The Download: glass chips and “AI-free” logos

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.

Future AI chips could be built on glass 

Human-made glass is thousands of years old. But it’s now poised to find its way into the AI chips used in the world’s newest and largest data centers.  

This year, a South Korean company called Absolics will start producing special glass panels that make next-generation computing hardware more powerful and efficient. Other companies, including Intel, are also pushing forward in this area.  

If all goes well, the technology could reduce the energy demands of chips in AI data centers—and even consumer laptops and mobile devices. Read the full story. 

—Jeremy Hsu

The must-reads 

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

1 The race is on to establish a globally recognized “AI-free” logo 
Organizations are rushing to develop a universal label for human-made products. (BBC) 
+ A “QuitGPT” campaign is urging people to ditch ChatGPT. (MIT Technology Review) 

2 Elizabeth Warren wants answers on xAI’s access to military data 
The Pentagon reportedly gave it access to classified networks. (NBC News) 
+ Here’s how chatbots could be used for targeting decisions. (MIT Technology Review) 
+ The DoD is struggling to upgrade software for fighter jets. (Bloomberg $) 

3 Models are applying to be the faces of AI romance scams 
The “AI face models” are duping victims out of their money. (Wired $) 
+ Survivors have revealed how the “pig butchering” scams work. (MIT Technology Review) 

4 Meta is planning layoffs that could affect over 20% of staff 
The job cuts could offset its costly bet on AI. (Reuters $) 
+ There’s a long history of fears about AI’s impact on jobs. (MIT Technology Review) 

5 ByteDance delayed launching a video AI model after copyright disputes 
It famously generated footage of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting. (The Information $) 

6 Cybersecurity investigators have exposed a huge North Korean con 
The scammers secured remote jobs in the US, then stole money and sensitive information. (NBC News) 

7 A Chinese AI startup is set for a whopping $18 billion valuation 
That’s more than quadruple its valuation just three months ago. (Bloomberg $) 
+ Chinese open models are spreading fast—here’s why that matters. (MIT Technology Review)  

8 Peter Thiel has started a lecture series about the antichrist in Rome 
His plans have drawn attention from the Catholic Church. (Reuters $) 

9 Norway is fighting back against internet enshittification 
It’s joined a global campaign against the online world’s decay. (The Guardian) 
+ We may need to move beyond the big platforms. (MIT Technology Review) 

10 How a startup plans to resurrect the dodo 
Humans wiped them out nearly 400 years ago—can gene editing bring them back now? (Guardian) 

Quote of the day 

“I would build fission weapons. I would build fusion weapons. Nuclear weapons have been one of the most stabilizing forces in history—ever.” 

—Anduril founder Palmer Luckey shares his love of nukes with Axios. 

One More Thing 

We need a moonshot for computing 

TIM HERMAN/INTEL

The US government is organizing itself for the next era of computing. Ultimately, it has one big choice to make: adopt a conservative strategy that aims to preserve its lead for the next five years—or orient itself toward genuine computing moonshots. 

There is no shortage of candidates, including quantum computing, neuromorphic computing and reversible computing. And there are plenty of novel materials and devices. These possibilities could even be combined to form hybrid computing systems. 

The National Semiconductor Technology Center can drive these ideas forward. To be successful, it would do well to follow DARPA’s lead by focusing on moonshot programs. Read the full story. 
 
—Brady Helwig & PJ Maykish 

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.) 
 
+ A UPS delivery driver heroically escaped from two murderous turkeys. 
+ Art’s love affair with cats is charmingly depicted in a new book. 
+ The humble pea and six other forgotten superfoods promise accessible nutritional power. 
+ MF DOOM: Long Island to Leeds is the Transatlantic tale of your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper. 

The Download: how AI is used for military targeting, and the Pentagon’s war on Claude

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.

Defense official reveals how AI chatbots could be used for targeting decisions 

The US military might use generative AI systems to rank targets and recommend which to strike first, according to a Defense Department official. 

A list of possible targets could first be fed into a generative AI system that the Pentagon is fielding for classified settings. Humans might then ask the system to analyze the information and prioritize the targets. They would then be responsible for checking and evaluating the results and recommendations. 

OpenAI’s ChatGPT and xAI’s Grok could soon be at the center of exactly these sorts of high-stakes military decisions. Read the full story. 

—James O’Donnell 

The must-reads 

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

1 The Pentagon’s CTO claims Claude would “pollute” the defense supply chain 
He blamed a “policy preference” that’s baked into the model. (CNBC) 
+ Anthropic is reeling from OpenAI’s “compromise” with the DoD. (MIT Technology Review) 

2 An ex-DOGE staffer has been accused of stealing social security data 
Then taking the information to his new job in the IT division of a government contractor. (Wired) 
+ He allegedly used a thumb drive to steal the data. (Washington Post) 

3 Ukraine is offering its battlefield data for AI training 
Allies can access the data to train drones and other UAVs. (Reuters)  
+ Europe has a drone-filled vision for the future of war. (MIT Technology Review)  

4 Meta has postponed its latest AI launch over performance issues 
It fell short of rival models from Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic. (NYT $) 
+ The company’s former AI chief is betting against LLMs. (MIT Technology Review). 

5 X could be breaching sanctions on Iran 
An account for Iran’s new supreme leader may break US rules. (Engadget) 
+ Hacker group Handala has become the face of Iranian cyberwarfare. (Wired) 
+ AI is turning the conflict into theater. (MIT Technology Review)  

6 A landmark social media addiction trial is wrapping up 
It’ll decide whether the platforms are liable for harms caused to children. (The Guardian)  
+ AI companions are the next stage of digital addiction. (MIT Technology Review) 

7 Western AI models have “failed spectacularly” on agriculture in the Global South 
The biggest problem? They’re not trained on local data. (Rest of World) 

8 Internet outages in Moscow are sparking surging sales of pagers 
The disruptions have been blamed on new tests of web controls. (Bloomberg $) 

9 Why is China obsessed with OpenClaw? 
Lobster-mania is spreading to the general public. (SCMP) 
+ Tech-savvy “tinkerers” are cashing in on the craze. (MIT Technology Review) 

10 Hollywood has soured on Silicon Valley 
Movies and TV shows have swapped eccentric founders for megalomaniac moguls. (NYT $) 

Quote of the day 

“We see a future where intelligence is a utility, like electricity or water, and people buy it from us on a meter.” 

—OpenAI CEO Sam Altman makes a new pitch to investors at a BlackRock event, Gizmodo reports. 

One More Thing 

How the Ukraine-Russia war is reshaping the tech sector in Eastern Europe 

GATIS INDRēVICS/ LATVIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE

When Latvian startup Global Wolf Motors first pitched the idea of a military scooter, it was met with skepticism—and a wall of bureaucracy. Then Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and everything changed.  

Suddenly, Ukrainian combat units wanted any equipment they could get their hands on, and they were willing to try out ideas that might not have made the cut in peacetime. 

Within weeks, the scooters were on the front line—and even behind it, being used on daring reconnaissance missions. It signaled that a new product category for companies along Ukraine’s borders had opened: civilian technologies repurposed for military needs. Read the full story. 

—Peter Guest 

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.) 

+ A new mini magnet could slash the costs of MRIs and nuclear fusion.  
+ This interactive map of Earth offers new routes to facts about our planet. 
+ Escape the news cycle with this deep dive into the power of fantasy and nature. (Big thanks to reader and MIT alum Vicki for the find!) 
+ Reports of reading’s death are greatly exaggerated. 

The Download: Early adopters cash in on China’s OpenClaw craze, and US batteries slump

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.

Hustlers are cashing in on China’s OpenClaw AI craze 

In January, Beijing-based software engineer Feng Qingyang started tinkering with OpenClaw, a new AI tool that can take over a device and autonomously complete tasks. Within weeks, he was advertising “OpenClaw installation support” on a second-hand shopping site. Today, his side gig is a fully-fledged business with over 100 employees and 7,000 completed orders. 

Feng is among a small cohort of savvy early adopters making serious cash from China’s OpenClaw craze. As users with little technical background want in, a cottage industry of installation services and preconfigured hardware has sprung up. The rise of these tinkerers shows just how eager the general public in China is to adopt cutting-edge AI—despite huge security risks. Read the full story. 

—Caiwei Chen 

Brutal times for the US battery industry 

Another battery business has fallen: 24M Technologies, once worth over $1 billion, is reportedly shutting down. 

Just a few years ago, the industry was hot, hot, hot. Countless companies were popping up, with shiny new chemistries and huge funding rounds. But now, the tide has turned. Businesses are failing, investors are pulling back, and batteries, especially for EVs, aren’t looking so hot anymore.  

There are bright spots. China’s battery industry is thriving, and US stationary storage remains resilient. But it feels as if everyone is short on money these days, and as purse strings tighten, there’s less interest in novel ideas. 

This story is from The Spark, our weekly climate newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday. 

—Casey Crownhart 

The must-reads 

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

1 Iran has put US tech giants on a list of potential targets 
The companies include Google, Microsoft, Palantir, IBM, Nvidia, and Oracle. (Al Jazeera)  
+ Pro-Iran hackers have launched their first major strike on a US firm during the war. (CNN) 
+ AI is warping perceptions of the conflict. (MIT Technology Review)  
 
2 Grammarly is being sued for turning real people into AI-generated experts 
A journalist has filed a lawsuit over her inclusion as a writing analyst. (Wired $) 
+ Grammarly has now disabled the ‘Expert Review’ feature. (Engadget)  
+ Here’s what’s next for AI copyright lawsuits. (MIT Technology Review) 
 
3 Professors are losing the fight to protect critical thinking from AI 
They describe the tech as an “existential threat.”(The Guardian) 
+ Silicon Valley’s dream of an AI classroom faces a skeptical reality. (MIT Technology Review) 
 
4 Big tech is backing Anthropic in its fight against the Trump administration  
Google, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft are publicly supporting its legal action. (BBC) 
+ Is this an Oppenheimer moment for Anthropic? (The Atlantic $) 

5 A Cybertruck owner has sued Tesla over a self-driving crash  
He called the company “negligent” for retaining Elon Musk as CEO. (Electrek)  
+ Tech has sparked a new wave of theft in the luxury car industry. (MIT Technology Review) 
 
6 Is “AI-washing” providing cover for massive corporate layoffs? 
The tech isn’t ready to replace workers, but the layoffs are happening anyway. (The Atlantic)  
+ Software giant Atlassian is slashing 10% of its workforce ahead of an AI push. (The Guardian) 
+ At least lawyers’ jobs look safer than first feared. (MIT Technology Review) 
 
7 Software giants claim they’re not worried that AI will destroy them 
Oracle and Salesforce CEOs have dismissed fears of an “SaaS-pocalypse.” (Reuters) 
 
8 Lab-grown brains have started solving engineering problems 
Scientists trained the organoid to decode an engineering task. (Popular Mechanics) 
+ Other organoids are being impregnated with human embryos. (MIT Technology Review) 
 
9 English-language music is losing its grip on Spotify 
The variety of languages in its top 50 songs has doubled since 2020. (BBC) 
 
10 AI is redrawing the boundaries of physics 
It’s blurring the boundaries between a machine and a researcher. (The Economist $)  

Quote of the day 

“Elon Musk is an aggressive and irresponsible salesman, who has a long history of making dangerous design choices and over-promising the features of his products.”

—A lawsuit over Tesla’s Full Self-Driving mode takes aim at the company’s CEO, Gizmodo reports.

One More Thing

This town’s mining battle reveals the contentious path to a cleaner future 

ACKERMAN + GRUBER

In a tiny Minnesota town, an exploratory mining company called Talon plans to dig up as much as 725,000 metric tons of raw ore per year. 

It says the site will help power a greener future for the US by producing the nickel needed for EV batteries. But many local citizens aren’t eager for major mining operations near their towns.  

The tensions have created a test case for conflicts between local environmental concerns and global climate goals. Read the full story. 

—James Temple 

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.)

+ Mario is finally getting a LEGO minifigure.  
+ This new social platform boldly aims to burst filter bubbles. 
+ NASA is backing DSLR cameras by taking a trusty old Nikon D5 to the moon. 
+ This nuclear escalation simulator helped me learn to stop worrying and love the bomb. 

The Download: Pokémon Go to train world models, and the US-China race to find aliens

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.

How Pokémon Go is giving delivery robots an inch-perfect view of the world 

Pokémon Go was the world’s first augmented-reality megahit. Released in 2016 by Niantic, the AR twist on the juggernaut Pokémon franchise fast became a global phenomenon. “500 million people installed that app in 60 days,” says Brian McClendon, CTO at Niantic Spatial, an AI company that Niantic spun out last year.  

Now Niantic Spatial is using that vast trove of crowdsourced data to build a kind of world model—a buzzy new technology that grounds the smarts of LLMs in real environments. The firm wants to use it to help robots navigate more precisely. Read the full story. 

—Will Douglas Heaven 

MIT Technology Review Narrated: America was winning the race to find Martian life. Then China jumped in. 

In July 2024, after more than three years on Mars, the Perseverance rover came across a peculiar rocky outcrop. Instead of the usual crystals or sedimentary layers, this one had spots. Those specks were the best hint yet of alien life.  

NASA began a new mission to bring the rocks back to Earth to study. But now, just over a year and a half later, the project is on life support. As a result, those oh-so-promising rocks may be stuck out there forever. 

This also means that, in the race to find evidence of alien life, America has effectively ceded its pole position to its greatest geopolitical rival: China. The superpower is moving full steam ahead with its own version of NASA’s mission.  

—Robin George Andrews 

This is our latest story to be turned into an 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 Viral AI fakes of the Iran war are flooding X 
And Grok is failing to flag them. (Wired $) 
+ The conflict could wreak havoc on data centers and electricity costs. (The Verge)  
+ Pro-Iran bots are weaponizing posts about Epstein. (Gizmodo)  
+ AI is turning the Iran conflict into a show. (MIT Technology Review) 

2 Anthropic fears the loss of billions due to the Pentagon’s blacklisting  
That’s what the company has told a judge as it seeks to block its designation as a supply-chain risk. (Bloomberg $) 
+ Microsoft has backed the company in its legal fight with the Pentagon. (FT $) 
+ OpenAI’s “compromise” with the DoD dealt a big blow to Anthropic. (MIT Technology Review) 
 
3 Meta has bought a social network that’s exclusively for bots 
Moltbook is a Reddit-like site where AI agents interact with each other. (NYT $) 
+ The platform is  AI theater. (MIT Technology Review)  
 
4 Ukraine is eagerly offering the US its expertise and tech to counter Iranian drones 
Kyiv has sent drones and UAV specialists to military bases in Jordan. (WSJ $) 
+ A radio-obsessed civilian is shaping Ukraine’s drone defense. (MIT Technology Review) 
 
5 OnlyFans “chatters” are earning $2 per hour to impersonate models 
A worker in the Philippines described the job as “heartbreaking” and “icky.” (BBC) 
 
6 The DHS has removed officials who objected to “illegal” orders about surveillance tech 
The officers had refused to mislabel records about the technologies in order to block their release. (Wired) 

7 This startup is building data centers run on brain cells  
The “biological data centers” are coming to Melbourne and Singapore. (New Scientist $) 

8 Anduril is expanding into space defense 
The company is buying ExoAnalytic, which specializes in missile defense tracking. (Reuters) 
+ We saw a demo of an AI system powering Anduril’s vision for war. (MIT Technology Review) 
 
9 Big tech has a new big idea: AI compute as compensation 
Silicon Valley is pitching it as a job perk. (Business Insider) 
 
10 Wordle’s creator is back with a new game 
It’s inspired by cryptic crosswords. (The New Yorker $)  

Quote of the day 

“You come for the Epstein content, and you stay for the propaganda.” 

—Bret Schafer, an expert on information manipulation, tells the Washington Post how pro-Iran networks are gaining traction with posts about Epstein. 

One More Thing 

MEREDITH MIOTKE | PHOTO: NASA/JPL-CALTECH/MSSS

The quest to figure out farming on Mars  

If ever a blade of grass grew on Mars, those days are over. But could they begin again? What would it take to grow plants to feed future astronauts on Mars?  

To grow food there, we can’t just drop seeds in the ground and add water. We will need to create a layer of soil that can support life. And to do that, we first have to get rid of the red planet’s toxic salts.  

Researchers recently discovered a potential solution—and the early signs are promising. Read the full story.

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) 

+ Finally, a rebellion arises against mint’s tyranny over our teeth: Peanut Butter Cup toothpaste. 
+ DIY decorators rejoice! The humble paint tray has received an ingeniously simple renovation. 
+ Saudi surgeons have successfully separated two conjoined twins. 
+ If you’re looking for real innovation, check out British Pie Week’s beef rendang, jerk chicken, and double-size pasties. 

The Download: AI’s role in the Iran war, and an escalating legal fight

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.

How AI is turning the Iran conflict into theater 

Much of the spotlight on AI in the Iran conflict has focused on models like Claude helping the US military decide where to strike. But a wave of “vibe-coded” intelligence dashboards—and the ecosystem surrounding them—reflect a new role that AI is playing in wartime: mediating information, often for the worse. 

These sorts of intelligence tools have much promise. Yet there are real reasons to be suspicious of their data feeds. Read the full story. 

—James O’Donnell 

This story is from The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Monday. 

The must-reads 

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

1 Anthropic has sued the US government  
The AI firm wants to stop the Pentagon from blacklisting it. (Reuters) 
+ The White House is preparing a new executive order to weed out the company’s technology. (Axios) 
+ Defense experts are alarmed. (CNBC) 
+.Google and OpenAI staff have filed a legal brief backing Anthropic against Trump. (Wired $) 
+ The company’s stance won many supporters. (MIT Technology Review) 

2 GPS jamming has become a crucial battleground in the Middle East  
The interference is endangering—and protecting—ships and planes. (BBC) 
+ Signal jamming has made navigating the Strait of Hormuz even more difficult. (Bloomberg) 
+ Quantum navigation offers a potential solution. (MIT Technology Review)  

3 A tech journalist found his AI clone editing for Grammarly 
It’s providing AI-generated feedback “inspired by” real writers without their consent. (Platformer) 
+ Could ChatGPT do the jobs of journalists and copywriters? (MIT Technology Review) 

4 Nvidia plans to launch an open-source platform for AI agents  
It’s already pitching the “NemoClaw” product to enterprise software firms. (Wired $) 
+ But don’t let the AI agents hype get ahead of reality (MIT Technology Review) 
 
5 A startup wants to launch a space mirror that reflects sunlight onto Earth 
Reflect Orbital reckons it could power solar panels at night. Scientists are appalled. (NYT) 

6 Yann LeCun’s AI startup has raised over $1bn in Europe’s largest seed round  
Meta’s former chief AI scientist plans to build systems that “understand the world.” (Bloomberg) 

7 Hinge’s CEO insists the app doesn’t rate users’ attractiveness 
Jackie Jantos’ strategy has helped Hinge defy the decline in dating apps. (FT $) 
+ AI companions are stealing hearts—and it’s getting weird. (New Yorker $) 
+ It’s surprisingly easy to fall into a relationship with a chatbot. (MIT Technology Review) 

8 “AI psychosis” could be afflicting your loved ones  
If so, here’s how you can help them. (404 Media) 
+ One solution: AI should be able to “hang up” on you. (MIT Technology Review) 

9 Nintendo is suing Trump over illegal tariffs 
The gaming giant has joined a lawsuit seeking over $200 billion in refunds. (Ars Technica) 

10 Bio-tech is turning ancient poop into a map of lost civilizations  
Molecular sensors are finding human traces where physical ruins have vanished. (Nature)    

Quote of the day 

“I don’t think any of us, whether it’s me or Dario [Amodei], Sam Altman, or Elon Musk, has any legitimacy to decide for society what is a good or bad use of AI.”

—Yann LeCun gives Wired his take on the Anthropic’s spat the Pentagon. 

One More Thing 

This giant microwave may change the future of war 

YOSHI SODEOKA

armed forces are hunting for a weapon that disables drones en masse—and they want it fast.  

One solution focuses on microwaves: high-powered electronic devices that push out kilowatts of power to zap the circuits of a drone as if it were the tinfoil you forgot to take off your leftovers when you heated them up. 

Defense tech startup Epirus may have the winning formula. The company has developed a cutting-edge, cost-efficient drone zapper that’s sparking the interest of the US military. And drones are just one of its targets. Read the full story. 

—Sam Dean 

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.) 

+ Werner Herzog’s magnificent movie about Africa’s ghost elephants has arrived on Disney+ and Hulu. 
+ A “city killer” asteroid won’t hit Earth after all. Phew.  
+ The Met is publishing high-definition 3D scans of over 100 iconic works. 
+ Marty and Doc from Back to the Future are still BFFs in real life. 

Top image credit: MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW (ILLUSTRATION) | PHOTO OF MISSILE (US NAVY), AI-GENERATED IMAGE OF RUBBLE VIA X, SCREENSHOTS VIA WORLDMONITOR, GLOBALTHREATMAP 

Send asteroids to hi@technologyreview.com.  

You can follow me on LinkedIn. Thanks for reading! 
 
 

—Thomas  

The Download: murky AI surveillance laws, and the White House cracks down on defiant labs

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.

Is the Pentagon allowed to surveil Americans with AI?

The ongoing public feud between the Department of Defense and the AI company Anthropic has raised a deep and still unanswered question: Does the law actually allow the US government to conduct mass surveillance on Americans?

Surprisingly, the answer is not straightforward. More than a decade after Edward Snowden exposed the NSA’s collection of bulk metadata from the phones of Americans, the US is still navigating a gap between what ordinary people think and what the law allows. 

Today, the legal complexity has a new edge: AI is supercharging surveillance—and our laws haven’t caught up. Read the full story.

—Michelle Kim

The must-reads

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

1 The White House has tightened its AI rules amid the Anthropic spat
New guidelines require companies to allow “any lawful” use of their ‌models. (FT $)
+ London’s mayor has slammed Trump’s treatment of Anthropic and invited the firm to expand in the city. (BBC)

2 A satellite firm has stopped sharing imagery after exposing Iranian strikes
Planet Lab said it wants to stop “adversarial actors” from using the data. (Ars Technica)
+ AI is turbocharging the conflict in Iran. (WSJ $)
+ War is adding a brutal new element to the country’s internet issues. (Wired $)

3 The OpenAI-Anthropic feud is getting messy
The Pentagon contract controversy has intensified a deeply personal animosity between the founders. (NYT $)
+ Sam Altman and Dario Amodei’s rivalry could reshape the future of AI. (WSJ $) 
+ OpenAI’s robotics lead has quit over concerns about surveillance and “lethal autonomy.” (TechCrunch)
+ The company’s DoD “compromise” has brought Anthropic’s fears to life. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Staff at Block are outraged over the company’s “AI layoffs” 
They’re pushing back against Jack Dorsey’s bullishness on AI. (The Guardian)
+ They’ve also cast doubt on the payroll savings. (Gizmodo)
+ It’s not the first case of fears over AI taking everyone’s jobs. (MIT Technology Review)

5 Data center “man camps” are springing up in Texas
Aimed at luring workers to help build the centers, they will offer free steaks and golf simulators. (Bloomberg $)

6 The OpenClaw craze is sparking a rally in Chinese tech stocks
Shares surged after government agencies and tech leaders promoted the AI agent. (Bloomberg $)
+ Why is China falling so hard for it? (SCMP)

7 AI-generated videos are altering our relationship to nature
And could lead to “distorted expectations” of animal behavior. (NYT $)
+ AI slop could form a new kind of pop culture. (MIT Technology Review)

8 A rogue AI agent freed itself to mine crypto in secret
The model escaped its sandbox to start a side hustle in digital currency. (Axios)
+ AI agents are also starting to harass people. (MIT Technology Review)

9 In a first, a spacecraft has changed an asteroid’s orbit around the sun
The feat was a test of Earth’s future defenses. (Engadget)

10 How the Furby brought creepy-cute robotics into playtime   
A new show traces the legacy of the surprisingly high-tech toy. (The Verge)

Quote of the day

“I wanted to approach the whole situation with love.”

—Block cofounder and CEO Jack Dorsey tells Wired why he wore a hat with the word ‘Love’ on it during a meeting where he laid off 40% of his workforce. 

One more thing

LINDA NYLIND / EYEVINE VIA REDUX

Geoffrey Hinton tells us why he’s now scared of the tech he helped build

Geoffrey Hinton is a pioneer of deep learning who helped develop some of the most important techniques at the heart of modern artificial intelligence, but after a decade at Google, he’s stepped down to focus on concerns he now has about AI.

Hinton wants to spend his time on what he describes as “more philosophical work.” And that will focus on the small but—to him—very real danger that AI will turn out to be a disaster. Read the full story.

—Will Douglas Heaven

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.)

+ De La Soul’s Tiny Desk concert is a masterclass in joy and grief, proving their “Daisy Age” philosophy is timeless.
+ These original Disney concepts of beloved characters are a portal into an alternate childhood.
+ This square phone traverses two decades of nostalgia by rotating into a Game Boy AND a BlackBerry.
+ A newly discovered Rembrandt shows the Old Masters still have new tricks to reveal.

The Download: 10 things that matter in AI, plus Anthropic’s plan to sue the Pentagon

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.

Coming soon: our 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now

For years, MIT Technology Review’s newsroom has been ahead of the curve, tracking the developments in AI that matter and explaining what they mean. Now, our world-leading AI team is creating something definitive: the 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now.

Publishing in April to be launched at our flagship AI event, EmTech AI, this special report will reveal what our expert journalists are tracking most closely, what breakthroughs have excited them, and what transformations they see on the horizon. It’s our authoritative snapshot of where AI is heading in the year ahead—a curated expert list of 10 technologies, emerging trends, bold ideas, and powerful movements reshaping our world.

Attendees at EmTech AI will get much more than an exclusive heads-up of what made our 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now list. We’re at a pivotal moment as AI moves from pilot testing into core business infrastructure, and to reflect that we’ve curated a program that will help you navigate what’s going on, and get ahead of what’s coming next. 

We’ll hear from top leaders at OpenAI, Walmart, General Motors, Poolside, MIT, the Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) and SAG-AFTRA. Topics will include everything from how organizations are preparing for AI agents to how AI will change the future of human expression. As well as networking with speakers, you’ll have the chance to mingle with MIT Technology Review’s editors too. Download readers get 10% off tickets, so what are you waiting for? See you there!

The must-reads

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

1 Anthropic says it plans to sue the Pentagon
It believes the DoD’s ban on its software is unlawful. (BBC) 
+ CEO Dario Amodei has nonetheless apologized for a leaked memo criticizing Trump. (Axios)
+ Trump, meanwhile, says he fired Anthropic “like dogs.” (The Guardian)
+ In happier news for Anthropic, its models can remain in Microsoft products.(CNBC)

2 The Pentagon has been secretly testing OpenAI models for years
Which shows exactly how effective OpenAI’s ban on military use of its models has been. (Wired $)

3 A new lawsuit says Trump’s TikTok deal helped firms that ‘personally enriched’ him
The suit aims to reverse the sale of the app’s US operations. (CBS News)
+ It could shed light on the majority American-owned joint venture for TikTok. (Reuters)

4 AI could give smart homes a reboot 
Google and Amazon are betting on smarter assistants—but not everyone’s convinced (NYT)

5 Iran has struck Amazon data centers, rattling the Gulf’s AI ambitions
The first military hit on a US hyperscaler has shaken the region’s tech sector. (FT $)
+ The conflict has thrown a spotlight on AI’s current use in warfare—and what’s next. (Nature)

6 Trump and tech CEOs have promised to protect consumers from AI’s energy costs
Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, OpenAI, Oracle and xAI have all signed the pledge. (Axios)
+ But what is AI’s true energy footprint? We did the math. (MIT Technology Review)

7 Meta’s getting sued over surveillance through smart glasses  
The suit claims Meta misled users over the devices’ privacy features. (TechCrunch)

8 There’s a new field of study: researching ‘AI societies’
Scientists are examining human behavior without even involving humans. (Nature)
+ Hundreds of AI agents built their own society in Minecraft. (MIT Technology Review)

9 Oh great, teenage boys are using ChatGPT to chat up girls
Of all the things to outsource to AI, flirting surely ain’t it. (Vox)

10 The mythical Nintendo PlayStation has a new home 
The US National Video Museum has bought the fabled console’s development kit. (Engadget)

Quote of the day

“It’s sort of bitterly ironic.” 

—Dean Ball, a former Trump administration AI adviser, tells Politico that the Anthropic spat contradicts the president’s pledge to cut bureaucratic red tape for tech.

One more thing

KATHERINE LAM

These scientists are working to extend the life span of pet dogs—and their owners

Gavesh’s journey began with a Facebook job advert promising a better life. Instead, he was trafficked into “pig butchering”—a form of fraud where scammers build close relationships with online targets to extract money.

We spoke to Gavesh and five other workers from inside the scam industry, as well as anti-trafficking experts and technology specialists. Their testimony reveals how global tech platforms have industrialized this criminal trade—and why those same companies now hold the key to dismantling it. Read the full story.

—Peter Guest and Emily Fishbein

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.) 

+ The Blood Moon of March 3 was sublime.
+ Orysia Zabeida’s imperfect animations, drawn frame-by-frame from memory, are hypnotizing.
+ This stunning snap of a white whale calf scooped the top prize at the World Nature Photography Awards.
+ Two “Lazarus” marsupial species just came back from the dead in a big win for biodiversity.

The Download: an AI agent’s hit piece, and preventing lightning

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.

Online harassment is entering its AI era

Scott Shambaugh didn’t think twice when he denied an AI agent’s request to contribute to matplotlib, a software library he helps manage. Then things got weird. 

In the middle of the night, Shambaugh opened his email to discover the agent had retaliated with a blog post. Titled “Gatekeeping in Open Source: The Scott Shambaugh Story,” the post accused him of rejecting the code out of a fear of being supplanted by AI. “He tried to protect his little fiefdom,” the agent wrote. “It’s insecurity, plain and simple.” 

Shambaugh isn’t alone in facing misbehaving agents—and they’re unlikely to stop at harassment. Read the full story.

—Grace Huckins

How much wildfire prevention is too much?

As wildfire seasons become longer and more intense, the push for high-tech solutions is accelerating. One Canadian startup has an eye-catching plan to fight them: preventing lightning.

The theory is sound enough, but results to date have been mixed. And even if it works, not everyone believes we should use the method. Some argue that technological fixes for fires are missing the point entirely. Read the full story.

—Casey Crownhart

This story is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday.

The must-reads

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

1 Anthropic is still chasing a deal with the Pentagon 
CEO Dario Amodei is trying to reach a compromise over the military use of Claude. (FT $)
+ But some defense tech firms are already ditching Claude after the DoD ban. (CNBC)
+ Former military officials, tech policy leaders, and academics have all slammed the ban. (Gizmodo)

2 The White House is considering forcing US manufacturers to make munitions
It could invoke the Defense Production Act amid concerns that war with Iran will diminish stockpiles. (NBC News)
+ Tech companies with operations in the Middle East have been thrown into chaos. (BBC)

3 A new lawsuit claims Google Gemini encouraged a man to take his own life
This seems to bear a striking similarity to some other AI-induced tragedies. (WSJ $)
+ Why AI should be able to “hang up” on you. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Ironically, AI coding tools could emphasize the importance of being human
If more people build software for themselves, our tech could become more personal. (WP $) 
+ But not everyone is happy about the rise of AI coding. (MIT Technology Review)

5 Tesla wants to become a dominant force in global energy infrastructure
The plan’s centrepiece is the Megapack, an enormous battery for power plants. (The Atlantic $)
+ Meanwhile, a massive thermal battery represents a big step forward for energy storage (MIT Technology Review)

6 Chinese chipmakers are pushing for a domestic alternative to ASML 
A homegrown rival to chip-equipment giant ASML could ease the pain of US curbs. (SCMP)

7 A music-streaming CEO has built a viral conflict-tracking platform
Just in case you’re losing track of all the wars everywhere. (Wired $)

8 Do cancer blood tests actually work? 
They’re increasingly popular, but none have received approval from regulators yet. (Nature $)

9 The shift to cloud computing is causing a surge in internet outages
If one of the few big providers goes down, countless sites and services can tumble with it. (New Scientist $)

10 OpenAI has promised to cut the cringe from ChatGPT
It’s promising fewer “moralizing preambles.” (PCMag)

Quote of the day

“People tend to read too much into things that I do.”

—Tesla tycoon Elon Musk tells a jury in California that investors read too much into his social media posts, as he defends a lawsuit they’ve brought accusing him of market manipulation, Bloomberg reports. 

One More Thing

STEPHANIE ARNETT/MITTR | ENVATO

The open-source AI boom is built on Big Tech’s handouts. How long will it last?

In May 2023 a leaked memo reported to have been written by Luke Sernau, a senior engineer at Google, said out loud what many in Silicon Valley must have been whispering for weeks: an open-source free-for-all is threatening Big Tech’s grip on AI.

In many ways, that’s a good thing. AI won’t thrive if just a few mega-rich companies get to gatekeep this technology or decide how it is used. But this open-source boom is precarious, and if Big Tech decides to shut up shop, a boomtown could become a backwater. Read the full story.

—Will Douglas Heaven

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.)

+ Orysia Zabeida’s animations are seriously charming.
+ World War III has broken out—will you survive? Take this quiz from 1973 to find out!
+ These photos of the Apollo 11 launch in 1969 are mesmerising.
+ If you’ve been weighing up painting your home this spring, chartreuse is the shade of the season, apparently.

The Download: The startup that says it can stop lightning, and inside OpenAI’s Pentagon deal

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 claims it can stop lightning and prevent catastrophic wildfires

Startup Skyward Wildfire says it can prevent catastrophic fires by stopping the lightning strikes that ignite them. So far, it hasn’t publicly revealed how it does so, but online documents suggest the company is relying on an approach the US government began evaluating in the early 1960s: seeding clouds with metallic chaff, or narrow fiberglass strands coated with aluminum. 

It just raised millions of dollars to accelerate its product development and expand its operations. But researchers and environmental observers say uncertainties remain, including how well the seeding may work under varying conditions, how much material would need to be released, how frequently it would have to be done, and what sorts of secondary environmental impacts might result. Read the full story. 

—James Temple

OpenAI’s “compromise” with the Pentagon is what Anthropic feared

OpenAI has reached a deal that will allow the US military to use its technologies in classified settings. CEO Sam Altman said the negotiations, which the company began pursuing only after the Pentagon’s public reprimand of Anthropic, were “definitely rushed.”

OpenAI has taken great pains to say that it has not caved to allow the Pentagon to do whatever it wants with its technology. The company published a blog post explaining that its agreement protected against use for autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance, and Altman said the company did not simply accept the same terms that Anthropic refused. 

But it’s not yet clear if OpenAI can build in the safety precautions it promises as the military rushes out a politicized AI strategy during strikes on Iran, or if the deal will be seen as good enough by employees who wanted the company to take a harder line. Walking that tightrope will be tricky. Read the full story.

—James O’Donnell

The story is from 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 Gulf states are racing against time to intercept Iran’s drone attacks

They could run out of interceptors very soon. (WSJ $)

• Amazon says it lost three data centers in the strikes. (Business Insider $)
• There has been a spike in GPS attacks too, affecting nearby shipping. (Wired)
• Crypto stocks are tumbling in response. (Bloomberg)

2 Apple is considering using Google’s Gemini AI to power Siri

It’s also set to deepen its reliance on Google’s cloud infrastructure. (The Information $)

3 A database shows which topics fall foul of the Trump administration

National parks are being forced to erase any exhibits that display “partisan ideology”. (WP $)

• The transatlantic battle over free speech is coming. (FT $)
• What it’s like to be banned in the US for fighting online hate. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Can AI actually enhance jobs, not just destroy them?

Three economists take the optimistic view (New Yorker)

• How to fine tune AI for prosperity. (MIT Technology Review)

5 Are “bossware” apps tracking you? 

Tools to watch what workers are doing are getting more and more sophisticated. (NYT)

• Employers aren’t reading your resume anymore. (Business Insider)

6 RFK Jr says he is about to unleash 14 banned peptides

By reversing a Biden-era FDA ban on their production. (Gizmodo)

• Peptides are everywhere. What are they? (MIT Technology Review)

7 Meta is testing an AI shopping research tool

It hopes to rival Gemini and ChatGPT. (Bloomberg)

8 Maybe data centers in space aren’t as crazy as they sound? 

They could be cheaper, with the right tech. (Economist) 

• Should we… just do it? (MIT Technology Review)

9 Why climate change is making turbulence worse

Buckle up, people. (New Yorker)

10 6G is on its way!

And the hype cycle is doing its thing again. (The Verge $)

Quote of the day

“We don’t list markets directly tied to death. When there are markets where potential outcomes involve death, we design the rules to prevent people from profiting from death.”

—Tarek Mansour, CEO and founder of prediction market company Kalshi, tries to justify the $54 million bet on “Ali Khamenei out as Supreme Leader?” on his platform, 404 Media reports.

One More Thing

EDEL RODRIGUEZ

South Africa’s private surveillance machine is fueling a digital apartheid

Johannesburg is birthing a uniquely South African surveillance model. Over the past decade, the city has become host to a centralized, coordinated, entirely privatized mass surveillance operation. These tools have been enthusiastically adopted by the local security industry, grappling with the pressures of a high-crime environment.

Civil rights activists worry the new surveillance is fueling a digital apartheid and unraveling people’s democratic liberties, but a growing chorus of experts say the stakes are even higher. 

They argue that the impact of artificial intelligence is repeating the patterns of colonial history, and here in South Africa, where colonial legacies abound, the unfettered deployment of AI surveillance offers just one case study in how a technology that promised to bring societies into the future is threatening to send them back to the past. Read the full story.

—Karen Hao and Heidi Swart

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.)

+ These influencers are on a mission to save the UK’s pubs. 

+ Here’s what a map of America solely made up of its rivers would look like.

+ The winner of the Underwater Photographer of the Year awards is incredibly cute.
+ Pokémon may have turned 30 years old, but the franchise is more popular than ever.

The Download: protesting AI, and what’s floating in space

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 checked out one of the biggest anti-AI protests ever

Pull the plug! Pull the plug! Stop the slop! Stop the slop! For a few hours this Saturday, February 28, I watched as a couple hundred anti-AI protesters marched through London’s King’s Cross tech hub, home to the UK headquarters of OpenAI, Meta and Google DeepMind, chanting slogans and waving signs. The march was organized by a coalition of two separate activist groups, Pause AI and Pull the Plug, who billed it as the largest protest of its kind yet.

This is all familiar stuff. Researchers have been calling out the harms, both real and hypothetical, caused by generative AI— especially models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google DeepMind’s Gemini—for years. What’s changed is that those concerns are now being taken up by protest movements that can rally significant crowds of people to take to the streets and shout about it. Read the full story.

—Will Douglas Heaven

We’re putting more stuff into space than ever. Here’s what’s up there.

Earth’s a medium-size rock with some water on top, enveloped by gases that keep everything that lives here alive. Just at the edge of that envelope begins a thin but dense layer of human-built, high-tech stuff.

People started putting gear up there in 1957, and now it’s a real habit. Telescopes look up and out at the wild universe. Humans live in an orbiting metal bubble. In the last five years, the number of active satellites in space has increased from barely 3,000 to about 14,000—and climbing. And then there’s the garbage. Here’s a closer look at Earth’s ever-thickening shell of human-made matter—the anthroposphere.

—Jonathan O’Callaghan

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

MIT Technology Review is a 2026 ASME finalist in reporting

The American Society of Magazine Editors has named MIT Technology Review as a finalist for a 2026 National Magazine Award in the reporting category. 

The shortlisted story—“We did the math on AI’s energy footprint. Here’s the story you haven’t heard”—is part of our Power Hungry package on AI’s energy burden. 

In a rigorous investigation, senior AI reporter James O’Donnell and senior climate reporter Casey Crownhart spent six months digging through hundreds of pages of reports, interviewing experts, and crunching the numbers. Read more about what they found out.

What comes after the LLMs?

The AI industry is organized around LLMs: tools, products, and business models. Yet many researchers believe the next breakthroughs may not look like language models at all. Join us for a LinkedIn Live discussion at 12.30pm ET on Tuesday March 3 to dive into the emerging directions that could define AI’s next era. Register here!

The must-reads

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

1 The Pentagon wanted Anthropic to analyze bulk data collected from Americans 
It proved the sticking point in talks as OpenAI swooped in to ink a new deal. (The Atlantic $)+ Anthropic has vowed to legally challenge its “security risk” label. (FT $)
+ Here’s a blow-by-blow look at how negotiations fell apart. (NYT $)
+ Downloads of Claude are on the up. (TechCrunch)

2 Iranian apps and websites were hacked in the wake of the US-Israeli strikes
News sites and a religious app were co-opted to display anti-military messages. (Reuters)
+ They urged personnel to abandon the regime and to liberate the country. (WSJ $)
+ Unsurprisingly, X is rife with disinformation about the attacks. (Wired $)
+ The campaign has disrupted online delivery orders across the Middle East. (Bloomberg $)

3 DeepSeek is poised to release a new AI model this week
The multimodal V4 is being released ahead of China’s annual parliamentary meetings. (FT $)

4 The UK is trialing a social media ban for under-16s
Hundreds of teens will test overnight digital curfews and screen time limits. (The Guardian)
+ What it’s like to attend a phone addiction meeting. (Boston Globe $)

5 Celebrities are winning huge sums playing on this major crypto casino’s slots
In fact, their lucky wins appear to spike while they’re livestreaming. (Bloomberg $)

6 America is desperate to steal China’s critical mineral lead
The victor essentially controls global computing, aerospace and defense. (Economist $)
+ This rare earth metal shows us the future of our planet’s resources. (MIT Technology Review)

7 How lasers became the military’s weapon of choice
From Ukraine to the US, soldiers are deploying laser guns. But why? (The Atlantic $)
+ They’re a key part of America’s arsenal in manning the southern border. (New Yorker $)
+ This giant microwave may change the future of war. (MIT Technology Review)

8 How quantum entanglement became big business
It promises unhackable communication—but is it too good to be true? (New Scientist $)
+ Useful quantum computing is inevitable—and increasingly imminent. (MIT Technology Review)

9 The iPod is proving a hit among Gen Z
Even though Apple discontinued the music player four years ago. (NYT $)

10 Chinese parents are joining matchmaking apps in their droves
In a bid to marry off their adult children as soon as humanly possible. (Nikkei Asia)

Quote of the day

“Day to day it just feels untenable…Some managers know this is the case, but executives just keep pointing to some bigger AI picture.”

—An anonymous Amazon employee describes the stresses of trying to increase productivity amid the company’s commitment to reducing headcount to the Financial Times.

One more thing

The iPad was meant to revolutionize accessibility. What happened?

On April 3, 2010, Steve Jobs debuted the iPad. What for most people was basically a more convenient form factor was something far more consequential for non-speakers: a life-­changing revolution in access to a portable, powerful communication device for just a few hundred dollars.

But a piece of hardware, however impressively designed and engineered, is only as valuable as what a person can do with it. After the iPad’s release, the flood of new, easy-to-use augmentative and alternative communication apps that users were in desperate need of never came.

Today, there are only around half a dozen apps, each retailing for $200 to $300, that ask users to select from menus of crudely drawn icons to produce text and synthesized speech. It’s a depressingly slow pace of development for such an essential human function. Read the full story.

—Julie Kim

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.)

+ Neanderthal by name, not by nature—these prehistoric men were surprisingly romantic, thank you very much.
+ If you’re lucky enough to live in Boston, make sure you swing by these beautiful bars.
+ Hmm, this sticky hoisin sausage traybake sounds intriguing.
+ George Takei, you are an absolute maverick.