds, enabling them to flourish regardless of the challenges posed by climate change. Read the complete story.
—Jonathan W. Rosen
We can still enjoy nice things
A space for enjoyment, comfort, and distraction to elevate your spirits. (Have any suggestions? Send me a message or send ’em my way.)
+ The remarkable Stonehenge remains a mystery after all these years (4,600 of them).
+ Björk’s VR experience appears typically surreal.
+ We might finally have insights into the will-o’-the-wisp phenomenon.
+ Instructions on how to create your very own Commodore 64 Cartridge.
