The Download: a useful quantum machine and a record-breaking subsea tunnel

PsiQuantum plans to build a useful quantum computer using light particles, aiming to be the first to create a machine that can solve problems beyond current computers. Separately, Meta is facing a lawsuit alleging it used AI to target workers with health issues for layoffs, including those on maternity or disability leave.

The Download: a useful quantum machine and a record-breaking subsea tunnel Plus: Meta allegedly used AI to target workers with health issues for layoffs. This is today's edition of The Download https://forms.technologyreview.com/newsletters/briefing-the-download/? ga=2.179569122.736533416.1649661040-405833893.1649413289 , our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. PsiQuantum has a plan to make a massive quantum computer out of light The machine that could change the world will be housed in a room that looks like a data center crossed with an ice cream factory. Inside, some 100 stainless-steel cabinets each hold hundreds of chips. On those chips, thousands of light particles will fly through a maze of optical switches and beam splitters. Each photon must be accounted for, because precisely measuring where it ends up will help answer questions that current computers might take millions of years to solve. This computer, as described, does not exist. It’s the brainchild of a company called PsiQuantum, founded in 2016 by four physicists from UK universities. In a crowded field of deep-pocketed competitors with similarly fantastical visions, the company aims to be the first to build a useful quantum machine. Read the full story on the company’s quest https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/07/14/1140356/psiquantum-plan-massive-quantum-computer-out-of-light/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C . —James O'Donnell MIT Technology Review Narrated: inside the world’s deepest and longest subsea road tunnel —Niall Firth I’m currently around 1,000 feet beneath the North Sea, in a dark, dank cave. It smells weird. And I’m increasingly aware of the pressure from millions of tons of seawater just above my head. I’m under the iconic fjords of Norway to visit what will soon become the world’s longest and deepest subsea road tunnel—an exceptional engineering feat that will carry drivers deep beneath the North Sea. I’m here to understand how you make a 16.6-mile highway that sits 1,280 feet below the sea at its deepest point. And also—at a time when it can feel hard to get anything done—to reassure myself that ambitious engineering is still possible. That we can still make things https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/06/22/1138821/inside-worlds-deepest-longest-subsea-road-tunnel/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C . This is our latest story to be turned into 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. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Meta allegedly used AI to target workers with health issues for layoffs Their lawsuit says Meta relied on AI to create a termination list. Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/14/meta-ai-mass-layoffs-lawsuit + And pinpointed staff who took maternity or disability leave. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/world/meta-used-ai-target-workers-with-medical-conditions-layoffs-former-employees-2026-07-14/ $ + One was allegedly informed the day before her water broke. Ars Technica https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/07/lawsuit-claims-metas-layoff-decisions-were-made-by-ai-not-humans/ + The layoffs aimed to offset Meta’s AI spending. Gizmodo https://gizmodo.com/meta-sued-for-allegedly-using-discriminatory-ai-in-layoff-decisions-2000785427 + AI agents are not your “coworkers.” MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/06/29/1139849/ai-agents-are-not-your-coworkers/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C 2 OpenAI’s first consumer device will be a mobile smart speaker The screenless device will serve as an “AI companion.” Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-14/openai-s-first-device-will-be-moveable-screenless-speaker-built-as-ai-companion?embedded-checkout=true $ + It’ll let you talk with ChatGPT. Verge https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/965670/openai-chatgpt-ai-smart-speaker-hardware-device + And use a camera and sensor to understand your environment. Reuters https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/14/openais-first-hardware-device-is-reportedly-a-screenless-speaker-that-can-move/ $ + It’s set to launch next year. Engadget https://www.engadget.com/2215417/openai-first-device-humanlike-rechargeable-speaker/ 3 The US military sent explosive drone boats into combat for the first time They attacked an Iranian midget submarine and naval port. Ars Technica https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/07/us-military-sent-explosive-drone-boats-into-combat-for-the-first-time/ + Underwater drones may shape a war in Taiwan. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/06/20/1094051/how-underwater-drones-could-shape-a-potential-taiwan-china-conflict/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C 4 DeepMind’s CEO has called for a US-led body to test frontier AI models Demis Hassabis wants the watchdog to vet national security threats. FT https://www.ft.com/content/463add71-a59b-4ec3-aa65-c96d57a09b10 $ + If dangers mount, it would coordinate an industry-wide slowdown. Axios https://www.axios.com/2026/07/14/demis-hassabis-ai-regulation-google-deepmind 5 Data centers are set to add billions in power costs in 13 states A power auction is slated to produce $6.3 billion in new charges. NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/14/business/energy-environment/pjm-electricity-prices-data-centers.html $ + Australia plans to govern the use of water and power for AI. WSJ https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/australia-plans-to-govern-use-of-water-power-for-ai-0bd16d55?mod=rss Technology $ 6 xAI's unpermitted power pollution hits Black communities hardest Elon Musk's xAI has been installing gas turbines without permits. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/pollution-musks-unpermitted-xai-power-project-hits-hardest-black-communities-2026-07-14/ $ + We need to focus on Big Tech’s energy footprint. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/11/06/1127579/ai-footprint/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C 7 Stripe and Advent have offered to buy PayPal for more than $53 billion The payments giant and private equity firm have made a joint bid. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/stripe-advent-offer-buy-paypal-more-than-53-billion-sources-say-2026-07-15/ $ + Apple and Google Pay have eroded PayPal's market share. Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-15/stripe-advent-offer-to-buy-paypal-for-53-billion-reuters-says $ 8 DeepSeek plans to file for IPO as soon as this year The Chinese AI pioneer is likely to list in Shanghai. WSJ https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/australia-plans-to-govern-use-of-water-power-for-ai-0bd16d55?mod=rss Technology $ + Here’s why DeepSeek’s latest model matters. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/24/1136422/why-deepseeks-v4-matters/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C 9 A hard, lightweight “bio-metal" has been discovered in sea worm jaws It could have applications in engineering. New Scientist https://www.newscientist.com/article/2579072-hard-but-lightweight-bio-metal-material-discovered-in-sea-worm-jaws/?utm campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm content=home&utm medium=RSS&utm source=NSNS $ 10 A new $3,000 fitness suit electrocutes you to boost your gains Celebrities love it—but not everyone’s a fan. 404 Media https://www.404media.co/i-bought-the-3-000-fitness-suit-that-electrocutes-you-im-sending-it-back/ Quote of the day “By economic and engineering measures, generative AI might be the worst technology ever deployed.” —Alex Reisner, a staff writer at The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/07/generative-ai-engineering-disaster/687901/ , explains why GenAI’s scaling problem is an engineering disaster. One More Thing Hackers made death threats against this security researcher. Big mistake. Hackers made death threats against this security researcher. Big mistake. In April 2024, an anonymous hacker began posting death threats on Telegram and Discord channels aimed at a cybersecurity researcher named Allison Nixon. It wasn’t long before others piled on. Someone shared AI-generated nudes of her. They targeted Nixon because she had become a formidable threat. As chief research officer at the cyber investigations firm Unit 221B, named after Sherlock Holmes’s apartment, she had built a career tracking cybercriminals and helping get them arrested. For years, Nixon had lurked quietly in online chat channels or used pseudonyms to engage with perpetrators and bring them to justice. Now, she resolved to unmask the people behind the death threats—and take them down for crimes they admitted to committing. Find out why they learned to regret their choice of target https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/02/16/1132526/allison-nixon-hackers-security-researcher/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C . —Kim Zetter We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. Got any ideas? Drop me a line . + A musician has discovered the true masters of metal breakdowns: birds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsouQzzmVOc&t . + Photographer Fontanesi’s surreal photo splits transform everyday images into spectacular hybrid scenes https://www.instagram.com/fontanesi . + Over 30 actors, filmmakers, and friends recount how Steven Spielberg infiltrated Hollywood in this terrific article https://www.vulture.com/article/oral-history-of-steven-spielberg-and-his-movies.html . + Who would win the World Cup if less important things than soccer decided it, like life expectancy and happiness? A new game tests your knowledge https://www.dataguessr.com/world-cup-2026/ . Deep Dive The Download The Download: Claude’s inner workings and OpenAI’s “super app” Plus: OpenAI has unveiled its long-awaited "super app." The Download: the future of chipmaking and Anthropic’s government clash Plus: Meta is pausing an AI training program that tracks workers’ keystrokes. The Download: AI hacking beyond Mythos, and chatbots’ impact on our brains Plus: Anthropic has called for a global slowdown in AI development. The Download: a reality check for geoengineering and the science of interoception Plus: SpaceX is now valued higher than Amazon. Stay connected Get the latest updates from MIT Technology Review Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.