April 1, 2026

The Download: gig workers training humanoids, and better AI benchmarks

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 gig workers who are training humanoid robots at home  When Zeus, a medical student in Nigeria, returns to his apartment from a long day at the hospital, he straps his…

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How China hopes to secure its supply chain for critical minerals

September 13, 2023
This story first appeared in China Report, MIT Technology Review’s newsletter about technology developments in China. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Tuesday. When China announced back in July that it was restricting exports of germanium and gallium, it was a reminder of the leverage that China holds in the global supply chain for…

Google has a new tool to outsmart authoritarian internet censorship

September 13, 2023
Google is launching new anti-censorship technology created in response to actions by Iran’s government during the 2022 protests there, hoping that it will increase access for internet users living under authoritarian regimes all over the world. Jigsaw, a unit of Google that operates sort of like an internet freedom think tank and that creates related…

Telegram adds a self-custodial crypto wallet worldwide, excluding the US

September 13, 2023
Telegram, the popular chat app with 800 million monthly active users, is rolling out a self-custodial crypto wallet. The move is set to solidify its presence in the lively crypto community that has emerged from its chat platform and can potentially help drive the masses into the crypto space. The wallet is built by the […]

Apple adds support for India’s GPS alternative NavIC to iPhone 15 Pro

September 13, 2023
Apple has extended support for NavIC to some of the new iPhone 15 models, seemingly complying with New Delhi’s push to adopt India’s home-grown alternative to the GPS navigation system. On the tech specs page of the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple says that the new models support NavIC. This […]

Bluesky officially hits 1 million users

September 13, 2023
One of the buzziest post-Twitter apps hit a big milestone on Tuesday. Rose Wang, who works on strategy and operations for Bluesky, shared a screenshot of the moment on X, formerly Twitter. The X competitor famously only extended access to the app through a waitlist and invitations from existing users, intentionally keeping the platform’s population […]

Tesla robotaxi concept looks like a two-seater Cybertruck

September 12, 2023
An image of a Cybertruck-inspired Tesla robotaxi concept was revealed in the new Elon Musk biography by Walter Isaacson that launched Tuesday. The two-door, two-seater, “Cybertruck-like” compact vehicle is complete with angular edges and what looks like a fingerprint-inducing stainless steel finish. And while its unclear if this will ever actually be built — the […]

Olivia Rodrigo releases ‘get him back!’ video, filmed on iPhone 15 Pro

September 12, 2023
We don’t know who Olivia Rodrigo is trying to get revenge on, but she’s surely going to “get him back!” by being one of the first people to get her hands on the recently announced iPhone 15 Pro. Shortly after the end of Apple’s fall event, the gen Z superstar songwriter dropped a music video […]

Google’s big antitrust trial kicks off, with even bigger implications

September 12, 2023
The Justice Department’s landmark antitrust case against Google kicked off in court today, marking the beginning of a trial that will stretch on for months, potentially upending the tech world in the process. At issue is Google’s search business. The Justice Department says that Google has run afoul of antitrust laws in the course of […]