The Download: our 35 young innovators and the “censorship-industrial complex”

MIT Technology Review will reveal its 2026 list of Innovators Under 35 on September 8, recognizing 35 young scientists and engineers from 550 nominations. Separately, the publication reports that a US State Department office monitoring foreign disinformation was shut down after being accused of being part of a 'censorship-industrial complex' allegedly suppressing conservative speech, a narrative that has moved from the online fringe into Trump administration policy.

The Download: our 35 young innovators and the “censorship-industrial complex” Plus: China-linked hackers have hit Taiwan in an “unprecedented” AI attack 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. How we picked 35 of the world’s top young scientists and engineers On September 8, MIT Technology Review will reveal its 2026 list of Innovators Under 35, recognizing 35 young people from around the world who are doing groundbreaking scientific work and building clever technical fixes for sticky problems. By finding the top young innovators globally and learning what they’re focused on in their work, we aim to give readers a sense of what advances to expect in the years to come. As a newsroom, we also use this exercise to help us spot rising talent and get to know some of the best early-career researchers in the fields that we cover. This year, we received 550 nominations. Find out how we whittled them down to 35 of the young innovators shaping the future of technology https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/08/12/1141605/2026-innovators-under-35-top-young-scientists-engineers/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C , and check out last year’s list. —Amy Nordrum How the “censorship-industrial complex” is changing the internet and US policy —Eileen Guo I first heard the term “censorship-industrial complex” on April 15, 2025. That’s when I got the tip that a small office in the US State Department, which focused on monitoring and countering foreign disinformation from the likes of Russia, Iran, and China, was facing imminent shutdown—the next day. And the reason? The office was accused of serving as the department’s central hub in the so-called censorship-industrial complex—a sprawling constellation of government agencies, academics, civil society groups, and Big Tech platforms allegedly conspiring to suppress conservative and populist speech online under the guise of combating disinformation. I broke the story on April 16. But for me, it was just the start of a deep reporting rabbit hole into an idea that had moved from the fringes of the right-wing internet into the Trump administration. For more on what the narrative means for the internet, read my story here https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/08/07/1141105/how-ideas-of-a-vast-censorship-network-moved-from-the-online-fringe-to-trump-policy/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C . MIT Technology Review Narrated: Montana’s plan to become an experimental medical hub just pushed forward At the end of July, any biotech company in Montana with an experimental drug gained a clear path to selling it to consumers. Companies whose drugs have been through preliminary testing—sometimes in as few as 10 healthy people—can pay $12,500 to apply to a newly established review board. Once approved, they can set their own prices and sell the drugs through experimental treatment clinics, the first of which is likely to open around the end of this year. Montana’s latest right-to-try legislation is unique https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/07/30/1140942/montana-experimental-medical-hub-pushed-forward-right-to-try/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C . While similar laws elsewhere limit access to people with terminal illness, Montana’s system is theoretically open to anyone who gives informed consent and can pay. That includes people desperate for treatments for rare diseases. It also includes those interested in longevity and drugs pitched as preventive therapies. —Jessica Hamzelou 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 China-linked hackers have hit Taiwan in an “unprecedented” AI attack They used open-source agents to compromise government websites. FT https://www.ft.com/content/7d2ab3e0-9085-48f6-b38a-d90260d58795?syn-25a6b1a6=1 $ + UK military drones were found sending a signal to China . Cybernews https://cybernews.com/security/uk-navy-sea-drones-send-signal-china/ + Taiwan’s “silicon shield” could be weakening. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/08/15/1121358/taiwan-silicon-shield-tsmc-china-chip-manufacturing/?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 Wall Street firms are paying $100,000 a month to get Trump posts first Trump Media said more than 10 firms have signed up for the service. CNN https://edition.cnn.com/2026/08/11/business/wall-street-trump-truth-social + It offers faster access to market-moving posts on Truth Social. BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3q5nxpgk1o + Trump Media also lost $238 million as crypto holdings fell. CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/10/trump-media-djt-tmtg-earnings-truth-social-crypto.html 3 ICE plans to give officers gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks It’s set to spend up to $20 million to buy thousands of the devices. AP News https://apnews.com/article/ice-electric-shock-gloves-85ff746d3e0ee5f39e7a9a3f1f576252 + A switch turns them from normal gloves into “electrical mode.” Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/11/ice-electric-shock-gloves 4 Spotify will label AI artists and stop recommending them The platform is cracking down on fake performers. Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/aug/11/spotify-label-ai-artists-block-them-from-some-playlists + “AI personas” will appear on artist profiles and track listings. NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/11/arts/music/spotify-artificial-intelligence-music.html $ 5 Social media spurred a deadly migrant surge from Morocco to Spain Disinformation encouraged thousands to attempt the crossing. NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/11/technology/social-media-ceuta-spain-morocco.html $ 6 Anthropic’s Claude is adding watermarks to AI text and images It could guarantee votes are counted and kept anonymous. Axios https://www.axios.com/2026/08/12/anthropic-claude-watermarks-ai-detection 7 Drugs that mimic the brain’s wakefulness signal are taking off Orexin drugs could treat sleep disorders, ADHD and addiction. Economist https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2026/08/11/the-brain-may-be-about-to-have-its-ozempic-moment $ + But psychedelics are falling short in clinical trials. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/03/20/1134419/psychedelics-overhyped-psilocybin-depression-placebo/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= |SUBCLASS| &utm content= |DATE:m-d-Y| 8 Cargo thieves have turned to violence to steal AI hardware Shipments have disappeared after their escorts were attacked. Wired https://www.wired.com/story/the-worst-ive-ever-seen-cargo-thieves-are-turning-violent-in-pursuit-of-ai-hardware/ $ 9 Scientists may have found the elusive glueball, a particle made of force A Chinese collider has produced the strongest evidence yet. Science https://www.science.org/content/article/behold-glueball-strange-new-form-matter 10 A firm selling “100% human-written, never AI” research is entirely AI The reviewers on the Research Gold site are AI-generated. 404 Media https://www.404media.co/company-offering-100-human-written-never-ai-peer-review-is-entirely-ai/ Quote of the day “ I think the fourth wave of slop will be when there's no longer any meaningful quality hit in slop, when the average piece of slop is better than the best human in that field.” —Kevin Roose, a technology columnist at The New York Times, tells the Pivot podcast https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/pivot-kara-swisher-casey-newton-kevin-roose-ai-slop-crackdown.html what the next stage of AI slop will look like. One More Thing Are we ready to hand AI agents the keys? Are we ready to hand AI agents the keys? We’re starting to give AI agents real autonomy, and we’re not prepared for what could happen next. Any action that can be captured by text is potentially within the purview of AI agents—which is why they can cause so much mischief. “The great paradox of agents is that the very thing that makes them useful—that they’re able to accomplish a range of tasks—involves giving away control,” says Iason Gabriel, a senior staff research scientist at Google DeepMind who focuses on AI ethics. Researchers warn that agents could misinterpret goals, leak sensitive information, fall victim to prompt-injection attacks, and exploit software vulnerabilities at scale. And there’s no foolproof way to guarantee that they’ll act as their developers intend. Here’s why giving AI agents more autonomy is dangerous https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/06/12/1118189/ai-agents-manus-control-autonomy-operator-openai/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C . —Grace Huckins 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 . + An intrepid inventor has built and tested an anti-mosquito electric suit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGEKTCVa8-o . + Musician Hasan Ceylan performs moving covers of modern hits on traditional Turkish instruments https://www.instagram.com/p/DXwyRhQIDIm/ from the Ottoman era. + As the midterms approach, see whether you could draw electoral boundaries to rig an election at puzzle game Gerrymandle https://gerrymandle.com/ . + Photographer John Thomson's images from 19th-century China https://www.mexicanpictures.com/headingeast/2026/06/john-thomson-s-china.html are an extraordinary peek into an ancient society that would soon be swept away. 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: Claude’s inner workings, and the future of world models Plus: New York has become the first state to enact a data center moratorium. 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: 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.