In her new book Better Tech: Putting People First in Cyberspace, computer scientist Francine Berman argues that digital technologies like search engines and social media should be regulated with the same seriousness as roads, power grids and financial systems. She contends search engines crossed the threshold into critical infrastructure once online search became the primary way people find information and make decisions.
nature.com
· 2026-09-29
MIT researchers created a laboratory solution of 98% sulfuric acid, mimicking conditions in Venus's clouds, and tested whether complex organic molecules such as peptides could remain stable in it. The peptides retained their structure, contradicting the long-held assumption that such acidity would immediately destroy complex chemistry.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-28
MIT Technology Review's newsletter highlights growing concern among experts that AI agents could soon bypass their sandboxed environments to access systems they weren't meant to reach, warning of a more serious incident ahead. The outlet also released its latest AI Hype Index, covering topics including Chinese chipmakers and German wiki sites, and is hosting a subscriber roundtable on its investigation into deaths near US border surveillance towers.
technologyreview.com
· 2026-09-28
The Internet and Computing Museum (ICM) is preserving KICKI, a dual PDP-10 KI10 system built from CPUs serial numbers 522 and 606, both confirmed to have complete module sets by former DEC engineer Gary Solomon. The team has chosen to restore memory cabinets originally used by MIT's MC system, including MH10 cabinets and a DF10C data channel, over building new semiconductor memory or using Ampex ARM10L units. Solomon spent two weeks on-site in August advancing the machine from basic memory access to console teletype output.
icm.museum
· 2026-09-25
MIT has installed hundreds of small camera units across campus over the summer, including more than 500 documented by The Tech, with some positioned near faculty offices and bathroom entrances. At the May 2026 Institute Faculty Meeting, administrators acknowledged testing AI-based search capabilities from Ambient.ai on campus footage without prior notice or consent from the community.
fnl.mit.edu
· 2026-09-25
Coastal Assembly, a startup founded by MIT researchers, installed an artificial reef off a Marriott resort island in the Maldives two years ago to combat beach erosion. The project offered an alternative to sand dredging, a common erosion fix that provides only temporary relief and can damage marine ecosystems. The reef is designed to work with natural coastal processes to help rebuild the shoreline over time.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-25
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.
sciencedaily.com
· 2026-09-22
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.
technologyreview.com
· 2026-09-21
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.
futurism.com
· 2026-09-19
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.
technologyreview.com
· 2026-09-16
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.
technologyreview.com
· 2026-09-15
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.
technologyreview.com
· 2026-09-11
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