The Download: China’s empty data centers, and OpenAI’s new practical image generator

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. China built hundreds of AI data centers to catch the AI boom. Now many stand unused. Just months ago, China’s boom in data center construction was at its height, fueled by both government…

Mar 26, 2025 - 14:33

The Download: China’s empty data centers, and OpenAI’s new practical image generator

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

China built hundreds of AI data centers to catch the AI boom. Now many stand unused.

Just months ago, China’s boom in data center construction was at its height, fueled by both government and private investors. Renting out GPUs to companies that need them for training AI models was once seen as a sure bet.

But with the rise of DeepSeek and a sudden change in the economics around AI, the industry is faltering. Prices for GPUs are falling and many newly built facilities are now sitting empty. Read the full story to find out why.

—Caiwei Chen

OpenAI’s new image generator aims to be practical enough for designers and advertisers

What’s new? OpenAI has released a new image generator that’s designed less for typical surrealist AI art and more for highly controllable and practical creation of visuals—a sign that OpenAI thinks its tools are ready for use in fields like advertising and graphic design.

Why it matters: While most AI models have been great at creating fantastical images or realistic deepfakes, they’ve been terrible at identifying certain objects correctly and putting them in their proper place. OpenAI’s new model makes progress on technical issues that have plagued AI image generators for years.

But in entering this domain, OpenAI has two paths, both difficult. Read the full story.

The AI Hype Index: DeepSeek mania, Israel’s spying tool, and cheating at chess

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 everything you need to know about the state of the industry. Take a look at the full index here.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 The Trump administration has barred 80 companies from buying US tech
The list of primarily Chinese firms is forbidden from buying American chips. (NYT $)
+ The list included a server maker that buys chips from Nvidia. (WSJ $)+ China disputed claims the firms were seeking knowledge for military purposes. (AP News)

2 A DOGE staffer provided tech support to a cybercrime ring
And bragged about trafficking in stolen data and cyberstalking an FBI agent. (Reuters)
+ Elon Musk could use DOGE’s cuts to steer contracts towards his own firms. (The Guardian)
+ Can AI help DOGE slash government budgets? It’s complex. (MIT Technology Review)

3 The US government has hired a vaccine skeptic to conduct a major vaccine study
The long-discredited David Geier will oversee analysis of whether jabs cause autism. (WP $)
+ The White House appears to be targeting mRNA vaccines. (FT $)
+ Why childhood vaccines are a public health success story. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Microsoft has unveiled two deep reasoning Copilot AI agents
The two agents, called Researcher and Analyst, are designed to do just that. (The Verge)
+ How ChatGPT search paves the way for AI agents. (MIT Technology Review)

5 Inside the rise of Chinese hacking
The cyber threat posed by the country is increasingly sophisticated—and aggressive. (Economist $)

6 Google has instructed workers to remove DEI terms from their work
The company has offered up alternative language to use in its place.(The Information $)

7 Synthesia is offering shares to reward human actors for its AI avatars
The compensation scheme is the first of its kind. (FT $)
+ Synthesia’s hyperrealistic deepfakes will soon have full bodies. (MIT Technology Review)

8 China’s RedNote is working to keep its influx of TikTok “refugees”
To do so, it’ll need to expand its user base outside the Chinese diaspora. (Rest of World)

9 This operating system is designed to keep running during civilization’s collapse
Collapse OS is designed to give us access to lost knowledge in case of disaster. (Wired $)

10 No one really knows how long people live
Longevity research is bogged down in bad record-keeping. (NY Mag $)
+ The quest to legitimize longevity medicine. (MIT Technology Review)

Quote of the day

“There are so many great reasons to be on Signal. Now including the opportunity for the vice president of the United States of America to randomly add you to a group chat for coordination of sensitive military operations.”

—Moxie Marlinspike, founder of secure messaging platform Signal, pokes fun at the fallout surrounding US officials accidentally adding a journalist to a private military group chat in a post on X.

The big story

Longevity enthusiasts want to create their own independent state. They’re eyeing Rhode Island.

May 2023

—Jessica Hamzelou

I recently traveled to Montenegro for a gathering of longevity enthusiasts. All the attendees were super friendly, and the sense of optimism was palpable. They’re all confident we’ll be able to find a way to slow or reverse aging—and they have a bold plan to speed up progress.

Around 780 of these people have created a “pop-up city” that hopes to circumvent the traditional process of clinical trials. They want to create an independent state where like-minded innovators can work together in an all-new jurisdiction that gives them free rein to self-experiment with unproven drugs. Welcome to Zuzalu. Read the full story.

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)

+ Good news—it turns out that fungi are actually pretty good at saving imperiled plants.
+ Ever wondered what ancient Egyptian mummy remains smell like? These intrepid scientists found out.
+ Kudos to this terrible artist, who is a surprise smash hit.
+ Check out this handy guide to walking the path of everyday enlightenment.