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