Bill Gates: Rich nations should shift entirely to synthetic beef

He started a covid-19 vaccine company. Then he hosted a superspreader event.

Sponsored by Morgan Stanley The Download Your daily dose of what's up in emerging technology Gates on global warming 02.16.21 Good morning. We hope you enjoyed the long weekend (if you took one!) Today: Bill Gates on what it'll take to prevent a climate catastrophe, how an illegal gathering of tech execs last month turned into a covid-19 superspreader event, and why a failure to vaccinate the whole world will put us all at risk. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. Bill Gates: Rich nations should shift entirely to synthetic beef   In his new book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, Bill Gates lays out what it will really take to eliminate the greenhouse-gas emissions driving climate change. The Microsoft cofounder sticks to his past argument that we’ll need numerous energy breakthroughs to have any hope of cleaning up all parts of the economy and the poorest parts of the world. The bulk of the book surveys the technologies needed to slash emissions in “hard to solve” sectors like steel, cement, and agriculture.  He stresses that innovation will make it cheaper and more politically feasible for every nation to cut or prevent emissions. But Gates also answers some of the criticisms that his climate prescriptions have been overly focused on “energy miracles” at the expense of aggressive government policies. Gates describes himself as an optimist, but it’s a constrained type of optimism. He dedicates an entire chapter to describing just how hard a problem climate change is to address. And while he consistently says we can develop the necessary technology and we can avoid a disaster; it’s less clear how hopeful he is that we will. Our energy editor James Temple spoke to Gates about his new book, the limits of his optimism, and how his thinking on climate change has evolved. Read the full interview.  He started a covid-19 vaccine company. Then he hosted a superspreader event. The news: At the end of January, at least 20 people contracted covid-19 at an indoor, mostly unmasked gathering for wealthy executives hosted by Peter Diamandis—who is also the founder of Silicon Valley innovation hub Singularity University, and covid-19 vaccine developer Covaxx. The event took place in Culver City, and participants, many of whom had paid upwards of $30,000, came from as far away as Israel, Hawaii, and Vancouver. It gets worse: At the time, Southern California’s intensive-care units were at full capacity and a regional stay-at-home order made the gathering illegal. Public health experts recommend everyone to limit contact with non-family members, wear masks, and hold any gatherings outdoors to limit the spread of covid-19. How it went so wrong: At first, it seemed they were in the clear. Everyone took daily coronavirus tests. Nobody fell sick during the January 24-26 meetings. But covid-19 can take time to incubate. The first confirmed positive results came back on January 28, after most participants had flown home. Read the full story. —Eileen Guo Why a failure to vaccinate the world will put us all at risk What’s happening: The coronavirus vaccination programs for the world's richest countries are now in full swing. But for low-income countries around the globe, the picture is very different—and may be for some time. Many of the world’s poorest are still waiting for the first doses to reach them. Why it matters: This imbalance won't just lead to more deaths. It will cause a raft of economic, social, and health effects—not just in the nations affected, but throughout the rest of the world. SARS-CoV-2 has already mutated into several worrying new variants, and this process will continue. And the indirect effects of the pandemic could be a huge problem, dragging down the global economy and costing the world trillions of dollars. Read the full story. —Katharine Gammon We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these weird times. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet 'em at me.)   + The way this 8-year-old got out of Zoom school is… genius.   + The movies to watch out for this year.   + A horn made from a conch shell has been played for the first time in millennia.    + New evidence about Stonehenge suggests it was originally in Wales.     + You can try to stimulate memories of travel or childhood with smells (ideally of something delicious). (WP $)   + Radio Garden is a sort of "Google Earth for radio" that lets you discover new local stations. Sponsor Message Asia Tech at the Dawn of a New Cycle What Asia tech trends should investors be watching in the year ahead? Shawn Kim, Morgan Stanley’s Head of Asia Technology Research, shares five key themes for 2021 including China's self-sufficiency in semiconductors, 5G systems-on-chip and the increasing pace of electric vehicle adoption. Learn more. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Seven new covid-19 variants have been identified in the US Worryingly, they all carry the same mutation. (NYT $)   + The UK variant probably causes more deaths. (NYT $)   + How "killer" T-cells could help save us from new covid-19 variants. (Nature)   2 Oxford University has started testing its vaccine in kids 💉 This, combined with trials from Pfizer and Moderna, should help pave the way for them to be included in vaccination programs. (CBS)   + Why there is a delay getting kids vaccinated.  (TR)    + Two Oxford vaccine scientists talk about an incredible 12 months. (The Guardian)   + A reminder of where we are with vaccinations globally. (NYT $)   3 Clubhouse is a privacy disaster The word "afterthought" actually gives it too much credit. (Recode)   + It's suggesting people invite their therapists and their drug dealers. (OneZero $)   + Vulnerabilities could allow external access to users' raw audio data. (Bloomberg $)   + It's still exploding in popularity regardless. (NYT $)   4 A new AI deliberately makes mistakes The goal? To better understand human fallibility. (Wired $)   5 How do you moderate podcasts? It's a huge challenge. "Voice-led" social networks had better take note. (The Verge)   + The future of social networks might be audio. (TR)    6 Parler is back. Sort of.  It's virtually empty, there's no way for new users to sign up, and it's still not available on app stores. (BBC)   7 How to have better arguments on social media My personal rule is "don't have them at all"—but here's what to do if you must. (The Guardian)   8 The trouble with fitness trackers 🏃 It can be too easy for awareness to tip over into obsession. (Wired UK)   + Facebook is planning to launch a smartwatch. (The Information $)   9 Bitcoin just keeps breaking records 📈 Close to $50,000 today. (Reuters)   + Jack Dorsey and Jay Z are pouring millions into trying to make bitcoin the internet's default currency. (TechCrunch)   10 The people fighting to preserve Urdu online The expansion of the internet is precipitating a massive linguistic extinction. (Rest of World) Shape and deliver on your AI strategy. If you're developing your AI strategy, implementing AI solutions, or looking for the latest advancements in AI technology, you need to join us at EmTech Digital, our virtual event focused on AI. Register now. Quote of the day "We need to inflict pain." —Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told his team he wanted to get back at Apple after its criticisms over the company's approach to privacy, the Wall Street Journal reports.  Top image credit: JOHN KEATLEY Please send synthetic beef to hi@technologyreview.com. Follow me on Twitter at @charlottejee. Thanks for reading! —Charlotte Was this newsletter forwarded to you, and you'd like to see more? Sign up for free Don't settle for half the story. Subscribe to MIT Technology Review for access to subscriber-only content and more.   Follow us: MIT Technology Review One Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142

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