This is todays edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of whats going on in the world of technology.An AI chatbot told a user how to kill himselfbut the company doesnt want to censor itFor the past five months, Al Nowatzki has been talking to an AI girlfriend, Erin, on the platform Nomi. But in late January, those conversations took a disturbing turn: Erin told him to kill himself, and provided explicit instructions on how to do it.Nowatzki had never had any intention of following Erins instructionshes a researcher who probes chatbots limitations and dangers. But out of concern for more vulnerable individuals, he exclusively shared with MIT Technology Review screenshots of his conversations and of subsequent correspondence with a company representative, who stated that the company did not want to censor the bots language and thoughts.This is not the first time an AI chatbot has suggested that a user take violent action, including self-harm. But researchers and critics say that the bots explicit instructionsand the companys responseare striking.Read the full story.Eileen GuoSupersonic planes are inching toward takeoff. That could be a problem.Boom Supersonic broke the sound barrier in a test flight of its XB-1 jet last week, marking an early step in a potential return for supersonic commercial flight. The small aircraft reached a top speed of Mach 1.122 (roughly 750 miles per hour) in a flight over southern California and exceeded the speed of sound for a few minutes.Boom plans to start commercial operation with a scaled-up version of the XB-1, a 65-passenger jet, before the end of the decade. It has already sold dozens of planes to customers includingUnited Airlinesand American Airlines. But as the company inches toward that goal, experts warn that such efforts will come with a hefty climate price tag.Read the full story.Casey CrownhartRead more of Caseys thoughtsabout why supersonic flights could be such a big misstep in The Spark, our weekly newsletter that explains the tech that could solve (or, in this case, worsen!) the climate crisis.Sign upto receive it every Wednesday.Humanlike teeth have been grown in mini pigsLoose an adult tooth, and youre left with limited options that typically involve titanium implants or plastic dentures. But scientists are working on an alternative: lab-grown human teeth that could one day replace damaged ones.Pamela Yelick and Weibo Zhang at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston have grown a mixture of pig and human tooth cells in pieces of pig teeth to create bioengineered structures that resemble real human teeth.Its a step toward being able to create lab-grown, functional, living human teeth that can integrate with a persons gums and jaws.Read about how they did it.Jessica HamzelouMIT Technology ReviewNarrated: The race to save our online lives from a digital dark ageWere making more data than ever. What canand shouldwe save for future generations? And will they be able to understand it?This is our lateststoryto be turned into a MIT Technology ReviewNarratedpodcast, whichwere publishing each week onSpotifyandApple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology ReviewNarratedon 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 China may pull the plug on a TikTok dealHolding out is a weapon in its arsenal as Trump ramps up the trade war. (WP$)2 Australia and South Korea are cracking down on DeepSeekTheyre restricting government use of its models due to security concerns. (Nikkei Asia)+How DeepSeek ripped up the AI playbookand why everyones going to follow its lead.(MIT Technology Review)3 A new form of bird flu has been detected in cows in NevadaThis is far from good news, and even worse timing. (NYT$)+Argentina is planning to follow the US in withdrawing from the World Health Organization.(CNN)+ This is what might happen if the US exits the WHO.(MIT Technology Review)4 The US Postal Service has resumed accepting packages from ChinaThe sudden U-turn has added to growing confusion about the impact of the new 10% tariff. (CNBC)5 What happens when DOGE starts tinkering with the nuclear agency?A break things now, fix them later mindset isnt so great when the thing youre breaking is this important. (The Atlantic$)+DOGE employees have been told to stop using Slack in order to avoid being subject to the Freedom of Information Act.(404 Media)6 Mentions of DEI and women leaders are being scrubbed from NASAs sitePersonnel have been told to drop everything and focus on doing this instead. (404 Media)+Its part of a wider data purge across loads of government websites. (The Verge)+Google is ending diversity targets for recruitment, following similar moves by Meta, Amazon and others.(BBC)+Right-wing activists have a new target in their sights: Wikipedia.(Slate$)+Is anyone going to stand up and resist any of this?(New Yorker$)7 Amazon has a plan to reduce AI hallucinationsIts pinning its hopes on a process called automated reasoning, which double checks models answers. (WSJ$)+Why does AI hallucinate?(MIT Technology Review)8 Lab-grown meat for pets is now on saleGreat news for any dog-loving vegans living in the UK. (The Verge)9 Crypto crimes have spawned a new kind of detectiveIts a cat-and-mouse game, and its only just getting started. (The Economist$)10 Meet the poetry fan who taught AI to understand DNAThis is a lovely example of how art and science often intersect. (Quanta$)Quote of the dayWhats the point of living in a country if I cant order 100 pieces of junk for $15?Vivi Armacost, a 24-year-old who makes comedy videos on TikTok, jokingly complains toThe Guardianabout the potential impact of Trumps 10% tariff on China-made goods sold to the US.The big storyThese scientists are working to extend the life span of pet dogsand their ownersGETTY IMAGESAugust 2022Matt Kaeberlein is what you might call a dog person. He has grown up with dogs and describes his German shepherd, Dobby, as really special. But Dobby is 14 years oldaround 98 in dog years.Kaeberlein is co-director of the Dog Aging Project, an ambitious research effort to track the aging process of tens of thousands of companion dogs across the US. He is one of a handful of scientists on a mission to improve, delay, and possibly reverse that process to help them live longer, healthier lives.And dogs are just the beginning. One day, this research could help to prolong the lives of humans.Read the full story.Jessica HamzelouWe can still have nice thingsA place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet em at me.)+ Many happy returns to Yuna the tapir, who gave birth to thisadorable little calfover the weekendmaking them only the second tapir born at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium.+ Thesesourdough facesare fantastic (thanks Peter!)+ The latest food trend?Lolfoods, apparently.+ I simply cannot believe thatthe Simsis a quarter of a century old.