The Download: how OpenAI tests its models, and the ethics of uterus transplants

The must-reads

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

1 The USDA is launching a national program to test milk for bird flu 
A full nine months after the current outbreak was first detected in dairy cows. (STAT)
+ The risk of a bird flu pandemic is rising. (MIT Technology Review)

2 Here’s what sets OpenAI’s new models apart 
They’re shifting from predicting to reasoning, which could be a huge deal. (The Atlantic $)
+ Regardless of whether capabilities are slowing, AI’s impact is only poised to grow. (Vox)
+ It may be comforting to dismiss AI as hype—but it misses the point. (Platformer)

3 A federal appeals court has upheld the US TikTok ban
But what happens next is anyone’s guess. (WSJ $)
+ Whether TikTok is banned or not, the actions against it have had a big impact. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Top internet sleuths are sitting out the hunt for the UnitedHealthcare CEO killer 
In fact, some are even criticizing people who are trying to help. (NBC)
+ Why so many Americans are at best indifferent to this particular murder. (New Yorker $)

5 Schools are attempting to stop teens self-harming before they even try
The AI tools they’re adopting could be doing far more damage than help, though. (NYT $)

6 China is building its own Starlink system
The Qianfan constellation could eventually grow to nearly 14,000 satellites. (The Economist $)
+ The end of the ISS will usher in a more commercialized future in space. (The Verge)

7 This was an exciting year for superconductors
Superconductivity—the flow of electric current with no resistance—was discovered in three new materials. (Quanta $)

8 Meet the world’s least productive programmers 
It seems a small minority of disillusioned ‘ghost engineers’ do pretty much no work at all. (WP $)

9 Why people are turning their backs on dating apps
There’s a large degree of fatigue, and a feeling that they’re somehow detached from reality. (The Guardian)

10 Fake snacks are racking up millions of views on Instagram 🍿
There’s even a word for this trend: snackfishing. (Wired $)

Quote of the day

“I think Twitter and now X is like a crack addiction for him, though. He is clearly chasing a particular hit all the time and he has ended up self-radicalising himself with the platform he has purchased.”

—A former Twitter employee in London tells The Guardian how Elon Musk has changed since he purchased the platform.