MIT Technology Review

For all the excitement around GPUs-the workhorses of today's AI revolution-the central processing unit (CPU) remains the backbone of high-performance computing (HPC). CPUs still handle 80% to 90% of HPC workloads globally, powering everything from climate modeling to semiconductor design. Far from being eclipsed, they're evolving in ways that make them more competitive, flexible, and...

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. Scientists can see Earth's permafrost thawing from space Something is rotten in the city of Nunapitchuk. In recent years, sewage has leached into the earth. The ground can feel squishy, sodden. This small...

On Thursday, I published a story about the police-tech giant Flock Safety selling its drones to the private sector to track shoplifters. Keith Kauffman, a former police chief who now leads Flock's drone efforts, described the ideal scenario: A security team at a Home Depot, say, launches a drone from the roof that follows shoplifting...

Something is rotten in the city of Nunapitchuk. In recent years, a crack has formed in the middle of a house. Sewage has leached into the earth. Soil has eroded around buildings, leaving them perched atop precarious lumps of dirt. There are eternal puddles. And mold. The ground can feel squishy, sodden. This small town...

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. US investigators are using AI to detect child abuse images made by AI Generative AI has enabled the production of child sexual abuse images to skyrocket. Now the leading investigator of child exploitation...

The need to cut emissions and adapt to our warming world is growing more urgent. This year, we've seen temperatures reach record highs, as they have nearly every year for the last decade. Climate-fueled natural disasters are affecting communities around the world, costing billions of dollars. That's why, for the past two years, MIT Technology...

Generative AI has enabled the production of child sexual abuse images to skyrocket. Now the leading investigator of child exploitation in the US is experimenting with using AI to distinguish AI-generated images from material depicting real victims, according to a new government filing. The Department of Homeland Security's Cyber Crimes Center, which investigates child exploitation...

Shoplifters in the US could soon be chased down by drones The news: Flock Safety, whose drones were once reserved for police departments, is now offering them for private-sector security, the company has announced. Potential customers include businesses trying to curb shoplifting. How it works: If the security team at a store sees shoplifters leave,...

Flock Safety, whose drones were once reserved for police departments, is now offering them for private-sector security, the company announced today, with potential customers including businesses intent on curbing shoplifting. Companies in the US can now place Flock's drone docking stations on their premises. If the company has a waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration...

When Kenneth Wehr started managing the Greenlandic-language version of Wikipedia four years ago, his first act was to delete almost everything. It had to go, he thought, if it had any chance of surviving. Wehr, who's 26, isn't from Greenland-he grew up in Germany-but he had become obsessed with the island, an autonomous Danish territory,...

Conversations around birth control usually focus on women, but Kevin Eisenfrats, one of the MIT Technology Review 2025 Innovators Under 35, is working to change that. His company, Contraline, is working towardtesting new birth control options for men. Speakers: Kevin Eisenfrats, co-founder and CEO of Contraline, andAmy Nordrum, executive editor, MIT Technology Review Recorded on...

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. It's surprisingly easy to stumble into a relationship with an AI chatbot The news: The first large-scale computational analysis of the Reddit community r/MyBoyfriendIsAI, which is dedicated to discussing AI relationships, found that...

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. At a press conference on Monday, President Trump announced that his administration was taking action to address the meteoric rise in autism." He suggested that childhood...

Separating AI reality from hyped-up fiction isn't always easy. That's why we've created the AI Hype Index-a simple, at-a-glance summary of everything you need to know about the state of the industry. Millions of us use chatbots every day, even though we don't really know how they work or how using them affects us. In...

It's a tale as old as time. Looking for help with her art project, she strikes up a conversation with her assistant. One thing leads to another, and suddenly she has a boyfriend she's introducing to her friends and family. The twist? Her new companion is an AI chatbot. The first large-scale computational analysis of...

Every year, MIT Technology Review selects one individual whose work we admire to recognize as Innovator of the Year. For 2025, we chose Sneha Goenka, who designed the computations behindthe world's fastest whole-genome sequencing method. Thanks to her work, physicians can now sequence a patient's genome and diagnose a genetic condition in less than eight...

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. AI models are using material from retracted scientific papers The news:Some AI chatbots rely on flawed research from retracted scientific papers to answer questions, according to recent studies. In one such study, researchers...

Some AI chatbots rely on flawed research from retracted scientific papers to answer questions, according to recent studies. The findings, confirmed by MIT Technology Review, raise questions about how reliable AI tools are at evaluating scientific research and could complicate efforts by countries and industries seeking to invest in AI tools for scientists. AI search...

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. This medical startup uses LLMs to run appointments and make diagnoses Patients at a small number of clinics in Southern California run by the medical startup Akido Labs are spending relatively little time,...

Eni, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, just agreed to buy $1 billion in electricity from a power plant being built by Commonwealth Fusion Systems. The deal is the latest to illustrate just how much investment Commonwealth and other fusion companies are courting as they attempt to take fusion power from the...

Imagine this: You've been feeling unwell, so you call up your doctor's office to make an appointment. To your surprise, they schedule you in for the next day. At the appointment, you aren't rushed through describing your health concerns; instead, you have a full half hour to share your symptoms and worries and the exhaustive...

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. A pivotal meeting on vaccine guidance is underway-and former CDC leaders are alarmed This week has been an eventful one for America's public health agency. Two former leaders of the US Centers for...

Update Friday 6am ET: The advisory CDC panel recommended that children under the age of 4 do not receive the combined MMRV vaccine (for measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella) but instead receive two separate shots. This week has been an eventful one for America's public health agency. Two former leaders of the US Centers for...

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. AI-designed viruses are here and already killing bacteria Artificial intelligence can draw cat pictures and write emails. Now the same technology can compose a working genome. A research team in California says it...

Hydrogen is sometimes held up as a master key for the energy transition. It can be made using several low-emissions methods and could play a role in cleaning up industries ranging from agriculture and chemicals to aviation and long-distance shipping. This moment is a complicated one for the green fuel, though, as a new report...

Artificial intelligence can draw cat pictures and write emails. Now the same technology can compose a working genome. A research team in California says it used AI to propose new genetic codes for viruses-and managed to get several of these viruses to replicate and kill bacteria. The scientists, based at Stanford University and the nonprofit...

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. How to measure the returns on R&D spending Given the draconian cuts to US federal funding for science, it's worth asking some hard-nosed money questions: How much should we be spending on R&D?...

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. Given the draconian cuts to US federal funding for science, including the administration's proposal to reduce the 2026 budgets of the National Institutes of Health by...

Automation has become a defining force in the customer experience. Between the chatbots that answer our questions and the recommendation systems that shape our choices, AI-driven tools are now embedded in nearly every interaction. But the latest wave of so-called agentic AI"-systems that can plan, act, and adapt toward a defined goal-promises to push automation...

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. The looming crackdown on AI companionship As long as there has been AI, there have been people sounding alarms about what it might do to us: rogue superintelligence, mass unemployment, or environmental ruin....

As long as there has been AI, there have been people sounding alarms about what it might do to us: rogue superintelligence, mass unemployment, or environmental ruin from data center sprawl. But this week showed that another threat entirely-that of kids forming unhealthy bonds with AI-is the one pulling AI safety out of the academic...

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. Meet tomorrow's rising stars of computing Each year, MIT Technology Review honors 35 outstanding people under the age of 35 who are driving scientific progress and solving tough problems in their fields. Today...

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. We can't make American children healthy again" without tackling the gun crisis This week, the Trump administration released a strategy for improving the health and well-being of American children. The report was titled-you...

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. It's been a big year for video generation. In the last nine months OpenAI made Sora public, Google DeepMind launched Veo 3, the video startup Runway...

Note for readers: This newsletter discusses gun violence, a raw and tragic issue in America. It was already in progress on Wednesday when a school shooting occurred at Evergreen High School in Colorado and Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at Utah Valley University. Earlier this week, the Trump administration's Make America Healthy Again movement...

Generative AI has the potential to transform the finance function. By taking on some of the more mundane tasks that can occupy a lot of time, generative AI tools can help free up capacity for more high-value strategic work. For chief financial officers, this could mean spending more time and energy on proactively advising the...

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. How Trump's policies are affecting early-career scientists-in their own words Every year MIT Technology Review celebrates accomplished young scientists, entrepreneurs, and inventors from around the world in our Innovators Under 35 list. We've...

Last week, a legal battle over lab-grown meat kicked off in Texas. On September 1, a two-year ban on the technology went into effect across the state; the following day, two companies filed a lawsuit against state officials. The two companies, Wildtype Foods and Upside Foods, are part of a growing industry that aims to...

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. Video: AI and our energy future In May, MIT Technology Review published an unprecedented and comprehensive look at how much energy the AI industry uses-down to a single query. Our reporters and editors...

In July 2024, a botched update to the software defenses managed by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike caused more than 8 million Windows systems to fail. From hospitals to manufacturers, stock markets to retail stores, the outage caused parts of the global economy to grind to a halt. Payment systems were disrupted, broadcasters went off the air,...

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. Meet the AI honorees on our 35 Innovators Under 35 list for 2025 Each year, we select 35 outstanding individuals under the age of 35 who are using technology to tackle tough problems...

In Silicon Valley's imagined future, AI models are so empathetic that we'll use them as therapists. They'll provide mental-health care for millions, unimpeded by the pesky requirements for human counselors, like the need for graduate degrees, malpractice insurance, and sleep. Down here on Earth, something very different has been happening. Last week, we published a...

The rising popularity of AI is driving an increase in electricity demand so significant it has the potential to reshape our grid. Energy consumption by data centers has gone up by 80% from 2020 to 2025 and is likely to keep growing. Electricity prices are already rising, especially in places where data centers are most...

Earlier this year, when my colleague Casey Crownhart and I spent six months researching the climate and energy burden of AI, we came to see one number in particular as our white whale: how much energy the leading AI models, like ChatGPT or Gemini, use up when generating a single response. This fundamental number remained...

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. Introducing: our 35 Innovators Under 35 list for 2025 The world is full of extraordinary young people brimming with ideas for how to crack tough problems. Every year, we recognize 35 such individuals...

This story is part of MIT Technology Review's America Undone" series, examining how the foundations of US success in science and innovation are currently under threat.You can read the rest here. Every year MIT Technology Review celebrates accomplished young scientists, entrepreneurs, and inventors from around the world in our Innovators Under 35 list. We've just...

In December 1947, three physicists at Bell Telephone Laboratories-John Bardeen, William Shockley, and Walter Brattain-built a compact electronic device using thin gold wires and a piece of germanium, a material known as a semiconductor. Their invention, later named the transistor (for which they were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1956), could amplify and switch electrical...

Sneha Goenka is one of MIT Technology Review's 2025 Innovators Under 35.Meet the rest of this year's honorees. Up to a quarter of children entering intensive care have undiagnosed genetic conditions. To be treated properly, they must first get diagnoses-which means having their genomes sequenced. This process typically takes up to seven weeks. Sadly, that's...

Iwnetim Abate is one of MIT Technology Review's 2025 Innovators Under 35.Meet the rest of this year's honorees. I'm the only one who wears glasses and has eye problems in the family," Iwnetim Abate says with a smile as sun streams in through the windows of his MIT office. I think it's because of the...