MIT - The Download

How will AI understand the real world?

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Today’s AI systems can generate text, images, and code with impressive skill, but they still struggle with the complexities of the physical world. To bridge this gap, many researchers believe you need something called a world model. At a LinkedIn Live event today, MIT Technology Review will investigate how this technology could transform robotics and help unlock a new generation of intelligent machines. Join Will Douglas Heaven, our senior editor for AI, and Sam Sinha, founding AI researcher and head of world models at 1X Technologies, for the discussion. Register here to attend the free session at 9:30 PDT, 12:30 PM EDT, and 5:30 PM BST.

Inside the strange limbo facing millions of IVF embryos

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Millions of embryos created through IVF sit frozen in time, stored in cryopreservation tanks around the world. Many are left in a peculiar limbo, with no clear path forward. UK residents can discard them, make them available to other prospective parents, or donate them for research. People in the US can also opt for “adoption,” “placing” their embryos with families they get to choose. In Germany, people aren’t typically allowed to freeze embryos at all. And in Italy, unused embryos must remain frozen, ostensibly forever. While these embryos remain in suspended animation, patients, clinicians, embryologists, and legislators must grapple with the essential question of what to do with them. What do these embryos mean to us? Who should be responsible for them? Dive into the ethical and legal challenges surrounding frozen IVF embryos., —Jessica Hamzelou

We can still have nice things

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line.), + This website turns live LA Metro data into music. + British grammar is enlivening the American World Cup. + Comedy icon Mel Brooks recently turned 100. Here’s a look back at his legendary career. + Take a trip through modern music with this cinematic set from Thomas Bangalter, one-half of French house music duo Daft Punk.

How will AI understand the real world?

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

LLMs have transformed what AI can do with language, but helping machines understand and operate within physical spaces presents a different challenge. In response, researchers are developing a new form of artificial intelligence: world models. At a LinkedIn Live event tomorrow, MIT Technology Review will explore how this technology could shape the future of robotics and open one of AI’s next major frontiers. Join Will Douglas Heaven, our senior editor for AI, and Sam Sinha, founding AI researcher and head of world models at 1X Technologies, for the conversation on Tuesday, July 14. Register here to attend the free session at 9:30 PDT, 12:30 PM EDT, and 5:30 PM BST.

How uncrewed narco subs could transform the Colombian drug trade

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

On a bright April morning in 2025, a surveillance plane operated by the Colombian military spotted a 40-foot-long “narco sub” idling in the Caribbean Sea. The stealthy vessel, used by drug cartels to move cocaine north, could sail with its hull almost entirely underwater. After seizing the boat, the coast guard noticed something unusual: there was no one on board. This was Colombia’s first confirmed uncrewed narco sub, operable by remote control, but also capable of a degree of autonomous travel. Uncrewed subs could move more cocaine over longer distances, and they won’t put human smugglers at risk of capture. Find out how they may transform the drug trade., —Eduardo Echeverri López

We can still have nice things

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line.), + Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” has been reinvented as a yacht rock track. + Two super-puff planets lighter than cotton candy have been spotted floating through space. + An inventor has given Tic Tac fans (like Donald Trump) a solution to the box’s annoying rattling in their pockets. + Imbibe a dose of adrenaline with this first-person footage of a rider on heart-pounding Red Bull Genova Cerro Abajo.