The Download: Tracing a mysterious covid strain, and fighting dengue with drones

3 What it’s like to receive a brain-computer implant
Jeffrey Keefer, who has Parkinson’s, agreed to having the device temporarily applied to the surface of his brain. (WSJ $)
+ Former Neuralink workers think the firm is taking unnecessary risks. (Vox)
+ How it feels to have a life-changing brain implant removed. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Tragic news stories drove readers to donate thousands of dollars
The only problem is, the victims didn’t exist. (NBC News)
+ Surveillance company Flock Safety claims to have solved 10% of reported US crime. Did it really? (404 Media)

5 We’re still waiting for AI we’re willing to pay for
We enjoy mucking around with generative AI—but we don’t want to fork out to use it. (Bloomberg $)

6 A British-Italian company claims to have discovered a better way to mine bitcoin
But crypto experts smell a rat. (FT $)
+ Ethereum moved to proof of stake. Why can’t Bitcoin? (MIT Technology Review)

7 Brands dependent on TikTok are getting anxious
There isn’t really another app or platform that would generate the same kind of sales. (NYT $)
+ US lawmakers are being targeted by angry TikTok devotees. (WP $)
+ Nvidia is selling its own version of the viral Stanley cup. (Insider $)

8 Care robots haven’t lived up to their hype
In some cases, they can hinder instead of help. (The Atlantic $)
+ Inside Japan’s long experiment in automating elder care. (MIT Technology Review)

9 Theories of reality are seriously confusing
But some of them are much more consequential than others. (New Scientist $)
+ What is death? (MIT Technology Review)

10 How Pixar’s software changed movie making forever
Starting with the stone cold classic Toy Story. (IEEE Spectrum)