Technology

The Download: how doctors fight conspiracy theories, and your AI footprint

November 6, 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. How conspiracy theories infiltrated the doctor’s office As anyone who has googled their symptoms and convinced themselves that they’ve got a brain tumor will attest, the internet makes it very easy to self-(mis)diagnose…

Stop worrying about your AI footprint. Look at the big picture instead.

November 6, 2025
Picture it: I’m minding my business at a party, parked by the snack table (of course). A friend of a friend wanders up, and we strike up a conversation. It quickly turns to work, and upon learning that I’m a climate technology reporter, my new acquaintance says something like: “Should I be using AI? I’ve…

A new ion-based quantum computer makes error correction simpler

November 5, 2025
The US- and UK-based company Quantinuum today unveiled Helios, its third-generation quantum computer, which includes expanded computing power and error correction capability.  Like all other existing quantum computers, Helios is not powerful enough to execute the industry’s dream money-making algorithms, such as those that would be useful for materials discovery or financial modeling. But Quantinuum’s…

The Download: the solar geoengineering race, and future gazing with the The Simpsons

November 5, 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. Why the for-profit race into solar geoengineering is bad for science and public trust —David Keith is the professor of geophysical sciences at the University of Chicago and Daniele Visioni is an assistant…

From vibe coding to context engineering: 2025 in software development

November 5, 2025
This year, we’ve seen a real-time experiment playing out across the technology industry, one in which AI’s software engineering capabilities have been put to the test against human technologists. And although 2025 may have started with AI looking strong, the transition from vibe coding to what’s being termed context engineering shows that while the work…

Why the for-profit race into solar geoengineering is bad for science and public trust

November 4, 2025
Last week, an American-Israeli company that claims it’s developed proprietary technology to cool the planet announced it had raised $60 million, by far the largest known venture capital round to date for a solar geoengineering startup. The company, Stardust, says the funding will enable it to develop a system that could be deployed by the…

The Download: the AGI myth, and US/China AI competition

November 4, 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. How AGI became the most consequential conspiracy theory of our time —Will Douglas Heaven, senior AI editor  Are you feeling it? I hear it’s close: two years, five years—maybe next year! And I…

The State of AI: Is China about to win the race? 

November 3, 2025
The State of AI is a collaboration between the Financial Times & MIT Technology Review examining the ways in which AI is reshaping global power. Every Monday for the next six weeks, writers from both publications will debate one aspect of the generative AI revolution reshaping global power. In this conversation, the FT’s tech columnist…