Summary
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. South Korea’s hottest new bachelors are chip workers Baek, a 35-year-old manager at the South Korean semiconductor titan SK Hynix, was enrolled in a matchmaking company a year ago. In a move typical of anxious South Korean parents, his mother signed him up, hoping to find a good wife for her son. Lately, says Baek, he and his coworkers are having better luck finding dates—perhaps because of the dazzling bonuses they just got. Flush with eye-popping profits from the AI chip boom, SK Hynix agreed to pay 10% of operating profits to employees, which translates to an extra ) + The UN also said AI could worsen global inequality. (Guardian) 2 An Israeli battlefield system identified 850,000 targets in Gaza and Lebanon Elbit Systems says it detected targets in real time. (Guardian) + Congress wants to permanently integrate US and Israeli defence tech. (Intercept) + How AI turned the Iran conflict into theater. (MIT Technology Review) 3 EU transparency rules have exposed Microsoft’s tax haven tactics A new report shows how it shifts profits around to reduce tax bills. (NYT ) + It will attempt to grab the telescope with three robotic arms. (BBC) + The observatory studies gamma-ray bursts. (NBC News) + We’re putting more stuff into space than ever. (MIT Technology Review) 5 Chinese tech giants are disabling humanlike AI due to new regulations ByteDance and Alibaba have shut down the features. (SCMP) + Beijing is tightening its AI regulations. (Nikkei Asia) 6 Anthropic wants to develop its own drugs The company says it will pursue treatments for “neglected” diseases. (Verge) + It’s also got a new AI for science product. (MIT Technology Review) 7 India is testing an alternative to Silicon Valley’s AI playbook It’s based on small, offline, multilingual, open-source AI. (Rest of World) + India’s AI infrastructure is also attracting investors. (CNBC) 8 Big Tech has suddenly flipped on the AI jobs wipeout scenario Negative public opinion has sparked a more optimistic public stance. (WSJ $) + The AI jobs hysteria needs a reality check. (MIT Technology Review) 9 Midjourney has accused Hollywood studios of covertly using AI It’s escalated its legal fight with Disney, Universal, and Warner. (Gizmodo) 10 A martian rock has lots of carbon on it, and it’s not clear why Scientists cannot yet tell whether biology played a role. (Ars Technica) Quote of the day “It’s just his AI and my AI going back and forth.” —An anonymous employee explains why she’s struggling to develop a good working relationship with her boss, Fortune reports. One More Thing The AI relationship revolution is already here AI is everywhere, and it’s starting to alter our relationships with our spouses, kids, colleagues, friends—and even ourselves. Although the technology remains unpredictable and sometimes baffling, individuals from all across the world and from all walks of life are finding it useful, supportive, and comforting too. People are using large language models to seek validation, mediate marital arguments, and help navigate interactions with their community. They’re using it for parenting support, self-care, and even to fall in love.