The Download: join us at EmTech Digital Europe in London!

1 The Biden campaign just joined TikTok
As part of an effort to get younger voters onside. (WP $)
+ Imran Khan used an AI voice to declare victory in Pakistan’s election from behind bars. (NYT $)
+ Instagram and Threads will let people decide if they want to see political content or not. (Quartz) 

2 A crowd destroyed an autonomous Waymo car in San Francisco 
This sort of incident has been brewing for a long time. (The Verge)
+ What’s next for robotaxis in 2024. (MIT Technology Review)
+ Why people might never use autonomous cars. (MIT Technology Review)

3 Climate change is ruining winter sports 
It’s doing far worse things, but this is one affluent people will notice. (Axios) 
+ For one competitive skier, climate change might have helped them achieve the incredible feat of going from last to first place. (Wired $)

4 What AI cannot do
It can assist with creative tasks, but it can’t generate them. (Wired $)
+ AI just beat a human test for creativity. What does that even mean? (MIT Technology Review)

5 What’s the Apple Vision Pro for?
Reviews so far seem to have converged on “work” being the answer. (WSJ $)
+ But there are so many other things VR can be used for. For example, pain relief. (MIT Technology Review) 
+ Sorry Zuck, Fortnite is winning the metaverse. (The Verge)

6 The first endometriosis drug in decades is within reach
Promising news for the hundreds of millions of women it affects. (The Economist $)
+ Tiny faux organs could crack the mystery of menstruation. (MIT Technology Review)

7 Cultivated meat might never make money 🥩
As VC cash dries up, startups in the sector are having to reckon with the financial realities. (NYT $)
+ Here’s what we know about lab-grown meat and climate change. (MIT Technology Review)

8 Lab diamonds are becoming flawless
And it’s putting people off, as it makes it too obvious they’re not “real”. (The Atlantic $)

9 A spreadsheet error cost a Norwegian wealth fund $92 million 
For real. Ouch. (FT $)

10 Is artificial turf really safer for (American) football? 🏈
It’s surprisingly hard to reach a firm conclusion. (Ars Technica)

Quote of the day

“You’ve basically got a faulty product here: they need to fix it.”

—Beeban Kidron, a UK lawmaker, tells The Guardian that campaigns to protect children’s rights online need to go deeper than just removing harmful content, into platforms’ underlying designs.

The big story

Future space food could be made from astronaut breath

INTERSTELLAR LAB

May 2023