The Download: a chip talent battle, and deflating AI hype

<p><em>This is today&#8217;s edition of </em><a href="https://forms.technologyreview.com/newsletters/briefing-the-download/?_ga=2.179569122.736533416.1649661040-405833893.1649413289"><em>The Download</em></a>, <em>our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what&#8217;s going on in the world of technology.</em><br></p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Samsung’s chip workers are jumping ship to rival SK Hynix  </strong></h3> <p>Lee, an engineer at Samsung’s semiconductor division, used to work late. But lately, he’s been clocking out on time and heading straight home to work on his job application for the chipmaker’s South Korean rival SK Hynix.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>His colleagues are doing the same. They feel&nbsp;demoralized by the $476,000 bonus that SK Hynix is set to pay its employees, flush with record profits from making the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips that power Nvidia’s AI accelerators. The figure dwarfs what chip workers at Samsung are set to receive and is sparking an exodus.</p> <p><a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/07/28/1140853/samsung-chip-workers-exodus-sk-hynix/?utm_source=the_download&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=the_download.unpaid.engagement&amp;utm_term=%3C%3C%20Test%20Class%20%3E%3E&amp;utm_content=07-29-2026&amp;mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">Read our story about why this fierce talent war could help determine who dominates the next generation of AI chips.&nbsp;</a></p> <p><em>—Michelle Kim</em></p> <p></p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The AI Hype Index: Unsexy AI  </strong></h3> <p>Separating AI reality from hyped-up fiction isn’t always easy. That’s why we’ve created the AI Hype Index—a simple, at-a-glance summary of what’s shaping the industry right now.&nbsp;</p> <p>The latest edition includes Meta’s creepy glasses, doom-mongering about AI and jobs, and (to some, oddly sexy?) robotic hands. <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/07/29/1140795/the-ai-hype-index-unsexy-ai/?utm_source=the_download&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=the_download.unpaid.engagement&amp;utm_term=%3C%3C%20Test%20Class%20%3E%3E&amp;utm_content=07-29-2026&amp;mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">See where it all landed on this month’s index</a>.</p> <p></p> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>The must-reads</strong></p> <p><em>I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.</em></p> <p><strong>1 OpenAI’s rogue agent compromised another customer</strong><br>An unnamed client of a company that provides AI infrastructure, called Modal Labs. (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/openais-rogue-agent-compromised-an-account-second-tech-firm-sources-say-2026-07-28/?mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">Reuters</a>&nbsp;$)<br><em>+ OpenAI called the Hugging Face attack unprecedented. But we’ve been here before.</em>&nbsp;(<a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/07/27/1140836/openai-hugging-face-attack-precedent/?utm_source=the_download&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=the_download.unpaid.engagement&amp;utm_term=%3C%3C%20Test%20Class%20%3E%3E&amp;utm_content=07-29-2026&amp;mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">MIT Technology Review</a>)</p> <p><strong>2 Hugging Face has a nonconsensual deepfakes problem</strong><br>Researchers tested nine of the top image editing models it hosts, and found seven&nbsp;will ‘nudify’ images of women. (<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/hugging-face-has-a-nonconsensual-deepfakes-problem/?mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">Wired</a>&nbsp;$)<br>+&nbsp;<em>The shock of seeing your body used in deepfake porn.&nbsp;</em>(<a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/05/14/1137161/ai-porn-nonconsensual-deepfakes-takedown-piracy-copyright/?utm_source=the_download&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=the_download.unpaid.engagement&amp;utm_term=%3C%3C%20Test%20Class%20%3E%3E&amp;utm_content=07-29-2026&amp;mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">MIT Technology Review</a>)<br><br><strong>3 Investors are only getting more anxious about AI’s earnings potential</strong><br>The numbers don&#8217;t add up, and maybe they never will. (<a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/972119/ai-stock-fall-google-capex?mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">The Verge</a>&nbsp;$)<br><em>+ A global tech stock sell-off intensified yesterday.</em>&nbsp;(<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/business/stocks-ai-chips.html?mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">FT</a>&nbsp;$)<br><em>+ Ratings agency Fitch says an AI market correction is now one of the biggest risks facing the global economy.&nbsp;</em>(<a href="https://thenextweb.com/news/fitch-ai-market-correction-credit-risk?mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">The Next Web</a>)<br><em>+ New real-world data from Google shows most tasks at most jobs are unaffected by AI.&nbsp;</em>(<a href="https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/07/despite-ai-hype-googles-data-shows-workers-arent-automating-themselves-away/?mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">Ars Technica</a>)</p> <p><strong>4&nbsp;Moonshot wants advanced Nvidia chips to train its next model</strong><br>The Chinese AI firm&nbsp;already got access to some of them to train its latest release, called&nbsp;Kimi 3. (<a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/chinese-ai-startup-moonshot-seeks-nvidia-blackwell-chips-next-model?mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">The Information</a>&nbsp;$)<br>+&nbsp;<em>Taiwan detained an Nvidia employee as part of a probe into the alleged smuggling of AI chips into China.</em>(<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-28/taiwan-detains-nvidia-employee-in-china-chip-smuggling-probe?mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">Bloomberg</a>&nbsp;$)<br>+&nbsp;<em>The Trump Administration has banned Chinese humanoid robots.&nbsp;</em>(<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-administration-ban-new-chinese-robots-inverters-protecting-us-ai-buildout-2026-07-28/?mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">Reuters</a>&nbsp;$)<br><br><strong>5 Minnesota has been blocked from banning prediction market platforms</strong><br>It’s the latest skirmish in a fight between states and the Trump Administration over this issue. (<a href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-gambling-prediction-markets-ban-halted-54b05832af6bb3ebee77450222ebaa00?mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">AP</a>)<br><em>+ Here’s how prediction markets incentivize weather data sabotage.&nbsp;</em>(<a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/07/17/1140622/weather-data-sabotage/?utm_source=the_download&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=the_download.unpaid.engagement&amp;utm_term=%3C%3C%20Test%20Class%20%3E%3E&amp;utm_content=07-29-2026&amp;mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">MIT Technology Review</a>)</p> <p><strong>6 Apple is launching a device leasing program</strong><br>As the global memory shortage worsens, the idea is that this will make your iPhone feel more affordable. (<a href="https://qz.com/apple-upgrade-klarna-device-lease-program-072826?mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">Quartz</a>&nbsp;$)<br>+&nbsp;<em>Apple just topped a $5 trillion valuation for the first time.&nbsp;</em>(<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/024fb6a1-fb39-4b2d-be3e-2393ed62482a?syn-25a6b1a6=1&amp;mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">FT</a>&nbsp;$)<br><br><strong>7 Some Substackers are complaining about its new AI detection tool</strong><br>Presumably the ones who’d prefer to secretly continue using AI to write. (<a href="https://www.404media.co/substackers-say-new-ai-detection-tool-is-a-witch-hunt/?mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">404 Media</a>&nbsp;$)<br><br><strong>8 Ebay had to pay&nbsp;nearly $50 million to settle a harassment suit</strong><br>Their employees&nbsp;threatened and sent bizarre deliveries—including cockroaches—for a pair of bloggers for&nbsp;years. (<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/en/news/thp/2026-07-28/ebays-agreed-to-pay-nearly-50-million-to-couple-sent-cockroaches-bloody-pig-mask?mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">Bloomberg</a>&nbsp;$)</p> <p><strong>9 A New York school just rowed back on plans to deploy a robot teacher</strong><br>Sanity prevails, for once. (<a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/07/29/g-s1-136072/ai-robot-teacher?mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">NPR</a>)</p> <p><strong>10 This startup wants to build a better microwave beep</strong><br>I’d like to request a sax solo for mine, please. (<a href="https://gizmodo.com/this-startup-wants-to-build-a-better-microwave-beep-2000792017?mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">Gizmodo</a>)</p> <p></p> <p><strong>Quote of the day</strong></p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">“The government hopes to set a precedent that no one has the right to privacy.” </h2> <p>—Samuel Tunick, an Atlanta resident, tells <a href="https://www.404media.co/the-government-hopes-to-set-a-precedent-an-interview-with-the-man-charged-for-allegedly-wiping-his-grapheneos-phone/?mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">404 Media</a> why he thinks he&#8217;s facing charges after wiping his phone during a customs search.</p> <p></p> <p><strong>One More Thing</strong></p> <div class="wp-block-image"> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="3000" height="1955" src="https://wp.technologyreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/MIT_AI-Hype_1-2-top.jpg?w=840" alt="" class="wp-image-1129580" srcset="https://wp.technologyreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/MIT_AI-Hype_1-2-top.jpg 3000w, https://wp.technologyreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/MIT_AI-Hype_1-2-top.jpg?resize=300,196 300w, https://wp.technologyreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/MIT_AI-Hype_1-2-top.jpg?resize=768,500 768w, https://wp.technologyreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/MIT_AI-Hype_1-2-top.jpg?resize=1536,1001 1536w, https://wp.technologyreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/MIT_AI-Hype_1-2-top.jpg?resize=2048,1335 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 3000px) 100vw, 3000px" /><div class="image-credit">DEREK BRAHNEY</div> </figure> </div> <p><strong>AI coding is now everywhere. But not everyone is convinced. </strong></p> <p>Depending who you ask, AI-powered coding is either giving software developers an unprecedented productivity boost or churning out masses of poorly designed code that saps their attention and sets software projects up for serious long term-maintenance problems.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>The problem is right now, it’s not easy to know which is true. Coding has been touted as the killer app for large language models, but after speaking to more than 30 developers, technology executives, analysts, and researchers, MIT Technology Review found that the picture is not as straightforward as it might seem.</p> <p><a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/15/1128352/rise-of-ai-coding-developers-2026/?utm_source=the_download&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=the_download.unpaid.engagement&amp;utm_term=%3C%3C%20Test%20Class%20%3E%3E&amp;utm_content=07-29-2026&amp;mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">Here’s what we found out.&nbsp;</a></p> <p><em>—Edd Gent</em></p> <p></p> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>We can still have nice things</strong></p> <p><em>A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? </em><a href="mailto:[email protected]"><em>Drop me a line</em></a><em>.)</em></p> <p>+ Check out Moscow’s stunning subway <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/01/travel/soviet-era-metros.html?mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">stations</a>.<br>+ This <a href="https://fridgepoem.com/?mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">website</a> lets you create your own little ‘fridge magnet’ style poems. <br>+ Look how beautiful <a href="https://magnifiedsand.com/?mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">sand</a> can be when it’s put under the microscope. Who knew?!<br>+ Can’t get enough of this weird pastel dreamcore <a href="https://www.instagram.com/teber/?mc_cid=1515a0e65d&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID">aesthetic</a>.</p>