GoKawiil
Tech News
MIT researchers built an AI-based two-part control system for their insect-scale flying robot, boosting its top speed by roughly 450 percent and acceleration by about 250 percent over prior versions. The upgraded robot managed ten consecutive body flips in 11 seconds while resisting wind gusts, matching flight traits seen in real insects.
Graciela Gómez Hernández, 30, crossed from Tijuana into Southern California on September 14, 2025, hoping to work and support her three children and parents in Mexico. She sent voice messages to family as she hiked through the rugged Otay Mountain Wilderness, but stopped responding by mid-afternoon, saying she could not continue. Her remains were not recovered until two weeks later, despite the area being heavily monitored by border surveillance cameras and technology.
MIT researchers released a report on education finding that many students increasingly rely on AI chatbots to complete coursework, sometimes offloading thinking entirely rather than just seeking assistance. The study links this overreliance to declining critical thinking, weaker memory, reduced confidence, and diminished mastery of course material, with some students unable to engage in class discussions.
MIT Technology Review released an on-demand Roundtable featuring editors Niall Firth, Will Douglas Heaven and Grace Huckins debating how seriously to take Silicon Valley's warnings about AI causing human extinction. Separately, the outlet published a narrated podcast episode examining Generation Lab, a startup claiming a two-drug combination can rejuvenate blood and reverse aging effects without exchanging bodily fluids, though it refuses to disclose the drugs involved.
OpenAI and Anthropic executives have begun publicly urging caution about AI's risks even as their companies pursue trillion-dollar valuations, prompting MIT Technology Review to examine what a real slowdown would look like and whether the industry's own calls for restraint can be trusted. The publication is also hosting a subscriber roundtable discussing the credibility of AI extinction fears, once considered fringe but now voiced by researchers within top labs.
MIT Technology Review is hosting a live roundtable discussion examining claims from AI lab employees that advanced AI systems could pose an existential threat to humanity. The session, led by executive editor Niall Firth alongside senior AI editor Will Douglas Heaven and AI reporter Grace Huckins, will scrutinize the origins and credibility of these fears. It airs Tuesday, September 15 at 16:00 BST.
A Big Story investigation from MIT Technology Review, done with Type Investigations, examines how pastor Eli Regalado and his wife launched INDXcoin after claiming divine instruction, raising over $3 million from more than 500 people before the project collapsed within a year with investors losing everything. Separately, the nonprofit Reflective has published a detailed plan outlining the experiments and infrastructure needed to better understand solar geoengineering before any real-world deployment decisions are made.
MIT Technology Review has released its annual list of 35 young innovators, chosen from 550 nominations with help from 44 expert judges. Honorees span biotechnology, AI, computing and robotics, and climate and energy, each showing measurable progress toward their goals. A separate feature in the same issue explores how spiderwebs, rich in trapped environmental DNA, are becoming a valuable tool for tracking biodiversity.
A developer released VODForge, a free and open-source desktop application that lets users download YouTube videos and playlists as MP4 files or MP3 audio. The app runs locally, offering controls for quality, download queues, metadata, and cover art without requiring an online converter or command-line tools. It is MIT licensed, requires no account, and ships signed and notarized for macOS with Authenticode signing on Windows.
A veteran software publisher with 28 years of experience has moved from permissive licenses like LGPLv2 and MIT to the EUPL-1.2, a strong copyleft license issued by the European Union. The change closes what the developer calls the 'SaaS loophole,' requiring companies to share modifications even when software is only used as a service rather than distributed.
An MIT Technology Review Insights webcast produced with NiCE examines how companies are moving AI agents from small pilots to enterprise-wide use. Chandra argues that agents need consistent access to data, context and back-end systems, and warns that scaling without integration can create new silos across teams.
Surveys show AI use among students is widespread: a 2026 UK poll found 94% of undergraduates use generative AI for coursework, with 12% directly pasting AI text into assignments, while a US study of over 95,000 students estimated 9% used AI despite knowing it violated rules. Professors report signs of misuse, including fabricated references and AI-typical writing patterns, prompting many institutions to redesign assessments rather than simply ban the tools.