Technology

The Download: woolly mice, and data centers in space

March 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. De-extinction scientists say these gene-edited ‘woolly mice’ are a step towards woolly mammoths They’re small, fluffy and kind of cute, but these mice represent a milestone in de-extinction efforts, according to their creators.…

Inside the Wild West of AI companionship

March 4, 2025
This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. Last week, I made a troubling discovery about an AI companion site called Botify AI: It was hosting sexually charged conversations with underage celebrity bots. These bots took on characters meant to…

At RightsCon in Taipei, activists reckon with a US retreat from promoting digital rights 

March 4, 2025
Last week, I joined over 3,200 digital rights activists, tech policymakers, and researchers and a smattering of tech company representatives in Taipei at RightsCon, the world’s largest digital rights conference.  Human rights conferences can be sobering, to say the least. They highlight the David vs. Goliath situation of small civil society organizations fighting to center…

Trump Administration cuts may threaten AI research efforts

March 4, 2025

The Trump Administration has fired a number of National Science Foundation employees who had been handpicked for their expertise in AI, threatening the agency’s ability to sustain key AI research, Bloomberg reported. One of the affected departments inside NSF, called the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships, was instrumental in funneling government grants focused on […]

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Should we be moving data centers to space?

March 3, 2025
Last week, the Florida-based company Lonestar Data Holdings launched a shoebox-size device carrying data from internet pioneer Vint Cerf and the government of Florida, among others, on board Intuitive Machines’ Athena lander. When its device lands on the moon later this week, the company will be the first to explicitly test out a question that…

MWC hears two starkly divided views of AI’s impact

March 3, 2025

Two sharply different visions of AI were platformed on stage at the Mobile World Congress trade show on Monday. The true believer’s case for the technology’s potential — to merge with and transform human life for the better — was offered up by futurist and singularity priest Ray Kurzweil, who also has a research role […]

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Architecting tomorrow’s network

March 3, 2025
Technological advances continue to move at breakneck speeds. While companies struggle through their digital transformation journeys, even more new technologies emerge, with promises of opportunity, cost savings—and added complexity. Many companies have yet to fully adopt AI and ML technologies, let alone figure out how newer technologies like generative AI might fit into their programs.…

Conan O’Brien comments on AI during his opening monologue at the Oscars

March 3, 2025

When hosting the 2025 Oscars last night, comedian and late-night TV host Conan O’Brien addressed the use of AI in his opening monologue, reflecting the growing conversation about the technology’s influence in Hollywood. “We did not use AI to make this show,” O’Brien said. His remarks were clearly a reference to the use of generative AI […]

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The Download: DeepSeek for fortune telling, and the second private moon landing

March 3, 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 DeepSeek became a fortune teller for China’s youth As DeepSeek has emerged as a homegrown challenger to OpenAI, young people across the country have started using AI to revive fortune-telling practices that…