Global Eating Disorder Incidence Rises 71%, Weight-Loss Drugs Emerge as a New Unaccounted Variable

In today's briefing, while the Binance hack involves an enormous sum, the far more critical story to lead with is the connection between weight-loss drugs and eating disorders. MIT Technology Review's Jessica Hamzelou cites a new report showing that from 1990 to 2023, the global incidence of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa rose by 71%. Clinicians have already observed that GLP-1 class weight-loss medications are exacerbating this problem. GLP-1, or Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists, is the class of weight-loss drugs that includes semaglutide. These drugs turn the act of eating less into a simple weekly injection, but the psychological mechanisms underlying eating disorders remain unchanged.
Original article: Eating disorders are on the rise. GLP-1s could make things worse.

Other news, ranked by information value:

• Binance suffers the largest crypto hack in history. The exchange stated that $6.3 billion in assets were affected, and has suspended all deposits and withdrawals. Analysts point to North Korea as the perpetrator. Bloomberg reports that the stolen Bitcoin is highly unlikely to be recovered. Sources: BBC, Guardian, Bloomberg, NBC News
• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was approached by an alleged Chinese spy. The suspect is an executive at a Singapore-based data center firm. U.S. intelligence agencies believe she cultivated a relationship with Huang, and her company is under investigation for suspected chip diversion. Nvidia states that all interactions between the two parties were normal. Sources: NYT, Guardian, CNBC, Bloomberg
• Alphabet notches a record $500 billion market value loss. CNBC attributes the drop to AI eroding search profit margins. Amazon and Intel's poor performances further amplified the tech stock slump. Major cloud providers are placing trillion-dollar bets on infrastructure. Sources: CNBC, Bloomberg, MIT Technology Review
• The Pentagon suspects that freezers at military bases were hacked. The malfunctions caused mass food spoilage, and the incident may be linked to similar hacking events targeting French supermarkets. Sources: Reuters, Gizmodo
• Data centers are set to drive up U.S. climate pollution. The Verge reports that gas power plants could push power sector emissions up 42% by 2030. The Guardian documents that data center workers in Europe face dangerous working conditions. Sources: Verge, Guardian
• SpaceX is distancing itself from NASA, prioritizing Starlink and AI development. Ars Technica notes this poses a major problem for the U.S. space agency. Axios reports that Cape Canaveral is busier than it was during the original Space Race. Sources: Ars Technica, Axios
• U.S. battery manufacturers are tapping into a new market, shifting focus from electric vehicles to grid energy storage, per WSJ reporting. Source: WSJ
• A self-identified humanist has won a religious exemption that allows him to avoid using AI at work. He argues that using AI harms human flourishing. Source: Gizmodo
• Human psychics are pushing back against AI fortune-telling services. Human practitioners claim chatbots lack the sacred, intuitive touch. Source: Guardian

Today's Quote of the Day comes from Steven Strogatz, a mathematics professor at Cornell University. He told Business Insider that as AI takes over more and more intellectual work, personal magnetism (or 'rizz' as referenced in the original piece) will become far more valuable, because it is a trait unique to humans. Source: Business Insider

The animal welfare movement is looking to recruit AI tools. Back in early February, animal welfare advocates and AI researchers gathered at Mox, a no-shoes co-working space in San Francisco, to discuss a provocative question: as artificial general intelligence (AGI) draws near, can it be used to reduce animal suffering? Some attendees proposed building custom AI agents to carry out advocacy work, while others suggested using AI tools to advance cultivated meat development. The real core topic of the conversation centered on funding, as they projected that AI lab employees would pour large sums of money into animal welfare charities. Some attendees even raised a more controversial argument: AI may eventually develop the capacity to feel pain, which would create an unprecedented moral catastrophe. MIT Technology Review investigated why these ideas are gaining traction, and why they are so divisive. Source: MIT Technology Review

Finally, a Halloween special feature: the Picasso of pumpkin carving, Bill McClintock's Ghostmashers mashup, pro scare design tips from America's haunted house creators, and a one-of-a-kind 210-drone light show paired with flames, lasers, projections, fountains, and a Beastie Boys soundtrack. Sources: AP, YouTube, LA Taco, YouTube

Sources: MIT Technology Review, The Download, Thomas Macaulay.