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 to work. Now, a wave of new technologies aims to change that.
Researchers are using AI to identify promising sperm and embryos, developing robotic systems that could automate parts of the IVF process, and even exploring controversial genetic editing techniques designed to prevent inherited disease.
The technologies could make IVF more effective and accessible. But they’re also raising difficult ethical questions about how far reproductive medicine should go.
—Jessica Hamzelou
This story is from MIT Technology Review’s What’s Next series, which looks across industries, trends, and technologies to give you a first look at the future. You can read the rest of them here.
The balcony solar boom is coming to the US
Dozens of US states are considering legislation to allow people to install plug-in solar systems, often called balcony solar. These small arrays require little to no setup and could help cut emissions and power bills.
Proponents say the systems could make solar power more accessible, but some experts caution that there are safety concerns.
Read the full story on balcony solar’s potentially massive impact in the US.
—Casey Crownhart
This article is from The Spark, our weekly climate newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday.
Resistance: 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now
Resistance against AI’s proliferation is growing. People from all walks of life are speaking out against rising electricity bills from data centers, disappearing jobs, chatbots’ impact on teen mental health, the military’s use of AI, and copyright infringement—among other concerns.
People want to have a say in how the technology transforms their future. And they’re starting to create small cracks in AI labs’ vision for the future. Find out how.
—Michelle Kim
Resistance is on our list of the 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now, MIT Technology Review’s guide to what’s really worth your attention in the buzzy world of AI.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 After years of insults, Anthropic and SpaceX have teamed up
Anthropic will tap SpaceX’s GPUs to meet surging demand. (Axios)
+ While SpaceX gets a marquee customer for its AI ambitions. (Wired $)
+ Anthropic says the deal will double Claude Code’s rate limits. (Ars Technica)
+It’s also exploring building compute capacity in space. (CNBC)
+ Musk previously called Anthropic “evil” and “misanthropic.” (Gizmodo)
2 Ex-OpenAI leaders say Sam Altman sowed “chaos” and distrust
Former CTO Mira Murati said she couldn’t trust his words. (The Verge)
+ He also bypassed OpenAI’s safety board before a model release. (Gizmodo)
+ And pitted leaders against one another. (Forbes)
+ But Elon Musk still tried to recruit Altman to lead a Tesla AI lab. (FT $)
+ Here’s why Musk and Altman are in court. (MIT Technology Review)
3 China’s humanoid robots are fueling its next export boom
Morgan Stanley says Beijing has taken an early lead in the sector. (Bloomberg $)
+ Gig workers are training humanoids at home. (MIT Technology Review)
4 SpaceX’s IPO plans will give Elon Musk “virtually unchecked” authority
And erode typical shareholder protections. (Reuters $)
+ Activists and pension funds are pushing back against the IPO. (Wired $)
+ While SpaceX is shifting focus from Falcon 9 to Starship. (Ars Technica)
5 Google DeepMind will use the MMORPG Eve Online for AI model testing
It’s also bought a stake in the game’s maker. (Ars Technica)
+ DeepMind also recently built a new video-game-playing agent. (MIT Technology Review)
6 The US risks isolating its automakers by banning a Chinese EV standard
It’s prohibiting software that’s dominating global EV markets. (Rest of World)
7 Elon Musk’s proposed Texas chip factory could cost $119 billion
It would manufacture chips for Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI. (CNBC)
+ Future AI chips could be built on glass. (MIT Technology Review)
8 Why the “attention-span crisis” is misunderstood
Technology may be exhausting attention rather than shortening it. (Atlantic $)
9 Scientists are getting closer to explaining what causes lightning
New tools are revealing unexpected physics inside thunderstorms. (Quanta)
10 Kids have found an age verification loophole: fake mustaches
Resourceful children are foiling blocks on adult websites. (TechCrunch)
Quote of the day
“My concern was about Sam saying one thing to one person and completely the opposite to another person.”
—Mira Murati, the former CTO of OpenAI, testifies in court that CEO Sam Altman was deceptive, Reuters reports.
One More Thing
A brief, weird history of brainwashing
During the Cold War, the US prepared for a psychic war with the Soviet Union and China by spending millions of dollars on research into manipulating the human brain.
The science never exactly panned out, but residual beliefs fostered by this bizarre conflict continue to play a role in ideological and scientific debates to this day. And now, new technologies are altering how we think about mind control.
This is how the race for mind control changed America forever.
—Annalee Newitz
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.)
+ Listen to the 10 bird songs of spring in this lovely compilation of American species.
+ Good Samaritans saved a 29-foot whale that had wandered too far into a river.
+ Explore the intersection of human emotion and machine learning in this look at AI’s influence on art.
+ Break down the walls between streaming services and manage all your digital music in one place with this app.