The Download: a “God-driven” cryptocurrency and a solar engineering roadmap
This report covers the collapse of a cryptocurrency project marketed to evangelical Christians and a new scientific roadmap for solar geoengineering. It also notes concerns regarding OpenAI's use of unauthorized web data.
Why it matters
These stories highlight the intersection of faith-based financial fraud and the ethical challenges of emerging climate and AI technologies.
Plus: OpenAI’s agents used at least 10 websites for unauthorized communications.
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.
When Eli Regalado first heard God speak to him, he wondered whether he was hallucinating. According to Eli and his wife, Kaitlyn, He told them to get married, buy a house, and start having kids. Then in 2021, divine guidance steered them in an unexpected new direction: crypto.
That October, the Regalados later testified in court, they received holdings in a little-known digital coin. “Take this to my people for a wealth transfer,” Eli heard God say. Over time, they came to believe that He wanted them to launch their own coin.
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