Tag
When scientists first sequenced the human genome in 2003, they revealed the full set of DNA instructions that make a person. But we still didn’t know what all those 3 billion genetic…
Introducing: the Power issue Energy is power. Those who can produce it, especially lots of it, get to exert authority in all sorts of ways. The world is increasingly powered by both…
AI companions like Replika are designed to engage in intimate exchanges, but people use general-purpose chatbots for sex talk too, despite their stricter content moderation policies. Now…
Is this the electric grid of the future? Lincoln Electric System, a publicly owned utility in Nebraska, is used to weathering severe blizzards. But what will happen soon—not only at…
This is today's edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. Tech billionaires are making a risky bet with…
In recent months, a new class of agents has arrived on the scene: ones built using large language models. Any action that can be captured by text—from playing a video game using written…
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 Amsterdam’s high-stakes experiment to…
Apple has unveiled iOS 26, its new operating system for the iPhone. The new software brings many changes and advancements with it, including an all-new transparent design language called…
Last year, China saw a boom in foundation models, the do-everything large language models that underpin the AI revolution. This year, the focus has shifted to AI agents—systems that are…
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Reddit is suing Anthropic Reddit claims the AI company kept accessing its site…
The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Elon Musk has turned on Trump He called Trump’s domestic policy…
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 benchmark used Reddit’s AITA to test how much…
Imagine: China deploys hundreds of thousands of autonomous drones in the air, on the sea, and under the water—all armed with explosive warheads or small missiles. These machines descend in…
Since the Chinese biophysicist He Jiankui was released from prison in 2022, he has sought to make a scientific comeback and to repair his reputation after a three-year incarceration for…
In the high desert east of Reno, Nevada, construction crews are flattening the golden foothills of the Virginia Range, laying the foundations of a data center city. Google, Tract, Switch,…
A previously unreported document distributed by senior US State Department official Darren Beattie reveals a sweeping effort to uncover all communications between the staff of a small…
—Gigi Kwik Gronvall, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, explains the consequences of the Trump administration’s decision to force a health department focused…
How close are we to genuine “mind reading?” Technically speaking, neuroscientists have been able to read your mind for decades. It’s not easy, mind you. First, you must lie motionless…
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 AI Hype Index: AI agent cyberattacks, racing…
The quest to figure out farming on Mars Once upon a time, water flowed across the surface of Mars. Waves lapped against shorelines, strong winds gusted and howled, and driving rain fell…
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 the controversial tree farms powering…
How gamification took over the world It’s a thought that occurs to every video-game player at some point: What if the weird, hyper-focused state I enter when playing in virtual worlds…
The only office within the US State Department that monitors foreign disinformation is to be eliminated, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, confirming reporting by MIT…
Botify AI, a site for chatting with AI companions that’s backed by the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, hosts bots resembling real actors that state their age as under 18, engage…
