The Download: Clear’s identity ambitions, and the climate blame game
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.
Inside Clear’s ambitions to manage your identity beyond the airport
Clear Secure is the most visible biometric identity company in the United States. Best known for its line-jumping service in airports, it’s also popping up at sports arenas and stadiums all over the country. You can also use its identity verification platform to rent tools at Home Depot, put your profile in front of recruiters on LinkedIn, and, as of this month, verify your identity as a rider on Uber.
And soon enough, if Clear has its way, it may also be in your favorite retailer, bank, and even doctor’s office—or anywhere else that you currently have to pull out a wallet (or wait in line).
While the company has been building toward this sweeping vision for years, it now seems its time has finally come. But as biometrics go mainstream, what—and who—bears the cost? Read the full story.
—Eileen Guo
LinkedIn Live: Facial verification tech promises a frictionless future. But at what cost?
Do you use your face to unlock your phone, or speed through airport security? As biometrics companies move into more and more spaces, where else would you use this technology? The trade off seems simple: you scan your face, you get a frictionless future. But is it really? Join MIT Technology Review’s features and investigations team for a LinkedIn Live this Thursday, November 21, about the rise of facial verification tech and what it means to give up your face. Register for free.
Who’s to blame for climate change? It’s surprisingly complicated.
Once again, global greenhouse-gas emissions are projected to hit a new high in 2024.
In this time of shifting political landscapes and ongoing international negotiations, many are quick to blame one country or another for an outsize role in causing climate change.
But assigning responsibility is complicated. These three visualizations help explain why.
—Casey Crownhart
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The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 AI can now translate your voice in real-time during meetings
It’s part of Microsoft’s drive to push more AI into its products, but how well it works in the wild remains to be seen. (WP $)
+ Apple is having less success on that front, at least if its AI notification summaries are anything to go by. (The Atlantic $)
2 Anyone can buy data tracking US soldiers in Germany
And the Pentagon is powerless to stop it.(Wired $)
+ It’s shockingly easy to buy sensitive data about US military personnel. (MIT Technology Review)
3 Bluesky now has over 20 million users 
Its user base has tripled in the last three months. (Engadget)
+ Truth Social, on the other hand, is not doing quite so well. (WP $)
+ The rise of Bluesky, and the splintering of social. (MIT Technology Review)
4 How Google created a culture of concealment
It’s been preparing for antitrust action for over a decade, enforcing a policy where employees delete messages by default. (NYT $)
+ The company reacted angrily to reports it may be forced to sell Chrome. (BBC)
5 Project 2025 is already infiltrating the Trump administration
Despite repeated denials, it’s clearly a blueprint for his next term. (Vox)
+ A hacker reportedly gained access to damaging testimonies about Matt Gaetz, his pick to be attorney general. (NYT $)
6 Quantum computers hit a major milestone for error-free calculation
This is a crucial part of making them useful for real-world tasks. (New Scientist $)
7 Technology is changing political speech
Slogans are becoming less effective. Now it’s more about saying different things to different audiences. (New Yorker $)
8 Lab-grown foie gras, anyone?
This could be the cultivated meat industry’s future: as a luxury product for the few. (Wired $)
9 Niantic is using Pokémon Go player data to build an AI navigation system
If it works, it could unlock some amazing capabilities in AR, robotics and beyond. (404 Media)
10 Minecraft is expanding into the real world
It has struck a $110 million deal with one of the world’s biggest theme park operators. (The Guardian)
Quote of the day
“Nobody believes that these cables were severed by accident.”
—Germany’s defense minister Boris Pistorius, tells reporters that the severing of two fiber-optic cables in the Baltic Sea was a deliberate act of sabotage, the New York Times reports.
The big story
Are we alone in the universe?
November 2023
The quest to determine if life is out there has gained greater scientific footing over the past 50 years. Back then, astronomers had yet to spot a single planet outside our solar system. Now we know the galaxy is teeming with a diversity of worlds.
We’re getting closer than ever before to learning how common living worlds like ours actually are. New tools, including artificial intelligence, could help scientists look past their preconceived notions of what constitutes life. Read the full story.
—Adam Mann
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 tweet ’em at me.)
+ How to not only survive but thrive during the winter.
+ Fancy working from somewhere new? Here are some of the best cities for a workcation.
+ Want to see David Bowie imitating Mick Jagger? Of course you do.
+ It’s an old(ish) joke but still funny.
