The Download: toxic chemicals, and Russia’s cyberwar tacticsRhiannon Williams
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’re consuming toxic chemicals. Now we need to figure out how they’re affecting us. What are chemical pollutants doing to our bodies? It’s a timely question given that last week, people in Philadelphia cleared grocery shelves of bottled water after a toxic leak from a chemical plant spilled into a tributary of the Delaware River, a source of drinking water for 14 million people. And it was only last month that a train carrying a suite of other […]
Multi-die systems define the future of semiconductorsMIT Technology Review Insights
To say that semiconductor technology is part of the fabric of modern society is not an overstatement—it underpins everything from our cars to our phones to our home appliances. In 2021, the semiconductor industry shipped a record 1.15 trillion chips, and sales topped half a trillion dollars worldwide, while thousands of new chip designs entered the market. A new semiconductor chip architecture, termed “multi-die system” or “chiplet-based design,” will be instrumental in meeting this decade’s burgeoning demand for processing power. Because this new approach will pose technical challenges throughout the semiconductor ecosystem—remaking how products are imagined, designed, and fabricated—opportunities for […]
We’re inhaling, eating, and drinking toxic chemicals. Now we need to figure out how they’re affecting us.Jessica Hamzelou
This article is from The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, sign up here. What are chemical pollutants doing to our bodies? It’s a question that’s been on my mind this week, for a few reasons. Last week, people in Philadelphia cleared grocery shelves of bottled water after a toxic leak from a chemical plant spilled into a tributary of the Delaware River, a source of drinking water for 14 million people. And it was only last month that a train carrying a suite of other hazardous materials derailed in East […]
The Download: sleeping in VR, and promising clean energy projectsRhiannon Williams
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. Inside the cozy but creepy world of VR sleep rooms People are gathering in virtual spaces to relax, and even sleep, with their headsets on. VR sleep rooms are becoming popular among people who suffer from insomnia or loneliness, offering cozy enclaves where strangers can safely find relaxation and company—most of the time. Each VR sleep room is created to induce calm. Some imitate beaches and campsites with bonfires, while others re-create hotel rooms or cabins. Soundtracks vary […]
Inside the conference where researchers are solving the clean-energy puzzleCasey Crownhart
This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here. I spent last week in Washington, DC, and when I wasn’t fawning over the cherry blossoms, I was soaking up all the newest and wildest ideas in energy. The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E) funds high-risk, high-reward energy research projects, and each year the agency hosts a summit where funding recipients and other researchers and companies in energy can gather to talk about what’s new in the field. As I listened to presentations, met with researchers, […]
Inside the cozy but creepy world of VR sleep roomsTanya Basu
Lo-fi chill music was playing in the distance. Shooting stars sliced through the sparkling galaxy overhead. I was defying physics, hovering in space, on my back. Relaxed, I yawned and stretched, my fist punching a pillow that I had forgotten about. I was, of course, not in space. Physically, I was on a chaise in my home. Virtually, I was in one of many “sleep rooms” on the virtual-reality platform VRChat—virtual spaces where people can relax, and even sleep, with their headsets on. VR sleep rooms are becoming popular among people who suffer from insomnia or loneliness, offering cozy enclaves […]
Evolutionary organizations reimagine the futureMIT Technology Review Insights
As the emergence of radically disruptive technologies over the last decades has created, destroyed, or fundamentally changed many business models, most organizations have undergone some kind of digital transformation in response. Many have been reluctant, however, to acknowledge the degree to which they need to disrupt their standard way of working to succeed in this continuously changing business environment. These change initiatives are commonly called “digital transformation,” though, as this report outlines, successful transformation is not a one-time change or single new technology adoption. Rather, it requires the organization to acquire the ability to continuously adapt to change. Although many […]
The Download: China’s retro AI photos, and experts’ AI fearsRhiannon Williams
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. Chinese creators use Midjourney’s AI to generate retro urban “photography” Across social media, a number of creators are generating nostalgic photographs of China with the help of AI. Even though these images get some details wrong, they are realistic enough to trick and impress many of their followers. The pictures look sophisticated in terms of definition, sharpness, saturation, and color tone. Their realism is partly down to a recent major update of image-making artificial-intelligence program Midjourney that was […]
Chinese creators use Midjourney’s AI to generate retro urban “photography”Zeyi Yang
China Report is MIT Technology Review’s newsletter about technology developments in China. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Tuesday. Welcome back to China Report! If you saw these images pop up on your timeline, would you be able to tell if they were real photographs of the southwestern city of Chongqing in the 1990s? Zhang Haijun via Midjourney ZHANG HAIJUN VIA MIDJOURNEY In fact, none of them are real. Zhang Haijun, a street photographer in Chongqing, generated these images with Midjourney, an image-making artificial-intelligence program. A number of artists and creators are generating nostalgic photographs of China with the […]
The emergent industrial metaverseMIT Technology Review Insights
The industrial metaverse—a metaverse sector that mirrors and simulates real machines, factories, cities, transportation networks, and other highly complex systems—will offer to its participants fully immersive, real-time, interactive, persistent, and synchronous representations and simulations of the real world. Existing and developing technologies, including digital twins, artificial intelligence and machine learning, extended reality, blockchain, and cloud and edge computing, will be the building blocks of the industrial metaverse. These will converge to create a powerful interface between the real and digital worlds that is greater than the sum of its individual parts. Annika Hauptvogel, head of technology and innovation management at […]