Thursday, October 10, 2024

Producing Climate-Friendly Food

Planet-warming emissions aren’t only spewed from power plants and vehicles: they’re also lurking on your breakfast plate. Our food systems account for a major chunk of global greenhouse-gas emissions, but some businesses are attempting to develop solutions that could help address the climate impacts of agriculture. Hear from senior editor James Temple and senior reporter Casey Crownhart as they discuss the future of food and the climate with special guests Karsten Temme, Chief Innovation Officer and Co-founder of Pivot Bio, and Matt Callahan, Co-founder and Counsel of Rumin8.

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September 25, 2024

Putting AI’s Climate Impact Into Perspective

The rise of AI comes with a growing carbon footprint and an increased demand for electricity. Analysts project that AI could drive up data centers’ energy consumption by 160% this decade. So how worried should we be about AI’s electricity demands and carbon emissions? How can this technology be used responsibly in the face of the climate crisis? Hear from editor-at-large David Rotman, senior AI reporter Melissa Heikkilä, and senior editor for energy James Temple for a conversation exploring the energy trade-offs involved in AI.

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July 25, 2024

CRISPR Babies: Six years later

Gene editing can correct or improve the DNA of human embryos, essentially opening the door to "technological evolution" of our species. But in 2018, a premature attempt to use gene editing led to a prison term for He Jiankui, the researcher involved. Editor in chief Mat Honan and senior editor for biomedicine Antonio Regalado have a conversation with He Jiankui, biophysicist and creator of the first gene-edited humans, to revisit this controversial technology and the future of editing in IVF clinics.

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June 24, 2024

The Future of AI Games

Generative AI is coming for games and redefining what it means to play. AI-powered NPCs that don’t need a script could make games—and other worlds—deeply immersive. This technology could bring an unprecedented expansiveness to video and computer games, opening up possibilities we can only begin to imagine.

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May 16, 2024

Why Thermal Batteries Are So Hot Right Now

Thermal batteries could be a key part of cleaning up heavy industry. Learn what thermal batteries are, how they could help cut emissions, and what we can expect next from this emerging technology—also voted the 11th breakthrough technology of 2024 by our readers.

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April 30, 2024

Inside the Next Era of AI and Hardware

Hear first-hand from our AI reporter, James O'Donnell, as he walks our news editor Charlotte Jee through the latest goings-on in his beat, from rapid advances in robotics to autonomous military drones, wearable devices, and tools for AI-powered surgeries.

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March 21, 2024

How China Got Ahead on EVs

In the race to produce and sell more electric vehicles, China has emerged as the unexpected winner. If you visit Shanghai or Shenzhen today, it feels like half of the cars running on the streets are electric. The burgeoning domestic demand also transformed Chinese auto companies into aggressive challengers in the global auto market. What did China’s government and companies do to achieve this progress? How will that impact auto companies and consumers in the West?

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February 15, 2024

Building a Cleaner Future: Better Batteries and Their Materials

Electric vehicles are taking to the roads like never before, and a grid with a growing share of renewables like wind and solar means grid storage is becoming ever more essential. That all adds up to batteries being a central technology required for the energy transition. And as the world’s demand for batteries skyrockets, so does the pressure to extract and process much more of their ingredients. Which battery technologies are most likely to break through? How will we build them all? And how can we begin to resolve the community conflicts that mining proposals often trigger?

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January 16, 2024

An inside look at the 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2024

Every year for the past 20+ years, MIT Technology Review has selected a list of the breakthrough technologies that will have the greatest impact on how we live and work in the future. This event will include a full walk-through of the items on the list, a deep dive into what you need to know about several items, and an in-depth look at how the list was made.

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November 28, 2023

Future of Families: How reproductive technology can reverse population decline

Birth rates have been plummeting in wealthy countries, well below the “replacement” rate. Even in China, a dramatic downturn in the number of babies has officials scrambling, as its population growth turns negative. What’s behind the baby bust and can new reproductive technology reverse the trend? Startup companies are working on ways to reduce the cost of IVF, allow same-sex couples to reproduce, and extend parenthood far later into life. With special guest speaker Martín Varsavsky, entrepreneur and founder of Prelude Fertility, the largest chain of fertility clinics in the US.

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October 11, 2023

How does AI work?

Everyone’s talking about large language models and image generators built on artificial intelligence. Many people have tested out tools like ChatGPT or DALL-E 2 and been amazed at the results, or disturbed by their tendency to hallucinate. But how do the algorithms underpinning these new generative tools actually work? And what’s the best way to evaluate their capabilities?

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September 12, 2023

How should we regulate AI?

There’s little doubt that artificial intelligence will be subject to more regulation in the years ahead. Major tech companies have requested it, and multiple countries and regions are now moving forward with plans to pass new rules governing the technology’s development or use. Broadly speaking, these proposed policies aim to redirect AI toward serving societal goals or address potential biases that put people at risk. Learn more about the current state of AI regulation and what to expect in the months ahead.

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August 10, 2023

The AI economy

There’s no doubt that generative AI will impact the economy—but how, exactly, remains an open question. Despite fears that these AI tools will upend workers and exacerbate wealth inequality, early evidence suggests the technology could actually help level the playing field for some. But only if we deploy it in the right ways.  Meanwhile, the demand for chips that underpin modern AI including generative tools is expected to grow significantly. And the US is spending billions to reshore the industry. Global competition for these chips is fierce, with both countries and companies now making unprecedented investments in the sector.

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