I am not a solider, but I have been trained to kill

PLUS: The hottest year on record, preordering a new Samsung phone, and AI-powered text. View this email in your browser  |  Manage newsletter subscriptions  01.15.21   BACKCHANNEL I Am Not a Soldier, but I Have Been Trained to Kill BY RACHEL MONROE A sprawling tactical industry is teaching American civilians how to fight like Special Ops forces. By preparing for violence at home, are they calling it into being?   BURNOUT 2020 Was the One of the Hottest Years on Record BY ERIC NIILER Officials from NASA and NOAA say the warming of both the planet's air and water are driving weather disasters.   FAKING IT AI-Powered Text From This Program Could Fool the Government BY WILL KNIGHT A Harvard medical student submitted auto-generated comments to Medicaid; volunteers couldn't distinguish them from those penned by humans.   EXPLOITS Hackers Used Zero-Days to Infect Windows and Android Devices BY DAN GOODIN, ARS TECHNICA Google researchers say the campaign, which booby-trapped sites to ensnare targets, was carried out by a "highly sophisticated actor."   SPONSORED CONTENT This Tiny NYC Startup Is Knocking the Retirement Industry on Its Head This Princeton grad's startup just raised another $28 million in funding to help people conquer retirement. Learn more. GET WIRED Get one year of WIRED access for less than $1 per month. Tech news and analysis you won't find anywhere else. Subscribe now.   GET YOUR GAME ON Wikipedia Is Basically a Massive RPG BY STEPHEN HARRISON Sure, the metaphor is imperfect. But as the encyclopedia enters its 20th year, it's worth reflecting on the "rules of the game"—and how they might change.   BUYING GUIDE How to Preorder the Samsung Galaxy S21 (and Which Model to Pick) BY JULIAN CHOKKATTU Should you go Ultra or snag the S21+? We break down the differences between the company's new phones and round up the best deals.   PUBLIC HEALTH Everything We Know Now About Schools, Kids, and Covid-19 BY MEGAN MOLTENI Researchers are finally getting good data on how severely SARS-CoV-2 affects children and how they transmit it. What does it mean for reopening classrooms?   THE MONITOR Why TikTok (and Everyone Else) Is Singing Sea Chanteys BY ANGELA WATERCUTTER It has a lot to do with unity—and a little something to do with earworms.     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