The Download: DOGE’s influence and saving federal data from deletion
1 The Trump Administration is cutting billions of dollars in funding for biomedical research
The changes, which are effective immediately, send shockwaves throughout the academic community. Be prepared for lawsuits. Scientists are becoming increasingly concerned about the disappearance of federal health data. (Undark )
+ A prominent US science society has faced a backlash after removing diversity references from its website. (Nature )
2 Computer experts are alarmed by DOGE’s behavior
The massive, complex and critical systems that they are tinkering are enormous. (The Atlantic $ )
+ Elon musk, DOGE and the evil housekeeper problem. (MIT Technology Review).
+ An federal judge has blocked DOGE’s access to Treasury records. DOGE is becoming more secretive. (AP)
+ The secrecy of DOGE has become a trademark. (NBC)
3 OpenAI agent can spend money without your consent.
All reviews of Operator appear to indicate that it was launched before it was ready. (WP $ )
+ Anthropic chief scientist on four ways agents will become even better in 2025. (MIT Technology Review).
4 A measles epidemic is spreading in one of Texas’ least vaccinated counties.
The worst part is that it could have been avoided. Ars Technica
+ We need to measure vaccine hesitancy before we can tackle it. (MIT Technology Review).
5 US Transportation Department suspends its EV charger programme
Tesla was one of the biggest beneficiaries. Musk is not going to be happy about this. (Insider $)
6 DeepMind’s AI can tackle math problems on a par with top human solvers
AlphaGeometry 2 can reportedly surpass the average gold medallist in the International Mathematical Olympiad. Nature)
+ This is a huge improvement from just a year ago. (MIT Technology Review
7) What DeepSeek’s success tells about China’s AI Talent
Its leading researchers are as well-educated as those in the US. They are still under enormous constraints. The US retreat from soft-power has a positive impact on China. (New Yorker $)
8 Location-sharing is increasingly a deal-breaker in relationships
But is it really reducing people’s anxiety? Or does it increase it? Add crocs to the Vision Pro and it will be even more unattractive. The Verge)
10 Inside a fraught US-Soviet search for extraterrestrials
Now, that’s an aspect of the Cold War we don’t often hear about. (New Yorker $).
Quote of today
“Red states also have universities.”
