2 hours ago
2
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.
The $400 million machine powering the future of chipmaking
It’s a bit of a schlep to get to the top of ASML’s newest machine. It’s about the size of a double-decker bus, weighs more than 150 tons, and costs $400 million. But if you want to make the world’s most powerful chips, a lithography system like this is essential.
The AI era needs ever faster chips, and ASML’s machines make that possible. They pattern chip features with extreme-ultraviolet light, or EUV—radiation outside the visible spectrum, produced by shooting lasers at tiny molten drops of tin tens of thousands of times a second.
ASML now makes about 90% of all chip-lithography tools worldwide. That dominance has made some people, and governments, uneasy. And would-be competitors are now gunning for its territory.
Read the full story on ASML’s $400 million machine—and the growing threats to its position.
—Clive Thompson
Three things to watch amid Anthropic’s latest feud with the government
In April, Anthropic said it had built an AI model called Mythos that could pose a cybersecurity risk. It then released a safer version called Fable. Days later, the US government placed export controls on it. Within hours, Anthropic revoked access to both models.
“Doomers” have long warned about catastrophic AI risk. But this intervention came over a coding model—not a bioweapon or rogue AI—and the response so far looks less like a safety plan than a reactive policy move.
Here are three things to watch in Anthropic’s standoff with Washington.
—James O'Donnell
This story is from The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter giving you the inside track on all things AI. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Monday.
Longevity’s next frontier: “reprogramming” your body
Billions of dollars are flooding into efforts to reverse aging as scientists explore ways to return cells to a younger state. But how far off are these experimental treatments? Will they really work? At an upcoming virtual Roundtables event, MIT Technology Review will examine the science behind the hype.
Science editor Mary Beth Griggs and senior biotechnology reporter Jessica Hamzelou will explore longevity’s latest frontier in a subscriber-only discussion on Tuesday, June 30.
Register here to join the session at 11:30 AM ET / 8:30 AM PT / 16:30 GMT.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Meta is pausing an AI training program that tracks workers’ keystrokes
The move comes after sensitive data was leaked. (Business Insider)
+ Meta declined to say how long the pause would last. (Reuters $)
+ The program tracked staff keystrokes and mouse movements. (BBC)
+ AI is supercharging surveillance. (MIT Technology Review)
2 Trump is throwing his weight behind quantum computing
He's signed an order for a system for scientific research by 2028. (Reuters $)
+ A second order aims to protect government systems from the tech. (TNW)
3 A trial was reportedly won using an AI lawyer
An AI law firm in England won the landmark case over an unpaid debt. (Guardian)
+ Courts have been flooded with AI lawsuits. (MIT Technology Review)
4 Tesla faces a federal probe after a Model 3 killed a 76-year-old
The car crashed into the woman’s Texas home. (NYT $)
+ Police said Tesla’s driver-assistance system has been engaged. (CNBC)
5 Google DeepMind has partnered with movie studio A24 to build AI tools
It’s invested $75 million into the company as well. (The Verge)
+ The deal aims to develop new movie production tech. (WSJ $)
6 Nvidia says its new data center design can significantly cut water use
The breakthrough lies in a “closed-loop” cooling system. (Gizmodo)
+ But there are major caveats to Nvidia’s claims. (The Verge)
+ We did the math on AI’s energy footprint. (MIT Technology Review)
7 SpaceX today plans to test a spacecraft for moving cargo from orbit
Starfall is designed to deliver payloads anywhere on Earth. (Ars Technica)
+ Commercial space stations are gaining traction. (MIT Technology Review)
8 People training new AI models admit they just get chatbots to do it
Which may reduce the usefulness of future models. (New Scientist $)
+ AI trained on AI garbage spits out AI garbage. (MIT Technology Review)
9 A woman with Alzheimer's regained speech after taking psilocybin
She had only spoken in monosyllables before the dose. (Vice)
+ But psychedelics are falling short in clinical trials. (MIT Technology Review)
10 Elon Musk and NASA’s chief are dreaming of antimatter propulsion
They argue it could enable travel beyond our solar system. (Gizmodo)
Quote of the day
“If AI is to help build a better future, it must be honest about what it costs us now.”
—UN Secretary-General António Guterres calls on AI firms to come clean on environmental costs during his address at London Climate Action Week.
One More Thing
The entrepreneur dreaming of a factory of unlimited organs
When her daughter was diagnosed with a fatal lung disease, entrepreneur Martine Rothblatt started a biotechnology company. Her goal was to create what she calls an “unlimited supply of transplantable organs.”
Back then, Rothblatt's vision seemed not only impossible but “phantasmagoric.” But genetically engineered pig organs have already been transplanted into humans, while United Therapeutics is also developing 3D-printed lungs.
Rothblatt believes every body part could eventually be 3D-printed. She envisions a pipeline of readily available transplantable organs, saving countless lives—including her daughter’s.
Read the full story on her bet that the future of medicine lies in organs on demand.
—Antonio Regalado
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.)
+ George Washington’s original beer recipe is a delicious taste of American history.
+ Korn's "Falling Away From Me" has been lovingly reconstructed as a jazz fusion brass track.
+ Brighten your morning with a massive, cheering gallery of 99 incredibly derpy animal faces.
+ This 20-legged omnidirectional robot moves seamlessly in any direction like a mechanical sea urchin.
English (US) ·