The Download: Europe’s heat wave hits the grid, and IBM’s chip targets Moore’s Law

Europe's record-breaking heat wave is straining power grids as cooling demand surges, forcing some power plants offline and highlighting the need for utilities to adapt to climate change. Meanwhile, IBM unveiled a prototype chip with roughly 100 billion transistors on a fingernail-sized area, doubling transistor density and potentially extending Moore's Law for another decade. Separately, Anthropic accused Alibaba of illicitly extracting capabilities from its Claude AI model through a large-scale distillation attack.

The Download: Europe’s heat wave hits the grid, and IBM’s chip targets Moore’s Law Plus: Anthropic says Alibaba “illicitly” extracted Claude’s capabilities . 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. Europe’s extreme heat is shutting down power plants Europe is in the middle of a record-breaking heat wave, and the grid is being pushed to its limits as people turn to fans and air-conditioning to try to stay cool. But some power plants won’t be online to help handle the load. The main source of stress is increased demand, largely driven by cooling. And the challenges are only expected to worsen as climate change brings more frequent and intense heat waves. Find out how rising temperatures are stretching power supplies—and how utilities can adapt https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/06/24/1139676/europe-heat-power-plants/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C . —Casey Crownhart What Europe’s heat wave means for the power grid Grid planning in the age of climate change generally means that we need a lot more supply, and quickly. But one interesting facet to this challenge is that in some places, seasonal patterns are shifting, compounding the difficulty of meeting demand. Europe has historically seen its grid peak in the winter when electric heating is widespread. So some planned outages happen in the spring and into the summer, which is affecting the supply right now. But a growing need for air-conditioning will alter the balance. Read the full story on how climate change is reshaping electricity demand https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/06/25/1139690/europe-heat-wave-grid/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C . —Casey Crownhart This story is from The Spark, our weekly newsletter giving you the inside track on all things climate. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday. IBM unveils chip technology that could help extend Moore’s Law another decade IBM has built a new prototype chip with around 100 billion transistors on an area the size of a fingernail. That’s twice the density of the company’s previous state-of-the-art technology announced in 2021. And the design could pave the way for faster and more energy-efficient computers for years to come. In the last fifteen years, transistors have been shrunk close to their limits. They can’t get smaller without their function deteriorating. IBM’s new chip resolves this with an approach familiar to urban planners: building up. Here’s how the strategy is bringing new hope to the technology industry https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/06/25/1139696/ibm-unveils-sub1nm-chip/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C . —Sophia Chen The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Anthropic says Alibaba “illicitly” extracted Claude’s capabilities It claims the Chinese firm ran a “brazen” campaign to access the model. BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyklykn5dwo + It says it’s the “largest known distillation attack” on the company. CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/24/anthropic-alibaba-distillation-campaign.html + The technique trains a weaker model on a stronger one's outputs. FT https://www.ft.com/content/4ee94860-d8e6-4f99-b59b-899e89ede5d5?syn-25a6b1a6=1 $ + Anthropic previously accused other Chinese rivals of using it. CNN https://edition.cnn.com/2026/02/24/tech/anthropic-chinese-ai-distillation-intl-hnk + But it’s still feuding with the White House. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/06/22/1139424/three-things-to-watch-amid-anthropics-latest-feud-with-the-government/?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 NASA has detected possible chemical signatures of ancient life on Mars The Perseverance rover spotted complex carbon on rocks. New Scientist https://www.newscientist.com/article/2531752-possible-signs-of-ancient-life-on-mars-are-rich-in-complex-carbon/ $ + The molecules are typically associated with dead organisms. Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jun/24/nasa-rover-detects-potential-signatures-ancient-microbial-life-mars + The US has lost its lead in the hunt for alien life. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/02/26/1133584/america-china-mars-sample-return-space-race-nasa/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C 3 The EU has joined a US pact to stop relying on Chinese AI Much of the rest of the world seems to still be a battleground for control. FT https://www.ft.com/content/681c33a0-dcb4-4a82-9aa0-8a9172f7e5bc?syn-25a6b1a6=1 $ + China is expanding its AI push in the Global South to counter the US. The Wire China https://www.thewirechina.com/2026/06/21/surrounding-american-ai-from-the-south/ + Chinese AI experts are freaking out about the AI arms race. Wired https://www.wired.com/story/ai-arms-race-china-us-cooperation/ $ 4 OpenAI and Broadcom have unveiled their first jointly designed AI chip Jalapeño is built to power large-scale AI systems like ChatGPT. NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/24/technology/openai-broadcom-chip-jalapeno.html $ + It’s part of OpenAI’s push to “build the full stack.” CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/24/openai-and-broadcom-reveal-jalapeno-first-ai-chip-in-partnership.html 5 A new report shows ICE has built a vast hi-tech surveillance system It includes facial recognition, drones, and data scraping. Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/24/ice-tech-surveillance-arsenal + Is the Pentagon allowed to surveil citizens with AI? MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/03/06/1134012/is-the-pentagon-allowed-to-surveil-americans-with-ai/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C 6 Electronics can now be printed onto living tissue Which could enable smart implants and ingestible diagnostics. The Economist https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2026/06/24/electronics-can-now-be-printed-onto-living-tissues $ 7 The data center boom is sparking a third wave of inflation Demand for memory chips is pushing prices higher. WSJ https://www.wsj.com/economy/the-data-center-boom-is-sparking-a-third-wave-of-inflation-926adc6e?mod=tech feat1 ai pos2 $ 8 Companies are scrambling to curb spending on AI token “chewing” Accenture data shows non-technical staff are draining budgets. 404 Media https://www.404media.co/the-tokenpocalypse-is-here-companies-are-scrambling-to-stop-spending-so-much-on-ai/ 9 Claude Design is creating a bland wave of website uniformity The AI tool is homogenizing the internet’s aesthetic. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/the-ai-design-aesthetic-thats-taking-over-the-internet $ 10 Elon Musk has lost his trillionaire status Thanks to SpaceX stock coming back to Earth. Business Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-net-worth-below-trillionaire-spacex-stock-slide-2026-6 Quote of the day “Tom Brown is not being a weirdo like Dario and can actually engage.” —A person directly familiar with calls between the Trump administration and Anthropic tells Wired https://www.wired.com/story/the-trump-white-house-is-over-anthropics-dario-amodei/ that they’ve improved since cofounder Tom Brown replaced CEO Dario Amodei in the talks. One More Thing The quest to learn if our brain’s mutations affect mental health The quest to learn if our brain’s mutations affect mental health For years, scientists searching for the roots of conditions like schizophrenia, autism, and Alzheimer’s have focused on single genes. But the real source may lie in a more complex genetic puzzle inside the brain. Mike McConnell has spent decades exploring the idea that neurons do not all share identical DNA, and that these differences could help explain psychiatric disease. His work has contributed to evidence that brain cells can form a “genetic mosaic,” with mutations that vary across the brain. Discover how this could reshape our understanding of mental illness https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/25/1031729/brain-mutation-genes-mental-health/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C . —Roxanne Khamsi 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 . + This classical reimagining of the Super Mario soundtrack https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSllL87M7IE&utm source=chatgpt.com is exquisite. + At long last, we can calculate the fuel efficiency of launching our enemies into the Sun https://gierratio.com/blog/fuel-efficiency-of-solar-rockets/ . + Before CGI, explosions were an art form. This compilation of classic practical effects https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwl9azNeup4&utm source=chatgpt.com is pure action-movie nostalgia. + Cambridge botanists lovingly recreated a 336-year-old garden https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/18/cambridge-experts-recreate-336-year-old-garden-to-commemorate-father-of-natural-history to honor the “father of natural history.” Big thanks to reader Peter Ryan for the find Deep Dive The Download The Download: DeepSeek’s latest AI breakthrough, and the race to build world models Plus: China has blocked Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus. 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: keeping up with AI, and the future of IVF Plus: NASA unveiled plans for three uncrewed missions to the Moon this year. The Download: AI can run your admin department now Plus: Anthropic has confidentially filed for IPO ahead of OpenAI. Stay connected Get the latest updates from MIT Technology Review Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.