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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.
PsiQuantum has a plan to make a massive quantum computer out of light
The machine that could change the world will be housed in a room that looks like a data center crossed with an ice cream factory.
Inside, some 100 stainless-steel cabinets each hold hundreds of chips. On those chips, thousands of light particles will fly through a maze of optical switches and beam splitters. Each photon must be accounted for, because precisely measuring where it ends up will help answer questions that current computers might take millions of years to solve.
This computer, as described, does not exist. It’s the brainchild of a company called PsiQuantum, founded in 2016 by four physicists from UK universities. In a crowded field of deep-pocketed competitors with similarly fantastical visions, the company aims to be the first to build a useful quantum machine.
Read the full story on the company’s quest.
—James O’Donnell
MIT Technology Review Narrated: inside the world’s deepest and longest subsea road tunnel
—Niall Firth
I’m currently around 1,000 feet beneath the North Sea, in a dark, dank cave. It smells weird. And I’m increasingly aware of the pressure from millions of tons of seawater just above my head.
I’m under the iconic fjords of Norway to visit what will soon become the world’s longest and deepest subsea road tunnel—an exceptional engineering feat that will carry drivers deep beneath the North Sea.
I’m here to understand how you make a 16.6-mile highway that sits 1,280 feet below the sea at its deepest point. And also—at a time when it can feel hard to get anything done—to reassure myself that ambitious engineering is still possible. That we can still make things.
This is our latest story to be turned into an MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we publish each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it’s released.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Meta allegedly used AI to target workers with health issues for layoffs
Their lawsuit says Meta relied on AI to create a termination list. (Guardian)
+ And pinpointed staff who took maternity or disability leave. (Reuters $)
+ One was allegedly informed the day before her water broke. (Ars Technica)
+ The layoffs aimed to offset Meta’s AI spending. (Gizmodo)
+ AI agents are not your “coworkers.” (MIT Technology Review)
2 OpenAI’s first consumer device will be a mobile smart speaker
The screenless device will serve as an “AI companion.” (Bloomberg $)
+ It’ll let you talk with ChatGPT. (Verge)
+ And use a camera and sensor to understand your environment. (Reuters $)
+ It’s set to launch next year. (Engadget)
3 The US military sent explosive drone boats into combat for the first time
They attacked an Iranian midget submarine and naval port. (Ars Technica)
+ Underwater drones may shape a war in Taiwan. (MIT Technology Review)
4 DeepMind’s CEO has called for a US-led body to test frontier AI models
Demis Hassabis wants the watchdog to vet national security threats. (FT $)
+ If dangers mount, it would coordinate an industry-wide slowdown. (Axios)
5 Data centers are set to add billions in power costs in 13 states
A power auction is slated to produce $6.3 billion in new charges. (NYT $)
+ Australia plans to govern the use of water and power for AI. (WSJ $)
6 xAI’s unpermitted power pollution hits Black communities hardest
Elon Musk’s xAI has been installing gas turbines without permits. (Reuters $)
+ We need to focus on Big Tech’s energy footprint. (MIT Technology Review)
7 Stripe and Advent have offered to buy PayPal for more than $53 billion
The payments giant and private equity firm have made a joint bid. (Reuters $)
+ Apple and Google Pay have eroded PayPal’s market share. (Bloomberg $)
8 DeepSeek plans to file for IPO as soon as this year
The Chinese AI pioneer is likely to list in Shanghai. (WSJ $)
+ Here’s why DeepSeek’s latest model matters. (MIT Technology Review)
9 A hard, lightweight “bio-metal” has been discovered in sea worm jaws
It could have applications in engineering. (New Scientist $)
10 A new $3,000 fitness suit electrocutes you to boost your gains
Celebrities love it—but not everyone’s a fan. (404 Media)
Quote of the day
“By economic and engineering measures, generative AI might be the worst technology ever deployed.”
—Alex Reisner, a staff writer at The Atlantic, explains why GenAI’s scaling problem is an engineering disaster.
One More Thing
Hackers made death threats against this security researcher. Big mistake.
In April 2024, an anonymous hacker began posting death threats on Telegram and Discord channels aimed at a cybersecurity researcher named Allison Nixon. It wasn’t long before others piled on. Someone shared AI-generated nudes of her.
They targeted Nixon because she had become a formidable threat. As chief research officer at the cyber investigations firm Unit 221B, named after Sherlock Holmes’s apartment, she had built a career tracking cybercriminals and helping get them arrested.
For years, Nixon had lurked quietly in online chat channels or used pseudonyms to engage with perpetrators and bring them to justice. Now, she resolved to unmask the people behind the death threats—and take them down for crimes they admitted to committing.
Find out why they learned to regret their choice of target.
—Kim Zetter
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.)
+ A musician has discovered the true masters of metal breakdowns: birds.
+ Photographer Fontanesi’s surreal photo splits transform everyday images into spectacular hybrid scenes.
+ Over 30 actors, filmmakers, and friends recount how Steven Spielberg infiltrated Hollywood in this terrific article.
+ Who would win the World Cup if less important things than soccer decided it, like life expectancy and happiness? A new game tests your knowledge.
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