Plus: OpenAI has confidentially filed for a US IPO.
*This is today's edition of * The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology.
David Sinclair plans to test whole-body rejuvenation drugs in the XPrize competition
The outspoken longevity scientist David Sinclair has predicted that, one day, you’ll go to the doctor and get a prescription that will make you 10 years younger. MIT Technology Review has learned of his latest step toward this: human tests of a “reprogramming” drug.
Sinclair, a biologist at Harvard Medical School, plans to launch the tests in a $101 million competition organized by the XPrize Foundation. The winners will “restore” a person to an earlier apparent age, as measured by improvements in immune, cognitive, and muscle function.
The grand prize goes to any team able to show a 10-year (or greater) relative improvement after one year of treatment.
Sinclair says he plans to give an oral drug mixture to volunteers, in a bid to seek “evidence for age restoration in humans.” Find out how he hopes to reverse ageing through chemical reprogramming.
—Antonio Regalado
Five things you need to know about AI
—Will Douglas Heaven
At SXSW London last week, I gave a talk called “Five things you need to know about AI,” in which I shared what I think are the biggest themes in AI right now.
I pulled a few things from our first AI10 list, an annual guide to the top trends in this buzzy world, but I also veered off on several tangents. In my half-hour slot, I tried to cover the key talking points that I think help to make sense of what’s going on in tech—and thus the economy—today.
Five key thoughts emerged: AI is everywhere all at once, it’s getting scary, a backlash is growing, it’s becoming a big deal for science—and I didn’t even need to show up at the talk. Read the full story for all the details.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 OpenAI has confidentially filed for a US IPO
The listing could come as early as September. (Reuters $)+ OpenAI is targeting a valuation of up to $1 trillion. (Financial Times $)+ The IPO will test investor appetite for AI companies. (WSJ $)*+ The move follows IPO filings from Anthropic and SpaceX. *(CNN)
2 The US claims BYD, Baidu, Alibaba, and others are aiding China's military
The Pentagon added them to a list of military-linked companies. (WSJ $)+ The designations limit their operations in the US. (BBC)+ The new additions also include humanoid firm Unitree. (TechCrunch)+ The Pentagon is adapting to China’s tech rise. (MIT Technology Review)
3 Apple’s long-awaited AI overhaul of Siri is finally here“ Siri AI” promises to be a more conversational assistant. (
NYT$) + It includes a standalone app and screen-reading features.(
Reuters$) + And arrives after two years of repeated delays.(
Axios) 4 The White House and Congress are working to limit state AI laws A new deal would curb state rules for federal legislation. (
Axios) + AI regulation has divided US politicians. (
**5 ** Meta is launching a “workforce academy” for building data centers The five-week program is free of charge and guarantees a job. (
WSJ$) + It arrives shortly after Meta laid off 8,000 employees.(
NPR) 6 Taiwan is mulling curbs on AI chip exports to China
6 Taiwan is mulling curbs on AI chip exports to China
The new controls would further align with US restrictions. (
Bloomberg$) + Future AI chips could be built on glass.(
7 Meta has quietly removed face-recognition code from its smart glasses app
The code identified by investigators has disappeared. (Wired $) 8 Humanoid robots are edging towards the battlefield
American and Chinese militaries are pursuing the tech. (BBC) 9 The world’s first wind-powered underwater data center has launched It uses less power and water than land-based equivalents. (
Guardian) 10 You could get some benefits of sleep without having to nod off If new brain stimulation works as well on humans as on mice, that is. (
New Scientist$) Quote of the day
“You’re on the train, but you know that there’s no destination.”
—Clara Shih, a former top AI executive at Salesforce and Meta, tells the New York Times that AI training can’t keep up with the field’s advances.
One More Thing
Inside the race to make human sex cells in the lab
Inside the race to make human sex cells in the lab
An embryo forms when sperm meets egg. But what if we could start with other cells—if a blood sample or skin biopsy could be transformed into “artificial” sperm and eggs? What if those were all you needed to make a baby?
That’s the promise of a radical approach to reproduction. Scientists have already created artificial eggs and sperm from mouse cells and used them to create mouse pups. Artificial human sex cells are next.
The advances could herald the end of infertility, but they raise major scientific and ethical challenges.
Read the full story on the new recipes for sperm and eggs.
—Jessica Hamzelou
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.)
- These chefs turn Pop-Tarts into the desserts that inspired them.
- A choir has beautifully transformed System of a Down’s “Chop Suey!”+ Scientists finally traced crabs’ sideways walk in this
fascinating study of evolution.
- This nostalgic
essay on the family computeris a touching throwback to early internet life. Top image credit: Stephanie Arnett/MIT Technology Review | Getty Images
Please send Pop-Tarts to [hi@technologyreview.com](mailto:hi@technologyreview.com).
You can follow me on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasmacaulay/). Thanks for reading!
—Thomas
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: introducing the 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now
Plus: An unauthorized group has reportedly accessed Anthropic’s Mythos.
The Download: supercharged scams and studying AI healthcare
Plus: DeepSeek has unveiled its long-awaited new AI model.
The Download: AI hacking beyond Mythos, and chatbots’ impact on our brains
Plus: Anthropic has called for a global slowdown in AI development.
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