Chinese EVs have entered center stage in US-China tensions
This story first appeared in China Report, MIT Technology Review’s newsletter about technology in China. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Tuesday. So far, electric vehicles have mostly been discussed in the US through a scientific, economic, or environmental lens. But all of a sudden, they have become highly political. Last Thursday, the Biden…
https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/03/06/1089487/chinese-evs-security-threat-politics/
I used generative AI to turn my story into a comic—and you can too
Thirteen years ago, as an assignment for a journalism class, I wrote a stupid short story about a man who eats luxury cat food. This morning, I sat and watched as a generative AI platform called Lore Machine brought my weird words to life. I fed my story into a text box and got this…
The Download: rise of the robots, and what organoids can teach us
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 robots are coming. And that’s a good thing. —This is an excerpt from a new book, The Heart and the Chip: Our Bright Future with Robots, by MIT CSAIL director Daniela Rus …
Nobody knows how AI works
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’ve been experimenting with using AI assistants in my day-to-day work. The biggest obstacle to their being useful is they often get things blatantly wrong. In one case, I used an…
https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/03/05/1089449/nobody-knows-how-ai-works/
The robots are coming. And that’s a good thing.
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In this excerpt from the new book, The Heart and the Chip: Our Bright Future with Robots, CSAIL Director Daniela Rus explores how robots can extend the reach of human capabilities. Years ago, I befriended the biologist Roger Payne at a meeting of MacArthur Foundation fellows. Roger, who died in 2023, was best known for…
https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/03/05/1087646/the-robots-are-coming-and-thats-a-good-thing-2/
Roundtables: The AI Economy
Recorded on August 10, 2023 The AI Economy Speakers: Mat Honan, Editor in chief and David Rotman, Editor at large There’s no doubt that generative AI will impact the economy—but how, exactly, remains an open question. Despite fears that these AI tools will upend workers and exacerbate wealth inequality, early evidence suggests the technology could…
https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/03/04/1088983/roundtables-the-ai-economy/
Organoids made from amniotic fluid will tell us how fetuses develop
As a fetus grows in the womb, it sheds cells into the amniotic fluid surrounding and protecting it. Now researchers have demonstrated that they can use those cells to grow organoids, three-dimensional structures that have some of the properties of human organs—in this case kidneys, small intestines, and lungs. These organoids could give doctors even…
Advancing AI innovation with cutting-edge solutions
AI is helping organizations in nearly every industry increase productivity, engage customers, realize operational efficiencies, and gain a competitive edge. Advances in supercomputing in the cloud and the ability to achieve processing at an exascale level are major catalysts for this new era of AI innovation. Common AI use cases today include personalized healthcare and…
The Download: the mystery of LLMs, and the EU’s Big Tech crackdown
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. Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why. Two years ago, Yuri Burda and Harri Edwards, researchers at OpenAI, were trying to find out what it would take to…
Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.
Two years ago, Yuri Burda and Harri Edwards, researchers at the San Francisco–based firm OpenAI, were trying to find out what it would take to get a large language model to do basic arithmetic. They wanted to know how many examples of adding up two numbers the model needed to see before it was able…
The Download: tech help for herders, and bacteria clean-ups
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 shiny, high-tech solutions won’t solve one of Africa’s worst crises Herding— one of humanity’s most foundational ways of life—is a pillar of survival in West Africa’s Sahel. Migratory herders usher cattle between…
https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/03/01/1089383/tech-help-herders-bacteria-clean-up/
How some bacteria are cleaning up our messy water supply
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 diabetes medication metformin has been touted as a miracle drug. Not only does it keep diabetes in check, but it can reduce inflammation, curb cancer,…
https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/03/01/1089351/metaformin-bacteria-wastewater-proteins/
Why shiny, high-tech solutions won’t solve one of Africa’s worst crises
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Hainikoye hits Accept and a young woman greets him in Hausa, a gravelly language spoken across West Africa’s Sahel region. She has three new cows, and wants to know: Does he have advice on getting them through the lean season? Hainikoye—a twentysomething agronomist who has “followed animals,” as Sahelians refer to herding, since he first…
The Download: quantum squeezing, and a game-building AI model
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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 scientists are using quantum squeezing to push the limits of their sensors When two black holes spiral inward and collide, they shake the very fabric of space, producing ripples in space-time that…
https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/02/29/1089327/quantum-squeezing-game-ai/
Google DeepMind’s new generative model makes Super Mario-like games from scratch
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OpenAI’s recent reveal of its stunning generative model Sora pushed the envelope of what’s possible with text-to-video. Now Google DeepMind brings us text-to-video games. The new model, called Genie, can take a short description, a hand-drawn sketch or a photo and turn it into a playable video game in the style of classic 2D platformers…
Why concerns over the sustainability of carbon removal are growing
This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here. There’s a looming problem in the carbon removal space. By one count, nearly 800 companies around the world are exploring a wide variety of methods for drawing planet-warming greenhouse gas out of…
How scientists are using quantum squeezing to push the limits of their sensors
When two black holes spiral inward and collide, they shake the very fabric of space, producing ripples in space-time that can travel for hundreds of millions of light-years. Since 2015, scientists have been observing these so-called gravitational waves to help them study fundamental questions about the cosmos, including the origin of heavy elements such as…
Roundtables: An Inside Look at the 10 Breakthrough Technologies 2024
Recorded on January 16, 2024 SKIP TO 2:00 FOR START OF SESSION An Inside Look at the 10 Breakthrough Technologies 2024 Speakers: Amy Nordrum, Executive editor of operations, Rachel Courtland, Commissioning editor, and Abby Ivory-Ganja, Senior engagement editor Every year for the past 20+ years, MIT Technology Review has selected a list of the breakthrough…
The Download: introducing the Hidden Worlds issue
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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 Hidden Worlds issue A hidden world is fundamentally different from the undiscovered. We know the hidden world is there. We just can’t see it or reach it. Hidden worlds exist in…
https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/02/28/1089166/introducing-hidden-worlds/
Puzzle corner
Puzzle corner is currently on hiatus. To view back issues of Puzzle Corner, visit the Puzzle Corner website at cs.nyu.edu/~gottlieb/tr.
https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/02/28/1074012/puzzle-corner-38/