The Download: AI-powered warfare, and how embryo care is changing
—Helen Warrell & James O’Donnell
It is July 2027, and China is on the brink of invading Taiwan. Autonomous drones with AI targeting capabilities are primed to overpower the island’s air defenses as a series of crippling AI-generated cyberattacks cut off energy supplies and key communications. In the meantime, a vast disinformation campaign enacted by an AI-powered pro-Chinese meme farm spreads across global social media, deadening the outcry at Beijing’s act of aggression.
Scenarios such as this have brought dystopian horror to the debate about the use of AI in warfare. Military commanders hope for a digitally enhanced force that is faster and more accurate than human-directed combat.
But there are fears that as AI assumes an increasingly central role, these same commanders will lose control of a conflict that escalates too quickly and lacks ethical or legal oversight. Read the full story.
This is the third edition of The State of AI, our subscriber-only collaboration between the Financial Times & MIT Technology Review examining the ways in which AI is reshaping global power.
Every Monday, writers from both publications will debate one aspect of the generative AI revolution reshaping global power. While subscribers to The Algorithm, our weekly AI newsletter, get access to an extended excerpt, subscribers to the MIT Technology Review are able to read the whole thing.
Sign up here to receive future editions every Monday.
Job titles of the future: AI embryologist
Embryologists are the scientists behind the scenes of in vitro fertilization who oversee the development and selection of embryos, prepare them for transfer, and maintain the lab environment. They’ve been a critical part of IVF for decades, but their job has gotten a whole lot busier in recent years as demand for the fertility treatment skyrockets and clinics struggle to keep up.
Klaus Wiemer, a veteran embryologist and IVF lab director, believes artificial intelligence might help by predicting embryo health in real time and unlocking new avenues for productivity in the lab. Read the full story.
—Amanda Smith
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Big Tech’s job cuts are a warning sign
They’re a canary down the mine for other industries. (WP $)
+ Americans appear to feel increasingly unsettled by AI. (WSJ $)
+ Global fund managers worry companies are overinvesting in the technology. (FT $)
2 Iran is attempting to stimulate rain to end its deadly drought
But critics warn that cloud seeding is a challenging process. (New Scientist $)
+ Parts of western Iran are now experiencing flooding. (Reuters)
+ Why it’s so hard to bust the weather control conspiracy theory. (MIT Technology Review)
3 Air taxi startups may produce new aircraft for war zones
The US Army has announced its intentions to acquire most of its weapons from startups, not major contractors. (The Information $)
+ US firm Joby Aviation is launching flying taxis in Dubai. (NBC News)
+ This giant microwave may change the future of war. (MIT Technology Review)
4 Weight-loss drug make Eli Lilly is likely to cross a trillion-dollar valuation
As it prepares to launch a pill alternative to its injections. (WSJ $)
+ Arch rival Novo Nordisk A/S is undercutting the company to compete. (Bloomberg $)
+ We’re learning more about what weight-loss drugs do to the body. (MIT Technology Review)
5 What’s going on with the US TikTok ban?
Even the lawmakers in charge don’t seem to know. (The Verge)
6 It’s getting harder to grow cocoa
Mass tree felling and lower rainfall in the Congo Basin is to blame. (FT $)
+ Industrial agriculture activists are everywhere at COP30. (The Guardian)
+ Africa fights rising hunger by looking to foods of the past. (MIT Technology Review)
7 Russia is cracking down on its critical military bloggers
Armchair critics are facing jail time if they refuse to apologize. (Economist $)
8 Why the auto industry is so obsessed with humanoid robots
It’s not just Tesla—plenty of others want to get in on the act. (The Atlantic $)
+ China’s EV giants are betting big on humanoid robots. (MIT Technology Review)
9 Indian startups are challenging ChatGPT’s AI dominance
They support a far wider range of languages than the large AI firms’ models. (Rest of World)
+ OpenAI is huge in India. Its models are steeped in caste bias. (MIT Technology Review)
10 These tiny sensors track butterflies on their journey to Mexico 🦋
Scientists hope it’ll shed some light on their mysterious life cycles. (NYT $)
Quote of the day
“I think no company is going to be immune, including us.”
—Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, warns the BBC about the precarious nature of the AI bubble.
One more thing
How a 1980s toy robot arm inspired modern robotics—Jon KeeganAs a child of an electronic engineer, I spent a lot of time in our local Radio Shack as a kid. While my dad was locating capacitors and resistors, I was in the toy section. It was there, in 1984, that I discovered the best toy of my childhood: the Armatron robotic arm.
Described as a “robot-like arm to aid young masterminds in scientific and laboratory experiments,” it was a legit robotic arm. And the bold look and function of Armatron made quite an impression on many young kids who would one day have a career in robotics. Read the full story.
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 or skeet ’em at me.)
+ The US Library of Congress has attained some handwritten drafts of iconic songs from The Wizard of Oz.
+ This interesting dashboard tracks the world’s top 500 musical artists in the world right now—some of the listings may surprise you (or just make you feel really old.)
+ Cult author Chris Kraus shares what’s floating her boat right now.+ The first images of the forthcoming Legend of Zelda film are here!
