The Download: how people fall for pig butchering schemes, and saving glaciers
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Summary
MIT Technology Review’s newsletters, The Download and The Spark, provide their readers with in-depth analyses on current events in the tech industry.
In its recent edition, The Download explored the online “pig butchering” scam industry, where victims are ensnared in romantic relationships and subsequently defrauded of money.
The article interviews ex-employees and experts, who reveal that global tech companies, including social media and dating platforms as well as messaging apps and cryptocurrencies, have enabled the industry to become highly industrialised.
However, the very same companies could also be instrumental in dismantling such scam syndicates.
Meanwhile, The Spark highlighted the urgent need to study glacier collapse and the potential benefits of radically interventions to save them, including refreezing them in place.
The newsletter also covered the latest news, including the announcement of Trump’s 25% tariffs on imported cars and parts and the development of China’s AI system for increasing online censorship. other stories covered include the development of OpenAI’s new image generator and Trump’s attempts to reduce tariffs on China to encourage a TikTok deal.