Technology

Everything you need to know about estimating AI’s energy and emissions burden

May 20, 2025
When we set out to write a story on the best available estimates for AI’s energy and emissions burden, we knew there would be caveats and uncertainties to these numbers. But, we quickly discovered, the caveats are the story too.  This story is a part of MIT Technology Review’s series “Power Hungry: AI and our…

AI can do a better job of persuading people than we do

May 19, 2025
Millions of people argue with each other online every day, but remarkably few of them change someone’s mind. New research suggests that large language models (LLMs) might do a better job. The finding suggests that AI could become a powerful tool for persuading people, for better or worse.   A multi-university team of researchers found that…

The real impact of AI on your organization

May 19, 2025
AI technologies are reshaping work, but not all workflows or roles will be equally transformed. Discover how AI is changing the way we work, given the technical capabilities and limitations of today’s systems. Through real-world use cases and strategic insights, this session equips business leaders with the knowledge to prioritize investments and identify the technologies…

AI strategies from the front lines

May 19, 2025
AI’s potential to transform business is undeniable, but realizing tangible value remains a challenge. This session explores where AI is driving the greatest returns today, how to set and manage realistic expectations, and approaches to overcome cultural and operational inertia. Attendees will gain practical guidance and actionable insights to inform their AI strategies and guide…

The Download: chaos at OpenAI, and the spa heated by bitcoin mining

May 19, 2025
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. Inside the story that enraged OpenAI —Niall Firth, executive editor, MIT Technology Review In 2019, Karen Hao, a senior reporter with MIT Technology Review, pitched me a story about a then little-known company,…

Can crowdsourced fact-checking curb misinformation on social media?

May 19, 2025
In a 2019 speech at Georgetown University, Mark Zuckerberg famously declared that he didn’t want Facebook to be an “arbiter of truth.” And yet, in the years since, his company, Meta, has used several methods to moderate content and identify misleading posts across its social media apps, which include Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. These methods…

Inside the story that enraged OpenAI

May 19, 2025
In 2019, Karen Hao, a senior reporter with MIT Technology Review, pitched me on writing a story about a then little-known company, OpenAI. It was her biggest assignment to date. Hao’s feat of reporting took a series of twists and turns over the coming months, eventually revealing how OpenAI’s ambition had taken it far afield…

Access to experimental medical treatments is expanding across the US

May 16, 2025
A couple of weeks ago I was in Washington, DC, for a gathering of scientists, policymakers, and longevity enthusiasts. They had come together to discuss ways to speed along the development of drugs and other treatments that might extend the human lifespan. One approach that came up was to simply make experimental drugs more easily…