MIT - Weekend Reads

10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Inspired by our annual list of 10 Breakthrough Technologies, here’s a brand new look at the big ideas, trends, and new advances in AI that are driving progress or shifting power dynamics today—and will shape what’s possible tomorrow.

Three things in AI to watch, according to a Nobel-winning economist

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Daron Acemoglu is more cautious than most about predictions of a jobs apocalypse. Here’s what’s worrying him instead.

A startup claims it broke through a bottleneck that’s holding back LLMs

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Subquadratic has now shared more details about its new model. But some are still skeptical.

Want to understand the current state of AI? Check out these charts.

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

According to Stanford’s 2026 AI Index, AI is sprinting, and we’re struggling to keep up.

The $400 million machine powering the future of chipmaking

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The AI era needs ever faster chips. ASML has a monopoly on the expensive contraptions needed to pattern them. Can anyone catch up?

10 Breakthrough Technologies 2026

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Here are the advances that we think will drive progress or incite the most change—for better or worse—in the years ahead.

Google DeepMind is worried about what happens when millions of agents start to interact

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The firm is calling for more scientists to study the risks of multi-agent systems.

China has approved the world’s first invasive brain-computer chip—here’s what’s next

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The country wants to become a global leader in brain implants. Strong government support is expected to help accelerate that process.

Inside interoception: The hidden sense of how you feel inside

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Researchers are decoding how signals move between body and brain, with implications for how we understand and treat conditions from obesity to anxiety.

How small businesses can leverage AI

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Tutor Sam Finnegan-Dehn shares how he’s outsourcing basic administrative tasks to a large language model.

Want to get a data center online quickly? Give it some flex.

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

As the data-center boom puts pressure on the grid, some companies say the answer isn’t just more power plants but software that dials down centers’ energy-guzzling ways when demand spikes.

These new solid-state ACs promise a cool future. Scientists aren’t so sure.

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

A wave of unconventional coolers are making their way to the air-conditioning market—and aiming to dial down its emissions.

This flying solar-powered platform could deliver better internet from the air

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

It’s like a cell tower, but in the stratosphere.

Job titles of the future: Nature’s drug designer

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Chemist Tim Cernak is using two decades of experience in Big Pharma to try to save Gila monsters, loggerhead sea turtles, and many more creatures.

The search for dark matter has been blown wide open

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

After decades of hunting, physicists still don’t know what makes up most of the universe’s matter. Now they need to cast a wider net.

Elephant alert! AI warning systems aim to avoid deadly clashes

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

From infrared sensors to drones, a range of early-detection systems are rolling out across India.

You do your own time

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

A story about saving

Inside soccer’s data renaissance

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Many of the insights hitting soccer pitches today trace back to Jesse Davis and a team of computer scientists open-sourcing tools for some of the sport’s trickiest problems.