Bill Gates: We need to plan for the next pathogen

PLUS: More of WIRED's best longreads from this week.

View this email in your browser  |  Manage newsletter subscriptions  05.22.22   Bill Gates Is So Over This Pandemic The acerbic optimist thinks anxious people (like me) need to move on from Covid and start planning for the next vicious pathogen. BY STEVEN LEVY | 7-MINUTE READ WIRED's Steven Levy has interviewed Bill Gates dozens of times over the course of decades. They've developed a distinctive rapport, with Gates growing increasingly blunt in his comments. Often, he fires off zingers in defense of what has become a controversial position: that in spite of climate change and an ongoing pandemic, the world is on a good track, and much of humanity's condition can in fact improve. Still, he's got feedback for the rest of us. In their latest conversation, conducted during the TED conference in Vancouver, Gates critiqued the US's handling of the pandemic, Levy's Covid anxiety, and—on occasion—his interlocutor's intelligence. The billionaire shot down Levy's many attempts to argue that civilization was on the decline, except on one point. "The polarization of US politics, and what that might lead to, is something that I can't fit in my normal framework that things improve," Gates conceded. "OK," Levy interjected. "There's something that we both agree is a regression." The two burst out laughing. Levy left the interview amazed at how their conversational dynamic had evolved into that of a high school debate club. "In a weird way, it's a compliment," Levy says now. He sees it as a nod to their long history in tech. Fittingly, they ended the interview with a look to the future of computers—why they're still dumb, but also how to fix them. Sandra Upson | Features Editor   If Tech Fails to Design for the Most Vulnerable, It Fails Us All BY AFSANEH RIGOT | 6-MINUTE READ Building around the so-called typical user is a dangerous mistake.   Do People Caught on Ring Cameras Have Privacy Rights? BY SARAH LAGESON | 7-MINUTE READ Surveillance devices are becoming more ubiquitous. Do those who unknowingly appear in cam footage have rights—and who gets to decide?   Drones Are Turning Into Personal Flying Machines BY CLIVE THOMPSON | 4-MINUTE READ We were promised jetpacks that never arrived. But you know what's finally here? Big, honking drones you can ride on.   The Internet Origin Story You Know Is Wrong BY KEVIN DRISCOLL | 8-MINUTE READ The history of the internet is repeatedly reduced to the story of the singular Arpanet. But BBSs were just as important—if not more.   An EU Law Could Let US Prosecutors Scan Phones for Abortion Texts BY ALBERT FOX CAHN | 4-MINUTE READ Tools used to find child abuse material could be wielded in the US to protect "unborn children" if the EU bans end-to-end encryption.   In Memoriam: Forgetting Your Password BY ZAK JASON | 3-MINUTE READ ​In our passwordless future, we'll lose the frustration—and freedom—of getting locked out. GET WIRED A helicopter on Mars. What to expect post-Covid. The next electrifying/terrifying leap in AI explained. Give yourself the gift of information. Get 1 year of WIRED for less than $1 per month. That includes Steven Levy's exclusive newsletter and a free tote! Subscribe now.         Have questions or comments? Reply to this email.   This e-mail was sent to you by WIRED. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, wired@newsletters.wired.com, to your address book.   View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe or manage your newsletter subscriptions