That is right now’s version of The Obtain, our weekday e-newsletter that gives a day by day dose of what’s happening on the planet of expertise.
“Dr. Google” had its points. Can ChatGPT Well being do higher?
For the previous 20 years, there’s been a transparent first step for anybody who begins experiencing new medical signs: Look them up on-line. The observe was so frequent that it gained the pejorative moniker “Dr. Google.” However occasions are altering, and lots of medical-information seekers are actually utilizing LLMs. In response to OpenAI, 230 million folks ask ChatGPT health-related queries every week.
That’s the context across the launch of OpenAI’s new ChatGPT Well being product, which debuted earlier this month. The massive query is: can the apparent dangers of utilizing AI for health-related queries be mitigated sufficient for them to be a web profit? Learn the total story.
—Grace Huckins
America’s coming struggle over AI regulation
Within the ultimate weeks of 2025, the battle over regulating synthetic intelligence within the US reached boiling level. On December 11, after Congress failed twice to go a regulation banning state AI legal guidelines, President Donald Trump signed a sweeping govt order looking for to handcuff states from regulating the booming business.
As a substitute, he vowed to work with Congress to determine a “minimally burdensome” nationwide AI coverage. The transfer marked a victory for tech titans, who’ve been marshaling multimillion-dollar struggle chests to oppose AI rules, arguing {that a} patchwork of state legal guidelines would stifle innovation.
In 2026, the battleground will shift to the courts. Whereas some states would possibly again down from passing AI legal guidelines, others will cost forward. Learn our story about what’s on the horizon.
—Michelle Kim
This story is from MIT Expertise Evaluation’s What’s Subsequent collection of tales that look throughout industries, developments, and applied sciences to present you a primary take a look at the long run. You’ll be able to learn the remainder of them right here.
Measles is surging within the US. Wastewater monitoring may assist.
This week marked a relatively disagreeable anniversary: It’s a 12 months since Texas reported a case of measles—the beginning of a big outbreak that ended up spreading throughout a number of states. For the reason that begin of January 2025, there have been over 2,500 confirmed instances of measles within the US. Three folks have died.
As vaccination charges drop and outbreaks proceed, scientists have been experimenting with new methods to shortly establish new instances and stop the illness from spreading. And they’re beginning to see some success with wastewater surveillance. Learn the total story.
—Jessica Hamzelou
This story is from The Checkup, our weekly e-newsletter providing you with the within monitor on all issues well being and biotech. Enroll to obtain it in your inbox each Thursday.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to search out you right now’s most enjoyable/essential/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.
1 The US is dismantling itself
A overseas enemy couldn’t invent a greater chain of occasions to wreck its standing on the planet. (Wired $)
+ We have to speak about whether or not Donald Trump could be shedding it. (New Yorker $)
2 Large Tech is taking up extra debt to fund its AI aspirations
And the bubble simply retains rising. (WP $)
+ Neglect unicorns. 2026 is shaping as much as be the 12 months of the “hectocorn.” (The Guardian)
+ Everybody in tech agrees we’re in a bubble. They simply can’t agree on what occurs when it pops. (MIT Expertise Evaluation)
3 DOGE accessed much more private knowledge than we thought
Even now, the Trump administration nonetheless can’t say how a lot knowledge is in danger, or what it was used for. (NPR)
4 TikTok has finalized a deal to create a brand new US entity
Ending years of uncertainty about its destiny in America. (CNN)
+ Why China is the massive winner out of all of this. (FT $)
5 The US is now formally out of the World Well being Group
And it’s forsaking almost $300 million in payments unpaid. (Ars Technica)
+ The US withdrawal from the WHO will harm us all. (MIT Expertise Evaluation)
6 AI-powered disinformation swarms pose a menace to democracy
A would-be autocrat may use them to steer populations to simply accept cancelled elections or overturn outcomes. (The Guardian)
+ The period of AI persuasion in elections is about to start. (MIT Expertise Evaluation)
7 We’re about to start out seeing extra robots in all places
However precisely what they’ll appear like stays up for debate. (Vox $)
+ Chinese language corporations are beginning to dominate whole sectors of AI and robotics. (MIT Expertise Evaluation)
8 Some folks appear to be particularly susceptible to loneliness
For those who’re ‘other-directed’, you could possibly significantly profit from much less screentime. (New Scientist $)
9 This tutorial misplaced two years of labor with a single click on
TL;DR: Don’t depend on ChatGPT to retailer your knowledge. (Nature)
10 How animals develop a way of course 
Their ‘inner compass’ appears to be knowledgeable by landmarks that assist them kind a psychological map. (Quanta $)
Quote of the day
“The speed at which AI is progressing, I believe we’ve AI that’s smarter than any human this 12 months, and no later than subsequent 12 months.”
—Elon Musk merely can’t resist the urge to make wild predictions at Davos, Wired reviews.
Yet one more factor
Africa fights rising starvation by trying to meals of the previous
After falling steadily for many years, the prevalence of world starvation is now on the rise—nowhere extra so than in sub-Saharan Africa.
Africa’s indigenous crops are sometimes extra nutritious and higher suited to the recent and dry situations which can be changing into extra prevalent, but many have been uncared for by science, which suggests they are typically extra susceptible to ailments and pests and yield nicely beneath their theoretical potential.
Now the query is whether or not researchers, governments, and farmers can work collectively in a means that will get these crops onto plates and gives Africans from all walks of life with the power and diet that they should thrive, no matter local weather change throws their means. Learn the total story.
—Jonathan W. Rosen
We are able to nonetheless have good issues
A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction to brighten up your day. (Bought any concepts? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)
+ The one factor I fancy dry this January is a martini. Right here’s the best way to make one.
+ For those who completely adore the Bic crystal pen, you may want this lamp.
+ Cozy up with a pleasant lengthy guide this winter. ($)
+ Need to eat more healthy? Decelerate and tune out meals ‘noise’. ($)
