The Download: the future of AlphaFold, and chatbot privacy concerns

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

What’s next for AlphaFold: A conversation with a Google DeepMind Nobel laureate

In 2017, fresh off a PhD on theoretical chemistry, John Jumper heard rumors that Google DeepMind had moved on from game-playing AI to a secret project to predict the structures of proteins. He applied for a job.

Just three years later, Jumper and CEO Demis Hassabis had led the development of an AI system called AlphaFold 2 that was able to predict the structures of proteins to within the width of an atom, matching lab-level accuracy, and doing it many times faster—returning results in hours instead of months.

Last year, Jumper and Hassabis shared a Nobel Prize in chemistry. Now that the hype has died down, what impact has AlphaFold really had? How are scientists using it? And what’s next? I talked to Jumper (as well as a few other scientists) to find out. Read the full story.

—Will Douglas Heaven

The State of AI: Chatbot companions and the future of our privacy

—Eileen Guo & Melissa Heikkilä

Even if you don’t have an AI friend yourself, you probably know someone who does. A recent study found that one of the top uses of generative AI is companionship: On platforms like Character.AI, Replika, or Meta AI, people can create personalized chatbots to pose as the ideal friend, romantic partner, parent, therapist, or any other persona they can dream up.

Some state governments are taking notice and starting to regulate companion AI. But tellingly, one area the laws fail to address is user privacy. Read the full story.

This is the fourth edition of The State of AI, our subscriber-only collaboration between the Financial Times and MIT Technology Review. Sign up here to receive future editions every Monday.

While subscribers to The Algorithm, our weekly AI newsletter, get access to an extended excerpt, subscribers to the MIT Technology Review are able to read the whole thing on our site.

The must-reads

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

1 Donald Trump has signed an executive order to boost AI innovation 
The “Genesis Mission” will try to speed up the rate of scientific breakthroughs. (Politico)
+ The order directs government science agencies to aggressively embrace AI. (Axios)
+ It’s also being touted as a way to lower energy prices. (CNN)

2 Anthropic’s new AI model is designed to be better at coding
We’ll discover just how much better once Claude Opus 4.5 has been properly put through its paces. (Bloomberg $)
+ It reportedly outscored human candidates in an internal engineering test. (VentureBeat)
+ What is vibe coding, exactly? (MIT Technology Review)

3 The AI boom is keeping India hooked on coal
Leaving little chance of cleaning up Mumbai’s famously deadly pollution. (The Guardian)
+ It’s lethal smog season in New Delhi right now. (CNN)
+ The data center boom in the desert. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Teenagers are losing access to their AI companions
Character.AI is limiting the amount of time underage users can spend interacting with its chatbots. (WSJ $)
+ The majority of the company’s users are young and female. (CNBC)
+ One of OpenAI’s key safety leaders is leaving the company. (Wired $)
+ The looming crackdown on AI companionship. (MIT Technology Review)

5 Weight-loss drugs may be riskier during pregnancy 
Recipients are more likely to deliver babies prematurely. (WP $)
+ The pill version of Ozempic failed to halt Alzheimer’s progression in a trial. (The Guardian)
+ We’re learning more about what weight-loss drugs do to the body. (MIT Technology Review)

6 OpenAI is launching a new “shopping research” tool
All the better to track your consumer spending with. (CNBC)
+ It’s designed for price comparisons and compiling buyer’s guides. (The Information $)
+ The company is clearly aiming for a share of Amazon’s e-commerce pie. (Semafor)

7 LA residents displaced by wildfires are moving into prefab housing
Their new homes are cheap to build and simple to install. (Fast Company $)
+ How AI can help spot wildfires. (MIT Technology Review)

8 Why former Uber drivers are undertaking the world’s toughest driving test
They’re taking the Knowledge—London’s gruelling street test that bypasses GPS. (NYT $)

9 How to spot a fake battery
Great, one more thing to worry about. (IEEE Spectrum)

10 Where is the Trump Mobile?
Almost six months after it was announced, there’s no sign of it. (CNBC)

Quote of the day

“AI is a tsunami that is gonna wipe out everyone. So I’m handing out surfboards.”

—Filmmaker PJ Accetturo, tells Ars Technica why he’s writing a newsletter advising fellow creatives how to pivot to AI tools.

One more thing

The second wave of AI coding is here

Ask people building generative AI what generative AI is good for right now—what they’re really fired up about—and many will tell you: coding.

Everyone from established AI giants to buzzy startups is promising to take coding assistants to the next level. This next generation can prototype, test, and debug code for you. The upshot is that developers could essentially turn into managers, who may spend more time reviewing and correcting code written by a model than writing it.

But there’s more. Many of the people building generative coding assistants think that they could be a fast track to artificial general intelligence, the hypothetical superhuman technology that a number of top firms claim to have in their sights. 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.)

+ If you’re planning a visit to Istanbul here’s hoping you like cats—the city can’t get enough of them.
+ Rest in power reggae icon Jimmy Cliff.
+ Did you know the ancient Egyptians had a pretty accurate way of testing for pregnancy?
+ As our readers in the US start prepping for Thanksgiving, spare a thought for Astoria the lovelorn turkey

The Download: how to fix a tractor, and living among conspiracy theorists

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.

Meet the man building a starter kit for civilization

You live in a house you designed and built yourself. You rely on the sun for power, heat your home with a woodstove, and farm your own fish and vegetables. The year is 2025.

This is the life of Marcin Jakubowski, the 53-year-old founder of Open Source Ecology, an open collaborative of engineers, producers, and builders developing what they call the Global Village Construction Set (GVCS).

It’s a set of 50 machines—everything from a tractor to an oven to a circuit maker—that are capable of building civilization from scratch and can be reconfigured however you see fit. It’s all part of his ethos that life-changing technology should be available to all, not controlled by a select few. Read the full story.

—Tiffany Ng

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

What it’s like to find yourself in the middle of a conspiracy theory

Last week, we held a subscribers-only Roundtables discussion exploring how to cope in this new age of conspiracy theories. Our features editor Amanda Silverman and executive editor Niall Firth were joined by conspiracy expert Mike Rothschild, who explained exactly what it’s like to find yourself at the center of a conspiracy you can’t control. Watch the conversation back here.

The must-reads

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

1 DOGE has been disbanded
Even though it’s got eight months left before its official scheduled end. (Reuters)
+ It leaves a legacy of chaos and few measurable savings. (Politico)
+ DOGE’s tech takeover threatens the safety and stability of our critical data. (MIT Technology Review)

2 How OpenAI’s tweaks to ChatGPT sent some users into delusional spirals
It essentially turned a dial that increased both usage of the chatbot and the risks it poses to a subset of people. (NYT $)
+ AI workers are warning loved ones to stay away from the technology. (The Guardian)
+ It’s surprisingly easy to stumble into a relationship with an AI chatbot. (MIT Technology Review)

3 A three-year old has received the world’s first gene therapy for Hunter syndrome
Oliver Chu appears to be developing normally one year after starting therapy. (BBC)

4 Why we may—or may not—be in an AI bubble
It’s time to follow the data. (WP $)
+ Even tech leaders don’t appear to be entirely sure. (Insider $)
+ How far can the ‘fake it til you make it’ strategy take us? (WSJ $)
+ Nvidia is still riding the wave with abandon. (NY Mag $)

5 Many MAGA influencers are based in Russia, India and Nigeria
X’s new account provenance feature is revealing some interesting truths. (The Daily Beast)

6 The FBI wants to equip drones with facial recognition tech
Civil libertarians claim the plans equate to airborne surveillance. (The Intercept)
+ This giant microwave may change the future of war. (MIT Technology Review)

7  Snapchat is alerting users ahead of Australia’s under-16s social media ban  
The platform will analyze an account’s “behavioral signals” to estimate a user’s age. (The Guardian)
+ An AI nudification site has been fined for skipping age checks. (The Register)
+ Millennial parents are fetishizing the notion of an offline childhood. (The Observer)

8 Activists are roleplaying ICE raids in Fortnite and Grand Theft Auto
It’s in a bid to prepare players to exercise their rights in the real world. (Wired $)
+ Another effort to track ICE raids was just taken offline. (MIT Technology Review)

9 The JWST may have uncovered colossal stars
In fact, they’re so big their masses are 10,000 times bigger than the sun. (New Scientist $)
+ Inside the hunt for the most dangerous asteroid ever. (MIT Technology Review)

10 Social media users are lying about brands ghosting them
Completely normal behavior. (WSJ $)
+ This would never have happened on Vine, I’ll tell you now. (The Verge)

Quote of the day

“I can’t believe we have to say this, but this account has only ever been run and operated from the United States.” 

—The US Department of Homeland Security’s X account attempts to end speculation surrounding its social media origins, the New York Times reports.

One more thing

This company is planning a lithium empire from the shores of the Great Salt Lake

On a bright afternoon in August, the shore of Utah’s Great Salt Lake looks like something out of a science fiction film set in a scorching alien world.

This otherworldly scene is the test site for a company called Lilac Solutions, which is developing a technology it says will shake up the United States’ efforts to pry control over the global supply of lithium, the so-called “white gold” needed for electric vehicles and batteries, away from China.

The startup is in a race to commercialize a new, less environmentally-damaging way to extract lithium from rocks. If everything pans out, it could significantly increase domestic supply at a crucial moment for the nation’s lithium extraction industry. Read the full story.

—Alexander C. Kaufman

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.)

+ I love the thought of clever crows putting their smarts to use picking up cigarette butts (thanks Alice!)
+ Talking of brains, sea urchins have a whole lot more than we originally suspected.
+ Wow—a Ukrainian refugee has won an elite-level sumo competition in Japan.
+ How to make any day feel a little bit brighter.

The Download: the secrets of vitamin D, and an AI party in Africa

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

We’re learning more about what vitamin D does to our bodies

At a checkup a few years ago, a doctor told me I was deficient in vitamin D. But he wouldn’t write me a prescription for supplements, simply because, as he put it, everyone in the UK is deficient. Putting the entire population on vitamin D supplements would be too expensive for the country’s national health service, he told me.

But supplementation—whether covered by a health-care provider or not—can be important. As those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere spend fewer of our waking hours in sunlight, let’s consider the importance of vitamin D. Read the full story.

—Jessica Hamzelou

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

If you’re interested in other stories from our biotech writers, check out some of their most recent work:

+ Advanced in organs on chips, digital twins, and AI are ushering in a new era of research and drug development that could help put a stop to animal testing. Read the full story.

+ Here’s the latest company planning for gene-edited babies.

+ Preventing the common cold is extremely tricky—but not impossible. Here’s why we don’t have a cold vaccine. Yet.

+ Scientists are creating the beginnings of bodies without sperm or eggs. How far should they be allowed to go? Read the full story.

+ This retina implant lets people with vision loss do a crossword puzzle. Read the full story.

Partying at one of Africa’s largest AI gatherings

It’s late August in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, and people are filling a large hall at one of Africa’s biggest gatherings of minds in AI and machine learning. Deep Learning Indaba is an annual AI conference where Africans present their research and technologies they’ve built, mingling with friends as a giant screen blinks with videos created with generative AI.

The main “prize” for many attendees is to be hired by a tech company or accepted into a PhD program. But the organizers hope to see more homegrown ventures create opportunities within Africa. Read the full story.

—Abdullahi Tsanni

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

The must-reads

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

1 Google’s new Nano Banana Pro generates convincing propaganda
The company’s latest image-generating AI model seems to have few guardrails. (The Verge)
+ Google wants its creations to be slicker than ever. (Wired $)
+ Google’s new Gemini 3 “vibe-codes” responses and comes with its own agent. (MIT Technology Review)

2 Taiwan says the US won’t punish it with high chip tariffs
In fact, official Wu Cheng-wen says Taiwan will help support the US chip industry in exchange for tariff relief. (FT $)

3 Mental health support is one of the most dangerous uses for chatbots
They fail to recognize psychiatric conditions and can miss critical warning signs. (WP $)
+ AI companies have stopped warning you that their chatbots aren’t doctors. (MIT Technology Review)

4 It costs an average of $17,121 to deport one person from the US
But in some cases it can cost much, much more. (Bloomberg $)
+ Another effort to track ICE raids was just taken offline. (MIT Technology Review)

5 Grok is telling users that Elon Musk is the world’s greatest lover
What’s it basing that on, exactly? (Rolling Stone $)
+ It also claims he’s fitter than basketball legend LeBron James. Sure. (The Guardian)

6 Who’s really in charge of US health policy?
RFK Jr. and FDA commissioner Marty Makary are reportedly at odds behind the scenes. (Vox)
+ Republicans are lightly pushing back on the CDC’s new stance on vaccines. (Politico)
+ Why anti-vaxxers are seeking to discredit Danish studies. (Bloomberg $)
+ Meet Jim O’Neill, the longevity enthusiast who is now RFK Jr.’s right-hand man. (MIT Technology Review)

7 Inequality is worsening in San Francisco
As billionaires thrive, hundreds of thousands of others are struggling to get by. (WP $)
+ A massive airship has been spotted floating over the city. (SF Gate)

8 Donald Trump is thrusting obscure meme-makers into the mainstream
He’s been reposting flattering AI-generated memes by the dozen. (NYT $)
+ MAGA YouTube stars are pushing a boom in politically charged ads. (Bloomberg $)

9 Moss spores survived nine months in space
And they could remain reproductively viable for another 15 years. (New Scientist $)
+ It suggests that some life on Earth has evolved to endure space conditions. (NBC News)
+ The quest to figure out farming on Mars. (MIT Technology Review)

10 Does AI really need a physical shape?
It doesn’t really matter—companies are rushing to give it one anyway. (The Atlantic $)

Quote of the day

“At some point you’ve got to wonder whether the bug is a feature.”

—Alexios Mantzarlis, director of the Security, Trust and Safety Initiative at Cornell Tech, ponders xAI and Grok’s proclivity for surfacing Elon Musk-friendly and/or far-right sources, the Washington Post reports.

One more thing

The AI lab waging a guerrilla war over exploitative AI

Back in 2022, the tech community was buzzing over image-generating AI models, such as Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and OpenAI’s DALL-E 2, which could follow simple word prompts to depict fantasylands or whimsical chairs made of avocados.

But artists saw this technological wonder as a new kind of theft. They felt the models were effectively stealing and replacing their work.

Ben Zhao, a computer security researcher at the University of Chicago, was listening. He and his colleagues have built arguably the most prominent weapons in an artist’s arsenal against nonconsensual AI scraping: two tools called Glaze and Nightshade that add barely perceptible perturbations to an image’s pixels so that machine-learning models cannot read them properly.

But Zhao sees the tools as part of a battle to slowly tilt the balance of power from large corporations back to individual creators. Read the full story.

—Melissa Heikkilä

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.)

+ If you’re ever tempted to try and recreate a Jackson Pollock painting, maybe you’d be best leaving it to the kids.
+ Scientists have discovered that lions have not one, but two distinct types of roars
+ The relentless rise of the quarter-zip must be stopped!
+ Pucker up: here’s a brief history of kissing

The Download: what’s next for electricity, and living in the conspiracy age

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

Three things to know about the future of electricity

The International Energy Agency recently released the latest version of the World Energy Outlook, the annual report that takes stock of the current state of global energy and looks toward the future.

It contains some interesting insights and a few surprising figures about electricity, grids, and the state of climate change. Let’s dig into some numbers.

—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.

How to survive in the new age of conspiracies

Everything is a conspiracy theory now. Our latest series “The New Conspiracy Age” delves into how conspiracies have gripped the White House, turning fringe ideas into dangerous policy, and how generative AI is altering the fabric of truth.

If you’re interested in hearing more about how to survive in this strange new age, join our features editor Amanda Silverman and executive editor Niall Firth today at 1pm ET for an subscriber-exclusive Roundtable conversation. They’ll be joined by conspiracy expert Mike Rothschild, who’s written a fascinating piece for us about what it’s like to find yourself at the heart of a conspiracy theory. Register now to join us!

The must-reads

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

1 Donald Trump is poised to ban AI state laws
The US President is considering signing an order to give the federal government unilateral power over regulating AI. (The Verge)
+ It would give the Justice Department power to sue dissenting states. (WP $)
+ Critics claim the draft undermines trust in the US’s ability to make AI safe. (Wired $)
+ It’s not just America—the EU fumbled its attempts to rein in AI, too. (FT $)

2 The CDC is making false claims about a link between vaccines and autism
Despite previously spending decades fighting misinformation connecting them. (WP $)
+ The National Institutes of Health is parroting RFK Jr’s messaging, too. (The Atlantic $)

3 China is going all-in on autonomous vehicles
Which is bad news for its millions of delivery drivers. (FT $)
+ It’s also throwing its full weight behind its native EV industry. (Rest of World)

5 Major music labels have inked a deal with an AI streaming service
Klay users will be able to remodel songs from the likes of Universal using AI. (Bloomberg $)
+ What happens next is anyone’s guess. (Billboard $)
+ AI is coming for music, too. (MIT Technology Review)

5 How quantum sensors could overhaul GPS navigation
Current GPS is vulnerable to spoofing and jamming. But what comes next? (WSJ $)
+ Inside the race to find GPS alternatives. (MIT Technology Review)

6 There’s a divide inside the community of people in relationships with chatbots 
Some users assert their love interests are real—to the concern of others. (NY Mag $)
+ It’s surprisingly easy to stumble into a relationship with an AI chatbot. (MIT Technology Review)

7 There’s still hope for a functional cure to HIV
Even in the face of crippling funding cuts. (Knowable Magazine)
+ Breakthrough drug lenacapavir is being rolled out in parts of Africa. (NPR)
+ This annual shot might protect against HIV infections. (MIT Technology Review)

8 Is it possible to reverse years of AI brainrot?
A new wave of memes is fighting the good fight. (Wired $)
+ How to fix the internet. (MIT Technology Review)

9 Tourists fell for an AI-generated Christmas market outside Buckingham Palace
If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. (The Guardian)
+ It’s unclear who is behind the pictures, which spread on Instagram. (BBC)

10 Here’s what people return to Amazon
A whole lot of polyester clothing, by the sounds of it. (NYT $)

Quote of the day

“I think we’re in an LLM bubble, and I think the LLM bubble might be bursting next year.”

—Hugging Face co-founder and CEO Clem Delangue has a slightly different take on the reports we’re in an AI bubble, TechCrunch reports.

One more thing

Inside a new quest to save the “doomsday glacier”

The Thwaites glacier is a fortress larger than Florida, a wall of ice that reaches nearly 4,000 feet above the bedrock of West Antarctica, guarding the low-lying ice sheet behind it.

But a strong, warm ocean current is weakening its foundations and accelerating its slide into the sea. Scientists fear the waters could topple the walls in the coming decades, kick-starting a runaway process that would crack up the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, marking the start of a global climate disaster. As a result, they are eager to understand just how likely such a collapse is, when it could happen, and if we have the power to stop it. 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 or skeet ’em at me.)

+ As Christmas approaches, micro-gifting might be a fun new tradition to try out.
+ I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—movies are too long these days.
+ If you’re feeling a bit existential this morning, these books are a great starting point for finding a sense of purpose.
+ This is a fun list of the internet’s weird and wonderful obsessive lists.

The Download: de-censoring DeepSeek, and Gemini 3

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.

Quantum physicists have shrunk and “de-censored” DeepSeek R1

The news: A group of quantum physicists at Spanish firm Multiverse Computing claims to have created a version of the powerful reasoning AI model DeepSeek R1 that strips out the censorship built into the original by its Chinese creators. 

Why it matters: In China, AI companies are subject to rules and regulations meant to ensure that content output aligns with laws and “socialist values.” As a result, companies build in layers of censorship when training the AI systems. When asked questions that are deemed “politically sensitive,” the models often refuse to answer or provide talking points straight from state propaganda.

How they did it: Multiverse Computing specializes in quantum-inspired AI techniques, which it used to create DeepSeek R1 Slim, a model that is 55% smaller but performs almost as well as the original model. It allowed them to identify and remove Chinese censorship so that the model answered sensitive questions in much the same way as Western models. Read the full story.

—Caiwei Chen

Google’s new Gemini 3 “vibe-codes” responses and comes with its own agent

Google today unveiled Gemini 3, a major upgrade to its flagship multimodal model. The firm says the new model is better at reasoning, has more fluid multimodal capabilities (the ability to work across voice, text or images), and will work like an agent.

Gemini Agent is an experimental feature designed to handle multi-step tasks directly inside the app. The agent can connect to services such as Google Calendar, Gmail, and Reminders. Once granted access, it can execute tasks like organizing an inbox or managing schedules. Read the full story.

—Caiwei Chen

MIT Technology Review Narrated: Why climate researchers are taking the temperature of mountain snow

The Sierra’s frozen reservoir provides about a third of California’s water and most of what comes out of the faucets, shower heads, and sprinklers in the towns and cities of northwestern Nevada.

The need for better snowpack temperature data has become increasingly critical for predicting when the water will flow down the mountains, as climate change fuels hotter weather, melts snow faster, and drives rapid swings between very wet and very dry periods.

A new generation of tools, techniques, and models promises to improve water forecasts, and help California and other states manage in the face of increasingly severe droughts and flooding. However, observers fear that any such advances could be undercut by the Trump administration’s cutbacks across federal agencies.

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

The must-reads

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

1 Yesterday’s Cloudflare outage was not triggered by a hack
An error in its bot management system was to blame. (The Verge)
+ ChatGPT, X and Uber were among the services that dropped. (WP $)
+ It’s another example of the dangers of having a handful of infrastructure providers. (WSJ $)
+ Today’s web is incredibly fragile. (Bloomberg $)

2 Donald Trump has called for a federal AI regulatory standard
Instead of allowing each state to make its own laws. (Axios)
+ He claims the current approach risks slowing down AI progress. (Bloomberg $)

3 Meta has won the antitrust case that threatened to spin off Instagram
It’s one of the most high-profile cases in recent years. (FT $)
+ A judge ruled that Meta doesn’t hold a social media monopoly. (BBC)

4 The Three Mile Island nuclear plant is making a comeback
It’s the lucky recipient of a $1 billion federal loan to kickstart the facility. (WP $)
+ Why Microsoft made a deal to help restart Three Mile Island. (MIT Technology Review)

5 Roblox will block children from speaking to adult strangers 
The gaming platform is facing fresh lawsuits alleging it is failing to protect young users from online predators. (The Guardian)
+ But we don’t know much about how accurate its age verification is. (CNN)
+ All users will have to submit a selfie or an ID to use chat features. (Engadget)

6 Boston Dynamics’ robot dog is becoming a widespread policing tool
It’s deployed by dozens of US and Canadian bomb squads and SWAT teams. (Bloomberg $)

7 A tribally-owned network of EV chargers is nearing completion
It’s part of Standing Rock reservation’s big push for clean energy. (NYT $)

8 Resist the temptation to use AI to cheat at conversations
It makes it much more difficult to forge a connection. (The Atlantic $)

9 Amazon wants San Francisco residents to ride its robotaxis for free
It’s squaring up against Alphabet’s Waymo in the city for the first time. (CNBC)
+ But its cars look very different to traditional vehicles. (LA Times $)
+ Zoox is operating around 50 robotaxis across SF and Las Vegas. (The Verge)

10 TikTok’s new setting allows you to filter out AI-generated clips
Farewell, sweet slop. (TechCrunch)
+ How do AI models generate videos? (MIT Technology Review)

Quote of the day

“The rapids of social media rush along so fast that the Court has never even stepped into the same case twice.”

—Judge James Boasberg, who rejected the Federal Trade Commission’s claim that Meta had created an illegal social media monopoly, acknowledges the law’s failure to keep up with technology, Politico reports.

One more thing

Namibia wants to build the world’s first hydrogen economy

Factories have used fossil fuels to process iron ore for three centuries, and the climate has paid a heavy price: According to the International Energy Agency, the steel industry today accounts for 8% of carbon dioxide emissions.

But it turns out there is a less carbon-­intensive alternative: using hydrogen. Unlike coal or natural gas, which release carbon dioxide as a by-product, this process releases water. And if the hydrogen itself is “green,” the climate impact of the entire process will be minimal.

HyIron, which has a site in the Namib desert, is one of a handful of companies around the world that are betting green hydrogen can help the $1.8 trillion steel industry clean up its act. The question now is whether Namibia’s government, its trading partners, and hydrogen innovators can work together to build the industry in a way that satisfies the world’s appetite for cleaner fuels—and also helps improve lives at home. Read the full story.

—Jonathan W. Rosen

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.+ This art installation in Paris revolves around porcelain bowls clanging against each other in a pool of water—it’s oddly hypnotic.
+ Feeling burnt out? Get down to your local sauna for a quick reset.
+ New York’s subway system is something else.
+ Your dog has ancient origins. No, really!

The Download: AI-powered warfare, and how embryo care is changing

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 State of AI: How war will be changed forever

—Helen Warrell & James O’Donnell

It is July 2027, and China is on the brink of invading Taiwan. Autonomous drones with AI targeting capabilities are primed to overpower the island’s air defenses as a series of crippling AI-generated cyberattacks cut off energy supplies and key communications. In the meantime, a vast disinformation campaign enacted by an AI-powered pro-Chinese meme farm spreads across global social media, deadening the outcry at Beijing’s act of aggression.

Scenarios such as this have brought dystopian horror to the debate about the use of AI in warfare. Military commanders hope for a digitally enhanced force that is faster and more accurate than human-directed combat. 

But there are fears that as AI assumes an increasingly central role, these same commanders will lose control of a conflict that escalates too quickly and lacks ethical or legal oversight. Read the full story.

This is the third edition of The State of AI, our subscriber-only collaboration between the Financial Times & MIT Technology Review examining the ways in which AI is reshaping global power.

Every Monday, writers from both publications will debate one aspect of the generative AI revolution reshaping global power. While subscribers to The Algorithm, our weekly AI newsletter, get access to an extended excerpt, subscribers to the MIT Technology Review are able to read the whole thing. Sign up here to receive future editions every Monday.

Job titles of the future: AI embryologist

Embryologists are the scientists behind the scenes of in vitro fertilization who oversee the development and selection of embryos, prepare them for transfer, and maintain the lab environment. They’ve been a critical part of IVF for decades, but their job has gotten a whole lot busier in recent years as demand for the fertility treatment skyrockets and clinics struggle to keep up.

Klaus Wiemer, a veteran embryologist and IVF lab director, believes artificial intelligence might help by predicting embryo health in real time and unlocking new avenues for productivity in the lab. Read the full story.

—Amanda Smith

The must-reads

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

1 Big Tech’s job cuts are a warning sign
They’re a canary down the mine for other industries. (WP $)
+ Americans appear to feel increasingly unsettled by AI. (WSJ $)
+ Global fund managers worry companies are overinvesting in the technology. (FT $)

2 Iran is attempting to stimulate rain to end its deadly drought
But critics warn that cloud seeding is a challenging process. (New Scientist $)
+ Parts of western Iran are now experiencing flooding. (Reuters)
+ Why it’s so hard to bust the weather control conspiracy theory. (MIT Technology Review)

3 Air taxi startups may produce new aircraft for war zones
The US Army has announced its intentions to acquire most of its weapons from startups, not major contractors. (The Information $)
+ US firm Joby Aviation is launching flying taxis in Dubai. (NBC News)
+ This giant microwave may change the future of war. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Weight-loss drug make Eli Lilly is likely to cross a trillion-dollar valuation
As it prepares to launch a pill alternative to its injections. (WSJ $)
+ Arch rival Novo Nordisk A/S is undercutting the company to compete. (Bloomberg $)
+ We’re learning more about what weight-loss drugs do to the body. (MIT Technology Review)

5 What’s going on with the US TikTok ban?
Even the lawmakers in charge don’t seem to know. (The Verge)

6 It’s getting harder to grow cocoa
Mass tree felling and lower rainfall in the Congo Basin is to blame. (FT $)
+ Industrial agriculture activists are everywhere at COP30. (The Guardian)
+ Africa fights rising hunger by looking to foods of the past. (MIT Technology Review)

7 Russia is cracking down on its critical military bloggers
Armchair critics are facing jail time if they refuse to apologize. (Economist $)

8 Why the auto industry is so obsessed with humanoid robots
It’s not just Tesla—plenty of others want to get in on the act. (The Atlantic $)
+ China’s EV giants are betting big on humanoid robots. (MIT Technology Review)

9 Indian startups are challenging ChatGPT’s AI dominance
They support a far wider range of languages than the large AI firms’ models. (Rest of World)
+ OpenAI is huge in India. Its models are steeped in caste bias. (MIT Technology Review)

10 These tiny sensors track butterflies on their journey to Mexico
Scientists hope it’ll shed some light on their mysterious life cycles. (NYT $)

Quote of the day

“I think no company is going to be immune, including us.” 

—Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, warns the BBC about the precarious nature of the AI bubble.

One more thing

How a 1980s toy robot arm inspired modern robotics

—Jon Keegan

As a child of an electronic engineer, I spent a lot of time in our local Radio Shack as a kid. While my dad was locating capacitors and resistors, I was in the toy section. It was there, in 1984, that I discovered the best toy of my childhood: the Armatron robotic arm.

Described as a “robot-like arm to aid young masterminds in scientific and laboratory experiments,” it was a legit robotic arm. And the bold look and function of Armatron made quite an impression on many young kids who would one day have a career in robotics. 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 or skeet ’em at me.)

+ The US Library of Congress has attained some handwritten drafts of iconic songs from The Wizard of Oz.
+ This interesting dashboard tracks the world’s top 500 musical artists in the world right now—some of the listings may surprise you (or just make you feel really old.)
+ Cult author Chris Kraus shares what’s floating her boat right now.+ The first images of the forthcoming Legend of Zelda film are here!

The Download: the risk of falling space debris, and how to debunk a conspiracy theory

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

What is the chance your plane will be hit by space debris?

The risk of flights being hit by space junk is still small, but it’s growing.

About three pieces of old space equipment—used rockets and defunct satellites—fall into Earth’s atmosphere every day, according to estimates by the European Space Agency. By the mid-2030s, there may be dozens thanks to the rise of megaconstellations in orbit.

So far, space debris hasn’t injured anybody—in the air or on the ground. But multiple close calls have been reported in recent years.

But some estimates have the risk of a single human death or injury caused by a space debris strike on the ground at around 10% per year by 2035. That would mean a better than even chance that someone on Earth would be hit by space junk about every decade. Find out more.

—Tereza Pultarova

This story is part of MIT Technology Review Explains: our series untangling the complex, messy world of technology to help you understand what’s coming next. You can read the rest of the series here.

Chatbots are surprisingly effective at debunking conspiracy theories

—Thomas Costello, Gordon Pennycook & David Rand

Many people believe that you can’t talk conspiracists out of their beliefs. 

But that’s not necessarily true. Our research shows that many conspiracy believers do respond to evidence and arguments—information that is now easy to deliver in the form of a tailored conversation with an AI chatbot.

This is good news, given the outsize role that unfounded conspiracy theories play in today’s political landscape. So while there are widespread and legitimate concerns that generative AI is a potent tool for spreading disinformation, our work shows that it can also be part of the solution. Read the full story.

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

The must-reads

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

1 China is quietly expanding its remote nuclear test site
In the wake of Donald Trump announcing America’s intentions to revive similar tests. (WP $)
+ A White House memo has accused Alibaba of supporting Chinese operations. (FT $)

2 Jeff Bezos is becoming co-CEO of a new AI startup
Project Prometheus will focus on AI for building computers, aerospace and vehicles. (NYT $)

3 AI-powered toys are holding inappropriate conversations with children 
Including how to find dangerous objects including pills and knives. (The Register)
+ Chatbots are unreliable and unpredictable, whether embedded in toys or not. (Futurism)
+ AI toys are all the rage in China—and now they’re appearing on shelves in the US too. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Big Tech is warming to the idea of data centers in space
They come with a lot less red tape than their Earth-bound counterparts. (WSJ $)
+ There are a huge number of data centers mired in the planning stage. (WSJ $)
+ Should we be moving data centers to space? (MIT Technology Review)

5 The mafia is recruiting via TikTok
Some bosses are even using the platform to control gangs from behind bars. (Economist $)

6 How to resist AI in your workplace
Like most things in life, there’s power in numbers. (Vox)

7 How China’s EV fleet could become a giant battery network
If economic troubles don’t get in the way, that is. (Rest of World)
+ EV sales are on the rise in South America. (Reuters)
+ China’s energy dominance in three charts. (MIT Technology Review)

8 Inside the unstoppable rise of the domestic internet
Control-hungry nations are following China’s lead in building closed platforms. (NY Mag $)
+ Can we repair the internet? (MIT Technology Review)

9 Search traffic? What search traffic?
These media startups have found a way to thrive without Google. (Insider $)
+ AI means the end of internet search as we’ve known it. (MIT Technology Review)

10 Paul McCartney has released a silent track to protest AI’s creep into music
That’ll show them! (The Guardian)
+ AI is coming for music, too. (MIT Technology Review)

Quote of the day

“All the parental controls in the world will not protect your kids from themselves.”

—Samantha Broxton, a parenting coach and consultant, tells the Washington Post why educating children around the risks of using technology is the best way to help them protect themselves.

One more thing

Inside the controversial tree farms powering Apple’s carbon neutral goal

Apple (and its peers) are planting vast forests of eucalyptus trees in Brazil to try to offset their climate emissions, striking some of the largest-ever deals for carbon credits in the process.

The tech behemoth is betting that planting millions of eucalyptus trees in Brazil will be the path to a greener future. Some ecologists and local residents are far less sure.

The big question is: Can Latin America’s eucalyptus be a scalable climate solution? Read the full story.

—Gregory Barber

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.)

+ Shepard Fairey’s retrospective show in LA looks very cool.
+ Check out these fascinating scientific breakthroughs that have been making waves over the past 25 years.
+ Good news—sweet little puffins are making a comeback in Ireland.
+ Maybe we should all be getting into Nordic walking.

The Download: how AI really works, and phasing out animal testing

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.

OpenAI’s new LLM exposes the secrets of how AI really works

The news: ChatGPT maker OpenAI has built an experimental large language model that is far easier to understand than typical models.

Why it matters: It’s a big deal, because today’s LLMs are black boxes: Nobody fully understands how they do what they do. Building a model that is more transparent sheds light on how LLMs work in general, helping researchers figure out why models hallucinate, why they go off the rails, and just how far we should trust them with critical tasks. Read the full story.

—Will Douglas Heaven

Google DeepMind is using Gemini to train agents inside Goat Simulator 3

Google DeepMind has built a new video-game-playing agent called SIMA 2 that can navigate and solve problems in 3D virtual worlds. The company claims it’s a big step toward more general-purpose agents and better real-world robots.   

The company first demoed SIMA (which stands for “scalable instructable multiworld agent”) last year. But this new version has been built on top of Gemini, the firm’s flagship large language model, which gives the agent a huge boost in capability. Read the full story.

—Will Douglas Heaven

These technologies could help put a stop to animal testing

Earlier this week, the UK’s science minister announced an ambitious plan: to phase out animal testing.

Testing potential skin irritants on animals will be stopped by the end of next year. By 2027, researchers are “expected to end” tests of the strength of Botox on mice. And drug tests in dogs and nonhuman primates will be reduced by 2030.

It’s good news for activists and scientists who don’t want to test on animals. And it’s timely too: In recent decades, we’ve seen dramatic advances in technologies that offer new ways to model the human body and test the effects of potential therapies, without experimenting on animals. Read the full story.

—Jessica Hamzelou

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

The must-reads

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

1 Chinese hackers used Anthropic’s AI to conduct an espionage campaign   
It automated a number of attacks on corporations and governments in September. (WSJ $)
+ The AI was able to handle the majority of the hacking workload itself. (NYT $)
+ Cyberattacks by AI agents are coming. (MIT Technology Review)

2 Blue Origin successfully launched and landed its New Glenn rocket
It managed to deploy two NASA satellites into space without a hitch. (CNN)
+ The New Glenn is the company’s largest reusable rocket. (FT $)
+ The launch had been delayed twice before. (WP $)

3 Brace yourself for flu season
It started five weeks earlier than usual in the UK, and the US is next. (Ars Technica)
+ Here’s why we don’t have a cold vaccine. Yet. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Google is hosting a Border Protection facial recognition app    
The app alerts officials whether to contact ICE about identified immigrants. (404 Media)
+ Another effort to track ICE raids was just taken offline. (MIT Technology Review)

5 OpenAI is trialling group chats in ChatGPT
It’d essentially make AI a participant in a conversation of up to 20 people. (Engadget)

6 A TikTok stunt sparked debate over how charitable America’s churches really are
Content creator Nikalie Monroe asked churches for help feeding her baby. Very few stepped up. (WP $)

7 Indian startups are attempting to tackle air pollution
But their solutions are far beyond the means of the average Indian household. (NYT $)
+ OpenAI is huge in India. Its models are steeped in caste bias. (MIT Technology Review)

8 An AI tool could help reduce wasted efforts to transplant organs
It predicts how likely the would-be recipient is to die during the brief transplantation window. (The Guardian)
+ Putin says organ transplants could grant immortality. Not quite. (MIT Technology Review)

9 3D-printing isn’t making prosthetics more affordable
It turns out that plastic prostheses are often really uncomfortable. (IEEE Spectrum)
+ These prosthetics break the mold with third thumbs, spikes, and superhero skins. (MIT Technology Review)

10 What happens when relationships with AI fall apart
Can you really file for divorce from an LLM? (Wired $)
+ It’s surprisingly easy to stumble into a relationship with an AI chatbot. (MIT Technology Review)

Quote of the day

“It’s a funky time.”

—Aileen Lee, founder and managing partner of Cowboy Ventures, tells TechCrunch the AI boom has torn up the traditional investment rulebook.

One more thing

Restoring an ancient lake from the rubble of an unfinished airport in Mexico City

Weeks after Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office in 2018, he controversially canceled ambitious plans to build an airport on the deserted site of the former Lake Texcoco—despite the fact it was already around a third complete.

Instead, he tasked Iñaki Echeverria, a Mexican architect and landscape designer, with turning it into a vast urban park, an artificial wetland that aims to transform the future of the entire Valley region.

But as López Obrador’s presidential team nears its end, the plans for Lake Texcoco’s rebirth could yet vanish. Read the full story.

—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 or skeet ’em at me.)

+ Maybe Gen Z is onto something when it comes to vibe dating.
+ Trust AC/DC to give the fans what they want, performing Jailbreak for the first time since 1991.
+ Nieves González, the artist behind Lily Allen’s new album cover, has an eye for detail.
+ Here’s what AI determines is a catchy tune.

The Download: AI to measure pain, and how to deal with conspiracy theorists

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.

AI is changing how we quantify pain

Researchers around the world are racing to turn pain—medicine’s most subjective vital sign—into something a camera or sensor can score as reliably as blood pressure.

The push has already produced PainChek—a smartphone app that scans people’s faces for tiny muscle movements and uses artificial intelligence to output a pain score—which has been cleared by regulators on three continents and has logged more than 10 million pain assessments. Other startups are beginning to make similar inroads.

The way we assess pain may finally be shifting, but when algorithms measure our suffering, does that change the way we treat it? Read the full story.

—Deena Mousa

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

How to help friends and family dig out of a conspiracy theory black hole

—Niall Firth 

Someone I know became a conspiracy theorist seemingly overnight.

It was during the pandemic. They suddenly started posting daily on Facebook about the dangers of covid vaccines and masks, warning of an attempt to control us.

As a science and technology journalist, I felt that my duty was to respond. I tried, but all I got was derision. Even now I still wonder: Are there things I could have done differently to talk them back down and help them see sense? 

I gave Sander van der Linden, professor of social psychology in society at the University of Cambridge, a call to ask: What would he advise if family members or friends show signs of having fallen down the rabbit hole? Read the full story.

This story is part of MIT Technology Review’s series “The New Conspiracy Age,” on how the present boom in conspiracy theories is reshaping science and technology. Check out the rest of the series here. It’s also part of our How To series, giving you practical advice to help you get things done. 

If you’re interested in hearing more about how to survive in the age of conspiracies, join our features editor Amanda Silverman and executive editor Niall Firth for a subscriber-exclusive Roundtable conversation with conspiracy expert Mike Rothschild. It’s at 1pm ET on Thursday November 20—register now to join us!

Google is still aiming for its “moonshot” 2030 energy goals

—Casey Crownhart

Last week, we hosted EmTech MIT, MIT Technology Review’s annual flagship conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts. As you might imagine, some of this climate reporter’s favorite moments came in the climate sessions. I was listening especially closely to my colleague James Temple’s discussion with Lucia Tian, head of advanced energy technologies at Google.

They spoke about the tech giant’s growing energy demand and what sort of technologies the company is looking to to help meet it. In case you weren’t able to join us, let’s dig into that session and consider how the company is thinking about energy in the face of AI’s rapid rise. Read the full story.

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

The must-reads

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

1 ChatGPT is now “warmer and more conversational”
But it’s also slightly more willing to discuss sexual and violent content. (The Register)
+ ChatGPT has a very specific writing style. (WP $)
+ The looming crackdown on AI companionship. (MIT Technology Review)

2 The US could deny visas to visitors with obesity, cancer or diabetes
As part of its ongoing efforts to stem the flow of people trying to enter the country. (WP $)

3 Microsoft is planning to create its own AI chip
And it’s going to use OpenAI’s internal chip-building plans to do it. (Bloomberg $)
+ The company is working on a colossal data center in Atlanta. (WSJ $)

4 Early AI agent adopters are convinced they’ll see a return on their investment soon 
Mind you, they would say that. (WSJ $)
+ An AI adoption riddle. (MIT Technology Review)

5 Waymo’s robotaxis are hitting American highways
Until now, they’ve typically gone out of their way to avoid them. (The Verge)
+ Its vehicles will now reach speeds of up to 65 miles per hour. (FT $)
+ Waymo is proving long-time detractor Elon Musk wrong. (Insider $)

6 A new Russian unit is hunting down Ukraine’s drone operators
It’s tasked with killing the pilots behind Ukraine’s successful attacks. (FT $)
+ US startup Anduril wants to build drones in the UAE. (Bloomberg $)
+ Meet the radio-obsessed civilian shaping Ukraine’s drone defense. (MIT Technology Review)

7 Anthropic’s Claude successfully controlled a robot dog
It’s important to know what AI models may do when given access to physical systems. (Wired $)

8 Grok briefly claimed Donald Trump won the 2020 US election
As reliable as ever, I see. (The Guardian)

9 The Northern Lights are playing havoc with satellites
Solar storms may look spectacular, but they make it harder to keep tabs on space. (NYT $)
+ Seriously though, they look amazing. (The Atlantic $)
+ NASA’s new AI model can predict when a solar storm may strike. (MIT Technology Review)

10 Apple users can now use digital versions of their passports
But it’s strictly for internal flights within the US only. (TechCrunch)

Quote of the day

“I hope this mistake will turn into an experience.”

—Vladimir Vitukhin, chief executive of the company behind Russia’s first anthropomorphic robot AIDOL, offers a philosophical response to the machine falling flat on its face during a reveal event, the New York Times reports.

One more thing

Welcome to the oldest part of the metaverse

Headlines treat the metaverse as a hazy dream yet to be built. But if it’s defined as a network of virtual worlds we can inhabit, its oldest corner has been already running for 25 years.

It’s a medieval fantasy kingdom created for the online role-playing game Ultima Online. It was the first to simulate an entire world: a vast, dynamic realm where players could interact with almost anything, from fruit on trees to books on shelves.

Ultima Online has already endured a quarter-century of market competition, economic turmoil, and political strife. So what can this game and its players tell us about creating the virtual worlds of the future? Read the full story. 

—John-Clark Levin

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.)

+ Unlikely duo Sting and Shaggy are starring together in a New York musical.
+ Barry Manilow was almost in Airplane!? That would be an entirely different kind of flying, altogether
+ What makes someone sexy? Well, that depends.
+ Keep an eye on those pink dolphins, they’re notorious thieves.

The Download: how to survive a conspiracy theory, and moldy cities

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

What it’s like to be in the middle of a conspiracy theory (according to a conspiracy theory expert)

—Mike Rothschild is a journalist and an expert on the growth and impact of conspiracy theories and disinformation.

It’s something of a familiar cycle by now: Tragedy hits; rampant misinformation and conspiracy theories follow. It’s often even more acute in the case of a natural disaster, when conspiracy theories about what “really” caused the calamity run right into culture-war-driven climate change denialism. Put together, these theories obscure real causes while elevating fake ones.

I’ve studied these ideas extensively, having spent the last 10 years writing about conspiracy theories and disinformation as a journalist and researcher. I’ve covered everything from the rise of QAnon to whether Donald Trump faked his assassination attempt. I’ve written three books, testified to Congress, and even written a report for the January 6th Committee. 

Still, I’d never lived it. Not until my house in Altadena, California, burned down. Read the full story.

This story is part of MIT Technology Review’s series “The New Conspiracy Age,” on how the present boom in conspiracy theories is reshaping science and technology. Check out the rest of the series here. It’s also featured in this week’s MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we publish each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. 

If you’d like to hear more from Mike, he’ll be joining our features editor Amanda Silverman and executive editor Niall Firth for a subscriber-exclusive Roundtable conversation exploring how we can survive in the age of conspiracies. It’s at 1pm ET on Thursday November 20—register now to join us!

This startup thinks slime mold can help us design better cities

It is a yellow blob with no brain, yet some researchers believe a curious organism known as slime mold could help us build more resilient cities.

Humans have been building cities for 6,000 years, but slime mold has been around for 600 million. The team behind a new startup called Mireta wants to translate the organism’s biological superpowers into algorithms that might help improve transit times, alleviate congestion, and minimize climate-related disruptions in cities worldwide. Read the full story.

—Elissaveta M. Brandon

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

The must-reads

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

1 US government officials are skipping COP30
And American corporate executives are following their lead. (NYT $)
+ Protestors stormed the climate talks in Brazil. (The Guardian)
+ Gavin Newsom took aim at Donald Trump’s climate policies onstage. (FT $)

2 The UK may assess AI models for their ability to generate CSAM
Its government has suggested amending a legal bill to enable the tests. (BBC)
+ US investigators are using AI to detect child abuse images made by AI. (MIT Technology Review)

3 Google is suing a group of Chinese hackers
It claims they’re selling software to enable criminal scams. (FT $)
+ The group allegedly sends colossal text message phishing attacks. (CBS News)

4 A major ‘cryptoqueen’ criminal has been jailed
Qian Zhimin used money stolen from Chinese pensioners to buy cryptocurrency now worth billions. (BBC)
+ She defrauded her victims through an elaborate ponzi scheme. (CNN)

5 Carbon capture’s creators fear it’s being misused
Overreliance on the method could breed overconfidence and cause countries to delay reducing emissions. (Bloomberg $)
+ Big Tech’s big bet on a controversial carbon removal tactic. (MIT Technology Review)

6 The UK will use AI to phase out animal testing
3D bioprinted human tissues could also help to speed up the process. (The Guardian)
+ But the AI boom is looking increasingly precarious. (WSJ $)

7 Louisiana is dealing with a whooping cough outbreak
Two infants have died to date from the wholly preventative disease. (Undark)

8 Here’s how ordinary people use ChatGPT
Emotional support and discussions crop up regularly.(WP $)
+ It’s surprisingly easy to stumble into a relationship with an AI chatbot. (MIT Technology Review)

9 Inside the search for lost continents
A newly-discovered mechanism is shedding light on why they may have vanished. (404 Media)
+ How environmental DNA is giving scientists a new way to understand our world. (MIT Technology Review)

10 AI is taking Gen Z’s entry-level jobs
Especially in traditionally graduate-friendly consultancies. (NY Mag $)
+ What the Industrial Revolution can teach us about how to handle AI. (Knowable Magazine)
+ America’s corporate boards are stumbling in the dark. (WSJ $)

Quote of the day

“We can’t eat money.”

—Nato, an Indigenous leader from the Tupinamba community, tells Reuters why they are protesting at the COP30 climate summit in Brazil against any potential sale of their land.

One more thing

How K-pop fans are shaping elections around the globe

Back in the early ‘90s, Korean pop music, known as K-pop, was largely conserved to its native South Korea. It’s since exploded around the globe into an international phenomenon, emphasizing choreography and elaborate performance.

It’s made bands like Girls Generation, EXO, BTS, and Blackpink into household names, and inspired a special brand of particularly fierce devotion in their fans.

Now, those same fandoms have learned how to use their digital skills to advocate for social change and pursue political goals—organizing acts of civil resistance, donating generously to charity, and even foiling white supremacist attempts to spread hate speech. Read the full story.

—Soo Youn

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 sucker fish are having the time of their lives hitching a ride on a whale.
+ Next time you fly, ditch the WiFi. I know I will.
+ I love this colossal interactive gif.
+ The hottest scent in perfumery right now? Smelling like a robot, apparently.