If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe’s 1973 legal decision against Wade to make abortion a constitutional right, many parts of the country would be poised to plunge into the dark ages of reproductive rights, during which Doctors are prohibited from providing any abortion services, and in some states there are even cases of rape, incest, or genetic abnormalities.
But there’s still a big loophole: most of these pending state laws exempt abortion-seekers from any penalties. The result could be an increase in the number of people ending their pregnancies at home using the abortion pill.
MIT Technology Review spoke with medical experts and reproductive rights attorneys to learn how the abortion pill works, where to get it, and the risks of using it without a doctor’s care. . Read full story.
—Antonio Regalado
Things to read
I’ve scoured the internet to find you today’s most interesting/important/scary/fascinating stories about tech.
1 EU wants to make AI more ethical
But experts and big players are conflicted about how to achieve it — and even what it means. (New Statesman $)
+ A Quick Guide to the Most Important AI Law You’ve Never Heard Of. (MIT . Technology Review)
+ Google’s AI LaMDA has no sentience. (Atlantic $)
But it’s no surprise that people are increasingly fooled by human-like AI. (Guardians)
+ This AI is trying to recreate the mind of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (WP $)
2 The Crypto Crash Is Getting Worse
After a series of hacks targeting the NFT Discords project. (Motherboard)
+ More asset exchanges are also reducing workers. (FT $)
3 Internet Explorer is officially dead
After 27 long years of service, the browser is no more. (Guardians)
+ Microsoft is under pressure to fix software vulnerabilities more quickly. (Ars Technica)
4 The brain has an inbuilt low power mode
This is especially important to understand how diet affects people’s perception of the world. (Quanta)
+ The mysteries of the human brain. (MIT . Technology Review)
5 A woman’s search for her father led to… a fertility doctor
Join a long list of victims of fertility fraud. (The Verge)
6 Sheryl Sandberg’s legacy pops up big on Facebook
But her corporate feminist-specific brand hasn’t aged just yet. (Slate $)
+ Experts are divided on whether Meta’s plan to stop the teenage doom is working. (Protocol)
7 Fact Checkers Are Exposing Lies Around Sri Lanka’s Crisis
Their protest tracking efforts are creating a comprehensive historical database. (The rest of the world)
8 Virtual reality is helping autistic children focus
By removing the distracting sensory stimuli of the real world. (NYT $)
+ Robots teach autistic children social skills that can help them develop. (MIT . Technology Review)
9 Minority Report Tried To Warn Us
20 years on, maybe we should listen. (Atlantic $)
10 A love note for voice notes
Love them or hate them, they bridge the gap between calls and texts. (FT $)
Quote of the day
“Obviously, expensive digital images of monkeys would improve the world a lot.”
—Bill Gates sarcastically explains why he doesn’t like NFTs going to a TechCrunch conference, reports CNBC.
