That is at present’s version of The Download, our weekday publication that gives a each day dose of what’s happening on the earth of expertise.
It’s okay to choose out of the crypto revolution.
Crypto promoting is all over the place. Billboards encompass the Bay Space and line LA highways, and you may’t catch a prepare in NYC with out working into an advert for a coin or change. A-listers like Gwyneth Paltrow are pushing crypto platforms, and this yr’s Tremendous Bowl broadcast was studded with big-budget crypto spots, every trumpeting the chance to strike it wealthy.
However regardless of their ubiquity and lavish expense, these advertisements routinely omit any description of what crypto is, or what any of the crypto firms which have paid to plaster our panorama are literally promoting. There’s a great motive for that. Whereas the business has been good to fortunate speculators with the disposable money to danger and the time to determine how to take action, it has little to supply the common particular person at present.
Crypto fans declare that the business will revolutionize monetary methods by decentralizing commerce, grabbing the reins from the banks which have betrayed us prior to now and the Large Tech gatekeepers. However to date, the crypto business has not made good on that democratizing promise. Read the full story.
—Rebecca Ackermann
The gig staff combating again towards the algorithms
Within the Bendungan Hilir neighborhood, only a stone’s throw from Jakarta’s glitzy central enterprise district, motorbike drivers collect in a casual “base camp.” They’re drivers with Gojek, Indonesia’s largest ride-hailing agency. They’re additionally a part of the spine of a rising motion of resistance towards the dispatch algorithms that dominate their lives.
Base camps grew out of a convention that existed earlier than algorithmic ride-hailing providers got here to Indonesia. They’re the community via which drivers across the metropolis keep in tight communication. This sense of group is now on the coronary heart of what distinguishes Jakarta’s drivers from different gig staff around the globe, and will reveal a brand new playbook for resistance: a means for staff to construct collective energy, obtain a measure of safety, and maintain each other when seemingly nobody else will. Read the full story.
—Karen Hao and Nadine Freischlad
That is the third a part of our collection investigating AI colonialism, shining a lightweight on how the expertise is impoverishing the communities and international locations that don’t have a say in its growth. The ultimate half is coming tomorrow, however you may learn half one here, half two here, and Karen Hao’s introductory essay here.
Quote of the day
“Persons are my air.”
— Robin Solod, a girl who lives alone on Manhattan’s Higher East Aspect, speaks for many people when she tells the New York Times how a lot she’s come to understand the necessity to socialize.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to seek out you at present’s most enjoyable/essential/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.
1 China is claiming that solely 17 folks have died from covid in Shanghai
Which raises questions on the way it defines a covid loss of life. (NYT $)
+ Town is forcing weak and aged residents into makeshift quarantine camps. (CNN)
+ Unsurprisingly, the strict lockdown has sparked a significant psychological well being disaster. (The Guardian)
+ China is resorting to censoring its personal nationwide anthem. (Newsweek)
+ A Spanish girl contracted covid twice in simply 20 days. (BBC)
+ Understanding when to obtain your subsequent booster is difficult. (WP $)
+ It’s completely high-quality in the event you nonetheless really feel cautious about catching covid as restrictions carry. (Slate $)
2 On-line disinformation is wreaking havoc in Sri Lanka
And, naturally, Fb is enjoying a central function. (Rest of World)
+ Barack Obama is anxious about disinformation. (NYT $)
+ Russia’s “pretend information” regulation is getting used to persecute investigative journalists. (The Guardian)
3 A social media marketing campaign introduced a homicide suspect to trial
After the police stepped again, a group of newbie sleuths got here to the rescue. (The Cut $)
4 Meet the pandemic’s PPE scammers
A lot of folks noticed a disaster. Others noticed a possibility to make some huge cash. (The Verge)
5 Who’re digital tablets containing trackers that alert docs in the event that they’re not taken actually for?
They’re unlikely to assist the individuals who may have remedy essentially the most. (Slate $)
6 Gen Z is embracing “genuine” social platform BeReal
It’s received no advertisements, no seen follower depend, and, crucially, no filters. (WSJ $)
+ Instagram actually desires you to cease reposting TikToks to Reels. (The Verge)
7 Solar energy remains to be a wealthy man’s sport 
And that’s a large barrier for wider adoption. (Wired $)
+ Local weather change is ravaging lives throughout the globe. (WP $)
+ An Ecuadorian flower was named after its personal extinction, earlier than being rediscovered. (WP $)
8 How a stealth digicam reveals hidden creatures within the sea’s depths 
We’re nonetheless discovering freaky new underwater species. (Vox)
9 Corporations are so determined for chips, they’re tearing aside washing machines
The semiconductor scarcity is biting, and firms are panicking. (Bloomberg $)
10 Intestine Well being is taking on TikTok
Nevertheless it’s fast fixes and never long-term wholesome way of life modifications that are likely to go viral. (NYT $)
+ A research says time-restricted consuming doesn’t work as a weight reduction technique. (NYT $)
+ In style TikTok recipes sound scrumptious and disgusting in equal measure. (The Guardian)
+ Deep dive evaluation of all types of subjects is taking on TikTok. (Vox)
We are able to nonetheless have good issues
A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction in these bizarre occasions. (Received any concepts? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)
+ A timeless joke for a timeless song.
+ Do you know soccer managers used to need to ship VHS tapes to the South Pacific with the intention to have their matches analyzed? Fascinating stuff.
+ Why are dolls so pervasive in in style tradition proper now?
+ Get pleasure from this mesmerizing clip of a Feather Star marine creature bobbing alongside.
+ Seems a Clueless-style closet isn’t all it’s cracked as much as be—it sounds exhausting.
+ These old-skool particular movie results are enchanting.
+ Should you’ve ever wanted to know why Oreo cream solely ever sticks to 1 wafer, here’s your answer.
