Roundtables: A Conversation With the Creator of AI-Designed Viruses

Listen to the session or watch below Can AI design new life forms? In 2025, Stanford University PhD student Samuel King came up with a preliminary answer when he used a generative AI model to propose genetic blueprints for microscopic viruses. It isn’t yet an example of AI-generated life, but that could be next. Watch…

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Roundtables: The Deadly Failures of The Virtual Border Wall

Listen to the session or watch below The US has spent billions building a “virtual wall” of surveillance towers along its southern border over the past 25 years, promising they will help detect and apprehend border crossers and save lives. But a groundbreaking investigation by MIT Technology Review has documented over a thousand people who…

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Roundtables: Could AI really kill us all?

Listen to the session or watch below Employees at the world’s leading AI labs are saying there’s a real possibility that advanced AI could destroy humanity. Are they right? Or is this more scaremongering and hype? Watch a conversation unpacking AI extinction fears: where they come from, whether they hold any water, and, if so,…

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Roundtables: Inside the “Censorship-Industrial Complex” Idea Shaping US Policy

Listen to the session or watch below The “censorship-industrial complex” is an idea that a network of government, tech, and research groups is collaborating to suppress conservative online speech. This was fodder for the right-wing information sphere for years—then it began making its way into US policy. Watch a conversation exploring how it started, where…

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Roundtables: Longevity’s Next Frontier: “Reprogramming” Your Body

Listen to the session or watch below 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? Watch a conversation exploring longevity’s new focus. Speakers: Mary Beth Griggs, science editor and Jessica…

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Exclusive eBook: How AI is becoming the next military advisor
 Exclusive eBook: How AI is becoming the next military advisor

A collection of stories about how militaries are using AI models to make decisions. This subscriber-only eBook is a package of six stories that were originally published in MIT Technology Review between April 11, 2025, and April 21, 2026, and have been updated to reflect recent developments. by James O’Donnell Choose which file format to…

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Roundtables: Can AI Learn to Understand the World?

Listen to the session or watch below AI companies want to build systems that understand the external world and overcome the limitations of LLMs. Recent developments have brought world models to the forefront of the AI discussion. Watch a conversation with editor in chief Mat Honan, senior AI editor Will Douglas Heaven, and AI reporter…

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Roundtables: Inside the Musk v. Altman Trial

Listen to the session or watch below Elon Musk lost his suit against OpenAI, in which he alleged CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman had deceived him over the company’s non-profit status. Watch as AI reporter and attorney Michelle Kim, who covered the trial for MIT Technology Review, joins in conversation with editor in…

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World Models: 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now
 World Models: 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now

World models recently made our list of 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now. Watch executive editor Niall Firth explain why this emerging area of AI is gaining so much attention. Join MIT Technology Review editors and reporters for a subscriber-only Roundtables discussion, “Can AI Learn to Understand the World?” exploring how AI may evolve to…

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Exclusive eBook: Inside the stealthy startup that pitched brainless human clones

The ultimate plan to live forever is a brand new body. This subscriber-only eBook explores R3 Bio, a small startup that has pitched a startling and ethically charged vision for “brainless clones” to serve the role of backup human bodies. by Antonio Regalado March 20, 2026 Related Stories: Access all subscriber-only eBooks:

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