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Web technology and programming have been evolving rapidly in recent years, driven by the increasing demand for web applications and the need for more sophisticated and complex digital experiences. In this blog post, we will explore some of the latest trends in web technology and programming that are shaping the future of web development.
web technology and programming are evolving at a rapid pace, driven by the demand for faster, more efficient, and more engaging web applications. AI/ML, PWAs, serverless architecture, static site generators, headless CMSs, and low code/no code platforms are just a few of the trends shaping the future of web development. As a web developer, it’s important to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and tools to remain competitive in today’s fast-paced digital world.
This flying solar-powered platform could deliver better internet from the air
As soon as August, a giant silver bullet will cut its way through the dry air of the southwestern US and cross the Pacific to reach the coast of Japan. Once there, the roughly 200-foot-long craft, built by the New Mexico–based company Sceye, will park some 18 kilometers above the ocean’s surface, in a wispy-thin…
Elephant alert! AI warning systems aim to avoid deadly clashes
India is home to about 60% of the world’s wild Asian elephants, and around 80% of the animals’ habitat lies outside protected areas, according to the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change. That brings people and wildlife into close contact, and clashes can turn lethal: There have been some 3,000 human casualties in the…
Inside the world’s deepest and longest subsea road tunnel
It’s cold, it’s very, very noisy, and—if I can be quite honest with you—I’m not feeling super relaxed. I’m currently around 300 meters, or 1,000 feet, beneath the North Sea, in a dark, dank cave. It smells weird. And I am increasingly aware of the pressure from millions of tons of seawater just above my…
The Download: AI bottleneck debates, and BCI trials take off
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 startup claims it broke through a bottleneck that’s holding back LLMs AI startup Subquadratic came out of stealth last month with a huge claim: it had solved a mathematical bottleneck…
The Download: a new hunt for dark matter and Kenya’s case for going solar
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 search for dark matter has been blown wide open For decades, physicists have hunted for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), a leading candidate for dark matter. But their search has…
The Download: a reality check for geoengineering and the science of interoception
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. Hacking the atmosphere: geoengineering gets a reality check Solar geoengineering, the controversial idea that we could deliberately intervene in the climate system to counteract global warming, is moving beyond computer simulations…
Exclusive eBook: How AI is becoming the next military advisor
A collection of stories about how militaries are using AI models to make decisions. This subscriber-only eBook is a package of six stories that were originally published in MIT Technology Review between April 11, 2025, and April 21, 2026, and have been updated to reflect recent developments. by James O’Donnell Choose which file format to…
Why do South Koreans love AI so much?
This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. When I landed in Seoul after a grueling 12-hour flight from San Francisco, I walked through an unmanned immigration checkpoint, where a machine scanned my face and passport. On the subway home,…
The Download: “reprogramming” aging, and the hidden sense of interoception
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Why “reprogramming” is the buzziest approach to reversing aging right now Earlier this week, Life Biosciences, a biotech company focused on reversing age-related diseases, announced that it had dosed its first…
The Download: soccer’s data renaissance and China’s big nuclear plans
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. Inside soccer’s data renaissance Imagine tuning in to the opening kickoff of a World Cup match and seeing a player intentionally kick the ball out of bounds. You may question the…
The Download: the “steroid olympics” and a safer Mythos
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 “steroid olympics” were a circus—and a window into our culture —Amit Katwala A couple of weeks ago, at a $50 million arena built in a casino parking lot in Las…
The Download: whole-body rejuvenation drugs and five things to know about AI
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. David Sinclair plans to test whole-body rejuvenation drugs in the XPrize competition The outspoken longevity scientist David Sinclair has predicted that, one day, you’ll go to the doctor and get a…
The Download: how the World Cup ball will fly and OpenAI’s “super app”
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Why this year’s World Cup ball may not fly as far Much is new about this month’s FIFA World Cup tournament. It hosts more teams than ever before. It’s the first…
The Download: AI hacking beyond Mythos, and chatbots’ impact on our brains
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 Meta hack shows there’s more to AI security than Mythos On Monday, reports emerged that attackers had used Meta’s AI customer support agent to steal Instagram accounts. Their approach was…
The Download: AI-generated lawsuits and virtual power plants for data centers
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 courts are coping with a flood of AI-generated lawsuits Most days in her chambers, Judge Maritza Braswell, a federal magistrate judge in Colorado, sifts through stacks of documents written by…
How virtual power plants could provide energy for data centers
Would you take a payment to ramp down your electricity use? Would it change anything if you were doing so to help power a local data center? Google just signed a new deal to help pay for a virtual power plant (VPP) in the largest power grid in the US. The agreement is with Voltus,…
The Download: AI can run your admin department now
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 small businesses can leverage AI From accounting to design to market research and product development, there’s a staggering breadth of skills needed to run a business. Large companies can hire…
The Download: China’s brain implant ambitions
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. China has approved the world’s first invasive brain-computer chip—here’s what’s next Sitting in the courtyard of his house in China’s Henan province last October, Dong Hui decided to try holding a…
The Download: unlocking lithium and controlling Ebola
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 a new extraction process could unlock the world’s lithium A new method for extracting lithium could cut costs and emissions from one of the world’s most important materials for EVs…
How a new extraction process could unlock the world’s lithium
Researchers say they’ve found a new way to extract lithium, a crucial metal used in the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles and energy storage arrays. This new technique could be more environmentally friendly and cheaper than existing ones. The research was published today in Science, and a startup called Rock Zero is working to…
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…
Rethinking organizational design in the age of agentic AI
Amid rapidly growing adoption of enterprise-level AI agents, there’s a disconnect emerging between ambition and execution. Although 85% of organizations say they want to be agentic within the next three years, 76% say their current operations and infrastructure can’t support that change. They cite a lack of readiness across people, processes, and workflows. The sticky…
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…
Anthropic’s Code with Claude showed off coding’s future—whether you like it or not
The vibes were strong at Code with Claude, Anthropic’s two-day event for software developers in London that kicked off on May 19, the same day as Google’s I/O in Palo Alto. (A coincidence, not a flex, Anthropic staffers assured me.) “Who here has shipped a pull request in the last week that was completely written…
Boston Metal gets a $75 million lifeline to produce critical metals
The startup Boston Metal has raised a $75 million funding round to produce critical metals, MIT Technology Review can exclusively report. The company has been known largely for its efforts to clean up steel production, an industry that’s responsible for about 8% of global greenhouse emissions today. With the additional money, the new focus could…
Understanding the modern cybercrime landscape
Throughout 2025, HPE observed significant changes in how cybercriminals operate. Analyzing real-world threats, our HPE Threat Labs highlighted an industrialization of the cyber criminals’ methods in its new In the Wild Report, enabling greater scale, speed and structure in their campaigns. They typically use automation and AI to exploit longstanding vulnerabilities, and many have adopted…
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,…
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 traded blows over Elon Musk’s and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s credibility. Altman was grilled on his alleged history of lying and self-dealing involving companies that do business with OpenAI. But he fired back, painting Musk as a power-seeker who wanted to control the development…
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…
Data readiness for agentic AI in financial services
Financial services companies have unique needs when it comes to business AI. They operate in one of the most highly regulated sectors while responding to external events that are updated by the second. As a result, the success of agentic AI in financial services depends less on the sophistication of the system and more on…
The Download: making drugs in orbit and NASA’s nuclear-powered spacecraft
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 plan to make drugs in orbit is going commercial A startup called Varda Space Industries is betting that the future of pharmaceuticals lies in orbit. The company has signed a…
Three things in AI to watch, according to a Nobel-winning economist
This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. A few months before he was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics in 2024, Daron Acemoglu published a paper that earned him few fans in Silicon Valley. Contrary to what Big Tech…
Musk v. Altman week 2: OpenAI fires back, and Shivon Zilis reveals that Musk tried to poach Sam Altman
In the second week of the landmark trial between Elon Musk and OpenAI, Musk’s motivations for bringing the suit were under scrutiny. Last week, Musk took the stand, alleging that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman had deceived him into donating $38 million to the company. He claimed that they’d promised to maintain…
The Download: the tech reshaping IVF and the rise of balcony solar
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 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…
The Download: seafloor science and military chatbots
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. Inexpensive seafloor-hopping submersibles could stoke deep-sea science—and mining Last week, two oblong neon submersibles started to descend nearly 6,000 meters into the Pacific Ocean. Throughout the rest of May, they will…
The Download: inside the Musk v. Altman trial, and AI for democracy
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. Week one of the Musk v. Altman trial: what it was like in the room Two of the most powerful figures in AI—Sam Altman and Elon Musk—are in the middle of…
Week one of the Musk v. Altman trial: What it was like in the room
This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. Two of the most powerful people in AI—Sam Altman and Elon Musk—began their face-off in court in Oakland, California, last week. Musk is suing OpenAI, alleging that the millions he spent to…
Musk v. Altman week 1: Elon Musk says he was duped, warns AI could kill us all, and admits that xAI distills OpenAI’s models
In the first week of the landmark trial between Elon Musk and OpenAI, Musk took the stand in a crisp black suit and tie and argued that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman had deceived him into bankrolling the company. Along the way, he warned that AI could destroy us all and sat through…
Exclusive eBook: Inside the stealthy startup that pitched brainless human clones
The ultimate plan to live forever is a brand new body. This subscriber-only eBook explores R3 Bio, a small startup that has pitched a startling and ethically charged vision for “brainless clones” to serve the role of backup human bodies. by Antonio Regalado March 20, 2026 Related Stories: Access all subscriber-only eBooks:
The Download: storing nuclear waste and orchestrating agents
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. It’s time to make a plan for nuclear waste Today, nuclear energy enjoys rare support across the political spectrum. Public approval has spiked, and Big Tech is throwing money around to…
The Download: Musk and Altman’s legal showdown, and AI’s profit problem
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. Elon Musk and Sam Altman are going to court over OpenAI’s future Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman head to trial this week in a case with sweeping consequences. Ahead…
Elon Musk and Sam Altman are going to court over OpenAI’s future
After a yearslong legal feud, Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are heading to trial this week in Northern California in a case that could have sweeping consequences. Ahead of OpenAI’s highly anticipated IPO, the court could rule on whether the company is allowed to exist as a for-profit enterprise and might even oust…
Three reasons why DeepSeek’s new model V4 matters
On Friday, Chinese AI firm DeepSeek released a preview of V4, its long-awaited new flagship model. Notably, the model can process much longer prompts than its last generation, thanks to a new design that helps it handle large amounts of text more efficiently. Like DeepSeek’s previous models, V4 is open source, meaning it is available…
The Download: introducing the Nature issue
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Introducing: the Nature issue When we talk about “nature,” we usually mean something untouched by humans. But little of that world exists today. From microplastics in rainforest wildlife to artificial light…
The Download: introducing the 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Introducing: 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now What actually matters in AI right now? It’s getting harder to tell amid the constant launches, hype, and warnings. To cut through…
Building agent-first governance and security
As AI agents increasingly work alongside humans across organizations, companies could be inadvertently opening a new attack surface. Insecure agents can be manipulated to access sensitive systems and proprietary data, increasing enterprise risk. In some modern enterprises, non-human identities (NHI) are outpacing human identities, and that trend will explode with agentic AI. Solid governance and…
The Download: murderous ‘mirror’ bacteria, and Chinese workers fighting AI doubles
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. No one’s sure if synthetic mirror life will kill us all In February 2019, a group of scientists proposed a high-risk, cutting-edge, irresistibly exciting idea that the National Science Foundation should…
Pie Day 2026
Ellie’s Pi Day post: https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/pi-day-2026-food-institute/ How Ellie orchestrated the baking of 30 pies: https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/behind-the-scenes-of-thirty-pies/
Making AI operational in constrained public sector environments
The AI boom has hit across industries, and public sector organizations are facing pressure to accelerate adoption. At the same time, government institutions face distinct constraints around security, governance, and operations that set them apart from their business counterparts. For this reason, purpose-built small language models (SLMs) offer a promising path to operationalize AI in…
The Download: NASA’s nuclear spacecraft and unveiling our AI 10
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. NASA is building the first nuclear reactor-powered interplanetary spacecraft. How will it work? Just before Artemis II began its historic slingshot around the moon, NASA revealed an even grander space travel…
The Download: the state of AI, and protecting bears with drones
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. Want to understand the current state of AI? Check out these charts. If you’re following AI news, you’re probably getting whiplash. AI is a gold rush. AI is a bubble. AI is taking your job. AI can’t even…
Want to understand the current state of AI? Check out these charts.
If you’re following AI news, you’re probably getting whiplash. AI is a gold rush. AI is a bubble. AI is taking your job. AI can’t even read a clock. The 2026 AI Index from Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, AI’s annual report card, comes out today and cuts through some of that noise. …
What’s in a name? Moderna’s “vaccine” vs. “therapy” dilemma
Is it the Department of Defense or the Department of War? The Gulf of Mexico or the Gulf of America? A vaccine—or an “individualized neoantigen treatment”? That’s the Trump-era vocabulary paradox facing Moderna, the covid-19 shot maker whose plans for next-generation mRNA vaccines against flus and emerging pathogens have been dashed by vaccine skeptics in…
The Download: an exclusive Jeff VanderMeer story and AI models too scary to release
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. Constellations —Constellations is a short story by Jeff VanderMeer, the author of the critically acclaimed, bestselling Southern Reach series. A spacecraft has crash-landed on a hostile planet. The only survivors…
The Download: AstroTurf wars and exponential AI growth
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Is fake grass a bad idea? The AstroTurf wars are far from over. In 2001, Americans installed just over 7 million square meters of synthetic turf. By 2024, that number was 79 million square meters—enough to carpet all of Manhattan and then some. The…
The Download: water threats in Iran and AI’s impact on what entrepreneurs make
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. Desalination plants in the Middle East are increasingly vulnerable As the conflict in Iran has escalated, a crucial resource is under fire: the desalinization technology that supplies water in the region. President…
The Download: AI’s impact on jobs, and data centres in space
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. The one piece of data that could actually shed light on your job and AI Within Silicon Valley’s orbit, an AI-fueled jobs apocalypse is spoken about as a given. Now even economists who have…
AI is changing how small online sellers decide what to make
For years Mike McClary sold the Guardian LTE Flashlight, a heavy-duty black model, online through his small outdoor brand. The product, designed for brightness and durability, became one of his most popular items ever. Even after he stopped offering it around 2017, customers kept sending him emails asking where they could buy it. When McClary…
Four things we’d need to put data centers in space
MIT Technology Review Explains: Let our writers untangle the complex, messy world of technology to help you understand what’s coming next. You can read more from the series here. In January, Elon Musk’s SpaceX filed an application with the US Federal Communications Commission to launch up to one million data centers into Earth’s orbit. The…
The Download: plastic’s problem with fuel prices, and SpaceX’s blockbuster IPO
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. Fuel prices are soaring. Plastic could be next. As the war in Iran continues, one of the most visible global economic ripple effects has been fossil-fuel prices. But looking ahead, further consequences could…
Fuel prices are soaring. Plastic could be next.
As the war in Iran continues to engulf the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz stays closed, one of the most visible global economic ripple effects has been fossil-fuel prices. In particular, you can’t get away from news about the price of gasoline, which just topped an average of $4 a gallon in the…
Shifting to AI model customization is an architectural imperative
In the early days of large language models (LLMs), we grew accustomed to massive 10x jumps in reasoning and coding capability with every new model iteration. Today, those jumps have flattened into incremental gains. The exception is domain-specialized intelligence, where true step-function improvements are still the norm. When a model is fused with an organization’s…
There are more AI health tools than ever—but how well do they work?
Earlier this month, Microsoft launched Copilot Health, a new space within its Copilot app where users will be able to connect their medical records and ask specific questions about their health. A couple of days earlier, Amazon had announced that Health AI, an LLM-based tool previously restricted to members of its One Medical service, would…
A woman’s uterus has been kept alive outside the body for the first time
“Think of this as a human body,” says Javier González. In front of me is essentially a metal box on wheels. Standing at around a meter in height, it reminds me of a stainless-steel counter in a restaurant kitchen. It is covered in flexible plastic tubing—which act as veins and arteries—connecting a series of transparent…
The Download: the internet’s best weather app, and why people freeze their brains
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 a couple of ski bums built the internet’s best weather app The best snow-forecasting app for skiers isn’t a federally-funded service or a big-name brand. It’s OpenSnow, a startup that uses government data, its own AI…
The Download: a battery pivot to AI, and rewriting math
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Why this battery company is pivoting to AI Qichao Hu doesn’t mince words about the state of the battery industry. “Almost every Western battery company has either died or is going to die. It’s kind of…
Roundtables: The Next Era of Space Exploration
Listen to the session or watch below Whether it’s the race to find life on Mars, the campaign to outsmart killer asteroids, or the quest to make the moon a permanent home to astronauts, scientists’ efforts in space can tell us more about where humanity is headed. This subscriber-only discussion examines the progress and possibilities…
Exclusive eBook: Are we ready to hand AI agents the keys?
We’re starting to give AI agents real autonomy, but are we prepared for what could happen next? This subscriber-only eBook explores this and angles from experts, such as “If we continue on the current path … we are basically playing Russian roulette with humanity.” by Grace Huckins June 12, 2025 Related Stories: Access all subscriber-only…
The hardest question to answer about AI-fueled delusions
This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. I was originally going to write this week’s newsletter about AI and Iran, particularly the news we broke last Tuesday that the Pentagon is making plans for AI companies to train on…
The Download: OpenAI is building a fully automated researcher, and a psychedelic trial blind spot
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 is throwing everything into building a fully automated researcher OpenAI has a new grand challenge: building an AI researcher—a fully automated agent-based system capable of tackling large, complex problems by…
The Download: Quantum computing for health, and why the world doesn’t recycle more nuclear waste
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 $5 million prize awaits proof that quantum computers can solve health care problems In a laboratory on the outskirts of Oxford, a quantum computer built from atoms and light awaits…
The Download: The Pentagon’s new AI plans, and next-gen nuclear reactors
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 Pentagon is planning for AI companies to train on classified data, defense official says The Pentagon plans to set up secure environments for generative AI companies to train military-specific versions of their…
The Pentagon is planning for AI companies to train on classified data, defense official says
The Pentagon is discussing plans to set up secure environments for generative AI companies to train military-specific versions of their models on classified data, MIT Technology Review has learned. AI models like Anthropic’s Claude are already used to answer questions in classified settings; applications include analyzing targets in Iran. But allowing models to train on…
Where OpenAI’s technology could show up in Iran
This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. It’s been just over two weeks since OpenAI reached a controversial agreement to allow the Pentagon to use its AI in classified environments. There are still pressing questions about what exactly OpenAI’s…
Why physical AI is becoming manufacturing’s next advantage
For decades, manufacturers have pursued automation to drive efficiency, reduce costs, and stabilize operations. That approach delivered meaningful gains, but it is no longer enough. Today’s manufacturing leaders face a different challenge: how to grow amid labor constraints, rising complexity, and increasing pressure to innovate faster without sacrificing safety, quality, or trust. The next phase…
The Download: Early adopters cash in on China’s OpenClaw craze, and US batteries slump
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Hustlers are cashing in on China’s OpenClaw AI craze In January, Beijing-based software engineer Feng Qingyang started tinkering with OpenClaw, a new AI tool that can take over a device and autonomously complete tasks.…
Hustlers are cashing in on China’s OpenClaw AI craze
Feng Qingyang had always hoped to launch his own company, but he never thought this would be how—or that the day would come this fast. Feng, a 27-year-old software engineer based in Beijing, started tinkering with OpenClaw, a popular new open-source AI tool that can take over a device and autonomously complete tasks for a…
How Pokémon Go is giving delivery robots an inch-perfect view of the world
Pokémon Go was the world’s first augmented-reality megahit. Released in 2016 by the Google spinout Niantic, the AR twist on the juggernaut Pokémon franchise fast became a global phenomenon. From Chicago to Oslo to Enoshima, players hit the streets in the urgent hope of catching a Jigglypuff or a Squirtle or (with a huge amount…
How AI is turning the Iran conflict into theater
This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. “Anyone wanna host a get together in SF and pull this up on a 100 inch TV?” The author of that post on X was referring to an online intelligence dashboard following…
The usability imperative for securing digital asset devices
When Tony Fadell started working on the iPod, usability often trumped security. The result was an iterative process. Every time someone would find a security weakness or a way to hack the device, the development group would iterate to add measures and fix the issues. Yet, flaws would frequently be found, and the secure design…
The Download: murky AI surveillance laws, and the White House cracks down on defiant labs
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Is the Pentagon allowed to surveil Americans with AI? The ongoing public feud between the Department of Defense and the AI company Anthropic has raised a deep and still unanswered question:…
Is the Pentagon allowed to surveil Americans with AI?
The ongoing public feud between the Department of Defense and the AI company Anthropic has raised a deep and still unanswered question: Does the law actually allow the US government to conduct mass surveillance on Americans? Surprisingly, the answer is not straightforward. More than a decade after Edward Snowden exposed the NSA’s collection of bulk…
The Download: 10 things that matter in AI, plus Anthropic’s plan to sue the Pentagon
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Coming soon: our 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now For years, MIT Technology Review’s newsroom has been ahead of the curve, tracking the developments in AI that matter and…
The Download: an AI agent’s hit piece, and preventing lightning
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Online harassment is entering its AI era Scott Shambaugh didn’t think twice when he denied an AI agent’s request to contribute to matplotlib, a software library he helps manage. Then things…
How much wildfire prevention is too much?
The race to prevent the worst wildfires has been an increasingly high-tech one. Companies are proposing AI fire detection systems and drones that can stamp out early blazes. And now, one Canadian startup says it’s going after lightning. Lightning-sparked fires can be a big deal: The Canadian wildfires of 2023 generated nearly 500 million metric…
Online harassment is entering its AI era
Scott Shambaugh didn’t think twice when he denied an AI agent’s request to contribute to matplotlib, a software library that he helps manage. Like many open-source projects, matplotlib has been overwhelmed by a glut of AI code contributions, and so Shambaugh and his fellow maintainers have instituted a policy that all AI-written code must be…
Bridging the operational AI gap
The transformational potential of AI is already well established. Enterprise use cases are building momentum and organizations are transitioning from pilot projects to AI in production. Companies are no longer just talking about AI; they are redirecting budgets and resources to make it happen. Many are already experimenting with agentic AI, which promises new levels…
The Download: Earth’s rumblings, and AI for strikes on Iran
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. Listen to Earth’s rumbling, secret soundtrack The boom of a calving glacier. The crackling rumble of a wildfire. The roar of a surging storm front. They’re the noises of the living…
The Download: The startup that says it can stop lightning, and inside OpenAI’s Pentagon deal
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. This startup claims it can stop lightning and prevent catastrophic wildfires Startup Skyward Wildfire says it can prevent catastrophic fires by stopping the lightning strikes that ignite them. So far, it hasn’t publicly…
This startup claims it can stop lightning and prevent catastrophic wildfires
On June 1, 2023, as a sweltering heat wave baked Quebec, thousands of lightning strikes flashed across the province, setting off more than 120 wildfires. The blazes ripped through parched forests and withered grasslands, burned for weeks, and compounded what was rapidly turning into Canada’s worst fire year on record. In the end, nearly 7,000…
OpenAI’s “compromise” with the Pentagon is what Anthropic feared
On February 28, OpenAI announced it had reached a deal that will allow the US military to use its technologies in classified settings. CEO Sam Altman said the negotiations, which the company began pursuing only after the Pentagon’s public reprimand of Anthropic, were “definitely rushed.” In its announcements, OpenAI took great pains to say that…
The Download: protesting AI, and what’s floating in space
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. I checked out one of the biggest anti-AI protests ever Pull the plug! Pull the plug! Stop the slop! Stop the slop! For a few hours this Saturday, February 28, I watched as…
I checked out one of the biggest anti-AI protests ever
Pull the plug! Pull the plug! Stop the slop! Stop the slop! For a few hours this Saturday, February 28, I watched as a couple of hundred anti-AI protesters marched through London’s King’s Cross tech hub, home to the UK headquarters of OpenAI, Meta, and Google DeepMind, chanting slogans and waving signs. The march was…
MIT Technology Review is a 2026 ASME finalist in reporting
The American Society of Magazine Editors has named MIT Technology Review as a finalist for a 2026 National Magazine Award in the reporting category. The shortlisted story—“We did the math on AI’s energy footprint. Here’s the story you haven’t heard”—is part of the publication’s Power Hungry package on AI’s energy burden. AI is often described…
The Download: how AI is shaking up Go, and a cybersecurity mystery
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. AI is rewiring how the world’s best Go players think Ten years ago AlphaGo, Google DeepMind’s AI program, stunned the world by defeating the South Korean Go player Lee Sedol. And in the…
AI is rewiring how the world’s best Go players think
Burrowed in the alleys of Hongik-dong, a hushed residential neighborhood in eastern Seoul, is a faded stone-tiled building stamped “Korea Baduk Association,” the governing body for professional Go. The game is an ancient one, with sacred stature in South Korea. But inside the building, rooms once filled with the soft clatter of hands dipping into…
Finding value with AI and Industry 5.0 transformation
For years, Industry 4.0 transformation has centered on the convergence of intelligent technologies like AI, cloud, the internet of things, robotics, and digital twins. Industry 5.0 marks a pivotal shift from integrating emerging technologies to orchestrating them at scale. With Industry 5.0, the purpose of this interconnected web of technologies is more nuanced: to augment…
The Download: how America lost its lead in the hunt for alien life, and ambitious battery claims
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. America was winning the race to find Martian life. Then China jumped in. In July 2024, NASA’s Perseverance rover came across a peculiar rocky outcrop on Mars covered in strange spots. On Earth,…
This company claims a battery breakthrough. Now they need to prove it.
When a company claims to have created what’s essentially the holy grail of batteries, there are bound to be some questions. Interest has been swirling since Donut Lab, a Finnish company, announced last month that it had a new solid-state battery technology, one that was ready for large-scale production. The company said its batteries can…
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