{"id":17877,"date":"2026-02-11T13:37:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T13:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/11\/the-download-inside-the-quitgpt-movement-and-evs-in-africa\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T13:37:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T13:37:16","slug":"the-download-inside-the-quitgpt-movement-and-evs-in-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/11\/the-download-inside-the-quitgpt-movement-and-evs-in-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"The Download: inside the QuitGPT movement, and EVs in Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

This is today\u2019s edition of\u00a0The Download<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what\u2019s going on in the world of technology.<\/em><\/p>\n

A \u201cQuitGPT\u201d campaign is urging people to cancel their ChatGPT subscriptions<\/strong><\/p>\n

In September, Alfred Stephen, a freelance software developer in Singapore, purchased a ChatGPT Plus subscription, which costs $20 a month and offers more access to advanced models, to speed up his work. But he grew frustrated with the chatbot\u2019s coding abilities and its gushing, meandering replies. Then he came across a post on Reddit about a campaign called QuitGPT.<\/p>\n

QuitGPT is one of the latest salvos in a growing movement by activists and disaffected users to cancel their subscriptions. In just the past few weeks, users have flooded Reddit with stories about quitting the chatbot. And while it\u2019s unclear how many users have joined the boycott, there\u2019s no denying QuitGPT is getting attention. <\/strong>Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014Michelle Kim<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

EVs could be cheaper to own than gas cars in Africa by 2040<\/strong><\/p>\n

Electric vehicles could be economically competitive in Africa sooner than expected. Just 1% of new cars sold across the continent in 2025 were electric, but a new analysis finds that with solar off-grid charging, EVs could be cheaper to own than gas vehicles by 2040.<\/p>\n

There are major barriers to higher EV uptake in many countries in Africa, including a sometimes unreliable grid, limited charging infrastructure, and a lack of access to affordable financing. But as batteries and the vehicles they power continue to get cheaper, the economic case for EVs is building. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014Casey Crownhart<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

MIT Technology Review Narrated: How next-generation nuclear reactors break out of the 20th-century blueprint<\/strong><\/p>\n

The popularity of commercial nuclear reactors has surged in recent years as worries about climate change and energy independence drowned out concerns about meltdowns and radioactive waste.<\/p>\n

The problem is, building nuclear power plants is expensive and slow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A new generation of nuclear power technology could reinvent what a reactor looks like\u2014and how it works. Advocates hope that new tech can refresh the industry and help replace fossil fuels without emitting greenhouse gases.<\/p>\n

This is our latest story<\/a> to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we\u2019re publishing each week on Spotify<\/a> and Apple Podcasts<\/a>. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it\u2019s released.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The must-reads<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve combed the internet to find you today\u2019s most fun\/important\/scary\/fascinating stories about technology.<\/em><\/p>\n

1 Social media giants have agreed to be rated on teen safety\u00a0<\/strong>
Meta, TikTok and Snap will undergo independent assessments over how effectively they protect the mental health of teen users. (WP<\/a> $)
+ Discord, YouTube, Pinterest, Roblox and Twitch have also agreed to be graded. <\/em>(LA Times<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

2 The FDA has refused to review Moderna\u2019s mRNA flu vaccine
<\/strong>It\u2019s the latest in a long line of anti-vaccination moves the agency is making. (Ars Technica<\/a>)
+ Experts worry it\u2019ll have a knock-on effect on investment in future vaccines. <\/em>(The Guardian<\/a>)
+ Moderna says it was blindsided by the decision. <\/em>(CNN<\/a>)<\/p>\n

3 EV battery factories are pivoting to manufacturing energy cells\u00a0<\/strong>
Energy storage systems are in, electric vehicles are out. (FT<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

4 Why OpenAI killed off ChatGPT\u2019s 4o model<\/strong>
The qualities that make it attractive for some users make it incredibly risky for others. (WSJ<\/a> $)
+ Bereft users have set up their own Reddit community to mourn. <\/em>(Futurism<\/a>)
+ Why GPT-4o\u2019s sudden shutdown left people grieving. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

5 Drug cartels have started laundering money through crypto
<\/strong>And law enforcement is struggling to stop them. (Bloomberg<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

6 Morocco wants to build an AI for Africa<\/strong>
The country\u2019s Minister of Digital Transition has a plan. (Rest of World<\/a>)
+ What Africa needs to do to become a major AI player. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

7 Christian influencers are bowing out of the news cycle
<\/strong>They\u2019re choosing to ignore world events to protect their own inner peace. (The Atlantic<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

8 An RFK Jr-approved diet is pretty joyless<\/strong>
Don\u2019t expect any dessert, for one. (Insider<\/a> $)
+ The US government\u2019s health site uses Grok to dispense nutrition advice. <\/em>(Wired<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

9 Don\u2019t toss out your used vape
<\/strong>Hackers can give it a second life as a musical synthesizer. (Wired<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

10 An ice skating duo danced to AI music at the Winter Olympics \"\u26f8\"<\/strong>
Centuries of bangers to choose from, and this is what they opted for. (TechCrunch<\/a>)
+ AI is coming for music, too. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Quote of the day<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThese companies are terrified that no one\u2019s going to notice them.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014Tom Goodwin, co-founder of business consulting firm All We Have Is Now, tells the Guardian<\/a> why AI startups are going to increasingly desperate measures to grab would-be customers\u2019 attention.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

One more thing<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n

How AI is changing gymnastics judging<\/p>\n

<\/strong>The 2023 World Championships last October marked the first time an AI judging system was used on every apparatus in a gymnastics competition. There are obvious upsides to using this kind of technology: AI could help take the guesswork out of the judging technicalities. It could even help to eliminate biases, making the sport both more fair and more transparent.<\/p>\n

At the same time, others fear AI judging will take away something that makes gymnastics special. Gymnastics is a subjective sport, like diving or dressage, and technology could eliminate the judges\u2019 role in crafting a narrative.<\/p>\n

For better or worse, AI has officially infiltrated the world of gymnastics. The question now is whether it really makes it fairer. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014Jessica Taylor Price<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

We can still have nice things<\/strong><\/p>\n

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? <\/em>Drop me a line<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>skeet \u2019em at me<\/em><\/a>.)<\/p>\n

<\/em>+ Today marks the birthday of the late, great Leslie Nielsen<\/a>\u2014one of the best to ever do it.
+ Congratulations are in order for Hannah Cox<\/a>, who has just completed 100 marathons in 100 days across India in her dad\u2019s memory.
+ Feeling down? A trip to Finland<\/a> could be just what you need.
+ We love Padre Guilherme, the Catholic priest dropping incredible Gregorian chant beats<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is today\u2019s edition of\u00a0The Download,\u00a0our weekday newsletter that provides […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[226],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17877\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}