October 28, 2025

The Download: Microsoft’s stance on erotic AI, and an AI hype mystery

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. “We will never build a sex robot,” says Mustafa Suleyman Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI, is trying to walk a fine line. On the one hand, he thinks that the industry is…

October 2025

This retina implant lets people with vision loss do a crossword puzzle

October 20, 2025
Science Corporation—a competitor to Neuralink founded by the former president of Elon Musk’s brain-interface venture—has leapfrogged its rival after acquiring a vision implant that’s in advanced testing, for a fire-sale price. The implant produces a form of “artificial vision” that lets some patients read text and do crosswords, according to a report published in The…

AI could predict who will have a heart attack

October 20, 2025
For all the modern marvels of cardiology, we struggle to predict who will have a heart attack. Many people never get screened at all. Now, startups like Bunkerhill Health, Nanox.AI, and HeartLung Technologies are applying AI algorithms to screen millions of CT scans for early signs of heart disease. This technology could be a breakthrough…

Flowers of the future

October 20, 2025
Flowers play a key role in most landscapes, from urban to rural areas. There might be dandelions poking through the cracks in the pavement, wildflowers on the highway median, or poppies covering a hillside. We might notice the time of year they bloom and connect that to our changing climate. Perhaps we are familiar with…

Scale AI alum raises $9M for AI serving critical industries in MENA

October 20, 2025
Bilal Abu-Ghazaleh had just moved to London few days before our call, splitting his time between there and Dubai. After nearly a decade in the U.S., including a stint at Scale AI, he’s bringing that experience to his next venture: 1001 AI , a company creating AI infrastructure for critical industries across the Middle East […]

Kohler unveils a camera for your toilet

October 19, 2025
Home goods company Kohler recently unveiled a new device called the Dekoda — a $599 camera that can be attached to your toilet bowl and take pictures of what’s inside.