The Download: Twitter may only last weeks, and Meta’s unforced AI error

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

1 Elon Musk’s demands for loyalty triggered an exodus of Twitter workers
Hundreds of employees chose to quit instead of signing up to his vision of “hardcore Twitter.” (https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/11/17/twitter-musk-easing-rto-order/”>WP $)
+ The soccer World Cup will be a major stress test for what remains of the platform. (https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/11/social-media-without-twitter-elon-musk/672158/”>The Atlantic $)
+ Musk’s management style is high risk, low reward. (https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-takes-a-hard-line-on-quiet-quittersand-anyone-he-thinks-is-close-11668696391″>WSJ $)
+ He’s undermined Twitter’s integrity and safety, senators say. (https://www.ft.com/content/8ade7dd5-6670-4451-a8a8-6b87805d3e81″>FT $)
+ Here’s how you can find your feet on rival Mastodon. (https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-get-started-use-mastodon/”>Wired $)
+ Here’s how a Twitter engineer says it will break in the coming weeks. (https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/11/08/1062886/heres-how-a-twitter-engineer-says-it-will-break-in-the-coming-weeks/?truid=*%7CLINKID%7C*&utm_source=the_download&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the_download.unpaid.engagement&utm_term=*%7CSUBCLASS%7C*&utm_content=*%7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C*”>MIT Technology Review)

2 How covid bolstered antimicrobial resistance
It made an existing problem significantly worse. (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/antimicrobial-resistance-is-growing-because-of-covid/”>Scientific American $)
+ The next pandemic is already here. Covid can teach us how to fight it. (https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/06/23/1026763/pandemic-covid-antimicrobial-resistance/”>MIT Technology Review)

3 Big Tech’s glory days are numbered
Which leaves a whole lot of smart people with time on their hands. (https://www.vox.com/recode/2022/11/17/23463164/silicon-valley-layoffs-tech-boom-over”>Vox)
+ You could say the industry is having a midlife crisis. (https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2022/11/tech-industry-mass-layoffs-recession-twitter/672150/”>The Atlantic $)
+ It’s not just about growth at any cost anymore. (https://slate.com/technology/2022/11/amazon-facebook-twitter-layoffs-silicon-valley-boom-bust.html”>Slate $)

4 The hunt for a non-opioid treatment for pain
Marrying safety and efficacy is hard to do, but scientists aren’t giving up. (https://neo.life/2022/11/repurpose-this-drug/”>Neo.Life)
+ Tens of millions of people in the US are living with chronic pain. (https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25634132-700-the-new-pain-treatments-that-may-finally-stem-the-need-for-opioids/”>New Scientist $)

5 Taylor Swift’s impassioned fans are going after Ticketmaster
The site botched sales for her new tour, and furious fans want to break its monopoly. (https://slate.com/business/2022/11/taylor-swift-ticketmaster-antitrust-livenation-swifties.html”>Slate $)
+ Ticketmaster sold nearly all the tickets in siloed presales. (https://www.vice.com/en/article/88qb33/ticketmaster-cancels-public-taylor-swift-sale-scalpers”>Motherboard)

6 US broadband is seriously awful
It’s expensive, slow, and contains loads of hidden charges. (https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/17/23460070/internet-bill-broadband-survey-data-consumer-reports-cost”>The Verge)
+ Here’s a list of the worst offenders when it comes to raising your bills. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/11/17/isp-prices-fees/”>WP $)
+ Temperature rises are likely to spark more global internet outages. (https://www.cnet.com/tech/features/internet-outages-could-spread-as-temperatures-rise-heres-what-big-tech-is-doing/”>CNET)

7 Don’t fall for the stories we tell about the internet
A healthy dose of critical thinking can cut through the spin. (https://www.theatlantic.com/books/archive/2022/11/seduced-by-story-peter-brooks-book-review/672135/”>The Atlantic $)

8 AI has a trust problem
Some experts believe that demonstrating how systems learn is the solution. (https://www.wsj.com/articles/artificial-intelligence-trust-11668630792?mod=tech_lead_pos13″>WSJ $)
+ AI-generated deepfakes could actually help protect privacy. (https://www.newscientist.com/article/2347596-ai-generated-deepfake-faces-could-help-protect-privacy-on-social-media/”>New Scientist $)
+ We need to design distrust into AI systems to make them safer. (https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/05/13/1024874/ai-ayanna-howard-trust-robots/?truid=*%7CLINKID%7C*&utm_source=the_download&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the_download.unpaid.engagement&utm_term=*%7CSUBCLASS%7C*&utm_content=*%7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C*”>MIT Technology Review)

9 China’s TikTok sellers want to entice western shoppers 🛍️
They’re setting their sights firmly on the US market. (https://restofworld.org/2022/tiktok-boot-camp/”>Rest of World)
+ China wants to control how its famous livestreamers act, speak, and even dress. (https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/07/04/1055349/china-controls-livestreamers-act-dress/?truid=*%7CLINKID%7C*&utm_source=the_download&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the_download.unpaid.engagement&utm_term=*%7CSUBCLASS%7C*&utm_content=*%7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C*”>MIT Technology Review)

10 Silicon Valley loves an e-bike 🚲
It’s the coolest way to flex your eco-credentials these days. (https://www.theinformation.com/articles/people-are-shocked-at-how-much-further-they-can-go-the-suped-up-electric-wheels-silicon-valley-is-stockpiling”>The Information $)

Quote of the day

“Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information.”