It's been said that hell is other people. Not in 2020. Right now, other people are the only thing between us and species collapse.
Introducing the WIRED25. Undeterred by disaster, these innovators are using tech to make things better for all of us 1/ wired.trib.al/dbP5tPQ
Ava DuVernay
DuVernay may be the most relevant director of 2020. Her body of work includes ‘Selma’, ‘When They See Us’, and '13th’, and this year she launched the online social justice course Array 101, as well as LEAP, a fund for artists whose work explores police violence 2/
Anthony Fauci
As director of NIAID since 1984, Fauci has advised six presidents on HIV, Ebola, Zika, and more. He’s been working 18 hours a day, seven days a week, since the beginning of February, and his integrity in the face of Covid-19 has made him an icon 3/
Vijaya Gadde
Gadde’s counseling Twitter through one of the most boundary-pushing US presidential races ever. This year, the platform began placing misinformation labels on high-profile tweets deemed capable of jeopardizing public safety or capsizing the democratic process 4/
Tsai Ing-wen, Chen Chien-Jen, and Audrey Tang
Together, this Taiwanese trio all but eradicated the coronavirus from their homeland. They did so through decisive actions, strict social distancing measures, and real-time mask availability apps 5/
Jon Gray, Lester Walker, and Pierre Serao
In the midst of a pandemic and protests, this Bronx-based collective partnered with La Morada, a local Oaxacan restaurant, and Rethink, a nonprofit that redirects excess food to NYC families. Together, they’ve served 1,000 meals a day 6/
Swizz Beatz and Timbaland
In March, the megaproducers got a concert-starved nation on its feet by streaming Verzuz’s inaugural hip hop and R&B battle on Instagram. The free face-offs are now on Apple TV, and the pair see it as a sort of museum for Black musicians everywhere 7/
Sundar Pichai and Tim Cook
In the wake of a devastating pandemic, Pichai and Cook overlooked their rivalry to unite Google and Apple for the greater good. Their Covid-19 contact tracing API has been integrated into health care sector apps around the world 8/
Timnit Gebru
Gebru's research has spotlighted racist algorithms and the ethical quandaries of data-mining projects and AI. In a January paper, she argued that current methods of data collection and annotation for machine learning are rife with biases capable of causing harm 9/
Al Gore
The truth is increasingly inconvenient: Earth is getting hotter, and we’re to blame. Gore is still working to fix it—by funding sustainable companies through the equity firm Generation Investment Management and educating the masses with the Climate Reality Project 10/
This is just a portion of the WIRED25. Here’s our full list of innovators across tech, science, food, culture, and politics 11/ wired.trib.al/dbP5tPQ
Want to meet some of the WIRED25? We’re hosting a series of free virtual conversations with them starting next week. Subscribe here to attend the talks taking place September 16, 23, and 30 12/ wired.trib.al/5raf3Eb
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
In an industry once known for cushy perks, some founders are now asking staff to commit to a 72-hour weekly schedule. You’re either in or you’re out. wired.com/story/silicon-…
Would you like to work nearly double the standard 40-hour week? It’s a question that many startups in the US are asking prospective employees—and to get the job, the answer needs to be an unequivocal yes. wired.com/story/silicon-…
These companies are embracing an intense schedule, first popularized in mainland China, known as “996,” or 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week. That’s a 72-hour work week, in case you’re doing the math. wired.com/story/silicon-…
Generative AI has put data centers under the spotlight, and surging electricity needs could increase risk of fires. wired.com/story/x-data-c…
A recent, hours-long fire at a data center used by Elon Musk’s X may have begun after an electrical or mechanical issue in a power system, according to an official fire investigation. wired.com/story/x-data-c…
Data center giant Digital Realty operates the 13-acre site, and multiple people familiar with the matter previously told WIRED that the Musk-run social platform X has servers there. wired.com/story/x-data-c…
NEW: Metadata from the “raw” Epstein prison video shows approximately 2 minutes and 53 seconds were removed from one of two stitched-together clips. The cut starts right at the “missing minute.” wired.com/story/the-fbis…
The nearly three-minute discrepancy may be related to the widely reported one-minute gap—between 11:58:58 pm and 12:00:00 am—that attorney general Pam Bondi has attributed to a nightly system reset. wired.com/story/the-fbis…
This comes after WIRED reported that the video had been stitched together in Adobe Premiere Pro from two video files, contradicting the Justice Department’s claim that it was “raw” footage.
BREAKING: Metadata shows the FBI’s ‘raw’ Jeffrey Epstein prison video was likely modified. wired.com/story/metadata…
Metadata embedded in the video and analyzed by WIRED and independent video forensics experts shows that rather than being a direct export from the prison’s surveillance system, the footage was modified, likely using a Adobe Premiere Pro. wired.com/story/metadata…
Experts caution that it’s unclear what exactly was edited, and that the metadata does not prove deceptive manipulation. wired.com/story/metadata…
Records of hundreds of emergency calls from ICE detention centers obtained by WIRED—including audio recordings—show a system inundated by life-threatening incidents, delayed treatment, and overcrowding. wired.com/story/ice-dete…
Content warning:
On March 16, a woman identifying herself as a detainee at the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia, called 911. Communication was strained: The dispatcher spoke no Spanish.
NEW: The alleged shooter is a 57-year-old white male; according to his ministry's website, he “sought out militant Islamists in order to share the gospel and tell them that violence wasn't the answer.” wired.com/story/shooting…
UPDATE: In a 2023 sermon reviewed by WIRED and delivered by the alleged shooter in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he preached against abortion and called for different Christian churches to become “one.” wired.com/story/shooting…
In another sermon in Matadi that year, Boelter railed against the LGBTQ community. “They're confused,” he said. “The enemy has gotten so far into their mind and their soul.”