The Download: meet our AI innovators, and what happens when therapists use AI covertly

Plus: the US won't collaborate with Europe to fight disinformation Each year, we select 35 outstanding individuals under the age of 35 who are using technology to tackle tough problems in their respective fields. Our AI honorees include people who steer model development at Silicon Valley's biggest tech firms and academic researchers who develop new techniques to improve AI's performance. How Yichao "Peak" Ji became a global AI app hitmaker When Yichao Ji--also known as "Peak"--appeared in a launch video for Manus in March, he didn't expect it to go viral. Speaking in fluent English, the 32-year-old introduced the AI agent built by Chinese startup Butterfly Effect, where he serves as chief scientist. The video was not an elaborate production but something about Ji's delivery, and the vision behind the product, cut through the noise. The product, then still an early preview available only through invite codes, spread across the Chinese internet to the world in a matter of days.