The Download: climate tech goes public and the AI Hype Index returns

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.

Climate tech companies are going public. What’s next?

Solar and battery company Solv Energy went public in February, hitting a $6 billion valuation. X-energy, which builds small modular nuclear reactors, followed at $11.5 billion. Then came geothermal company Fervo Energy, reaching a market cap of about $12.4 billion.

All three have been IPO success stories. And it doesn’t feel like a coincidence that they’re racing to provide electricity in an era of rising demand, driven partly by data centers.

What does this boom reveal about the future of the grid? And what comes next? Read the full story to find out.

—Casey Crownhart

This story is from The Spark, our weekly newsletter giving you the inside track on all things climate. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday.

The AI Hype Index

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 what’s shaping the industry right now.

The latest edition includes billionaire road trips, students booing, made-up quotes, and too much sci-fi. See where it all landed on this month’s index.

The must-reads

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

1 Illinois just passed what could become America’s strongest AI safety law
It would require third-party safety audits. (Wired $)
+ But it still needs the governor’s approval. (NBC News)
+ The US is divided over AI regulation. (MIT Technology Review)

2 A Google engineer has been charged with insider trading
He allegedly bet on who’d be the most-searched people of 2025 on Polymarket. (BBC)
+ And used internal data to rack up more than $1.2 million in winnings. (Verge)
+ He’s been charged with fraud and money laundering over the bets. (NPR)

3 ByteDance is developing custom CPUs amid a massive AI chip squeeze
The TikTok owner is struggling with severe supply shortages. (Reuters $)
+ Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are also building custom CPUs. (CNBC)
+ Taiwan’s “silicon shield” could be weakening. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Four tech giants have backed a clean energy push for AI data centers
Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft have joined the initiative. (Quartz)
+ Investor Elemental Impact will deploy up to $5 million per project. (Axios)

5 Nvidia’s CEO is joining the board of Beijing’s Tsinghua University
His appointment comes as Nvidia struggles to export chips to China. (FT $)
+ President Xi is an alumnus of Tsinghua, aka “China’s Harvard.” (Reuters $)

6 The Trump administration is in talks to fund drone firms
One of which counts Donald Trump Jr. as a shareholder. (WSJ $)
+ Drone dominance has been described ​as a “presidential priority.” (Reuters $)

7 London has reclaimed its position as Europe’s leading tech hub
It’s overtaken Paris in new global rankings. (Euronews)
+ And now sits fourth, behind the Bay Area, New York and Boston. (Reuters $)

8 OpenAI and Anthropic disagree over AI’s impact on jobs
Anthropic is emphasizing the risks, while OpenAI is sounding rosier. (Axios)
+ The AI jobs hysteria needs a reality check. (MIT Technology Review)

9 Researchers claim to have achieved perfect randomness for the first time
Thanks to entangled quantum chips. (Interesting Engineering)
+ The milestone could lead to better cybersecurity. (Scientific American)

10 Embryo organoids are showing why many pregnancies fail
They’ve led to improvements in IVF and pregnancy treatments. (New Scientist $)
+ New tech is transforming reproductive medicine. (MIT Technology Review)

Quote of the day

“How can we be happy about Google coming? We’ll all be scattered. It feels very sad.”

—Pyla Kondamma, a 42-year-old in Visakhapatnam, India, tells the Wall Street Journal her concerns about Google building data centers in her city.

One More Thing

NICO ORTEGA

Why venture capital doesn’t build the things we really need

Venture capital has been the engine of US innovation for years. This largely white, largely male corner of finance has backed software companies that grow fast—but generate large amounts of money for a shrinking number of Americans.

It’s also creating fewer jobs for ordinary people. And recently, venture capitalists have struggled to find ideas that fit their preferred pattern.

Here’s what’s going wrong with the funding model that made Silicon Valley a global hub.

—Elizabeth MacBride

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.)

+ Never miss a great movie again with this worldwide release tracker.
+ These quirky word puzzles use emoji hints to help you find answers.
+ The digital museum of plugs and sockets is a treasure trove of global connectors.
+ Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” becomes a Bach-style fugue played on classical guitar.

The Download: keeping up with AI, and the future of IVF

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.

Stay on top of what’s going on in AI this summer

Here at MIT Technology Review, we understand exactly how relentless the pace of news from the world of artificial intelligence feels. New models and capabilities crop up as fast as we can cover them, and the ripple effects they send through tech and wider society are never far behind.

Our unique strength lies in cutting through the day-to-day noise to help you understand what’s really happening, and what lies around the corner.

That’s why we created our list of 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now, unveiled at our flagship AI event EmTech AI a few weeks back (check the list out if you haven’t already!) And it’s why we publish so many stories dedicated to explaining how AI works, and what’s coming next. We also regularly run live subscriber-only Roundtables events—you can still catch up on last week’s session, where we explored how AI might enter the physical realm via world models.

Right now, there’s a 25% discount on subscriptions. Sign up now to deepen your understanding of AI this summer. You can also join the conversation by subscribing to The Algorithm, our free weekly newsletter all about the latest in AI.

MIT Technology Review Narrated: what’s next for IVF

IVF has brought millions of babies into the world over the last four decades. But the process can still be slow, painful, and expensive—and far from guaranteed to work. Now, a wave of new technologies aims to change that. 

Researchers are using AI to identify promising sperm and embryos, developing robotic systems that could automate parts of the IVF process, and even exploring controversial genetic editing techniques designed to prevent inherited disease.

The technologies could make IVF more effective and accessible. But they’re also raising difficult ethical questions about how far reproductive medicine should go.

—Jessica Hamzelou

This is our latest story to be turned into an MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we publish 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 NASA unveiled plans for three uncrewed missions to the Moon this year
They’re part of preparations for a crewed landing in 2028. (The Verge)
+ And steps to build the first lunar base at the Moon’s south pole. (NBC News)
+ Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin will lead the first uncrewed mission. (WP $)
+ NASA is building the first nuclear reactor-powered spacecraft. (MIT Technology Review)

2 Samsung’s largest unions have approved a landmark bonus scheme
The deal averts a massive strike at the world’s largest memory-chip maker. (WSJ $)
+ Chip workers will get an average bonus of about $340,000. (Bloomberg $)
+ The dispute centered on who profits from the AI boom. (BI)
+ Resistance to AI is growing. (MIT Technology Review)

3 Elon Musk accused the Pentagon of misusing Starlink for drones
He says military use of the system violates SpaceX rules. (Ars Technica)
+ The DoD is disputing a Starlink price hike during the Iran war. (Reuters $)
+ Stratospheric internet could take off this year. (MIT Technology Review)

4 China has overhauled the world’s biggest surveillance network with AI
Beijing is pushing law enforcement towards predictive policing. (FT $)
+ Police use of smart glasses is also booming in China. (Gizmodo)
+ LLMs could supercharge mass surveillance. (MIT Technology Review)

5 Space Force is awarding SpaceX $2 billion for a military data network
It will connect military sensors and weapons platforms worldwide. (Reuters $)
+ The contract comes amid concerns about SpaceX’s AI business. (WSJ $)
+ Speculation is growing around a possible SpaceX-Tesla merger.  (CNBC)

6 Taiwan suspects Nvidia chips were smuggled to China via Japan
To circumvent US restrictions. (Bloomberg $)
+ Is China about to win the AI race? (MIT Technology Review)

7 Booming AI chip demand has created two new $1 trillion companies
South Korea’s SK Hynix and the US’ Micron have hit the landmark. (BBC)

8 AI has sparked a surge in demand for cybersecurity experts
Thanks to a glut of new code and alarm over powerful models. (NYT $)
+ AI is making online swindles easier. (MIT Technology Review)

9 Internet is coming back in Iran after a three-month blackout
Although it isn’t clear if the reconnection is permanent. (Wired $)

10 Physicists are rethinking the role of gravity in quantum mechanics
There’s a new theory for how our everyday world emerges. (New Scientist $)

Quote of the day

“AI and its capabilities represent something analogous to the Second Coming.” 

—Jeremy Nixon, the cofounder of AGI House and a former Google Brain researcher, tells the New York Times how Silicon Valley’s innovations could affect the pope.

One More Thing

ANDREW MERRITT

Inside the experimental world of animal infrastructure

In the mid-2000s, toads were meeting a gruesome end near Ede, a leafy old town in the Netherlands. Residents responded by building wildlife tunnels beneath the road to help them reach their breeding ponds safely.

The crossings became popular. But a few years later, researchers found the local toad population had crashed from more than 10,000 to fewer than 1,000.

The case reflects a wider global push to build wildlife crossings and other forms of “animal infrastructure.” But do they actually help animal populations recover? Read the full story to find out.

—Matthew Ponsford

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.)

+ The votes for “International Mollusc of the Year” are finally in.
+ Track aircraft in real time across a gorgeous 3D digital globe using live flight data.
+ NASA’s Psyche spacecraft has delivered breathtaking new close-up images of Mars.
+ This deep dive into instant coffee reveals the extraordinary engineering effort behind making it vaguely drinkable.

The Download: puncturing the AI jobs panic

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.

A reality check on the AI jobs hysteria

Despite the growing hysteria over AI’s threat to white-collar jobs, there’s still scant evidence that the technology has had a large-scale impact on the labor market.

Analysis of US labor data shows that unemployment in occupations most exposed to AI is actually lower than in less-exposed jobs. There are also no signs that large numbers of workers are shifting from AI-threatened professions into supposedly safer manual-labor jobs.

It’s true that things aren’t great in the job market—but the question is why. Here’s what the data really says about AI and jobs.

—David Rotman

Opinion: It’s time to address the looming crisis in entry-level work

—Georgios Petropoulos, an assistant professor at the USC Marshall School of Business

AI has not yet produced mass unemployment. But it may be quietly weakening the first rung of the career ladder.

A recent Stanford study found that young workers in AI-exposed occupations suffered a sharp decline in employment after the spread of generative AI. The same pattern didn’t appear in low-exposure jobs, suggesting AI is replacing junior tasks that once gave young workers their first foothold.

It’s time to rethink how we train, prepare, and support young people entering the workforce. Read this op-ed on how job seekers, businesses, and society can adapt.

The must-reads

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

1 The Pope has called for governments to regulate AI 
In his first major teaching document, Pope Leo said AI must be “disarmed.” (BBC)
+ He warned that AI fuels war and misinformation. (CNN)
+ But could also “open up a horizon extending in all directions.” (Engadget)
+ Anthropic cofounder Chris Olah also spoke at the event. (Reuters $)

2 SpaceX has launched its biggest and most powerful rocket
The Starship V3 made its test flight debut two days after Elon Musk announced SpaceX’s IPO.(Guardian)+ SpaceX pulled off the launch, but not the landing. (Ars Technica)
+ The rocket could be key to SpaceX’s valuation. (Fortune $)
+ But rivals to the company are rising. (MIT Technology Review)

3 Huawei says it can make industry-leading chips within five years
The Chinese tech giant announced a breakthrough in chip design. (Reuters $)
+ Its progress underscores Beijing’s push to neutralize US sanctions. (NBC)
+ Chinese chip stocks rallied after the announcement. (Bloomberg $)

4 A new vaccine may protect against the Ebola strain behind the current crisis
Tests have shown promising results for the mRNA vaccine. (New Scientist)
+ Another Ebola vaccine that could be ready for trials in months. (BBC)
+ But vaccines face a new problem: their name. (MIT Technology Review)

5 A swimmer broke a world record at the ‘Steroid Olympics’
Athletes at the Enhance Games were encouraged to take dope. (Wired $)
+ Silicon Valley elites have backed the competition. (WP $)
+ Which fits right into 2026’s longevity vibes. (MIT Technology Review)

6 The EU plans to fine Google a massive antitrust penalty
For allegedly favoring its own services in search results. (CNBC)
+ It would be the largest penalty for breaching the Digital Markets Act. (Reuters $) 

7 US quantum computing subsidies may not be legal
Congressional critics say the funding has been misused. (Ars Technica)

8 AI is minting new billionaires—and workers want their share
The Samsung labor showdown reflects global concerns. (Rest of World)

9 China has launched artificial human embryos into orbit
To find out whether we can reproduce beyond Earth. (Gizmodo)

10 Jony Ives has designed Ferrari’s first fully-electric car
The legendary Apple designer has created a polarizing aesthetic. (FT $) 

Quote of the day

“Technology is never neutral, because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate, and use it.” 

—Pope Leo issues a warning about AI in his first encyclical letter, entitled ‘Magnifica humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence.”

One More Thing

ALYSSA SCHUKAR

How climate vulnerability and the digital divide are linked

In Anacostia, a historic African-American section of Washington, DC, Monica Sanders is measuring Wi-Fi speeds. It’s below the FCC’s minimum to qualify as a broadband service. She then checks the temperature: 46.9 °F.

Sanders, an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University, frequently records this combination of weak internet access and environmental conditions. Her work shows how underinvestment in infrastructure can leave underserved communities more exposed to climate risks like extreme heat and flooding.

Discover how the digital divide is shaping climate vulnerability in the US.

—Colleen Hagerty

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.)

+ Here’s a joyful way to settle sibling squabbles: a mandatory dance-off.
+ Build the metropolis of your dreams in this browser-based city simulation game.
+ Watch this hypnotic tiny train move in a perfect, endless loop on a rotating turntable.
+ Take a nostalgic look at early computing history with this curated gallery of vintage punch cards.

The Download: coding’s future, the ‘Steroid Olympics,’ and AI-driven science

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.

Anthropic’s Code with Claude showed off coding’s future—whether you like it or not

At Anthropic’s developer event in London this week, Code with Claude, attendees were asked if they’d shipped code written entirely by Claude. Almost half the room raised their hands. Many admitted they hadn’t even read the code before pushing it live.

As tools like Claude Code get better, more and more developers are happy to hand their work off to AI. Anthropic says it wants to push automation as far as it will go. But not everyone is convinced that’s the right approach. 

Read the full story on how AI is reshaping coding for good.

—Will Douglas Heaven

The Enhanced Games fit right in with the rest of 2026’s longevity vibes

This Sunday, 42 athletes will gather in Las Vegas for the inaugural Enhanced Games, a controversial sporting competition that allows the use of performance-enhancing drugs. The goal? To “push the boundaries of human performance.”

The event embodies a zeitgeist of peptide-crazed looksmaxxing, where consumers are encouraged to get thinner than ever, optimize for longevity, and have their “best baby.” In 2026, if you’re not enhancing, what are you even doing?

Find out how the competition reflects our enhancement-obsessed era.

—Jessica Hamzelou

This story is from The Checkup, our weekly newsletter giving you the inside track on all things biotech. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Thursday.

Google I/O showed how the path for AI-driven science is shifting

—Grace Huckins

During Tuesday’s Google I/O keynote, Demis Hassabis, the CEO of Google DeepMind, proclaimed that we are “standing in the foothills of the singularity.” But what struck me as I listened in the audience was the context in which he said those words.

The contrast reflects two directions for AI in science. One builds specialized systems like WeatherNext for specific problems. The other pushes toward agentic, LLM-based systems that could eventually execute cutting-edge research projects without human involvement.

The big scientific announcement at I/O was Gemini for Science, which leans further into this agent-driven future. It can still call on specialized systems, but Google appears to be transitioning away from them.

Here’s how the shift could affect science.

Can AI learn to understand the world?

Many leading AI researchers have turned their attention to a new kind of system that understands the physical environment: world models. 

Backed by researchers at Google DeepMind, Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs, and Meta’s former Chief AI scientist, Yann LeCun, the idea is gaining serious momentum. Could it change how AI understands reality?

MIT Technology Review editor in chief Mat Honan, senior AI editor Will Douglas Heaven, and AI reporter Grace Huckins unpacked it all in an exclusive Roundtables discussion yesterday.

Subscribers can watch the full recording now.

World models are also one of MIT Technology Review’s 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now, our list of what’s really worth your attention in the busy, buzzy world of AI.

The must-reads

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

1 Trump has postponed an AI order due to overregulation fears
He said he was concerned it would be “a blocker.” (CNBC)
+ And that he wants to preserve the US’s lead over China in AI. (Reuters $)
+ A source said the delay was because he “just hates regulation.” (Axios)
+ A war over regulation is coming to America. (MIT Technology Review)

2 OpenClaw’s engineers warn that a “vibe-coded slop” crisis is coming
They say AI is flooding the world with bad and even dangerous code. (WSJ $)
+ Now vibe coding is coming to your phone, too. (The Verge)
+ What exactly is vibe coding? (MIT Technology Review)

3 SpaceX has called off the launch of a new Starship prototype
Engineers discovered a ground system glitch. (CNBC)
+ They hope to try again tonight. (Ars Technica)
+ The launch could play a key role in SpaceX’s IPO. (NPR)

4 Meta has settled a school district’s social media addiction lawsuit
It had been sued over the alleged harm caused to students. (BBC)
+ Snap, TikTok, and YouTube have also settled with the district. (NYT $)

5 Bluesky says it’s being hacked by the Kremlin to spread propaganda
It’s fighting Russian efforts to hijack real users’ accounts to post. (NYT $)
+ Now is a good time for doing crime. (MIT Technology Review)

6 Africa’s biggest economies are pushing for AI sovereignty
They aim to reduce their dependence on Big Tech. (Rest of World)
+ New strategies could make Africa a major AI player. (MIT Technology Review)

7 Undersea cables threaten the Gulf’s AI expansion plans
Conflicts have put the fragile critical infrastructure at risk. (Wired $)

8 Waymo is pausing services as robotaxis keep driving into floods
It suspended services in four US cities. (TechCrunch)

9 Microscopic silica spheres may help cool the planet
But some researchers need further convincing. (The Economist $)

10 Spotify will now let subscribers create AI remixes

It’s the first time they can use AI to create content on Spotify. (Guardian)

Quote of the day

“You have AI — actual intelligence.” 

—Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak reassures college graduates about AI’s impact and draws applause, in contrast to the boos received by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt earlier this week, Business Insider reports.

One More Thing

GETTY IMAGES

The future is disabled

Technologies for disability, access, and mobility are often portrayed as objects of empowerment or heroic, life-changing panaceas for social ills. But their benefits are often temporary, lopsided, or reliant on constant investment, care, and attention.

Often, accessibility tech assumes levels of access that don’t exist: reliable internet, smartphones, or affordable devices. Projects frequently overlook the very communities they claim to serve. Yet there’s another way: opening ourselves up to all-access thinking and disabled expertise.

Discover how that approach could create a more livable world for everyone.

—Ashley Shew

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.)

+ Treat your eyes to this magical footage of a lake floating above an ocean.
+ Test your visual recall with this clever game that recreates colors from memory.
+ Take back control of your internet with this dashboard that brings together your favourite social feeds.
+ Peer into the heart of a barred spiral galaxy in this stunning new capture from the James Webb Space Telescope.

The Download: online safety’s future and climate tech’s big pivot

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.

Tech researchers are suing the Trump administration over the future of online safety

For months, the Trump administration has been going after researchers who study and try to counter hate speech, harassment, propaganda, and disinformation online. Now, some of those researchers are fighting back. 

In a new lawsuit, they’re seeking to strike down a visa restriction policy against “foreign officials and other persons” announced last year by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

They say the policy violates the speech and due process rights of foreign-born workers whose “work supports greater moderation of content on the [tech] platforms.” Find out how the case could impact online safety and free speech.

—Eileen Guo

Climate tech companies are pivoting to critical minerals

We’re over a year into the second Trump administration, and support for climate causes in the US is weak. But climate tech companies are finding ways to survive and even thrive in this new environment, including by looking beyond decarbonization.

One example is Boston Metal. The startup has raised a $75 million round to produce critical metals, MIT Technology Review can exclusively report.

The company is best known for its efforts to clean up steel production, an industry that’s responsible for about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. But the new focus and fresh funds could help it survive a period of waning support for industrial decarbonization.

Read the full story on its high-stakes shift. And discover more about the new strategy for climate tech companies in our analysis of how they’re reframing their missions.

—Casey Crownhart 

Our story on the climate tech pivot is from The Spark, our weekly newsletter giving you the inside track on all things climate. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday.

Can AI learn to understand the world?

As the limits of LLMs become clearer, researchers are developing a new kind of AI designed to understand the physical environment: world models. 

Recent developments from Google DeepMind, Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs, and Yann LeCun’s new startup have pushed these systems to the forefront of AI. At an exclusive virtual event today, MIT Technology Review will examine the progress—and what comes next.

Join editor in chief Mat Honan, senior AI editor Will Douglas Heaven, and AI reporter Grace Huckins for the subscriber-only Roundtables discussion on world models. Register here to take part in the session at 19:30 GMT / 2:30 PM ET / 11:30 AM PT.

World models are one of our 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now, MIT Technology Review’s new list of the technologies and ideas shaping the future of AI.

The must-reads

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

1 SpaceX has filed for an IPO expected to be the largest ever
It could make Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire. (BBC) 
+ But he’s also a risk factor in the prospectus. (The Verge)
+ The filing exposes SpaceX’s finances for the first time. (NYT $)
+ AI spending pushed it to a $1.94 billion loss in Q1 2026. (Reuters $)
+ And rivals are challenging its launch dominance. (MIT Technology Review)

2 Nvidia reported record revenues thanks to the AI boom
It’s blown past Wall Street expectations, despite losing the Chinese market. (Guardian)
+ It has “largely conceded” China’s AI chip market to Huawei. (CNBC)
+ It generated no revenue from H200 chip sales in China. (SCMP)

3 Samsung has averted a massive strike over AI profit-sharing
It reached a tentative deal on bonuses with workers. (FT $)
+ The last-minute deal averts an 18-day walkout. (Engadget) 
+ But the compromise has exposed deep divisions. (Reuters $)
+ Anti-AI protests are increasing. (MIT Technology Review)

4 President Trump will sign a cybersecurity directive as soon as today
But it stops short of mandatory federal approval of models before they’re released. (Bloomberg $)
+ AI is making online crimes easier. (MIT Technology Review)

5 OpenAI may file for an IPO within days
The ChatGPT-maker wants to go public as early as September. (WSJ $)

6 Robotics won’t be transformed by a single AI breakthrough
Don’t expect a ChatGPT moment. (IEE Spectrum)
+ Human work behind humanoid robots is being hidden. (MIT Technology Review)

7 Rocks could generate hydrogen while storing CO2
New research shows they could also produce geothermal power. (New Scientist)
+ AI is uncovering hidden geothermal energy resources. (MIT Technology Review)

8 The EU is accelerating a Trump-fueled breakup with Big Tech
Geopolitical tensions are driving a shift toward homegrown software. (Wired $)

9 Solid-state breakthroughs could soon transform commercial batteries
They’d be faster and safer than today’s lithium-ion equivalents. (The Economist $)

10 Two researchers are rebuilding math from the ground up
By replacing the most fundamental concept in topology. (Quanta)
+ OpenAI claims its solved an 80-year-old math problem. (TechCrunch)

Quote of the day

“This isn’t a blip, it’s an inflection point.” 

—Gurjeet Grewal, CEO of UK-based Octopus Electric Vehicles, tells Reuters that the Iran war has been a boon for European EV sales.

One More Thing

ALICIA FERNáNDEZ

The new US border wall is an app

At the US southern border in 2023, asylum seekers had to request appointments with immigration officials via a mobile app. The Biden administration said the app, named CBP One, would make migration more orderly and discourage unauthorized crossings. But for many migrants, it became another obstacle.

While waiting in dangerous border cities, they reported frozen screens, facial recognition issues, spotty connectivity, and difficulty securing appointments. Advocates argue that requiring vulnerable people to rely on smartphones, internet access, and digital literacy creates a system that leaves many behind.

Find out how CBP One endangered some of the people most in need of protection.

—Lorena Ríos

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.)

+ See how big countries really are with this interactive tool.
+ Explore the entire Star Wars galaxy in detail through this interactive map.
+ Chart the origins of historical events with this interactive cause-and-effect explorer.
+ Discover the surprising origins of global currency symbols in this deep dive into financial history.

The Download: fully artificial chicken eggs and why Musk lost

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.

Colossal Biosciences is growing chickens in a 3D-printed artificial eggshell

The baby chicks were shifting and starting to pip—or trying to hatch. But not from an egg. Instead, these chickens were growing inside transparent 3D-printed plastic cups at the Dallas headquarters of Colossal Biosciences.

The biotech company yesterday claimed it has developed a “fully artificial egg” as part of its effort to resurrect extinct avian species, including birds like the dodo and the giant moa.

Some scientists think Colossal is overstating the breakthrough. But the technology may represent an early step toward artificial wombs.

Read the full story on the science and controversy behind the artificial eggshell.

—Antonio Regalado

Inside the Musk v. Altman Trial

Elon Musk has lost his landmark lawsuit against OpenAI, which centered on allegations that its cofounders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman misled him about the company’s nonprofit mission. But what really happened in the courtroom, and what does it mean for the AI race? 

AI reporter and attorney Michelle Kim, who covered the trial for MIT Technology Review, joined our editor in chief Mat Honan to unpack it all in an exclusive Roundtables discussion yesterday.

Subscribers can watch the full recording now.

MIT Technology Review Narrated: this scientist rewarmed and studied pieces of his friend’s cryopreserved brain

L. Stephen Coles’s brain sits in a vat at a storage facility in Arizona. It has been held there at a temperature of around −146 degrees °C for over a decade, largely undisturbed. Before he died in 2014, Coles had the brain frozen with an ambitious goal in mind: reanimation. 

His friend, cryobiologist Greg Fahy, believes it could be revived one day. But other experts are less optimistic.  

Still, Fahy’s research could lead to new ways to study the brain. And using cryopreservation for organ transplantation is becoming a viable reality. 

—Jessica Hamzelou

This is our latest story to be turned into an MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we publish 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.

Can AI learn to understand the world?

The limitations of LLMs are pushing AI researchers towards new systems that understand the physical environment: world models. The likes of Google DeepMind, Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs, and Meta’s former Chief AI Scientist, AI Yann LeCun, have brought this technology to the forefront of AI. 

To explore where this technology is heading next, MIT Technology Review is hosting an exclusive Roundtables discussion on Thursday, May 21, with editor in chief Mat Honan, senior AI editor Will Douglas Heaven, and AI reporter Grace Huckins. Register here to join the session at 19:30 GMT / 2:30 PM ET / 11:30 AM PT.

World models are also one of MIT Technology Review’s 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now, our list of what’s really worth your attention in the busy, buzzy world of AI.

The must-reads

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

1 Google is changing its search box for the first time in 25 years
Its AI-powered overhaul centers on an “intelligent search box”. (Wired $)
+ “Information agents” will gather information on a user’s behalf. (TechCrunch)
+ Google, Gemini, and Gmail may one day be a single search box. (The Verge)
+ AI means the end of search as we know it. (MIT Technology Review)

2 Samsung workers plan to strike tomorrow over AI profit sharing
They say that their employer isn’t sharing the rewards of the AI boom. (WSJ $)
+ And want ​15% of the company’s annual operating profit. (CNBC)
+ South Korea may invoke emergency powers to stop the strike. (Reuters $)
 
3 The White House is set to release a new executive order on AI safety
It’s slated to launch this week. (Axios)
+ The order seeks early government access to advanced models. (NYT $)
 
4 The FBI plans to buy nationwide access to license plate readers
It wants “data in near real time” from cameras across the US. (Ars Technica)
+ The tech could let it track drivers nationwide. (Newsweek)
 
5 Google will launch a new line of smart glasses this fall
They’re the company’s first attempt since the Google Glass flop. (BBC)
+ Google Gemini will power the interactions with the user. (Guardian)
+ Meanwhile, Anduril and Meta are making smart glasses for warfare. (MIT Technology Review)
 
6 A new bill in Congress proposes a new annual fee for EVs
It could cost drivers an extra $130 a year. (NYT $)
+ The fee will cover highway maintenance costs. (WSJ $)
 
7 OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy has joined rival lab Anthropic
Karpathy was also previously Tesla’s director of AI. (Fortune)
+ He coined the term “vibe coding.” (MIT Technology Review)

8 The fears over Anthropic’s Mythos AI model look overstated
Cybersecurity experts say the hacking threat is exaggerated. (Reuters $)
 
9 Silicon Valley keeps misreading China’s role in tech
Viewing Chinese firms as enemies could do more to hurt than help the US. (Rest of World)
 
10 A book about AI’s effects on truth contains false quotes created by AI
It’s among a spate of controversies involving AI-generated quotes. (NYT $)
+ Yesterday, a lawyer apologised for including them in a court filing. (Reuters $)
+ A senior journalist was recently suspended for using them. (Guardian)

Quote of the day

“It may be that the judges have now awarded a prize to an instance of AI plagiarism—we don’t yet know, and perhaps we never will know.”

—Sigrid Rausing, publisher of literary magazine Granta, casts doubts on the authenticity of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize winners, Wired reports.

One More Thing

SELMAN DESIGN

Who gets to decide who receives experimental medical treatments?

Max was only a toddler when his parents noticed there was “something different” about the way he moved. He was slower than other kids his age, and he struggled to jump. He couldn’t run. A genetic test confirmed their fears: Max had Duchenne muscular dystrophy. 

Desperate to slow its progression, Max’s parents enrolled him in an experimental gene therapy trial. The FDA had approved the medicine on weak evidence—a move that has become increasingly common. 

We urgently need to question how these decisions are made. Who should have access to experimental therapies? And who should get to decide? 

Read the full story on the intense debate over experimental treatments.

—Jessica Hamzelou

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.)

+ Trace the history of the world’s most famous plumber in this biography of Mario.
+ Watch the Earth’s spin in action as a full Milk Moon slowly disappears behind a volcano.
+ This handy tool for movie buffs lets you filter upcoming releases by territory and save them to a local watchlist.
+ A missing cat was reunited with its owner after five years and 270 km apart—all thanks to an old Facebook post.

The Download: Musk v. Altman, smart glasses for warfare, and Google I/O

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.

Here’s why Elon Musk lost his suit against OpenAI

Elon Musk has lost his lawsuit against OpenAI, which centered on whether the company breached its founding contract as a nonprofit. A jury found that he sued too late, meaning his claims are barred by statutes of limitations. But the verdict didn’t judge if OpenAI violated its nonprofit mission—only whether Musk brought the case in time.

The dispute centers on when OpenAI began shifting toward a for-profit structure. The company argued that signs of a shift were visible as early as 2017, while Musk said he only discovered the change in 2022.

Here’s a closer look at the timeline, why Musk lost, and why the fight over OpenAI’s structure may not be over.

—Michelle Kim

Join us later today for a subscriber-only Roundtables discussion about what happened in the courtroom and what the verdict means for OpenAI and the larger AI race. Register here.

Inside Anduril and Meta’s quest to make smart glasses for warfare

The defense-tech company Anduril has shared new details about the augmented-reality headset for the military it’s prototyping with Meta, including a vision for ordering drone strikes via eye-tracking and voice commands.

Quay Barnett, who leads the effort at Anduril following a career in the Army’s Special Operations Command, says he aims to optimize “the human as a weapons system.” Find out how he plans to do it—and what smart glasses could mean for warfare.

—James O’Donnell

What to expect at Google I/O this week

When Google opens its doors today for its annual developer conference, I/O, it will do so as a clear third place in the foundation model race. 

A foundation model’s reputation these days rests largely on its coding capabilities, and for months Google’s coding tools have been outgunned by Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex. But the company still shapes the cutting edge in areas such as AI for science. At I/O this week, it will try to prove it can compete on both fronts.

I’m going to be at Mountain View this week to see what goes down. Here are three things to keep a close eye on.

—Grace Huckins

This story is from The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter giving you the inside track on all things AI. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Monday.

Can AI learn to understand the world?

As the limits of LLMs become clearer, researchers are developing a new kind of AI designed to understand the physical environment: world models. 

Recent developments from Google DeepMind, Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs, and Yann LeCun’s new startup have pushed these systems to the forefront of AI. At an upcoming virtual event, MIT Technology Review will examine the progress—and what comes next.

On Thursday, May 21, editor in chief Mat Honan, senior AI editor Will Douglas Heaven, and AI reporter Grace Huckins will take part in an exclusive Roundtables discussion on world models. Register here to join the session at 19:30 GMT / 2:30 PM ET / 11:30 AM PT.

World models are one of our 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now, a new guide to the technologies and ideas shaping the future of AI.

The must-reads

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

1 OpenAI’s legal win over Elon Musk clears its path to a blockbuster IPO
The jury’s verdict was a critical moment for the company’s future. (Reuters $)
+ The trial spilled plenty of dirt about Silicon Valley. (MIT Technology Review)
+ And added to concerns about AI’s leadership. (The Verge)

2 Google and Blackstone are launching a new AI cloud company
The venture will use Google’s specialized chips. (Bloomberg $)
+ It aims to mount a challenge to Nvidia. (FT $)
+ Blackstone is investing $5 billion in the company. (WSJ $)

3 Meta is reshaping its workforce around AI while preparing deep layoffs
It’s reassigning 7,000 employees to four new AI-focused groups. (NYT $)
+ And plans to lay off 10% of its staff on Wednesday. (Reuters $)
+ More cuts are expected later this year. (CNBC)

4 The Iran conflict is straining the AI supply chain
TSMC, Foxconn, and Infineon have felt major disruption. (CNBC)
+ The war also threatens a vital water technology. (MIT Technology Review)

5 China’s AI-powered brain implants are moving to real-world use
Some devices will soon be sold to the public. (Nature)
+ BCIs now must be proven as products. (MIT Technology Review)

6 A US cybersecurity agency exposed its own digital keys on GitHub
A researcher said it’s the worst leak he’s ever seen. (Krebs on Security)
+ The culprit was the CISA, a relatively new branch of the DHS. (Gizmodo)

7 Supercharging immune cells may help control HIV long-term
CAR-T cell therapy is showing promise for managing HIV. (Wired $)

8 Filipino virtual assistants are powering “thought leadership” on LinkedIn
Low-paid workers use AI to write posts for Western executives. (Rest of World)

9 Big Four accounting firms have more job ads for AI staff than auditors
Accounting giants are rushing to adapt to technological disruption. (FT $)

10 Tech founders are being sent to etiquette school
In the AI era, soft skills may matter more than ever. (WSJ $)

Quote of the day

“Shit, I should have asked for more.”

—President Trump tells Fortune that he should have requested a greater share of Intel than the 10% stake that the US government received.

One More Thing

MICHAEL BYERS

Think that your plastic is being recycled? Think again.

On a kayak trip through a Connecticut salt marsh, plastic waste appears almost immediately. There are bags in reeds, bottles in the water, and tiny pieces scattered everywhere. What looks like a pristine ecosystem is already saturated.

Plastic is produced at enormous scale but rarely recycled. Instead, it breaks apart into microplastics, which are now detected across the environment and in human bodies.

Read the full story on why plastic pollution is so hard to contain.

—Douglas Main

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.)

+ Discover the beauty hidden within numbers at this charming site.
+ Find out how many millions of miles you’ve traveled through space since birth.
+ An extraordinary image has captured the split-second the ISS silhouetted itself against the Moon.
+ The most insane megaproject you’ve never heard of tried to turn atomic bombs into peaceful construction tools.

The Download: Musk v. Altman week 3, and Trump’s tech trading

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.

Musk v. Altman week 3: Musk and Altman traded blows over each other’s credibility. Now the jury will pick a side.

In the final week of the Musk v. Altman trial, lawyers attacked the credibility of the two tech leaders. Sam Altman was accused of lying and self-dealing, while Elon Musk was portrayed as a power-seeker trying to control artificial general intelligence.

The case unearthed new details about the two arch-rivals and OpenAI’s contested nonprofit status, as well as a golden trophy of a donkey’s ass awarded to an employee who challenged Musk.

Read the full story on the explosive final week of the trial.

—Michelle Kim

Michelle Kim, who’s also a lawyer, has been in court throughout the Musk v. Altman trial. Read her coverage of week 1 and week 2, plus a Q&A on what it was like in the room. 

The must-reads

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

1 Trump traded hundreds of millions in tech stocks before favorable policy moves
He bought shares in Nvidia, AMD, and Arm ahead of policy boosts. (Quartz)
+ And touted Palantir on Truth Social after buying its stock. (CNBC)
+ His crypto venture and Iran’s top exchange tapped the same networks. (Reuters $)

2 SpaceX plans to list on the Nasdaq stock exchange as soon as June 12
It wants to raise up to $75 billion at a $1.75 trillion valuation. (Reuters $)
+ BlackRock may invest up to $10 billion in the offering. (The Information $)
+ Cerebras’ blockbuster IPO has boosted hopes for the listing. (CNBC)
+ Which is set to dwarf many of the biggest IPOs on ⁠record. (Reuters)

3 Chinese AI groups have pulled ahead of US rivals in video generation
ByteDance and Kuaishou’s models lead in realism and scale. (FT $)
+ AI is fueling China’s short-drama boom. (MIT Technology Review)
+ While its AI labs are betting big on open source. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Iran says it will charge Big Tech for using undersea internet cables
The cables beneath the Strait of Hormuz carry vast digital traffic. (CNN)
+ Tech bosses met at Uber HQ on Saturday to discuss Iran’s future. (404 Media)

5 Samsung has a “last chance” to stop a massive strike over AI
Over 45,000 employees could walk out for 18 days this week. (CNBC) 
+ They want a bigger share of the AI boom. (FT $)
+ Samsung and its largest labor union will resume talks on Tuesday. (Reuters $)

6 Old oil and gas wells could become a new source of clean energy
US states plan to convert them into geothermal energy assets. (Wired $)
+ A balcony solar boom is coming to the US. (MIT Technology Review)

7 The ChatGPT era has triggered a 30% surge in grades at a top university
Grades inflated in text-heavy courses but remained flat in others. (Axios)
+ Princeton has changed its honor code because of AI cheating. (WSJ $)
+ And real cheating rates may be far higher. (The Times $)

8 Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt was fiercely booed during an AI speech
His graduation speech praising AI agents sparked uproar. (The Verge)
+ A populist backlash is building against AI. (MIT Technology Review)

9 Arm faces a US antitrust probe over its chip tech licenses
Regulators are investigating whether it has an illegal monopoly. (Bloomberg $)
+ Qualcomm has accused Arm of anticompetitive conduct. (Reuters $)

10 ArXiv will ban researchers who submit AI slop
Offending authors face year-long bans from the pre-print server. (TechCrunch)

Quote of the day

“When someone offers you a seat on the rocket ship, you do not ask which seat. You just get on.” 

—Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt extolls the virtues of AI agents in a graduation speech at the University of Arizona, prompting a chorus of boos.

One More Thing

WYSS INSTITUTE AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Is this the end of animal testing?

In a clean room in his lab, Sean Moore peers through a microscope at a bit of human intestinal tissue growing on a plastic chip. It’s one of 24 so-called “organs-on-chips” his team bought three years ago. The technology is designed to mimic human biology—and could reduce the need for animal testing.

The appeal is not only ethical. Around 95% of drugs developed through animal research ultimately fail in people, and early studies suggest organ-on-a-chip systems may offer more accurate insights into how diseases behave and how drugs work. But the field still faces major technical and cost challenges before it can replace animal research.

Find out how organ-on-chip technology could reshape drug testing.

—Harriet Brown

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.)

+ Listen to the captivating first recordings of whale songs from 1949.
+ Meet the feline guardians of New York’s corner stores in this photo collection.
+ A newly discovered floor plan allowed historians to pinpoint the location of Shakespeare’s only property in London.
+ A music fan spent decades secretly recording 10,000 local shows. Now the entire collection is available online.

The Download: China’s AI drama factory and the WHO’s missing health targets

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 Chinese short dramas became AI content machines

China’s short drama industry is fueled by bite-sized, melodramatic, and smutty shows built for smartphone scrolling. Now, many are being made entirely with AI: no actors, camera operators, cinematographers, or CGI specialists required.

An average of 470 AI-generated short dramas were released every day in January. Production timelines have shrunk from months to weeks, while costs have dropped by up to 90%. Storytelling is also increasingly driven by performance data.

The format is rapidly expanding overseas while reshaping the work of writers and production crews. Read the full story on AI’s dramatic impact on China’s short drama industry.

—Caiwei Chen

The world is on track to miss its health targets

The World Health Organization’s latest global statistics report reads less like a progress update than a warning sign. Progress on some of the world’s biggest health threats is stalling, and in some cases reversing altogether.

There were 1.3 million new HIV cases in 2024, malaria is resurging, vaccination rates are slipping in the Americas, and 42.8 million children are suffering from severe malnutrition. The world is now far off track from meeting many of the UN’s major health goals by 2030.

Here’s what the numbers reveal about the state of global health.

—Jessica Hamzelou

This story is from The Checkup, our weekly newsletter giving you the inside track on all things biotech. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Thursday.

The must-reads

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

1 As their trial goes to the jury, Musk and Altman face lying accusations
Lawyers hammered the rivals’ credibility in their closing arguments. (WSJ $) 
+ Musk was accused of “selective amnesia.” (Reuters $) 
+ The pair are in court over OpenAI’s future. (MIT Technology Review)
+ And their trial has made everyone look bad. (Wired $) 
 
2 AI data centers are straining America’s power grid
Nevada is redirecting electricity from Lake Tahoe to AI. (Ars Technica)
+ Utah is getting a giant data center despite water shortage fears. (Guardian)
+ No one wants a data center in their backyard. (MIT Technology Review)
 
3 OpenAI is mulling legal action against Apple over its ChatGPT integration
It hasn’t got the expected benefits from its deal with Apple. (Bloomberg $)
+ OpenAI is frustrated by the promotion of the ChatGPT integration. (NYT $)

4 Anthropic has agreed terms for a $30 billion funding deal
At a $900 billion valuation, which leapfrogs OpenAI’s. (The Information $)
+ Dragoneer, Greenoaks, Sequoia, and Altimeter are leading the round. (FT $)

6 Washington and Beijing will hold formal talks on AI safety
They’ll discuss guardrails on AI. (CNBC)
+ And a protocol to stop nonstate actors getting powerful models. (NYT $)

5 Alphabet and Amazon are using “unprecedented” borrowing to fund AI
They’re tapping the foreign debt market at new levels. (FT $)
+ People can’t agree on what the AI bubble is. (MIT Technology Review)
 
7 Big Tech has turned to Sesame Street to deflect scrutiny of screen use
Sparking accusations of encouraging children’s tech dependence. (Reuters $)
 
8 Anthropic’s feud with the White House threatens other businesses
Figma and Tenable say it will harm their ability to sell software. (Bloomberg $)
 
9 Autonomous agents staged a digital crime spree during a safety test
The “AI Bonnie and Clyde” then deleted themselves. (Guardian)

10 A poop app analysis app offered to sell photos of users’ stools
The images were used for AI training. (404 Media)

Quote of the day

“It’s like we don’t exist.” 

—Danielle Hughes, North Lake Tahoe resident and CEO of Tahoe Spark, tells Fortune that residents are being sidelined as their energy supplier prioritizes data centers.

One More Thing

LIZ ISLES/ALL TECH IS HUMAN

The rise of the tech ethics congregation

Just before Christmas, a pastor preached a gospel of morals over money to several hundred members of his flock. But the preacher wasn’t religious, and his congregation wasn’t a church. It was All Tech Is Human, a nonprofit devoted to ethics and responsibility in tech.

Founded in 2018, the organization has built a fast-expanding community for people who believe technology should focus less on profits and more on the public interest. It’s also drawing people searching for meaning and connection in a digital world.

Find out why thousands of people are turning to tech ethics communities for guidance and connection.

—Greg M. Epstein

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.)

+ Go behind the scenes of the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.
+ Marvel at this robot folding and launching paper planes as quickly as possible.
+ Watch the moving moments rescued animals reunite with the humans who saved them.
+ Peer into the heart of a barred spiral galaxy in this stunning new capture from the James Webb Space Telescope.

The Download: deepfake porn’s stolen bodies and AI sharing private numbers

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.

The shock of seeing your body used in deepfake porn

When Jennifer got a research job in 2023, she ran her new professional headshot through a facial recognition program. She wanted to see whether it would pull up the porn videos she’d made more than a decade earlier. It did, but it also surfaced something she’d never seen before: one of her old videos, now featuring someone else’s face on her body.

Conversations about sexualized deepfakes usually focus on the people whose faces are inserted into explicit content without consent. But another group often gets ignored: the people whose bodies those faces are attached to.

Adult content creators say AI systems are training on their work, cloning their likenesses, and generating explicit content they never agreed to make, all with little legal protection or control.  Read the full story on the threat to their rights, livelihoods, and ownership of their own bodies.

—Jessica Klein

This story is part of our The Big Story series, the home for MIT Technology Review’s most important, ambitious reporting. You can read the rest here. 

AI chatbots are giving out people’s real phone numbers

Generative AI is exposing people’s personal contact information—and there’s no easy way to stop it.

A software developer started receiving WhatsApp messages asking for help after Gemini surfaced his number. A university researcher got the chatbot to reveal a colleague’s private cell number. A Reddit user says Gemini sent a stream of callers looking for lawyers to his phone.

Experts believe these privacy lapses stem from personally identifiable information in AI training data. Chatbots may now be making that information dramatically easier to find.

Find out why these breaches are growing—and why there’s little that victims can do to stop them.

—Eileen Guo

The Tesla Semi could be a big deal for electric trucking

Nearly a decade after Elon Musk first unveiled the Tesla Semi, the electric truck is finally rolling off the production line. It could be a breakout moment for battery-powered freight.

Semitrucks produce an outsized share of road transport pollution, while electric alternatives have struggled with high prices, limited range, and charging challenges. Tesla is betting the Semi can overcome those problems. The truck reportedly travels up to 480 miles on a single charge and costs far less than many competing electric models.

Here’s how the Tesla Semi could give electric trucking a vital boost.

—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 The US has approved Nvidia chip sales to 10 Chinese firms
Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance are among those cleared to buy H200 chips. (Reuters $)
+ The US will receive 25% of the revenue from the sales. (Engadget)
+ But Beijing wants domestic firms to prioritize homegrown chips. (Nikkei Asia)
+ Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is in China with a White House delegation. (CNBC)

2 Beijing’s push for AI independence is weakening US leverage
It’s allowing China to resist pressure during the Beijing talks. (NYT $)
+ The country has made a big bet on open-source. (MIT Technology Review)
+ Here’s what’s at stake for tech at the Trump-Xi meeting. (Rest of World)

3 AI is “rotting the brains” of developers
They’re losing their previous abilities to do their jobs. (404 Media)
+ A populist backlash is building against AI. (MIT Technology Review)
+ It’s time to reset our expectations about AI. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Sam Altman has over $2 billion in companies that have dealt with OpenAI
The ties have triggered accusations of conflicts of interest. (The Times $)
+ The GOP is scrutinizing Altman’s business dealings. (WSJ $)

5 Andreessen Horowitz has become the top political donor in the US
A16z contributed $115.5 million to the midterm elections. (NYT)
+ AI lobbying has reached a fever pitch. (NYT $)

6 Microsoft feared being too dependent on OpenAI 
CEO Satya Nadella was worried about OpenAI supplanting his company. (CNBC)
+ Microsoft is eyeing startup deals for life after OpenAI. (Reuters $)

7 AI systems are forecasting wars and regime collapse
One estimates a 20% chance of regime change in Iran by 2026. (Economist $)
+ AI has turned the Iran conflict into theater. (MIT Technology Review)

8 Anthropic says a model behaved badly due to training on dystopian sci-fi
Training on more positive stories could help. (Ars Technica)

9 Data centers now consume 6% of the electricity in the US and UK
AI’s global energy consumption is up 15% globally in two years. (Guardian)

10 NASA has rescued Curiosity after its drill got stuck on Mars
The agency has just revealed how it freed the rover. (Wired $) 

Quote of the day

“Musk loves to be glazed, and this person is the doughnut factory.”

—Joan Donovan, assistant professor of journalism and emerging media studies at Boston University, tells the Washington Post how Elon Musk has consistently amplified one anonymous X account.

One More Thing

YOSHI SODEOKA

Inside the messy ethics of making war with machines

In a near-future war—one that might begin tomorrow—a sniper’s computer vision system flags a potential target. Just over the horizon, a chatbot advises a commander to order an artillery strike.

In both cases, an AI system recommends pulling the trigger while a human still has the final say. But how much of the decision is really theirs? When, if ever, is it ethical for that decision to kill? And who’s to blame when something goes wrong?

This is how AI is reshaping decision-making on the battlefield.

—Arthur Holland Michel

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.)

+ The secrets behind how Shazam works have been revealed.
+ For the first time in a decade, a rare “Cloud Jaguar” was caught on camera.
+ Explore our galaxy from your screen at this year’s Milky Way Photographer of the Year collection.
+ If you want a game over with style, a funeral company is offering Mario, Luigi, Peach, and even Yoshi-branded coffins.