February 6, 2025

Superlogic raises $13.7M at a $200M valuation to help consumers use reward points toward cool ‘experiences’

Superlogic, a startup that helps give consumers a way to apply rewards points toward experiences, has raised $13.7 million at a $200 million valuation, the company tells TechCrunch exclusively. Lin Dai, CEO and co-founder of Miami-based Superlogic, said his company’s technology is designed to “enhance the value of rewards points” by giving consumers a broader […]

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Technology

Your future air conditioner might act like a battery

August 6, 2024
As temperatures climb on hot days, many of us are quick to crank up our fans or air conditioners. These cooling systems can be a major stress on electrical grids, which has inspired some inventors to create versions that can store energy as well as use it.  Cooling represents 20% of global electricity demand in…

Google is finally taking action to curb non-consensual deepfakes

August 6, 2024
This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. It’s the Taylor Swifts of the world that are going to save us. In January, nude deepfakes of Taylor Swift went viral on X, which caused public outrage. Nonconsensual explicit deepfakes are one…

A playbook for crafting AI strategy

August 5, 2024
Giddy predictions about AI, from its contributions to economic growth to the onset of mass automation, are now as frequent as the release of powerful new generative AI models. The consultancy PwC, for example, predicts that AI could boost global gross domestic product (GDP) 14% by 2030, generating US $15.7 trillion. Forty percent of our…

The Download: the risks of addictive AI, and hydrogen bikes’ limitations

August 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. We need to prepare for ‘addictive intelligence’ —By Robert Mahari, a joint JD-PhD candidate at the MIT Media Lab and Harvard Law School whose work focuses on computational law, and Pat Pataranutaporn, a…

We need to prepare for ‘addictive intelligence’

August 5, 2024
AI concerns overemphasize harms arising from subversion rather than seduction. Worries about AI often imagine doomsday scenarios where systems escape human control or even understanding. Short of those nightmares, there are nearer-term harms we should take seriously: that AI could jeopardize public discourse through misinformation; cement biases in loan decisions, judging or hiring; or disrupt…

Hydrogen bikes are struggling to gain traction in China

August 5, 2024
If you are in China and looking to ride a shared bike in the city, you might find something on the bike that looks a little different: a water-bottle-size hydrogen tank. At least a dozen cities in China now have some kind of hydrogen-powered shared bikes for their residents. They offer an easier ride than…

The Download: making tough decisions with AI, and the significance of toys

August 2, 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. A personalized AI tool might help some reach end-of-life decisions—but it won’t suit everyone —Jessica Hamzelou This week, I’ve been working on a piece about an AI-based tool that could help guide end-of-life…

A personalized AI tool might help some reach end-of-life decisions—but it won’t suit everyone

August 2, 2024
This article first appeared in The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first, sign up here. This week, I’ve been working on a piece about an AI-based tool that could help guide end-of-life care. We’re talking about the kinds of life-and-death decisions that come…

The Download: AI’s end of life decisions, and green investing

August 1, 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. End of life decisions are difficult and distressing. Could AI help? End-of-life decisions can be extremely upsetting for surrogates—the people who have to make those calls on behalf of another person. Friends or…

End of life decisions are difficult and distressing. Could AI help?

August 1, 2024
A few months ago, a woman in her mid-50s, let’s call her Sophie, experienced a hemorrhagic stroke. Her brain started to bleed. She underwent brain surgery, but her heart stopped beating. Sophie’s ordeal left her with significant brain damage. She was unresponsive; she couldn’t squeeze her fingers or open her eyes when asked, and she…