The Download: year in review, and the big problem with ChatGPT

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 ChatGPT doesn’t always tell the truth
But it states things so confidently that it’s easy to be fooled. (NYT $)
+ It’s been suggesting some disturbing anti-terror measures, including torture. (The Intercept)
+ For some users, whether it’s accurate or not isn’t important. (WP $)
+ ChatGPT won’t be stealing stand up comedians’ jobs any time soon. (WSJ $)
+ ChatGPT is OpenAI’s latest fix for GPT-3. It’s slick but still spews nonsense. (MIT Technology Review)
 
2 Investors are rapidly withdrawing from crypto 
They’re spooked by FTX’s collapse, and are pulling record levels of bitcoin from crypto exchanges (FT $)
+ Chinese police have rumbled a massive crypto laundering gang. (SCMP $)
+ FTX boss Sam Bankman-Fried is due to testify before the US Congress this week. (The Guardian)
 
3 NASA’s Artemis I moon mission is complete
After 26 days, it touched back down on Earth. (New Scientist $)
+ The mission paves the way towards returning humans to the moon. (WSJ $)
+ Looking down on the Earth from space is an emotional experience. (The Atlantic $)
 
4 Twitter’s subscription service has relaunched
iPhone users are being asked to pay more, likely in retaliation to the App Store’s inbuilt fees. (Reuters)
+ The company’s Community Notes misinformation service has been revamped, too. (Engadget)
+ Elon Musk knows exactly who he’s appealing to. (The Atlantic $)
+ Elon Musk has created a toxic mess for the LGBTQ+ community. I would know. (MIT Technology Review)
 
5 It might be time to delete your photos from the internet
It’s only getting easier and easier to make deepfakes. (Ars Technica)
+ A horrifying new AI app swaps women into porn videos with a click. (MIT Technology Review)
+ Lensa’s AI avatars are concerning, especially for women. (WSJ $) 

6 Amazon is failing to fulfill its promise to help Tijuana residents
It pledged to develop the area surrounding its fulfillment center, but workers say nothing has changed. (Rest of World)
 
7 This year has been a bit of a mess
But hard data can help us understand why—and what to prepare for next year. (Vox)
 
8 Tech graduates are fighting over too few jobs
Talented grads are ready to work, but hardly anywhere is hiring right now. (NBC)
 
9 Star gazing is in jeopardy
Light pollution is to blame—and a lot of it is entirely unnecessary. (The Guardian)

10 What Match.com has learned about love
It was the first major dating site to adopt a scientific approach to calculating a couple’s compatibility. (The Atlantic $)
+ Here’s how the net’s newest matchmakers help you find love. (MIT Technology Review)

Quote of the day

“It makes me feel better. Happier; freer.”

—Julian Gough, an Irish writer who penned a poignant poem that displays when a player finishes Minecraft, explains his decision to put it into the public domain for anyone to use, Motherboard reports.

The big story

Minneapolis police used fake social media profiles to surveil Black people

April 2022

The Minneapolis Police Department violated civil rights law through a pattern of racist policing practices, according to a damning report by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. The report found that officers stop, search, arrest, and use force against people of color at a much higher rate than white people, and covertly surveilled Black people not suspected of any crimes via social media.