Researched by: Aarthi Ramnath, Anannya Parekh & Aakriti Anand
What the F*** Happened Here: Election edition
ICYMI: We now have a twice-weekly newsmagazine show—hosted by our editor Lakshmi Chaudhry. In the latest episode, we ask if this is the end of the Modi era—in a much livelier, light-hearted take.
FYI: The show is a great option when you don’t have time to read us every day. You get a video version of our best stories twice a week. Do check it out and—most importantly—share it with your friends, fam, colleagues, and more. It’s a great cost-free way to introduce someone to splainer—especially if they are text-averse.
UN issues stark climate change warning
There is a 90% chance that the planet will experience a record year for warm temperatures within the next five years. That’s pretty alarming, since we just shattered all records in 2023. And the chances are just as high that these temperatures will be higher than 1.5°C—than the start of the industrial age. That’s what countries pledged to avoid in the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement. The message: “The target of limiting long-term global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is hanging by a thread.”
The really alarming bit that caught our eye:
As global warming continues, “this string of hottest months will be remembered as comparatively cold,” said Carlo Buontempo, the Copernicus director. By quickly cutting emissions of greenhouse gases, Earth might be able to cool back down to today’s temperatures by century’s end, he said
In other words, enjoy these temperatures while they last. (New York Times, paywall, Associated Press)
Coming soon: iPhone aur OpenAI ki jodi
Apple is teaming up with OpenAI to integrate its chatbot, ChatGPT, into the iPhone’s operating system. It will be an opt-in system—which is a relief, since it sounds a bit invasive: “The agreement will reportedly give the ChatGPT-maker access to potentially millions of Apple users, as the chatbot’s capabilities get paired with Apple’s applications and services.” The happier news for iPhone users: Thanks to AI, you’ll soon be able to control Siri with your voice—to do all sorts of things—”send or delete emails, open specific publications on Apple News, and summarise an article on iPhone and iPad.” (Bloomberg News, paywall, Quartz)
In related news: Both Apple and Nvidia are now $3 trillion companies—but Microsoft remains at #1 with a market cap of $3.14 trillion. (CNBC)
The Boeing Starliner finally takes off
We are happy to report that Boeing’s first ever spacecraft has left the planet—after a long string of delays caused by technical problems (all of them explained in this Big Story). It has been slated for launch for over a decade. Reminder: The Starliner is slated to spend six days at the International Space Station—with veteran NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams on board. Yes, that’s the same Sunita Williams we all know and love. (CNN)
A covert Israeli campaign in the US
The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs—which reaches out to Jews around the world—organised a covert social media campaign to influence Americans and their lawmakers:
At its peak, it used hundreds of fake accounts that posed as real Americans on X, Facebook and Instagram to post pro-Israel comments. The accounts focused on U.S. lawmakers, particularly ones who are Black and Democrats… ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence-powered chatbot, was used to generate many of the posts. The campaign also created three fake English-language news sites featuring pro-Israel articles.
None of this sounds surprising in the era of disinformation. But it’s considered bad form for Israel to target its closest ally. As one Israeli watchdog puts it: “Israel’s role in this is reckless and probably ineffective.” (New York Times, paywall)
Meta’s plans to ruin your life
Over at Facebook: The company is tired of being a refuge for old fogies—and wants to attract Gen Z users. The solution: to have more recommended posts like Insta—than stuff from friends and family:
The company has refocused its core product suite to focus on discovery of content relevant to younger audiences, including shoppable goods in its Marketplace feature, dating, groups and events. It's shuttered features that weren't core to social discovery, such as audio and news products.
Sounds like a nightmare—also, the only reason anyone is still on Facebook is to see goofy posts from friends and fam. But hey, maybe 18-year-olds prefer the exact same stuff they get on Insta—except on Facebook. There’s lots more on plans to turn Facebook into the ‘everything app’ over at Axios.
Meanwhile, at Instagram: The platform is planning to introduce unskippable ads a la YouTube. The so-called “ad break” will display a countdown timer—because you can’t watch anything else on the app until you watch the ad. No one likes ads, but they may be especially annoying on Insta:
While these are annoying, at least YouTube videos typically last longer than a few seconds, and on Instagram, you're often blazing through posts a lot faster, apparently making ad breaks feel far more intrusive.
The feature is being tested on a limited number of users—who hopefully will absolutely hate it. (Mashable)
Also bad news for Meta: A former engineer Ferras Hamad accused the company of suppressing content supporting Palestinians:
In the complaint, Hamad accused Meta of a pattern of bias against Palestinians, saying the company deleted internal employee communications that mentioned the deaths of their relatives in Gaza and conducted investigations into their use of the Palestinian flag emoji. The company launched no such investigations for employees posting Israeli or Ukrainian flag emojis in similar contexts, according to the lawsuit.
Reuters has the exclusive report.
Get ready to talk to your future self
Researchers at MIT have created an AI chatbot that can simulate your future self—to help you gain “pearls of wisdom.” The aim is to encourage long-term thinking. Here’s how it works:
To interact with the chatbot, users are first prompted to answer a series of questions about themselves, their friends and family, the past experiences that shaped them, and the ideal life they envisaged for the future. They then upload a portrait image, which the program digitally ages to produce a likeness of the user aged 60.
All this helps create “memories” and a “coherent backstory.” The experience sounds both fascinating and a bit sci-fi:
With a profile picture that is digitally aged to show youthful users as wrinkly, white-haired seniors, the chatbot generates plausible synthetic memories and draws on a user’s present aspirations to spin tales about its successful life.
The Guardian has loads more.
New reasons to stop boozing on flights
We Indians already know that there are good reasons not to drink while you fly. For example: You may find yourself peeing on fellow passengers. Now, a new study offers fresh fodder. It shows that even a glass of wine or beer to help you sleep, isn’t a good idea:
Airplane cabins are pressurised to maintain the equivalent of 8,000 feet (2,438 metres) of elevation, meaning the air pressure and oxygen levels are lower than what most people experience on Earth. Combine that with alcohol consumption and sleep, and it’s more likely a person will experience an intensified drop in oxygen saturation in their blood.
So you end up sleeping for far fewer hours. It’s also an especially bad idea since it puts “considerable strain on the cardiac system and might lead to exacerbation of symptoms in patients with cardiac or pulmonary diseases.” (CNN)
In other health-related news: A new study has found that a jab of weight loss drugs like Ozempic or Wegovy can reduce the risk of contracting obesity-linked cancers by 20%—including ovarian, liver, colorectal, pancreatic, bowel, and breast cancer. Other studies show they could also boost survival rates in breast cancer patients—and reduce their risk of relapse. A good read: This Big Story has more on the complicated issue of weight loss drugs. (Times UK, paywall, The Guardian)
Ambanis really annoy Genoa
As you may know, Anant Ambani is taking a long and very expensive route down the aisle to his wedding. First came that absurdly lavish pre-wedding bash in Jamnagar. Now, Junior is hosting 800 guests on a cruise ship around the Mediterranean. The €139 million ($151 million) tour is making news for all the reasons:
Pulling into Genoa in the small hours of Sunday with speakers blaring music, the Celebrity Ascent cruise ship startled locals who rang the police to no avail. “The behaviour of the organisers was absurd,” a local firefighter said. “They kept half of Genoa awake with the high, unjustified volume for most of the night before it stopped at dawn. What’s worse is the coast guard did nothing, despite being called at 4.30am.”
The noisy pre-wedding guests have also annoyed residents of Portofino—by essentially taking over the town and all its restaurants. FYI: The giant Ambani tub docked in Genoa around the same time as a boat rescuing 51 refugees from sea. (Times UK, paywall, Independent UK)
Two things to see
One: Someone in Barcelona bought a long lost Degas at the throwaway price of $1,000! The reason: It was listed at auction as a “fake.” But one guy knew better:
The surprisingly masterful composition caught the punter’s eye and, with the help of expert Michel Schulman, they determined that it was most likely Éloge du maquillage (In praise of cosmetics) (1876), a known brothel scene painted by Degas that had been recorded as missing for several decades.
And they still underbid for the painting—which was put up for auction by a person who inherited the painting but didn’t think it was the real deal. The estimated value of the painting: $12 million. Seems kinda mean. In any case, not exactly his best work. (Artnet)
Two: New Zealand hosts an annual Tree of the Year competition to celebrate its pretty trees—not surprising from a country that is also home to the world-famous Bird of the Year contest. This year’s winner is a rātā tree near Karamea in the South Island region. It is called “The Walking Tree” because it looks like one of those Ents out of ‘LoTR’. It’s also bit of a ‘fantastic beast’:
The northern rātā is one of New Zealand’s tallest flowering trees. It begins life as an epiphyte, attached to another host tree. Eventually, its roots reach the ground and it envelops the original host. The species can live for 1,000 years.
We’re more fond of the willow that emerges out of Lake Wānaka:
The weirdo Walking Tree is below. (The Guardian)
Takshashila: A doorway to public policy
Editor’s note: We are delighted to unveil our partnership with Takshashila Institution. It is one of India’s foremost think-tanks on public policy. They also run valuable courses that teach students how to tackle complex policy challenges—bringing together academic experts and policy practitioners from across the world. We will be showcasing their courses and community in splainer. Please note: This is not paid content.
Over to Takshashila… The doors to knowledge and innovation in public policy are now wide open for everyone. Takshashila Institution, the pioneer in public policy education in India invites you to join OpenTakshashila, a free space for learning, exploring and engaging with the public policy community.
What’s happening on OpenTakshashila? Educate Yourself: Our "Open Course in Public Policy" is a free, self-paced online course designed to equip you with the fundamentals of public policy. It's your foundation for understanding, analysing, and influencing policy decisions.
Join the Conversation: Participate in "Open Mic" sessions where nuanced discussions on current policy issues thrive. It's your chance to voice your thoughts, listen to diverse opinions, and engage in debates that matter.
Dive into Books: Our "Books & Banter" book club invites you to share your latest reads, discover new insights, and discuss ideas that can transform society. It's a space where policy enthusiasts and book lovers unite.
Have Fun Learning: "OffBeat" offers a unique blend of events and fun games focused on public policy. This is where learning meets play, allowing you to grasp complex concepts through engaging and interactive activities.
Explore Open Takshashila—and sign up here.
