The Download: the future of nuclear power plants, and social media-fueled AI hype

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 AI companies are betting on next-gen nuclear

AI is driving unprecedented investment for massive data centers and an energy supply that can support its huge computational appetite. One potential source of electricity for these facilities is next-generation nuclear power plants, which could be cheaper to construct and safer to operate than their predecessors.

We recently held a subscriber-exclusive Roundtables discussion on hyperscale AI data centers and next-gen nuclear—two featured technologies on the MIT Technology Review 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2026 list. You can watch the conversation back here, and don’t forget to subscribe to make sure you catch future discussions as they happen.

How social media encourages the worst of AI boosterism

Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, summed it up in three words: “This is embarrassing.”

Hassabis was replying on X to an overexcited post by Sébastien Bubeck, a research scientist at the rival firm OpenAI, announcing that two mathematicians had used OpenAI’s latest large language model, GPT-5, to find solutions to 10 unsolved problems in mathematics.

Put your math hats on for a minute, and let’s take a look at what this beef from mid-October was about. It’s a perfect example of what’s wrong with AI right now.

—Will Douglas Heaven

This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here.

The paints, coatings, and chemicals making the world a cooler place

It’s getting harder to beat the heat. During the summer of 2025, heat waves knocked out power grids in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. Global warming means more people need air-­conditioning, which requires more power and strains grids.

But a millennia-old idea (plus 21st-century tech) might offer an answer: radiative cooling. Paints, coatings, and textiles can scatter sunlight and dissipate heat—no additional energy required. Read the full story.

—Becky Ferreira

This story is from the most recent print issue of MIT Technology Review magazine, which shines a light on the exciting innovations happening right now. If you haven’t already, subscribe now to receive future issues once they land.

MIT Technology Review Narrated: China figured out how to sell EVs. Now it has to deal with their aging batteries.

As early electric cars age out, hundreds of thousands of used batteries are flooding the market, fueling a gray recycling economy even as Beijing and big manufacturers scramble to build a more orderly system.

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 Europe is edging closer towards banning social media for minors
Spain has become the latest country to consider it. (Bloomberg $)
+ Elon Musk called the Spanish prime minister a “tyrant” in retaliation. (The Guardian)
+ Other European nations considering restrictions include Greece, France and the UK. (Reuters)

2 Humans are infiltrating the social network for AI agents
It turns out role-playing as a bot is surprisingly fun. (Wired $)
+ Some of the most viral posts may actually be human-generated after all. (The Verge)

3 Russian spy spacecraft have intercepted Europe’s key satellites
Security officials are confident Moscow has tapped into unencrypted European comms. (FT $)

4 French authorities raided X’s Paris office
They’re investigating a range of potential charges against the company. (WSJ $)
+ Elon Musk has been summoned to give evidence in April. (Reuters)

5 Jeffrey Epstein invested millions into crypto startup Coinbase
Which suggests he was still able to take advantage of Silicon Valley investment opportunities years after pleading guilty to soliciting sex from an underage girl. (WP $)

6 A group of crypto bros paid $300,000 for a gold statue of Trump
It’s destined to be installed on his Florida golf complex, apparently. (NYT $)

7 OpenAI has appointed a “head of preparedness”
Dylan Scandinaro will earn a cool $555,000 for his troubles. (Bloomberg $)

8 The eternal promise of 3D-printed batteries
Traditional batteries are blocky and bulky. Printing them ourselves could help solve that. (IEEE Spectrum)

9 What snow can teach us about city design
When icy mounds refuse to melt, they show us what a less car-focused city could look like. (New Yorker $)
+ This startup thinks slime mold can help us design better cities. (MIT Technology Review)

10 Please don’t use AI to talk to your friends
That’s what your brain is for. (The Atlantic $)
+ Therapists are secretly using ChatGPT. Clients are triggered. (MIT Technology Review)

Quote of the day

“Today, our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone. We will no longer accept that.”

—Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez proposes a social media ban for children aged under 16 in the country, following in Australia’s footsteps, AP News reports.

One more thing

A brain implant changed her life. Then it was removed against her will.

Sticking an electrode inside a person’s brain can do more than treat a disease. Take the case of Rita Leggett, an Australian woman whose experimental brain implant designed to help people with epilepsy changed her sense of agency and self.

Leggett told researchers that she “became one” with her device. It helped her to control the unpredictable, violent seizures she routinely experienced, and allowed her to take charge of her own life. So she was devastated when, two years later, she was told she had to remove the implant because the company that made it had gone bust.

The removal of this implant, and others like it, might represent a breach of human rights, ethicists say in a paper published earlier this month. And the issue will only become more pressing as the brain implant market grows in the coming years and more people receive devices like Leggett’s. Read the full story.

—Jessica Hamzelou

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.)

+ Why Beethoven’s Ode to Joy is still such an undisputed banger.
+ Did you know that one of the world’s most famous prisons actually served as a zoo and menagerie for over 600 years?
+ Banana nut muffins sound like a fantastic way to start your day.
+ 2026 is shaping up to be a blockbuster year for horror films.