This is todays edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of whats going on in the world of technology.The AI lab waging a guerrilla war over exploitative AIBack in 2022, the tech community was buzzing over image-generating AI models, such as Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and OpenAIs DALL-E 2, which could follow simple word prompts to depict fantasylands or whimsical chairs made of avocados.But artists saw this technological wonder as a new kind of theft. They felt the models were effectively stealing and replacing their work.Ben Zhao, a computer security researcher at the University of Chicago, was listening. He and his colleagues have built arguably the most prominent weapons in an artists arsenal against nonconsensual AI scraping: two tools called Glaze and Nightshade that add barely perceptible perturbations to an images pixels so that machine-learning models cannot read them properly.But Zhao sees the tools as part of a battle to slowly tilt the balance of power from large corporations back to individual creators. Read the full story.Melissa HeikkilHave we entered the golden age of plant engineering?In the 1960s, biologists selective breeding of plants helped spark a period of transformative agricultural innovation known as the Green Revolution. By the 1990s, the yields of wheat and rice had doubled worldwide, staving off bouts of recurring famine.The Green Revolution was so successful that dire predictions of worse famine to comefueled by alarming population growthno longer seemed likely. But it had its limitsonly so much yield could be coaxed from plants using conventional breeding techniques.Now, more precise gene-editing technologies could shave years off the time it takes for new plant varieties to make it from the lab to federally approved seed products. Read the full story.Bill GourgeyThis piece is from the latest print issue of MIT Technology Review, which is all about the weird and wonderful world of food. If you dont already, subscribe to receive future copies once they land.MIT Technology Review Narrated: Is robotics about to have its own ChatGPT moment?Robots that can do many of the things humans do in the home have been a dream of robotics research since the inception of the field in the 1950s.While engineers have made great progress in getting robots to work in tightly controlled environments like labs and factories, the home has proved difficult to design for. But now, the field is at an inflection point. A new generation of researchers believes that generative AI could give robots the ability to learn new skills and adapt to new environments faster than ever before. This new approach, just maybe, can finally bring robots out of the factory and into the mainstream.This is our latest story to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, whichwere publishing each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as its released.The must-readsIve combed the internet to find you todays most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.1 Donald Trump wants Elon Musk to maximize government efficiencyDespite claiming to be a department, technically its more of an advisory board. (Wired $)+ It will allegedly operate outside of the federal government. (WSJ $)+ Expect Musk to treat the US government like his loss-making social network. (Bloomberg $)2 The crypto industry has already started lobbying TrumpExecutives are wasting no time in presenting the President-elect with their wish lists. (NYT $)+ Were witnessing the industrys nascent attempts to make itself institutional. (NY Mag $)+ The Trump Pump is showing no signs of slowing. (CNN)3 Advertisers are considering staging a return to XIn a bid to curry favor with Musk and his political leverage. (FT $)+ Silicon Valley is decidedly more Trump-friendly than it used to be. (Insider $)+ Bluesky is starting to look more and more appealing. (Slate $)4 Major AI players are struggling to make new breakthroughsFunneling money into new products isnt having the desired result. (Bloomberg $)5 The worlds e-waste is actually pretty valuableTheres a lot of gold to be stripped out from those old circuit boards. (Economist $)+ AI will add to the e-waste problem. Heres what we can do about it. (MIT Technology Review)6 DNA testing is ushering in a new age of discriminationAnd you could be denied medical or life insurance because of it. (The Atlantic $)+ How to delete your 23andMe data. (MIT Technology Review)7 How to build the perfect humanoid robotUnfortunately, theyll be found in factories and warehouses before they make it to our homes. (IEEE Spectrum)+ A skeptics guide to humanoid-robot videos. (MIT Technology Review)8 The US is using AI to seek out critical mineralsAccess to regular supplies could lessen its reliance on China and Russia. (Undark Magazine)+ The race to produce rare earth elements. (MIT Technology Review)9 Apples AirTags can now share their location with airlinesWhich should (hopefully) minimize the chances of losing your luggage. (WP $)+ Its next device? An AI wall-mounted tablet, supposedly. (Bloomberg $)10 This new mathematics benchmark is being kept secretTo prevent AI models from training against it. (Ars Technica)+ This AI system makes human tutors better at teaching children math. (MIT Technology Review)Quote of the dayDont bring a watermark to a gunfight.AI researcher Oren Etzioni warns the industry to avoid putting too much faith in voluntary standards to actively prevent malicious actors from gaming the system, TechCrunch reports.The big storyThe great AI consciousness conundrumOctober 2023AI consciousness isnt just a devilishly tricky intellectual puzzle; its a morally weighty problem with potentially dire consequences that philosophers, cognitive scientists, and engineers alike are currently grappling with.Fail to identify a conscious AI, and you might unintentionally subjugate a being whose interests ought to matter. Mistake an unconscious AI for a conscious one, and you risk compromising human safety and happiness for the sake of an unthinking, unfeeling hunk of silicon and code.Over the past few decades, a small research community has doggedly attacked the question of what consciousness is and how it works. The effort has yielded real progress. And now, with the rapid advance of AI technology, these insights could offer our only guide to the untested, morally fraught waters of artificial consciousness. Read the full story.Grace HuckinsWe can still have nice thingsA place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet em at me.)+ Small changes can improve your life, from debobbling your clothes to oiling your keyholes.+ Woah: these fascinating deep sea creatures can turn back the clock on aging and revert to a more youthful form.+ TikTok is really into onions. Yes, onions. + As if filmmaking wasnt stressful enough, these movies were all completed in a single take.

Today, Apple unveiled Final Cut Pro 11, along with powerful updates to Final Cut Pro for iPad, Final Cut Camera, and Logic Pro.

Apple Arcade adds 15 new games to the service, including Skate City: New York, Talking Tom Blast Park, Gears & Goo, and FINAL FANTASY IV (3D REMAKE)+.

Apple's professional apps, Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Camera, and Logic Pro, have all received major updates. Here's what you need to know.Final Cut Pro 11 is now available for macOS, while Logic Pro has also received an update.There is a suite of Mac, iPhone, and iPad apps offered by Apple for everyone from the novice to Hollywood professional for audio and film development. Several have been updated with new features that address new formats offered by iPhone 16 like Spatial Video and 120 fps 4K video.Apple provided updates to Logic Pro, Final Cut Pro, and Final Cut Camera. More minor updates were provided to the Compressor app and iMovie. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Apple's long-overdue overhaul of the Mac mini shrinks an already great package even more, yet it still punches far above its weight class.M4 Mac miniI've owned a Mac mini since the very first G4 model. In an era of bulky towers and a G4 Cube just years before that impressed but didn't deliver, the little box brought Apple power to a small desktop package, and I was enthused.And since then, I've had one in service 24/7 constantly. Even now with a Mac Studio on my desk, there's one upstairs in use with a family member, one in the other room silently humming away acting as my network attached storage and test platform, and a few more on my shelf that I've hoarded over the years, just waiting for an application. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

The YOD Groups Lumo Bistro, Dnipro, Ukraine, project was inspired by modern Italy, or rather a mix of its various cultural facetshttps://www.e-architect.com/ukraine/lumo-bistro-dnipro-ukraine-restaurant#bistro #Ukraine #italy #restaurant #architectureThe YOD Group's Lumo Bistro, Dnipro, Ukraine, project was inspired by modern Italy, or rather a mix of its various cultural facets

StudioCANs Moreira de Cnegos Health centre, in Guimares, Portugal, from a volumetric point of view, is based on the shape of a star of life, an international symbol for medical serviceshttps://www.e-architect.com/portugal/centro-de-saude-de-moreira-de-conegos-portugal#healthcenter #portugal #staroflife #architectureDesigned by StudioCAN, the new Moreira de Cnegos Health Center, in Guimares form a volumetric point of view

Big news for the architecture community! The Chicago Architecture Biennial has appointed Florencia Rodriguez as Artistic Director for its 2025 edition, making her the first Latina in this role. Her vision for Shift: Architecture in Times of Radical Change will explore how architecture addresses pressing issues like housing, migration, and ecology, while expanding accessibility through virtual and youth-focused initiatives. Join us in celebrating this exciting chapter for CABs 10th anniversary! #CAB6 #Architecture #FlorenciaRodriguez #ChicagoBiennial #Urbanism#CABShift #ChicagoArchitectureBiennialRodriguez to lead CABs 10th anniversary edition, exploring Shift: Architecture in Times of Radical Change.

Step into a surreal world at Maison&Objet 2025! This January, experience the theme "Sur/Reality" in Paris as everyday objects take on a fantastical twist, from Bluetooth phonographs to cloud-shaped seats. Experience cutting-edge designs that blur the line between reality and imagination. #MaisonObjet #DesignFairParis bi-annual design show gets whimsical with Sur/Reality theme, presenting fantastical versions of everyday items.

Airbnb has announced a new partnership with Paramount Pictures for a unique experience as part of the promotional campaign for Ridley Scotts newGladiator IIsequel.Its setting is the famed Colosseum in Rome. Lucky guests will be guided via concierge into the structures hypogeum for a special one-night-only tour before selecting battle armor and readying for combat in the moonlit arena. Fans of the ancient tradition shouldn't miss the opportunity to register here by December 9. Please note: this is not an overnight stay. Ancient Roman posca sports drinks are also not included.Image: Christopher Anderson/AirbnbImage: Christopher Anderson/AirbnbImage: Christopher Anderson/AirbnbImage: Daniele Castellaro/Airbnb