MIT - The Download

How AI plotted an interstellar journey to Alpha Centauri

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

A nonprofit organization called the Fermi Explorer Mission announced yesterday that it intends to launch a spacecraft to our nearest star system by the end of 2029. It’s a hugely ambitious mission—if all goes well, the spacecraft could take up to 80,000 years to arrive at Alpha Centauri, which is 4.4 light-years away. To get there, it will follow a novel trajectory discovered by an AI system developed by PSI, a physics research lab. Explore how AI found a new route to Alpha Centauri—and what the mission could tell us about alien life., —Michelle Kim

MIT Technology Review Narrated: the role of the astronaut is in flux

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

We go to space for geopolitical prestige, manifest destiny, spiritual fulfillment, scientific curiosity, and, increasingly, business opportunities. In the wake of Artemis II, a slew of new books suggest that these justifications are subsumed by one unifying fact: humans have itchy feet, and we are simply wired to roam. In The Ultraview Effect, space anthropologist Deana L. Weibel frames human space exploration as part of our need to embark on pilgrimages. In A Heart for Space, civilian astronaut Eiman Jahangir recounts one such voyage with Blue Origin. And in Dinner with an Astronaut, former NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao argues that people simply “need to know what’s on the other side.” “We go into space because we want to explore,” Weibel says. “We want to see what it’s like to walk on another world.” But as our presence in space expands, we are bound to bring along the same human foibles that have stymied us on Earth. This is our latest article to become an MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we publish each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it’s released.

We can still have nice things

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line.) + Watch Korea’s last neon master craft the dazzling displays of retrofuturistic light. + Artist Sara Irie has crafted a collection of intricate sculptures from eraser shavings. + Lifts in Film celebrates the memorable movie moments that have taken place in elevators. + In a stupendous (and arguably stupid) stunt, a BMX rider has jumped between two moving boats.

The Hugging Face hack could indicate cultural issues at OpenAI

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

OpenAI has released a postmortem technical report on last month’s Hugging Face hack. But it’s missing a critical dimension: the role company culture may have played. That’s all the more concerning because the report’s few references to human error suggest OpenAI’s culture played a big role. Its employees noticed models communicating with one another during training and evaluation, yet allowed them to continue. At multiple points, they either failed to raise the alarm or were not heard when they did. “All these different failures are all pointing in the same direction, which is that the safety culture at OpenAI doesn’t exist or is anemically weak,” says Zvi Mowshowitz, a popular AI safety writer. Find out what the Hugging Face hack could show about OpenAI’s culture., —Grace Huckins, This story is from The Algorithm, our weekly AI newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Monday.

We can still have nice things

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line.) + A previously blind cockatoo just saw for the first time in 10 years. + This transparent phone case grows moss and plants inside a vertical terrarium. + Cameron's World is a charming web-collage of archived GeoCities pages from the early internet. + From Marie Curie to migrating storks, explore the striking designs shortlisted for Europe’s next generation of euro banknotes.