The Download: chatbots for health, and US fights over AI regulation – MIT Technology Review

Plus: how wastewater tracking could help curb measles' rise in the US. 
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

For the past two decades, there’s been a clear first step for anyone who starts experiencing new medical symptoms: Look them up online. The practice was so common that it gained the pejorative moniker “Dr. Google.” But times are changing, and many medical-information seekers are now using LLMs. According to OpenAI, 230 million people ask ChatGPT health-related queries each week.  
That’s the context around the launch of OpenAI’s new ChatGPT Health product, which debuted earlier this month. The big question is: can the obvious risks of using AI for health-related queries be mitigated enough for them to be a net benefit? Read the full story. 
—Grace Huckins

In the final weeks of 2025, the battle over regulating artificial intelligence in the US reached boiling point. On December 11, after Congress failed twice to pass a law banning state AI laws, President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order seeking to handcuff states from regulating the booming industry.  
Instead, he vowed to work with Congress to establish a “minimally burdensome” national AI policy. The move marked a victory for tech titans, who have been marshaling multimillion-dollar war chests to oppose AI regulations, arguing that a patchwork of state laws would stifle innovation.
In 2026, the battleground will shift to the courts. While some states might back down from passing AI laws, others will charge ahead. Read our story about what’s on the horizon. 
—Michelle Kim
This story is from MIT Technology Review’s What’s Next series of stories that look across industries, trends, and technologies to give you a first look at the future. You can read the rest of them here.  

This week marked a rather unpleasant anniversary: It’s a year since Texas reported a case of measles—the start of a significant outbreak that ended up spreading across multiple states. Since the start of January 2025, there have been over 2,500 confirmed cases of measles in the US. Three people have died. 
As vaccination rates drop and outbreaks continue, scientists have been experimenting with new ways to quickly identify new cases and prevent the disease from spreading. And they are starting to see some success with wastewater surveillance. Read the full story.
—Jessica Hamzelou 
This story is from The Checkup, our weekly newsletter giving you the inside track on all things health and biotech. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Thursday.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 The US is dismantling itself
A foreign enemy could not invent a better chain of events to wreck its standing in the world. (Wired $)  
+ We need to talk about whether Donald Trump might be losing it.  (New Yorker $)

2 Big Tech is taking on more debt to fund its AI aspirations
And the bubble just keeps growing. (WP $)
+ Forget unicorns. 2026 is shaping up to be the year of the “hectocorn.” (The Guardian)
+ Everyone in tech agrees we’re in a bubble. They just can’t agree on what happens when it pops. (MIT Technology Review)
3 DOGE accessed even more personal data than we thought 
Even now, the Trump administration still can’t say how much data is at risk, or what it was used for. (NPR)
4 TikTok has finalized a deal to create a new US entity 
Ending years of uncertainty about its fate in America. (CNN)
+ Why China is the big winner out of all of this. (FT $)
5 The US is now officially out of the World Health Organization 
And it’s leaving behind nearly $300 million in bills unpaid. (Ars Technica) 
+ The US withdrawal from the WHO will hurt us all. (MIT Technology Review)

6 AI-powered disinformation swarms pose a threat to democracy
A would-be autocrat could use them to persuade populations to accept cancelled elections or overturn results. (The Guardian)
+ The era of AI persuasion in elections is about to begin. (MIT Technology Review)

7 We’re about to start seeing more robots everywhere
But exactly what they’ll look like remains up for debate. (Vox $)
+ Chinese companies are starting to dominate entire sectors of AI and robotics. (MIT Technology Review)

8 Some people seem to be especially vulnerable to loneliness
If you’re ‘other-directed’, you could particularly benefit from less screentime. (New Scientist $)

9 This academic lost two years of work with a single click
TL;DR: Don’t rely on ChatGPT to store your data. (Nature)

10 How animals develop a sense of direction 🦇🧭
Their ‘internal compass’ seems to be informed by landmarks that help them form a mental map. (Quanta $)

Quote of the day
“The rate at which AI is progressing, I think we have AI that is smarter than any human this year, and no later than next year.”
—Elon Musk simply cannot resist the urge to make wild predictions at Davos, Wired reports. 

One more thing
After falling steadily for decades, the prevalence of global hunger is now on the rise—nowhere more so than in sub-Saharan Africa. 
Africa’s indigenous crops are often more nutritious and better suited to the hot and dry conditions that are becoming more prevalent, yet many have been neglected by science, which means they tend to be more vulnerable to diseases and pests and yield well below their theoretical potential.
Now the question is whether researchers, governments, and farmers can work together in a way that gets these crops onto plates and provides Africans from all walks of life with the energy and nutrition that they need to thrive, whatever climate change throws their way. Read the full story.
—Jonathan W. Rosen

We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)
+ The only thing I fancy dry this January is a martini. Here’s how to make one.
+ If you absolutely adore the Bic crystal pen, you might want this lamp. 
+ Cozy up with a nice long book this winter. ($)
+ Want to eat healthier? Slow down and tune out food ‘noise’. ($)

Plus: OpenAI is sounding the "code red" alarm
Plus: TikTok has finally signed a deal to keep operating in the US
Plus: This company is developing gene therapies for muscle growth, erectile dysfunction, and “radical longevity”
Plus: China has built a major chip-making machine
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