Good morning! Today: introducing our 35 Innovators Under 35, a cheap steroid could be the first drug to save covid-19 patients' lives, and Facebook will let US users opt out of seeing political ads. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day.
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Introducing our 35 Innovators Under 35 
In chaotic times it can be reassuring to see so many people working toward a better world. That’s true for medical professionals fighting a pandemic and for ordinary citizens fighting for social justice. And it’s true for those among us striving to employ technology to address those problems and many others.
MIT Technology Review has just released its 35 innovators under 35. They aren’t all working to fight a pandemic, though some are: see Omar Abudayyeh and Andreas Puschnik. And they’re not all looking to remedy social injustices, though some are: see Inioluwa Deborah Raji and Mohamed Dhaouafi. But even those who aren’t tackling those specific problems are seeking ways to use technology to help people. They’re trying to solve our climate crisis, find a cure for Parkinson’s, or make drinking water available to those who are desperate for it.
This contest generates more than 500 nominations each year. The editors then face the task of picking 100 semifinalists to put in front of our 25 judges, who have expertise in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, software, energy, materials, and so on. With the invaluable help of these rankings, the editors pick the final list of 35. Read the full 2020 list of our innovators.
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A cheap steroid might be the first covid-19 drug to save lives
The details: Researchers enrolled 6,412 patients in the study. They selected 2,104 to receive 6 milligrams of dexamethasone every day for 10 days, while the remaining 4,321 patients received the usual care alone. While the drug significantly cut the number of deaths among patients on ventilators and those receiving oxygen, there was no benefit to patients who didn’t need respiratory support, who make up the vast majority of people with covid-19.
Good news: The researchers have only released a statement thus far. The paper hasn’t been published yet, and further studies would help confirm the validity of the findings. That said, this discovery could save countless lives. And even better, dexamethasone is readily available and very inexpensive—about $6 per dose. Read the full story.
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Facebook is going to let US voters opt out of seeing political ads in their feed
The news: Facebook has announced that people will soon be able to opt out of seeing political adverts on its platform. It will start giving a small group of US users the ability to hide adverts from candidates or political action committees in their Facebook or Instagram feeds before expanding it to all US users and several other countries in the coming weeks. In an op-ed in USA Today, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said users will still be reminded to vote, and the company aims to help 4 million people register.
Are you seeing what I’m seeing? Facebook is trying to respond to one of the biggest criticisms it’s faced in recent years, including from the Biden presidential campaign—that it exempts political adverts from its fact-checking program, thus letting politicians lie without consequence on its platform. Letting users opt out doesn’t change that. Read the full story.
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We can still have nice things
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The top ten must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Beijing has had to lock down again
New restrictions have been brought in for millions of people after 137 new cases. ( BBC)
+ The UK has exported two people with coronavirus to covid-free New Zealand. ( Gizmodo)
+ Acting fast is the key to beating a second wave. ( Bloomberg)
+ A woman and 15 of her friends went out to celebrate the end of lockdown… and all caught coronavirus. ( News4Jax)
2 Scientists tested editing human embryos... and it was a disaster
Around half had major unintended edits. ( OneZero)
3 Germany’s contact tracing app has been downloaded 6.5 million times
That’s in the first 24 hours since launch. ( Reuters)
4 The theft of CIA hacking tools has shown how lax the spy agency’s security is
Intelligence agencies are exempt from baseline federal cybersecurity requirements. ( TR)
5 Now you too can buy Boston Dynamics four-legged robot Spot
If you’re a business in the US and have a spare $74,500. ( The Verge)
6 The EU is investigating whether Apple broke competition rules
Round two. Or is it round ten? I lose track. ( BBC)
7 Amazon is using AI to enforce social distancing in its warehouses 👀
Always with the personal touch. ( Reuters)
+ Inside Amazon’s race to hire 175,000 workers during a pandemic. ( TR)
8 Indians are adopting pets—virtually 🐶
As with so much of our lives, we’re having to settle for the next best thing to real contact. ( Quartz)
9 This woman is trying to make NextDoor less racist
The site has a known “Karen problem.” ( Vice)
+ High school students are using social media to expose racism. ( NYT $)
10 In defense of clutter
Look away now, Marie Kondo. ( The Atlantic)
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“Americans want platforms to be places of open expression, but also misinformation removed, but also tech companies have too much power & can't be trusted to make content decisions, but also the government would be worse.”
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