The Download: down the Mandela effect rabbit hole, and the promise of a vaccine for colds

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.

Why do so many people think the Fruit of the Loom logo had a cornucopia?

Quick question: Does the Fruit of the Loom logo feature a cornucopia?

Many of us have been wearing the company’s T-shirts for decades, and yet the question of whether there is a woven brown horn of plenty on the logo is surprisingly contentious.

According to a 2022 poll, 55% of Americans believe the logo does include a cornucopia, 25% are unsure, and only 21% are confident that it doesn’t, even though this last group is correct.

There’s a name for what’s happening here: the “Mandela effect,” or collective false memory, so called because a number of people misremember that Nelson Mandela died in prison. Yet while many find it easy to let their unconfirmable beliefs go, some spend years seeking answers—and vindication. Read the full story.

—Amelia Tait

This story is part of MIT Technology Review’s series “The New Conspiracy Age,” on how the present boom in conspiracy theories is reshaping science and technology.

Here’s why we don’t have a cold vaccine. Yet.

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s the season of the sniffles. As the weather turns, we’re all spending more time indoors. The kids have been back at school for a couple of months. And cold germs are everywhere.

So why can’t we get a vaccine to protect us against the common cold? Scientists have been working on this for decades, but it turns out that creating a cold vaccine is hard. Really hard. But not impossible. There’s still hope. Read the full story.

—Jessica Hamzelou

This article first appeared in The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first, sign up here.

Inside the archives of the NASA Ames Research Center

At the southern tip of San Francisco Bay, surrounded by the tech giants Google, Apple, and Microsoft, sits the historic NASA Ames Research Center. Its rich history includes a grab bag of fascinating scientific research involving massive wind tunnels, experimental aircraft, supercomputing, astrobiology, and more.

A collection of 5,000 images from NASA Ames’s archives paints a vivid picture of bleeding-edge work at the heart of America’s technology hub. Read the full story.

—Jon Keegan

This story is from the latest print issue of MIT Technology Review magazine, which is full of stories about the body. If you haven’t already, subscribe now to receive future issues once they land.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 The US government is considering banning TP-Link routers
An investigation has raised concerns over the company’s links to China. (WP $)
+ Lawmakers are worried its equipment is vulnerable to hacking. (Bloomberg $)

2 ICE has proposed building a deportation network in Texas
The 24/7 operation would transfer detained immigrants into holding facilities. (Wired $)
+ But US citizens keep being detained, too. (NY Mag $)
+ Inside the operation giving ICE a run for its money. (Slate $)
+ Another effort to track ICE raids was just taken offline. (MIT Technology Review)

3 Ukrainian drone teams are gamifying their war efforts
Officials say rewarding soldiers for successful attacks keeps them motivated. (NYT $)
+ A Peter Thiel-backed drone startup crashed and burned during military trials. (FT $)
+ Meet the radio-obsessed civilian shaping Ukraine’s drone defense. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Meta has denied torrenting porn to train its AI models
Instead, it claims, the downloads were for someone’s “private personal use.” (Ars Technica)

5 Bird flu is getting harder to keep tabs on
The virus has wreaked havoc on the US poultry industry for close to four years. (Vox)
+ A new biosensor can detect bird flu in five minutes. (MIT Technology Review)

6 AI browsers are a cybersecurity nightmare
They’re a hotbed of known—and unknown—risks. (The Verge)
+ I tried OpenAI’s new Atlas browser but I still don’t know what it’s for. (MIT Technology Review)

7 Robots are starting to do more jobs across America
But they’re still proving buggy and expensive to run. (WSJ $)
+ When you might start speaking to robots. (MIT Technology Review)

8 These are the jobs that AI built
From conversation designer to adoption strategist. (WP $)
+ if you fancy landing a job in quantum computing, here’s how to do it. (IEEE Spectrum)

9 Computer vision is getting much, much better
Their blind spots are rapidly being eliminated. (Knowable Magazine)

10 A lock-cracking YouTuber is being sued by a lockmaking company  
It’s arguing he defamed the company, even though he didn’t say a word during the clip. (Ars Technica)

Quote of the day

“Yes, we’ve been to the Moon before… six times!”

—NASA’s acting administrator Sean Duffy reacts to Kim Kardashian’s belief that man has never set foot on the moon, the Guardian reports.

One more thing

What happens when you donate your body to science

Rebecca George doesn’t mind the vultures that complain from the trees that surround the Western Carolina University body farm. Her arrival has interrupted their breakfast. George studies human decomposition, and part of decomposing is becoming food. Scavengers are welcome.

In the US, about 20,000 people or their families donate their bodies to scientific research and education each year. Whatever the reason, the decision becomes a gift. Western Carolina’s FOREST is among the places where watchful caretakers know that the dead and the living are deeply connected, and the way you treat the first reflects how you treat the second. Read the full story.

—Abby Ohlheiser

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)

+ Zoo animals across the world are getting into the Halloween spirit with some tasty pumpkins.
+ If you’re stuck for something suitably spooky to watch tonight, this list is a great place to start.
+ New York’s historic Morris-Jumel Mansion is seriously beautiful—and seriously haunted.
+ Salem’s Lucipurr is on the prowl!

The Download: Introducing: the new conspiracy age

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.

Introducing: the new conspiracy age

Everything is a conspiracy theory now. Conspiracists are all over the White House, turning fringe ideas into dangerous policy. America’s institutions are crumbling under the weight of deep suspicion and the lasting effects of covid isolation. Online echo chambers are getting harder to escape, and generative AI is altering the fabric of truth. A mix of technology and politics has given an unprecedented boost to once-fringe ideas—but they are pretty much the same fantasies that have been spreading for hundreds of years.

MIT Technology Review helps break down how this moment is changing science and technology—and how we can make it through. We’re thrilled to present The New Conspiracy Age, a new series digging into how the present boom in conspiracy theories is reshaping science and technology. 

To kick us off, check out Dorian Lynskey’s fascinating piece explaining why it’s never been easier to be a conspiracy theorist. And stay tuned—we’ll be showcasing a different story from the package each day in the next few editions of The Download!

Four thoughts from Bill Gates on climate tech

Bill Gates doesn’t shy away or pretend modesty when it comes to his stature in the climate world today. “Well, who’s the biggest funder of climate innovation companies?” he asked a handful of journalists at a media roundtable event last week. “If there’s someone else, I’ve never met them.”

The former Microsoft CEO has spent the last decade investing in climate technology through Breakthrough Energy, which he founded in 2015. Ahead of the UN climate meetings kicking off next week, Gates published a memo outlining what he thinks activists and negotiators should focus on and how he’s thinking about the state of climate tech right now. Here’s what he had to say.

—Casey Crownhart

This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 US Homeland Security shared false videos of immigration operations
They claimed to show recent operations but used footage that was old, or recorded thousands of miles away. (WP $)
+ ICE is scanning pedestrians’ faces to verify their citizenship. (404 Media)

2 Character.AI is banning under-18s from talking to its virtual companions
It’s currently facing several lawsuits from families who claim its chatbots have harmed their children. (NYT $)
+ The company says it’s introducing age assurance functionality. (FT $)
+ Teenage boys are using chatbots to roleplay as girlfriends. (The Guardian)
+ The looming crackdown on AI companionship. (MIT Technology Review)

3 Trump directed the Pentagon to resume nuclear weapons testing
America hasn’t conducted such tests for more than 30 years. (BBC)
+ The US President made multiple incorrect assertions in his statement. (The Verge)
+ He doesn’t seem to even know why he wants to resume the tests himself. (The Atlantic $)

4 A Google DeepMind AI model accurately predicted Hurricane Melissa’s severity
It’s the first time the US National Hurricane Center has deployed it. (Nature $)
+ Here’s how to actually help the people affected by its extensive damage. (Vox)
+ Google DeepMind’s new AI model is the best yet at weather forecasting. (MIT Technology Review)

5 A major record label has signed a deal with AI music firm Udio
Universal Music Group had previously sued it for copyright infringement. (WSJ $)
+ AI is coming for music, too. (MIT Technology Review)

6 Are companies using AI as a fig leaf to lay workers off?
It’s sure starting to look that way. (NBC News)
+ Big Tech is going to keep spending billions on AI, regardless. (WP $)

7 Meta Ray-Ban users are filming themselves in massage parlors
They’re harassing workers, who appear unaware they’re being recorded. (404 Media)
+ China’s smart glasses makers are keen to capture the market. (FT $)

8 Just three countries dominate the world’s space launches
What will it take to get some other nations in the mix? (Rest of World)

9 Why you shouldn’t hire an AI agent
Their freelancing capabilities are… limited. (Wired $)
+ The people paid to train AI are outsourcing their work… to AI. (MIT Technology Review)

10 This app’s AI-generated podcasting dog videos are a big hit
But DogPack wants to make sure viewers know it’s not trying to trick them. (Insider $)

Quote of the day

“Zuck spent five years and $70 billion dollars to build a business that loses $4.4 billion/year to create only $470 million in revenue. So bad you can’t give it away, I guess.”

—Greg Linden, a former data scientist at Microsoft, pokes fun at Meta’s beleaguered Reality Labs’ earnings in a post on Bluesky.

One more thing

How scientists want to make you young again

A little over 15 years ago, scientists at Kyoto University in Japan made a remarkable discovery. When they added just four proteins to a skin cell and waited about two weeks, some of the cells underwent an unexpected and astounding transformation: they became young again. They turned into stem cells almost identical to the kind found in a days-old embryo, just beginning life’s journey.

At least in a petri dish, researchers using the procedure can take withered skin cells from a 101-year-old and rewind them so they act as if they’d never aged at all.

Now, after more than a decade of studying and tweaking so-called cellular reprogramming, a number of biotech companies and research labs say they have tantalizing hints that the process could be the gateway to an unprecedented new technology for age reversal. Read the full story. 

—Antonio Regalado

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)

+ 2025’s Comedy Wildlife Award winners and finalists are classics of the genre.
+ This Instagram account shared the same video of Thomas the Tank Engine’s daring railway stunts every day, and I think that’s just beautiful.
+ How to get more of that elusive deep sleep.
+ Here’s an interesting take on why we still find dragons so fascinating

The Download: Boosting AI’s memory, and data centers’ unhappy neighbors

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.

DeepSeek may have found a new way to improve AI’s ability to remember

The news: An AI model released by Chinese AI company DeepSeek uses new techniques that could significantly improve AI’s ability to “remember.”

How it works: The optical character recognition model works by extracting text from an image and turning it into machine-readable words. This is the same technology that powers scanner apps, translation of text in photos, and many accessibility tools.

Why it matters: Researchers say the model’s main innovation lies in how it processes information—specifically, how it stores and retrieves data. Improving how AI models “remember” could reduce how much computing power they need to run, thus mitigating AI’s large (and growing) carbon footprint. Read the full story.

—Caiwei Chen

The AI Hype Index: Data centers’ neighbors are pivoting to power blackouts

Separating AI reality from hyped-up fiction isn’t always easy. That’s why we’ve created the AI Hype Index—a simple, at-a-glance summary of everything you need to know about the state of the industry. Take a look at this month’s edition of the index here.

Roundtables: seeking climate solutions in turbulent times

Yesterday we held a subscriber-only conversation exploring how companies are pursuing climate solutions amid political shifts in the US.

Our climate reporters James Temple and Casey Crownhart sat down with our science editor Mary Beth Griggs to dig into the most promising climate technologies right now. Watch the session back here!

MIT Technology Review Narrated: Supershoes are reshaping distance running

“Supershoes” —which combine a lightweight, energy-­returning foam with a carbon-fiber plate for stiffness—have been behind every broken world record in distances from 5,000 meters to the marathon since 2020.

To some, this is a sign of progress—for both the field as a whole and for athletes’ bodies. Still, some argue that they’ve changed the sport too quickly.

This is our latest story to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we’re publishing each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it’s released.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 Hurricane Melissa may be the Atlantic Ocean’s strongest on record
There’s little doubt in scientists’ minds that human-caused climate change is to blame. (New Scientist $)+ While Jamaica is largely without power, no deaths have been confirmed. (BBC)
+ The hurricane is currently sweeping across Cuba. (NYT $)
+ Here’s what we know about hurricanes and climate change. (MIT Technology Review)

2 Texas is suing Tylenol over the Trump administration’s autism claims
Even though the scientific evidence is unfounded. (NY Mag $)
+ The lawsuit claims the firm violated Texas law by claiming the drug was safe. (WP $)

3 Two US Senators want to ban AI companions for minors
They want AI companies to implement age-verification processes, too. (NBC News)
+ The looming crackdown on AI companionship. (MIT Technology Review)

3 Trump’s “golden dome” plan is seriously flawed 
It’s unlikely to offer anything like the protection he claims it will. (WP $)
+ Why Trump’s “golden dome” missile defense idea is another ripped straight from the movies. (MIT Technology Review)

4 The Trump administration is backing new nuclear plants
To—surprise surprise—power the AI boom. (NYT $)
+ The grid is straining to support the excessive demands for power. (Reuters)+ Can nuclear power really fuel the rise of AI? (MIT Technology Review)

5 Uber’s next fleet of autonomous cars will contain Nvidia’s new chips 
Which could eventually make it cheaper to hail a robotaxi. (Bloomberg $)
+ Nvidia is also working with a company called Lucid to bring autonomous cars to consumers. (Ars Technica)

6 Weight loss drugs are becoming more commonplace across the world
Semaglutide patents are due to expire in Brazil, China and India next year. (Economist $)+ We’re learning more about what weight-loss drugs do to the body. (MIT Technology Review)

7 More billionaires hail from America than any other nation
The majority of them have made their fortunes working in technology. (WSJ $)
+ China is closing in on America’s global science lead. (Bloomberg $)

8 Australian police are developing an AI tool to decode Gen Z slang
It’s in a bid to combat the rising networks of young men targeting vulnerable girls online. (The Guardian)

9 This robot housekeeper is controlled remotely by a human
Nothing weird about that at all… (WSJ $)
+ The humans behind the robots. (MIT Technology Review)

10 Cameo is suing OpenAI
It’s unhappy about Sora’s new Cameo feature. (Reuters)

Quote of the day

“I don’t believe we’re in an AI bubble.”

—Jensen Haung, Nvidia’s CEO, conveniently dismisses the growing concerns around the AI hype train, Bloomberg reports.

One more thing

How to befriend a crow

Crows have become minor TikTok celebrities thanks to CrowTok, a small but extremely active niche on the social video app that has exploded in popularity over the past two years. CrowTok isn’t just about birds, though. It also often explores the relationships that corvids—a family of birds including crows, magpies, and ravens—develop with human beings.

They’re not the only intelligent birds around, but in general, corvids are smart in a way that resonates deeply with humans. But how easy is it to befriend them? And what can it teach us about attention, and patience, in a world that often seems to have little of either? Read the full story.

—Abby Ohlheiser

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)

+ Congratulations to Flava Flav, who’s been appointed Team USA’s official hype man for the 2026 Winter Olympics!
+ Why are Spirographs so hypnotic? Answers on a postcard.
+ I love this story—and beautiful photos—celebrating 50 years of the World Gay Rodeo.
+ Axolotls really are remarkable little creatures.

The Download: Microsoft’s stance on erotic AI, and an AI hype mystery

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.

“We will never build a sex robot,” says Mustafa Suleyman

Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI, is trying to walk a fine line. On the one hand, he thinks that the industry is taking AI in a dangerous direction by building chatbots that present as human: He worries that people will be tricked into seeing life instead of lifelike behavior.

On the other hand, Suleyman runs a product shop that must compete with those peers. Last week, Microsoft announced a string of updates to its Copilot chatbot designed to make Copilot more expressive, engaging, and helpful.

Will Douglas Heaven, our senior AI editor, talked to Suleyman about the tension at play when it comes to designing our interactions with chatbots and his ultimate vision for what this new technology should be. Read the full story.

An AI adoption riddle

—James O’Donnell, senior AI reporter 

A few weeks ago, I set out on what I thought would be a straightforward reporting journey.

After years of momentum for AI, hype had been slightly punctured. First there was the underwhelming release of GPT-5 in August. Then a report released two weeks later found that 95% of generative AI pilots were failing, which caused a brief stock market panic. I wanted to know: Which companies are spooked enough to scale back their AI spending?

But if AI’s hype has indeed been punctured, I couldn’t find a company willing to talk about it. So what should we make of my failed quest?

This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 Hundreds of thousands of ChatGPT users exhibit severe mental health symptoms
That’s according to estimates from OpenAI, which says it has tweaked GPT-5 to respond more effectively to users in distress. (Wired $)
+ OpenAI won’t lock access to force users to take a break, though. (Gizmodo)
+ Why AI should be able to “hang up” on you. (MIT Technology Review)

2 Elon Musk has launched his answer to Wikipedia
Grokipedia’s right-leaning entries reflect the way the billionaire sees the world. (WP $)
+ Several pages perpetuate historical inaccuracies and conservative views. (Wired $)
+ The AI-generated encyclopedia briefly crashed shortly after it launched. (Engadget)

3 Surgeons have removed a pig kidney from a patient
It was the longest-functioning genetically engineered pig kidney so far. (Wired $)
+ “Spare” living human bodies might provide us with organs for transplantation. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Amazon is planning to cut up to 30,000 corporate jobs
Partly in response to staff’s reluctance to return to the office five days a week. (Reuters)
+ The company is planning yet another round of layoffs in January. (NYT $)

5 Older people can’t get enough of screens
Their digital habits mirror the high usage typically observed among teenagers. (Economist $)

6 A British cyclist has been given a 3D-printed face
Dave Richards received severe third-degree burns to his head after being struck by a drunk driver. (The Guardian)

7 The twitter.com domain is being shut down
Make sure you re-enroll your security and passkeys before the big switch-off. (Fast Company $)
+ It means the abandoned accounts could be sold on. (The Verge)
+ But 2FA apps should be fine—in theory. (The Register)

8 When is a moon not a moon?
Believe it or not, we don’t have an official definition. (The Atlantic $)
+ Astronomers have spotted a “quasi-moon” hovering near Earth. (BBC)
+ The moon is just the beginning for this waterless concrete. (MIT Technology Review)

9 Threads’ ghost posts will disappear after 24 hours
If anyone saw them in the first place, that is. (TechCrunch)

10 In the metaverse, anyone can be a K-pop superstar
Virtual idols are gaining huge popularity, before crossing over into real-world fame. (Rest of World)
+ Meta’s former metaverse head has been moved into its AI team. (FT $)

Quote of the day

“The impulse to control knowledge is as old as knowledge itself. Controlling what gets written is a way to gain or keep power.”

—Ryan McGrady, senior research fellow at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, reflects on Elon Musk’s desire to create his own online encyclopedia to the New York Times.

One more thing

Inside Amsterdam’s high-stakes experiment to create fair welfare AI

Amsterdam thought it was on the right track. City officials in the welfare department believed they could build technology that would prevent fraud while protecting citizens’ rights. They followed these emerging best practices and invested a vast amount of time and money in a project that eventually processed live welfare applications. But in their pilot, they found that the system they’d developed was still not fair and effective. Why?

Lighthouse Reports, MIT Technology Review, and the Dutch newspaper Trouw have gained unprecedented access to the system to try to find out. Read about what we discovered.

—Eileen Guo, Gabriel Geiger & Justin-Casimir Braun

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)

+ Happy 70th birthday to Bill Gates, who is not revered enough for his chair-jumping skills.
+ Bring back Guitar Hero—the iconic game that convinced us all we were capable of knocking out Heart’s Barracuda (note: the majority of us were not.)
+ Even the swankiest parts of London aren’t immune to rumours of ghostly hauntings.
+ Justice for medieval frogs and their unfair reputation!

The Download: what to make of OpenAI’s Atlas browser, and how to make climate progress

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.

I tried OpenAI’s new Atlas browser but I still don’t know what it’s for

—Mat Honan

OpenAI rolled out a new web browser last week called Atlas. It comes with ChatGPT built in, along with an agent, so that you can browse, get answers, and have automated tasks performed on your behalf all at the same time.

I’ve spent the past several days tinkering with Atlas. I’ve used it to do all my normal web browsing, and also tried to take advantage of the ChatGPT functions—plus I threw some weird agentic tasks its way to see how it did with those.

My impression is that Atlas is…  fine? But my big takeaway is that it’s pretty pointless for anyone not employed by OpenAI. In fact, Atlas seems to be little more than cynicism masquerading as software. Read the full story.

This review first appeared in The Debrief, Mat Honan’s weekly subscriber-only newsletter.

Seeking climate solutions in turbulent times

Despite recent political shifts in the US, companies are continuing to pursue exciting new climate solutions. Tomorrow we’re holding an exclusive subscriber-only Roundtable event digging into the most promising technologies of the moment drawing from our recently released 10 Climate Tech Companies to Watch list.

This conversation will give subscribers insight into where tangible climate progress is happening today, and how recent political changes are reshaping the path toward a more sustainable future. Join us at 1pm ET on Tuesday October 28—register here!

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 Donald Trump says a TikTok deal could be reached this week 
Perhaps on Thursday, when he’s due to meet Xi Jinping. (CNBC)
+ US treasury secretary Scott Bessent appeared to jump the gun when he said the deal had already been done. (The Guardian)

2 Covid vaccines helped to prolong the life of cancer patients
The findings raise hopes a universal vaccine could help patients with different cancers. (WP $)
+ Why US federal health agencies are abandoning mRNA vaccines. (MIT Technology Review)

3 How developing nations benefit from “AI decolonization”
Rules forcing Silicon Valley’s giants to process data locally has helped to spread the AI boom’s wealth. (WSJ $)
+ Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia wants to be known as the “AI exporter.” (NYT $)
+ Inside India’s scramble for AI independence. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Those rising electricity costs aren’t just down to AI
Costly electrical equipment and disaster prep are bigger factors pushing up prices. (WP $)
+ Amazon considered concealing its data centers’ water usage. (The Guardian)
+ AI is changing the grid. Could it help more than it harms? (MIT Technology Review)

5 California State wants to become America’s largest “AI-empowered” University
It’s teaming up with Amazon, OpenAI and Nvidia to prepare its students for increasingly AI-driven careers. (NYT $)
+ How do technologies change our abilities to learn skills? (The Atlantic $)
+ Why the ultra-wealthy are sending their kids to High Point University. (WSJ $)
+ The job market is tough right now, but we’ve weathered this kind of storm before. (Insider $)

6 This new startup sells AI bot interactions to manipulate social media
Even though it violates every major platforms’ policies. (404 Media)

7 Even real estate isn’t safe from AI slop
House hunters are being forced to wade through AI-enhanced listings. (Wired $)

8 Why we’re so obsessed with sleepmaxxing 
Yes, sleep is good for you. But does the tech that tracks it really do the job it claims to? (The Atlantic $)
+ I tried to hack my insomnia with technology. Here’s what worked. (MIT Technology Review)

9 It’s probably not worth buying an Ultra-HD TV
So feel free to ignore all that persuasive marketing jargon. (The Guardian)

10 Sneaky employees are using AI to fake their expense receipts
So expense firms are in turn deploying AI to try and detect the fakes. (FT $)

Quote of the day

“I’m skeptical of all of the hype around AI right now. This is not my first bubble.”

—Jay Goldberg, a senior analyst at Seaport Global Securities, is no stranger to the hysteria that surrounds overhyped technologies, he tells Bloomberg.

One more thing

Inside Clear’s ambitions to manage your identity beyond the airport

Clear Secure is the most visible biometric identity company in the United States. Best known for its line-jumping service in airports, it’s also popping up at sports arenas and stadiums all over the country. You can also use its identity verification platform to rent tools at Home Depot, put your profile in front of recruiters on LinkedIn, and, as of this month, verify your identity as a rider on Uber.

And soon enough, if Clear has its way, it may also be in your favorite retailer, bank, and even doctor’s office—or anywhere else that you currently have to pull out a wallet (or wait in line).

While the company has been building toward this sweeping vision for years, it now seems its time has finally come. But as biometrics go mainstream, what—and who—bears the cost? Read the full story. 

—Eileen Guo

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)

+ Ancient manuscripts are jam packed with weird and wonderful beasts.
+ Horror writers tell us the spooky stories that send a shiver down their respective spines.
+ Here’s why living on a red dwarf isn’t quite as crazy as it sounds.
+ Kiki the sheep may not be able to walk, but she isn’t letting it get in the way of her getting around (thanks Amy!)

The Download: carbon removal’s future, and measuring pain using an app

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.

What’s next for carbon removal?

After years of growth that spawned hundreds of startups, the nascent carbon removal sector appears to be facing a reckoning.

Running Tide, a promising aquaculture company, shut down its operations last summer, and a handful of other companies have shuttered, downsized, or pivoted in recent months as well. Venture investments have flagged. And the collective industry hasn’t made a whole lot more progress toward Running Tide’s ambitious plans to sequester a billion tons of carbon dioxide by this year.

The hype phase is over and the sector is sliding into the turbulent business trough that follows, experts warn. 

And the open question is: If the carbon removal sector is heading into a painful if inevitable clearing-out cycle, where will it go from there? Read the full story.

—James Temple

This story is part of MIT Technology Review’s What’s Next series, which looks across industries, trends, and technologies to give you a first look at the future. You can read the rest of them here.

An AI app to measure pain is here

This week I’ve also been wondering how science and technology can help answer that question—especially when it comes to pain. 

In the latest issue of MIT Technology Review’s print magazine, Deena Mousa describes how an AI-powered smartphone app is being used to assess how much pain a person is in.

The app, and other tools like it, could help doctors and caregivers. They could be especially useful in the care of people who aren’t able to tell others how they are feeling.

But they are far from perfect. And they open up all kinds of thorny questions about how we experience, communicate, and even treat pain. Read the full story.

—Jessica Hamzelou

This article first appeared in The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first, sign up here.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 Meta’s lawyers advised workers to remove parts of its teen mental health research
Its counsel told researchers to block or update their work to reduce legal liability. (Bloomberg $)
+ Meta recently laid off more than 100 staff tasked with monitoring risks to user privacy. (NYT $) 

2 Donald Trump has pardoned the convicted Binance founder
Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to violating US money laundering laws in 2023. (WSJ $)
+ The move is likely to enable Binance to resume operating in the US. (CNN)
+ Trump has vowed to be more crypto-friendly than the Biden administration. (Axios)

3 Anthropic and Google Cloud have signed a major chips deal
The agreement is worth tens of billions of dollars. (FT $)

4 Microsoft doesn’t want you to talk dirty to its AI
It’ll leave that kind of thing to OpenAI, thank you very much. (CNBC)
+ Copilot now has its own version of Clippy—just don’t try to get erotic with it. (The Verge)
+ It’s pretty easy to get DeepSeek to talk dirty, however. (MIT Technology Review)

5 Big Tech is footing the bill for Trump’s White House ballroom
Stand up Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft. (TechCrunch)
+ Crypto twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss are also among the donors. (CNN)

6 US investigators have busted a series of high-tech gambling schemes
Involving specially-designed contact lenses and x-ray tables. (NYT $)
+ The case follows insider bets on basketball and poker games rigged by the mafia. (BBC)
+ Automatic card shufflers can be compromised, too. (Wired $)

7 Deepfake harassment tools are easily accessible on social media
And simple web searches. (404 Media)
+ Bans on deepfakes take us only so far—here’s what we really need. (MIT Technology Review)

8 How algorithms can drive up prices online
Even benign algorithms can sometimes yield bad outcomes for buyers. (Quanta Magazine)
+ When AIs bargain, a less advanced agent could cost you. (MIT Technology Review)

9 How to give an LLM brain rot
Train it on short “superficial” posts from X, for a start. (Ars Technica)
+ AI trained on AI garbage spits out AI garbage. (MIT Technology Review)

10 Meet the tech workers using AI as little as possible
In a bid to keep their skills sharp. (WP $)
+ This professor thinks there are other ways to teach people how to learn. (The Atlantic $)

Quote of the day

“He was convicted. He’s not innocent.”

—Republican Senator Thom Tillis criticises Donald Trump’s decision to pardon convicted cryptocurrency mogul Changpeng Zhao, Politico reports.

One more thing

We’ve never understood how hunger works. That might be about to change.

When you’re starving, hunger is like a demon. It awakens the most ancient and primitive parts of the brain, then commandeers other neural machinery to do its bidding until it gets what it wants.

Although scientists have had some success in stimulating hunger in mice, we still don’t really understand how the impulse to eat works. Now, some experts are following known parts of the neural hunger circuits into uncharted parts of the brain to try and find out.

Their work could shed new light on the factors that have caused the number of overweight adults worldwide to skyrocket in recent years. And it could also help solve the mysteries around how and why a new class of weight-loss drugs seems to work so well. Read the full story.

—Adam Piore

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)

+  Middle aged men are getting into cliff-jumping. Should you?
+ Pumpkin spice chocolate chip cookies sounds like a great idea to me.
+ Christmas Island’s crabs are on the move!
+ Watch out if you’re taking the NY subway today: you might bump into these terrifying witches.

The Download: aluminium’s potential as a zero-carbon fuel, and what’s next for energy storage

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.

This startup is about to conduct the biggest real-world test of aluminum as a zero-carbon fuel

Found Energy, a startup in Boston, aims to harness the energy in scraps of aluminum metal to power industrial processes without fossil fuels. Since 2022, the company has worked to develop ways to rapidly release energy from aluminum on a small scale.

Now it’s just switched on a much larger version of its aluminum-powered engine, which it claims is the largest aluminum-water reactor ever built.

Early next year, it will be installed to supply heat and hydrogen to a tool manufacturing facility in the southeastern US, using the aluminum waste produced by the plant itself as fuel.

If everything works as planned, this technology, which uses a catalyst to unlock the energy stored within aluminum metal, could transform a growing share of aluminum scrap into a zero-carbon fuel. Read the full story.

—James Dinneen

What a massive thermal battery means for energy storage

Rondo Energy just turned on what it says is the world’s largest thermal battery, an energy storage system that can take in electricity and provide a consistent source of heat.

The concept behind a thermal battery is overwhelmingly simple: Use electricity to heat up some cheap, sturdy material (like bricks) and keep it hot until you want to use that heat later, either directly in an industrial process or to produce electricity. 

Thermal batteries could be a major tool in cutting emissions: 20% of total energy demand today is used to provide heat for industrial processes, and most of that is generated by burning fossil fuels. But the company is using its battery for enhanced oil recovery—a process that critics argue keep polluting infrastructure running longer. Read the full story.

—Casey Crownhart

This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 ChatGPT’s suicide discussion rules were loosened twice before a teen took his own life    
The parents of Adam Raine claim the changes OpenAI made equate to a weakening in its suicide protection for users. (WSJ $)
+ It did so to increase use of the chatbot, they allege in an amended lawsuit. (FT $)
+ The family is accusing OpenAI of intentional misconduct rather than reckless indifference. (Rolling Stone $)

2 Google claims its new quantum algorithm outperforms a supercomputer
It could accelerate advances in drug discovery and new building materials. (Ars Technica)
+ Its Willow chip is at the heart of the advance. (NYT $)
+ But real-world use of quantum computing is still likely to be years away. (The Guardian)

3 Reddit is suing AI search engine Perplexity
For allegedly illegally scraping its data to train the model powering Perplexity’s engine. (FT $)
+ Reddit’s also seeking a permanent injunction on companies selling its data. (Engadget)
+ What comes next for AI copyright lawsuits? (MIT Technology Review)

4 China has a five-year plan to become technologically self-reliant
And semiconductors and AI will play key roles. (Bloomberg $)
+ China is winning the trade war with America. (Economist $)

5 DeepSeek is taking off in Africa
Its decision to make its AI cheaper and less power-intensive is paying off. (Bloomberg $)
+ How DeepSeek ripped up the AI playbook. (MIT Technology Review)

6 Elon Musk is building a robot army
He envisions his Optimus robot becoming an “incredible surgeon.” (Wired $)
+ Will we ever trust robots? (MIT Technology Review)

7 Apple has pulled a pair of controversial dating apps from the App Store
Tea and TeaOnHer fell short of its privacy and content moderation rules. (TechCrunch)

8 Tesla’s profits are massively down
Even though it sold more cars than during its previous quarter. (NYT $)
+ The company has been forced to recall tens of thousands of Cybertrucks. (Reuters)
+ What happens when your EV becomes obsolete? (The Atlantic $)

9 An unexpected victim of the AWS outage? Smart beds
Some unlucky owners’ beds blared alarms and became unbearably warm. (WP $)
+ If the internet stays the way it is, more bed outages could be on their way. (The Atlantic $)

10 The appeal of incredibly basic software
Apple’s TextEdit does exactly what it says on the tin. (New Yorker $)

Quote of the day

“I’m very excited that nerds are having our moment.”

—Madhavi Sewak, a Google DeepMind researcher, says she’s glad that AI experts are being recognized, the Wall Street Journal reports.

One more thing

Inside the hunt for new physics at the world’s largest particle collider

In 2012, using data from CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, researchers discovered a particle called the Higgs boson. In the process, they answered a nagging question: Where do fundamental particles, such as the ones that make up all the protons and neutrons in our bodies, get their mass?

When the particle was finally found, scientists celebrated with champagne. A Nobel for two of the physicists who predicted the Higgs boson soon followed.

More than a decade later, there is a sense of unease. That’s because there are still so many unanswered questions about the fundamental constituents of the universe.

So researchers are trying something new. They are repurposing detectors to search for unusual-looking particles, squeezing what they can out of the data with machine learning, and planning for entirely new kinds of colliders. Read the full story.

—Dan Garisto

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)

+ Mexico City is already getting into the Halloween spirit: its annual zombie parade took place over the weekend.
+ Everything you need to know before travelling to Japan.
+ The most stylish people alive? I’ll be the judge of that.
+ Here’s something you don’t expect archeologists to uncover: Neolithic chewing gum.

 Introducing: the body issue

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.

Introducing: the body issue

We’re thrilled to share the latest edition of MIT Technology Review magazine, digging into the future of the human body, and how it could change in the years ahead thanks to scientific and technological tinkering.

The below stories are just a taste of what you can expect from this fascinating issue. To read the full thing, subscribe now if you haven’t already.

+ A new field of science claims to be able to predict aesthetic traits, intelligence, and even moral 

character in embryos. But is this the next step in human evolution or something more dangerous? Read the full story.

+ How aging clocks can help us understand why we age—and if we could ever reverse it. Read the full story.

+ Instead of relying on the same old recipe biology follows, stem-cell scientist Jacob Hanna is coaxing the beginnings of animal bodies directly from stem cells. But should he?

+ The more we move, the more our muscle cells begin to make a memory of that exercise. Bonnie Tsui’s piece digs into how our bodies learn to remember.

MIT Technology Review Narrated: How Antarctica’s history of isolation is ending—thanks to Starlink

“This is one of the least visited places on planet Earth and I got to open the door,” Matty Jordan, a construction specialist at New Zealand’s Scott Base in Antarctica, wrote in the caption to the video he posted to Instagram and TikTok in October 2023. 

In the video, he guides viewers through the hut, pointing out where the men of Ernest Shackleton’s 1907 expedition lived and worked. 

The video has racked up millions of views from all over the world. It’s also kind of a miracle: until very recently, those who lived and worked on Antarctic bases had no hope of communicating so readily with the outside world. That’s starting to change, thanks to Starlink, the satellite constellation developed by Elon Musk’s company SpaceX to service the world with high-speed broadband internet.

This is our latest story to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we’re publishing each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it’s released.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 OpenAI has launched its own web browser  
Atlas has an Ask ChatGPT sidebar and an agent mode to complete certain tasks. (TechCrunch)
+ It runs on Chromium, the open-source engine that powers Google’s Chrome. (Axios)
+ OpenAI believes the future of web browsing will involve chatting to its interface. (Ars Technica)
+ AI means the end of internet search as we’ve known it. (MIT Technology Review)

2 China is demanding US chip firms share their sales data
It’s conducting a probe into American suppliers, and it wants answers. (Bloomberg $)

3 AI pioneers are among those calling for a ban on superintelligent systems
Including Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio. (The Guardian)
+ Prominent Chinese scientists have also signed the statement. (FT $)
+ Read our interview with Hinton on why he’s now scared of AI. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Anthropic promises its AI is not woke
Despite what the Trump administration’s “AI Czar” says. (404 Media)
+ Its CEO insists the company shares the same goals as the Trump administration. (CNBC)
+ Why it’s impossible to build an unbiased AI language model. (MIT Technology Review)

5 Climate scientists expect we’ll see more solar geoengineering attempts
But it’s a risky intervention with potentially huge repercussions. (New Scientist $)
+ The hard lessons of Harvard’s failed geoengineering experiment. (MIT Technology Review)

6 Why Silicon Valley is so fixated on China
It marvels at the country’s ability to move fast and break things—but should it?(NYT $)
+ How Trump is helping China extend its massive lead in clean energy. (MIT Technology Review)

7 YouTube has launched a likeness detector to foil AI doppelgängers
But that doesn’t guarantee that the fake videos will be removed. (Ars Technica)

8 Bots are threatening Reddit’s status as an oasis of human chat
Can it keep fighting off the proliferation of AI slop? (WP $)
+ It’s not just Reddit either—employers are worried about ‘workslop’ too. (FT $)
+ AI trained on AI garbage spits out AI garbage. (MIT Technology Review)

9 This AI-powered pet toy is surprisingly cute
Moflin is a guinea pig-like creature that learns to become more expressive. (TechCrunch)
+ AI toys are all the rage in China—and now they’re appearing on shelves in the US too. (MIT Technology Review)

10 You don’t need to know a lot about AI to get a job in AI
Make of that what you will. (Fast Company $)

Quote of the day

“It’s wild that Google wrote the Transformers paper (that birthed GPTs) AND open sourced Chromium, both of which will (eventually) lead to the downfall of their search monopoly. History lesson in there somewhere.”

—Investor Nikunj Kothari ponders the future of Google’s empire in the wake of the announcement of OpenAI’s new web browser in a post on X.

One more thing

The quest to protect farmworkers from extreme heat

Even as temperatures rise each summer, the people working outdoors to pick fruits, vegetables, and flowers have to keep laboring.

The consequences can be severe, leading to illnesses such as heat exhaustion, heatstroke and even acute kidney injury.

Now, researchers are developing an innovative sensor that tracks multiple vital signs with a goal of anticipating when a worker is at risk of developing heat illness and issuing an alert. If widely adopted and consistently used, it could represent a way to make workers safer on farms even without significant heat protections. Read the full story.

—Kalena Thomhave

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)

+ Netflix is making a film based on the hit board game Catan, for some reason.
+ Why it’s time to embrace the beauty of slow running.
+ The Satellite Crayon Project takes colors from the natural world and turns them into vibrant drawing implements.
+ Mamma Mia has never sounded better.

The Download: a promising retina implant, and how climate change affects flowers

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.

This retina implant lets people with vision loss do a crossword puzzle

The news: Science Corporation—a competitor to Neuralink founded by the former president of Elon Musk’s brain-interface venture—has leapfrogged its rival after acquiring a vision implant in advanced testing for a fire-sale price. The implant produces a form of “artificial vision” that lets some patients read text and do crosswords, according to a report published in The New England Journal of Medicine today.

How it works: The implant is a microelectronic chip placed under the retina. Using signals from a camera mounted on a pair of glasses, the chip emits bursts of electricity in order to bypass photoreceptor cells damaged by macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss in the elderly. Read the full story.

—Antonio Regalado

How will flowers respond to climate change?

Flowers play a key role in most landscapes, from urban to rural areas. Yet flowers have much more to tell in their bright blooms: The very shape they take is formed by local and global climate conditions. 

The form of a flower is a visual display of its climate, if you know what to look for. In a dry year, its petals’ pigmentation may change. In a warm year, the flower might grow bigger. The flower’s ultraviolet-absorbing pigment increases with higher ozone levels.

Now, a new artistic project sets out to answer the question: As the climate changes in the future, how might flowers change? Read the full story.

—Annelie Berner

This story is from our forthcoming print issue, which is all about the body. If you haven’t already, subscribe now to receive future issues once they land.

2025 climate tech companies to watch: Redwood Materials and its new AI microgrids

Over the past few years, Redwood Materials has become one of the top US battery recyclers, joining forces with the likes of Volkswagen, BMW, and Toyota to process old electric-vehicle batteries and recover materials that can be used to make new ones.

Now it’s moving into reuse as well. Redwood Energy, a new branch of the company, incorporates used EV batteries into microgrids to power energy-hungry AI data centers. Read the full story.

—Peter Hall

Redwood Materials is one of our 10 climate tech companies to watch—our annual list of some of the most promising climate tech firms on the planet. Check out the rest of the list here.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 AWS is recovering from a major outage 
It’s racing to get hundreds of apps and services back online. (The Verge)
+ Snapchat, Roblox and banking services are among those affected. (The Guardian)

2 OpenAI made—then retracted—a claim it had made a major math breakthrough
After math experts and rival AI firms ridiculed its poorly-worded declaration. (TechCrunch)
+ What’s next for AI and math. (MIT Technology Review)

3 The grave costs of Trump’s war on climate science
It’s affecting the accuracy of forecasting systems globally, not just in the US. (FT $)
+ Trump himself led an effort to derail plans to tax shipping pollution. (Politico $)
+ How to make clean energy progress under Trump in the states. (MIT Technology Review)

4 China claims the US is behind a cyberattack on its national time center
It says it has years’ worth of irrefutable evidence of data stealing. (Reuters)
+ US experts allegedly exploited vulnerabilities in mobile phones belonging to National Time Service Center workers. (Bloomberg $)

5 Is AI-generated art real art?
It’s a question gallery and museum curators across the world are debating. (NYT $)
+ Artisan craftmakers are happy to resist the pull of AI. (FT $)
+ This tool claims to trace how much of an AI image has been drawn from existing material. (The Guardian)
+ From slop to Sotheby’s? AI art enters a new phase. (MIT Technology Review)

6 Chipmaker Nexperia has accused its ousted CEO of spreading falsehoods
Zhang Xuezheng reportedly claimed it was operating independently in China. (Bloomberg $)

7 This whistleblower raised concerns about the safety of US data under DOGE
And says the hostile reception to his complaint led to him leaving his dream job. (WP $)
+ DOGE’s tech takeover threatens the safety and stability of our critical data. (MIT Technology Review)

8 Aid agencies have been criticized for using AI “poverty porn”
But the NGOs say its use protects the identities of real people in social media campaigns. (The Guardian)

9 EVs lose their value much faster than gas-powered cars
Which isn’t exactly an incentive for prospective first-time buyers. (Rest of World)

10 What happens to our brains when we dream
We’re learning more about the many liminal states they can slip through. (Quanta Magazine)

Quote of the day

“Hoisted by their own GPTards.”

—Meta’s chief AI scientist Yann LeCun pokes fun at OpenAI after the company walked back its claim it had made a major math breakthrough in a post on X.

One more thing

One option for electric vehicle fires? Let them burn.

Although there isn’t solid data on the frequency of EV battery fires, it’s no secret that these fires are happening.

Despite that, manufacturers offer no standardized steps on how to fight them or avoid them in the first place. What’s more, with EVs, it’s never entirely clear whether the fire is truly out.

Patrick Durham, the owner of one of a growing number of private companies helping first responders learn how to deal with lithium-ion battery safety, has a solution. He believes that the best way to manage EV fires right now is to let them burn. But such an approach not only goes against firefighters’ instincts—it’d require a significant cultural shift. Read the full story.

—Maya L. Kapoor

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)

+ It looks as though the sumo wrestlers who visited London last week had the best time.
+ The Chicago rat hole may not have been made by a rat after all.
+ Finally, a good use for AI—to help me pick a perfectly ripe avocado
+ Keith Richards, we love you!

The Download: the rehabilitation of AI art, and the scary truth about antimicrobial resistance

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.

From slop to Sotheby’s? AI art enters a new phase

In this era of AI slop, the idea that generative AI tools like Midjourney and Runway could be used to make art can seem absurd.
 

But amid all the muck, there are people using AI tools with real consideration and intent. Some of them are finding notable success as AI artists: They are gaining huge online followings, selling their work at auction, and even having it exhibited in galleries and museums. Read the full story.

—Grace Huckins

This story is from our forthcoming print issue, which is all about the body. If you haven’t already, subscribe now to receive future issues once they land. Plus, you’ll also receive a free digital report on nuclear power.

Take our quiz: How much do you know about antimicrobial resistance?

This week we had some terrifying news from the World Health Organization: Antibiotics are failing us. A growing number of bacterial infections aren’t responding to these medicines—including common ones that affect the blood, gut, and urinary tract. Get infected with one of these bugs, and there’s a fair chance antibiotics won’t help.

You’ve probably heard about antimicrobial resistance before, but how much do you know about it? Here’s our attempt to put the “fun” in “fundamental threat to modern medicine.” Test your knowledge here!

—Jessica Hamzelou

This article appeared in The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, sign up here.

2025 climate tech companies to watch: Envision Energy and its “smart” wind turbines

Envision Energy, one of China’s biggest wind turbine makers, has expanded into batteries, green hydrogen, and industrial parks designed to run heavy industry on clean power.

With flagship projects in Inner Mongolia and new ventures planned abroad, the company is testing whether renewables can decarbonize sectors that electricity alone can’t reach. Read the full story.

Envision Energy is one of our 10 climate tech companies to watch—our annual list of some of the most promising climate tech firms on the planet. Check out the rest of the list here.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 ICE is beefing up its surveillance capabilities 
It’s recently bought iris-scanning technology, spyware and location tracking software. (WP $)
+ Viral ICE videos are shaping how Americans feel about the agency. (Vox)
+ Protestors in Chicago are fighting back after mass arrests in the city. (New Yorker $)

2 OpenAI has stopped people from generating videos of MLK Jr
After some people used Sora to create “disrespectful depictions” of the civil rights activist. (TechCrunch)
+ It’s not the first time AI’s depiction of public figures has been criticized. (The Information $)

3 A teenager is suing the owners of “nudifying” app ClothOff
A classmate used an image of the New Jersey student to generate fake nudes. (WSJ $)
+ Meet the 15-year-old deepfake victim pushing Congress into action. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Amazon’s Ring camera arm is signing deals with law enforcement
It’s working with Flock Safety and Axon to share footage with criminal investigations. (CNBC)
+ A division of ICE has used Flock’s AI-powered surveillance network. (404 Media)
+ How Amazon Ring uses domestic violence to market doorbell cameras. (MIT Technology Review)

5 Plug-in hybrids pollute almost as much as diesel cars
A new report has found that pollution levels are well above official estimates. (The Guardian)
+ What to expect if you’re expecting a plug-in hybrid. (MIT Technology Review)

6 South Korea is prohibiting its citizens from travelling to Cambodia
It says hundreds of its nationals have been kidnapped and forced into scam complexes. (FT $)
+ Inside a romance scam compound—and how people get tricked into being there. (MIT Technology Review)

7 What it’s like to be trans online in 2025
The internet once helped trans people to connect—now it’s being weaponized against them. (The Verge)

8 Generative AI will make you the star of ads
Companies have to make returns on all that AI investment somehow. (NY Mag $)

9 San Francisco’s AI companies are pushing up housing prices
Rents are rising in a city already renowned for a staggeringly high cost of living. (NYT $)

10 Samsung is making a tri-folding phone
But attendees at the event it’s being shown off at won’t be allowed to touch it. (Bloomberg $)

Quote of the day

“Grandma will be thrown off the Internet because Junior illegally downloaded a few songs on a visit.”

—US broadband provider Cox Communications details a potential scenario in a legal case filed by major record labels, which have accused Cox of failing to disconnect people who are illegally downloading music, Ars Technica reports. 

One more thing

An AI startup made a hyperrealistic deepfake of me that’s so good it’s scary

Until now, AI-generated videos of people have tended to have some stiffness, glitchiness, or other unnatural elements that make them pretty easy to differentiate from reality.

For the past several years, AI video startup Synthesia has produced these kinds of AI-generated avatars. But back in April 2024, it launched a new generation, its first to take advantage of the latest advancements in generative AI, and they are more realistic and expressive than anything we’ve seen before. 

We tested it out by making an AI clone of Melissa Heikkilä, our former senior AI reporter. Read the full story and check out the synthetic version of Melissa.

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)

+ As support winds down for Windows 10 this week, did you know its blue Windows icon desktop image was taken from a real photograph? Take a look behind the scenes.
+ Rest in power Ace Frehley, Kiss cofounder and undisputed guitar hero.
+ A week spent eating along France’s 385-mile food trail? Yes please.
+ As we get into the Halloween spirit, dare you tour America’s spookiest cities?