These creepy fake humans herald a new age in AI

What makes the Delta covid-19 variant more infectious? 

Sponsored by Medidata The Download Your daily dose of what's up in emerging technology The rise of synthetic data 06.11.21 Good morning! Today: why synthetic data is seen by some as a panacea to the problems plaguing AI, and what makes the Delta variant more infectious? Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. I hope you have a splendid weekend. These creepy fake humans herald a new age in AI   Fake faces: A company called Datagen has made hundreds of thousands of fake, simulated humans. These humans are not gaming avatars or animated characters for movies. They are synthetic data designed to feed the growing appetite of deep-learning algorithms. Datagen and its competitors offer a compelling alternative to the expensive and time-consuming process of gathering real-world data. They will make it for you: how you want it, when you want—and relatively cheaply. How it works: To generate its synthetic humans, Datagen first scans actual humans, using full-body scanners that capture every tiny detail. The startup then takes the raw data and pumps it through a series of algorithms, which develop 3D representations of a person’s body, face, eyes, and hands. What it’s for: Once viewed as less desirable than real data, synthetic data is now seen by some as a panacea. Real data is messy and riddled with bias. New data privacy regulations make it hard to collect. By contrast, synthetic data is pristine and can be used to build more diverse data sets. But synthetic data has its limitations. If it fails to reflect reality, it could end up producing even worse AI than messy, biased real-world data—or it could simply inherit the same problems. Read the full story.  —Karen Hao What makes the Delta covid-19 variant more infectious? What’s going on: Covid cases are on the rise in England, and a fast-spreading variant may be to blame. B.1.617.2, which now goes by the name Delta, first emerged in India, but has since spread to 62 countries. Delta is still rare in the US. But in the UK it has quickly become the dominant strain, and could derail the country’s plans to further ease restrictions on June 21. The big question: Delta seems to be more transmissible than Alpha, and scientists are working to understand why. It could be that the mutations help it to bind to cells more tightly, making transmission from one person to another easier. It’s also possible that Delta’s ability to evade the body’s immune response means more cells become infected and produce more virus, which makes it easier for a person carrying that virus to infect someone else.  Before you panic… The good news is that vaccination provides strong protection against Delta—but that protection mostly kicks in after two shots, not just one. Read the full story. —Cassandra Willyard Also read: Five reasons why you don't need to panic about coronavirus variants. 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.)   + Europe's summer football championship, the Euros, starts today (football for me may be "soccer" for you). Bone up on what that means.    + An incredible interactive map lets you drop a raindrop anywhere in the US, then track what its journey would be. (Hat tip to Charlie Warzel's Galaxy Brain newsletter for this one!)   + Mark Powell does amazing ballpoint pen art.   + These photos of birds are gorgeous, and it's worth sticking around for the stories of the lengths people went to get them, too.    + It's zucchini season! Some ideas for what to do with the glut.   + Last month's best images from the scientific world.   + Thanks to Anna for pointing me to this very eclectic and entertaining Irish website, Broadsheet. Sponsor Message Clinical trials are better, faster, cheaper with big data Researchers are using analytics and existing patient data to ease recruitment, reduce costs, and accelerate timelines. Learn more here. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.  1 The G7 will donate 1 billion vaccine doses to poorer countries 💉 Promising, but it'll take a lot more than that to get the pandemic under control. (Reuters $)   + We're still going to be fighting this virus for years to come. (Foreign Affairs $)   + Most African nations won't meet the WHO goal of vaccinating 10% of the population by September. (NYT $)   + Does vaccinating adults help to bring the virus under control in kids, too? (Nature)   + Moderna has requested emergency FDA authorization for its vaccine for 12-17 year olds. (Axios)  2 The ruthless hackers behind the ransomware crisis in US hospitals I genuinely do not know how these people sleep at night. (WSJ $)   + How the FBI got some of Colonial Pipeline's money back. (WSJ $)   + Could the ransomware crisis force action against Russia? (TR)  3 We need to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss in tandem They are deeply intertwined, and our response should be, too. (NYT $)   + Here's what that means in practice. (Wired $)   + Lake Mead in Nevada is at its lowest level since the 1930s amid a worsening drought. (Axios)   + The American West is bracing for a hot, dry, and dangerous summer. (TR)  4 AI is helping to accelerate the development of… AI Google got an AI to design computer chips in just under six hours. For a human, that'd take months. (The Verge)   + AI is learning how to create itself. (TR)   + Google is changing its search algorithms to reduce the reach of slander. (NYT $)  5 Facebook's content moderators in Ireland are fighting back If it values their work, it should bring them in-house, pay them more, and give them access to proper psychological support. (Wired UK)   + Human smugglers are operating openly on Facebook. (NBC)  6 The social platform that monetizes celebrities—literally 🤑 BitClout attaches a price to social media stars, then lets you buy and sell shares in them.  (New Yorker $)   7 The blind South Korean activists pushing for digital equality They're not willing to settle for second class citizen status—and nor should they be. (Rest of World)   8 Roblox has a Nazi problem Specifically, fascists using the platform to groom new recruits. (Wired $)   9 Weird filters could be an antidote to selfie dysphoria  Playing with futuristic augmented reality tools could help us to challenge our current ideas of beauty. (Neo.Life)   + Beauty filters are changing the way young girls see themselves. (TR)  10 Tired on an all-nighter? A zap to the neck might help 🥱⚡ There's really no replacement for sleep, but this device could be useful for astronauts and military personnel—and yes, students. (Scientific American $) Understand the promise of technology.  Make MIT Technology Review your go-to resource for thought-provoking insights, analysis, and news about the world of technology. Get unlimited access when you subscribe today. Quote of the Day “Everyone loves a good villain.” —Anthony, owner of an Etsy shop, tells NBC why sales of his Elizabeth Holmes-related merchandise have spiked since February. Top image credit: COURTESY OF DATAGEN Please send raindrops 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 today Don't settle for half the story. Subscribe to MIT Technology Review for paywall-free access to our journalism. Subscribe now   Follow us: MIT Technology Review One Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142

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