The Download: greenhouse gases, and how AI could affect inequality

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.

A brief guide to the greenhouse gases driving climate change

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is used in high-voltage equipment on the grid. It’s also, somewhat inconveniently, a monster greenhouse gas.

Greenhouse gases are those that trap heat in the atmosphere. SF6 and other fluorinated gases can be thousands of times more powerful at warming the planet than carbon dioxide, and yet, because they tend to escape in relatively small amounts, we hardly ever talk about them.

Taken alone, their effects might be minor compared with those of carbon dioxide, but together, these gases add significantly to the challenge of addressing climate change.

Casey Crownhart, our senior climate reporter, has drawn up a quick cheat sheet on the most important greenhouse gases you need to know about. Check it out here.

This story is from The Spark, our weekly climate technology newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday.

What will AI mean for economic inequality?

Prominent AI researchers expect the arrival of artificial general intelligence anywhere between “the next couple of years” and “possibly never.” At the same time, leading economists disagree about the potential impact of AI.

Some anticipate a future of perpetually accelerating productivity, while others project more modest gains. But most experts agree that technological advancement, however buoyant, is no guarantee that everyone benefits. 

Ensuring that AI helps create a more inclusive future remains one of the least invested-in areas of AI governance. But paying attention to the factors that will influence the interplay between AI and inequality can help us make the idea that AI will benefit everyone into more than just a pipe dream. Read the full story.

—Katya Klinova

This piece is from the latest print issue of MIT Technology Review, which is celebrating 125 years of the magazine! If you don’t already, subscribe now to get 25% off future copies once they land.

The must-reads

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

1 The US has accused Russia of running an election propaganda operation  
It claims Vladimir Putin’s government paid US right-wing influencers to push Russia-favorable narratives. (CBS News)
+ A Tennessee-based firm received close to $10 million from state-backed RT. (Mother Jones)
+ Its commentators deny any knowledge of the deal with Russia. (AP News)

2 Nvidia’s AI chip dominance is under investigation
Antitrust officials allege it penalizes buyers that use other chips besides its own. (Bloomberg $)
+ The world’s third most valuable company denies it was subpoenaed. (CNBC)
+ Its tumble doesn’t necessarily indicate we’re bound to go into recession, though. (Vox)
+ What’s next in chips. (MIT Technology Review)

3 The Internet Archive has lost a big copyright battle
The US Court of Appeals upheld its previous ruling that it had violated the law. (Wired $) 
+ The race to save our online lives from a digital dark age. (MIT Technology Review)

4 YouTube is curbing teenagers’ exposure to weight-focused videos
In response to experts’ warnings that such material can prove harmful over time. (The Guardian)

5 Advertisers are planning to leave X in record numbers
Unsurprisingly, they don’t want to be associated with the kind of extreme content that’s increasingly filling users’ timelines. (FT $)

6 Kamala Harris’ campaign team are making ads aimed at overly-online people
The overwhelming clips are squarely aimed at people with ‘brain rot’. (404 Media)

7 Spyware makers are continuing to thrive
Despite international efforts to rein them in. (WP $)
+ US cybersecurity companies are unknowingly hiring spies from North Korea. (WSJ $)

8 Local governments across the US all use this mediocre software
The problem is, they don’t really have a choice. (Bloomberg $)
+ Government technology is famously bad. It doesn’t have to be. (MIT Technology Review)

9 These autonomous cars aren’t really autonomous at all
They’re actually controlled by humans thousands of miles away. (NYT $)

10 Airplane WiFi is pretty awful 
SpaceX’s Starlink thinks its satellite networks are the solution to the problem. (WSJ $)

Quote of the day

 “Three things are certain in life: death, taxes and RT’s interference in the US elections.”

—Russian state media network RT, formerly known as Russia Today, mocks the US Justice Department’s accusations it facilitated a covert US election interference campaign in an email to Reuters.

The big story

How to stop a state from sinking

April 2024

In a 10-month span between 2020 and 2021, southwest Louisiana saw five climate-related disasters, including two destructive hurricanes. As if that wasn’t bad enough, more storms are coming, and many areas are not prepared.

But some government officials and state engineers are hoping there is an alternative: elevation. The $6.8 billion Southwest Coastal Louisiana Project is betting that raising residences by a few feet, coupled with extensive work to restore coastal boundary lands, will keep Louisianans in their communities.

Ultimately, it’s something of a last-ditch effort to preserve this slice of coastline, even as some locals pick up and move inland and as formal plans for managed retreat become more popular in climate-­vulnerable areas across the country and the rest of the world. Read the full story.

—Xander Peters

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.)

+ A new Terminator series features a new explanation for the film’s slightly dodgy grasp of time travel.
+ The color of the season? Err, it’s brown ($)
+ Now That’s What I Call A Really Great Playlist—featuring all the songs on the world-famous compilation since 1983.
+ International ice cream, what could be better?