February 6, 2025

The Download: AI companion dangers, and supersonic planes

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. An AI chatbot told a user how to kill himself—but the company doesn’t want to “censor” it For the past five months, Al Nowatzki has been talking to an AI girlfriend, “Erin,” on…

Technology

What’s next for the world’s fastest supercomputers

September 21, 2023
MIT Technology Review’s What’s Next series looks across industries, trends, and technologies to give you a first look at the future. You can read the rest of our series here. It can be difficult to wrap your brain around the number-crunching capability of the world’s fastest supercomputer. But computer scientist Jack Dongarra, of the University…

New approaches to the tech talent shortage

September 21, 2023
We live in a tech-enabled world, but for organizations to advance world-changing innovations, they need skilled people who can build, install, and maintain the systems that underlie them. Finding that talent is one of the biggest ongoing problems — and opportunities — in tech. The IT staffing shortages brought on by covid-19 and the Great…

Make Machine Learning Work for You

September 20, 2023
The enthusiasm for AI and its applications is reaching a nadir, according to an August 2023 Gartner Hype Cycle press release, where generative AI is nearly perched atop the category of technologies at their “Peak of Inflated Expectations,” ready to plunge into the “Trough of Disillusionment.” A quick look at social media agrees, with some…

Amazon unveils a pricey but faster $599.00 eero Max 7

September 20, 2023
Alongside updates for smart home products from its Ring and Blink brands, Amazon today also introduced a new version of its eero mesh Wi-Fi system, the eero Max 7. The new device includes the latest Wi-Fi 7 technology, its patented “TrueMesh” networking technology, and 10 Gigabit Ethernet — the latter which Amazon says will allow […]

Amazon introduces ‘Eye Gaze on Alexa’ so you can use the Fire Max 11 tablet with your eyes

September 20, 2023
During Amazon’s Devices event, the company introduced a new Alexa feature that aims to support users with mobility or speech disabilities. This marks Alexa’s first time using eye-driven communication technology. Called “Eye Gaze,” the eye-tracking feature detects a user’s presence and follows what they’re looking at in real-time. Users will be able to glance at […]

Amazon’s new Echo Show 8 arrives next month for $149

September 20, 2023
Amazon kicked off today’s Fall Devices Event with an update to its Echo Show 8. The small smart screen features smart home hub functionality and improved audio quality. The latter arrives by way of “custom-built spatial audio processing technology.” “We’ve also added room adaption technology that senses the acoustics of the space and then fine-tunes […]

Moving data through the supply chain with unprecedented speed

September 20, 2023
Product information is a powerful commodity in today’s digital economy. Making it accessible can let consumers know if an item contains allergens, help retailers respond swiftly to product recalls, and enable suppliers to track real-time inventory levels. But data can become siloed and inaccessible if organizations fail to make it easy to connect with. This…

Roblox acquires voice moderation startup Speechly

September 20, 2023
Two years after announcing voice chat was coming to Roblox, the gaming company has acquired a voice tech startup, Speechly, offering voice chat moderation, real-time transcription, and and Voice API that lets companies add AI voice technology and voice interfaces to their products and experiences. The Helsinki, Finland-based startup Speechly was founded in 2016 with […]