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.
The outspoken longevity scientist David Sinclair has predicted that, one day, you’ll go to the doctor and get a prescription that will make you 10 years younger. MIT Technology Review has learned of his latest step toward this: human tests of a “reprogramming” drug.
Sinclair, a biologist at Harvard Medical School, plans to launch the tests in a $101 million competition organized by the XPrize Foundation. The winners will “restore” a person to an earlier apparent age, as measured by improvements in immune, cognitive, and muscle function.
The grand prize goes to any team able to show a 10-year (or greater) relative improvement after one year of treatment.
Sinclair says he plans to give an oral drug mixture to volunteers, in a bid to seek “evidence for age restoration in humans.” Find out how he hopes to reverse ageing through chemical reprogramming.
At SXSW London last week, I gave a talk called “Five things you need to know about AI,” in which I shared what I think are the biggest themes in AI right now.
I pulled a few things from our first AI10 list, an annual guide to the top trends in this buzzy world, but I also veered off on several tangents. In my half-hour slot, I tried to cover the key talking points that I think help to make sense of what’s going on in tech—and thus the economy—today.
Five key thoughts emerged: AI is everywhere all at once, it’s getting scary, a backlash is growing, it’s becoming a big deal for science—and I didn’t even need to show up at the talk. Read the full story for all the details.
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 OpenAI has confidentially filed for a US IPOThe listing could come as early as September. (Reuters $)+ OpenAI is targeting a valuation of up to $1 trillion. (Financial Times $)+ The IPO will test investor appetite for AI companies. (WSJ $)+ The move follows IPO filings from Anthropic and SpaceX. (CNN)
2 The US claims BYD, Baidu, Alibaba, and others are aiding China's militaryThe Pentagon added them to a list of military-linked companies. (WSJ $)+ The designations limit their operations in the US. (BBC)+ The new additions also include humanoid firm Unitree. (TechCrunch)+ The Pentagon is adapting to China’s tech rise. (MIT Technology Review)
3 Apple’s long-awaited AI overhaul of Siri is finally here“Siri AI” promises to be a more conversational assistant. (NYT $)+ It includes a standalone app and screen-reading features. (Reuters $)+ And arrives after two years of repeated delays. (Axios)
4 The White House and Congress are working to limit state AI lawsA new deal would curb state rules for federal legislation. (Axios)+ AI regulation has divided US politicians. (MIT Technology Review)
5 Meta is launching a “workforce academy” for building data centersThe five-week program is free of charge and guarantees a job. (WSJ $)+ It arrives shortly after Meta laid off 8,000 employees. (NPR)6 Taiwan is mulling curbs on AI chip exports to ChinaThe new controls would further align with US restrictions. (Bloomberg $)+ Future AI chips could be built on glass. (MIT Technology Review)
7 Meta has quietly removed face-recognition code from its smart glasses appThe code identified by investigators has disappeared. (Wired $)
8 Humanoid robots are edging towards the battlefieldAmerican and Chinese militaries are pursuing the tech. (BBC)
9 The world’s first wind-powered underwater data center has launchedIt uses less power and water than land-based equivalents. (Guardian)
10 You could get some benefits of sleep without having to nod offIf new brain stimulation works as well on humans as on mice, that is. (New Scientist $)
—Clara Shih, a former top AI executive at Salesforce and Meta, tells the New York Times that AI training can’t keep up with the field’s advances.
An embryo forms when sperm meets egg. But what if we could start with other cells—if a blood sample or skin biopsy could be transformed into “artificial” sperm and eggs? What if those were all you needed to make a baby?
That’s the promise of a radical approach to reproduction. Scientists have already created artificial eggs and sperm from mouse cells and used them to create mouse pups. Artificial human sex cells are next.
The advances could herald the end of infertility, but they raise major scientific and ethical challenges.
Read the full story on the new recipes for sperm and eggs.
A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line.)
+ These chefs turn Pop-Tarts into the desserts that inspired them.+ A choir has beautifully transformed System of a Down’s “Chop Suey!”+ Scientists finally traced crabs’ sideways walk in this fascinating study of evolution.+ This nostalgic essay on the family computer is a touching throwback to early internet life.
Top image credit: Stephanie Arnett/MIT Technology Review | Getty Images
Please send Pop-Tarts to hi@technologyreview.com.
You can follow me on LinkedIn. Thanks for reading!
Plus: China has blocked Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus.
Plus: An unauthorized group has reportedly accessed Anthropic’s Mythos.
Plus: DeepSeek has unveiled its long-awaited new AI model.
Plus: NASA unveiled plans for three uncrewed missions to the Moon this year.
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