July 25, 2025

The Download: saving the US climate programs, and America’s AI protections are under threat

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. How nonprofits and academia are stepping up to salvage US climate programs Nonprofits are trying to preserve a US effort to modernize greenhouse-gas measurements, amid growing fears that the Trump administration’s dismantling of…

Technology

FDA advisors just said no to the use of MDMA as a therapy

June 6, 2024
On Tuesday, the FDA asked a panel of experts to weigh in on whether the evidence shows that MDMA, also known as ecstasy, is a safe and efficacious treatment for PTSD. The answer was a resounding no. Just two out of 11 panel members agreed that MDMA-assisted therapy is effective. And only one panel member…

The Download: gaming climate change, and Boeing’s space mission leaks

June 6, 2024
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 classic game is taking on climate change —Casey Crownhart There are two things I love to do at social gatherings: play board games and talk about climate change. Don’t I sound like…

This classic game is taking on climate change

June 6, 2024
This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here. There are two things I love to do at social gatherings: play board games and talk about climate change. Don’t I sound like someone you should invite to your next dinner party?…

Zoox to test self-driving cars in Austin and Miami 

June 5, 2024

Zoox, Amazon’s self-driving unit, is bringing its autonomous vehicles to more cities.  The self-driving technology company announced Wednesday plans to begin testing in Austin and Miami this summer. The two cities mark Zoox’s fourth and fifth test cities, following Las Vegas, San Francisco and Seattle.  The news comes as federal regulators increase their scrutiny of […]

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Google’s new startup program focuses on bringing AI to public infrastructure

June 5, 2024

Google’s newest startup program, announced on Wednesday, aims to bring AI technology to the public sector. The newly launched “Google for Startups AI Academy: American Infrastructure” will offer participants hands-on training from AI experts and other support for companies solving problems in areas like agriculture, energy, education, public safety, healthcare, telecommunications, transportation, urban development, and […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The Download: more energy-efficient AI, and the problem with QWERTY keyboards

June 5, 2024
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. How a simple circuit could offer an alternative to energy-intensive GPUs On a table in his lab at the University of Pennsylvania, physicist Sam Dillavou has connected an array of breadboards via a…

How QWERTY keyboards show the English dominance of tech

June 5, 2024
This story first appeared in China Report, MIT Technology Review’s newsletter about technology in China. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Tuesday. Have you ever thought about the miraculous fact that despite the myriad differences between languages, virtually everyone uses the same QWERTY keyboards? Many languages have more or fewer than 26 letters in…

How a simple circuit could offer an alternative to energy-intensive GPUs

June 5, 2024
On a table in his lab at the University of Pennsylvania, physicist Sam Dillavou has connected an array of breadboards via a web of brightly colored wires. The setup looks like a DIY home electronics project—and not a particularly elegant one. But this unassuming assembly, which contains 32 variable resistors, can learn to sort data…

The Download: AI for good, and China’s shrinking internet

June 4, 2024
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 I learned from the UN’s “AI for Good” summit —Melissa Heikkilä Last week, Geneva played host to the UN’s AI for Good Summit. The summit’s big focus was how AI can be…