The Download: the Russia-Ukraine war’s effect on tech, and shaking up AI search
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.
How the Ukraine-Russia war is reshaping the tech sector in Eastern Europe
It might have been hard a few years ago to imagine soldiers heading to battle on oversized toys made by a tech startup with no military heritage. But Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s attacks has been a miracle of social resilience and innovation—and the way the country has mobilized is serving both a warning and an inspiration to its neighbors.
In the desperate early days of the war, Ukrainian combat units wanted any equipment they could get their hands on, and they were willing to try out ideas—like a military scooter—that might not have made the cut in peacetime.
But while governments and companies alike are investing billions into defense tech, some experts warn that Europe has only partially learned the lessons from Ukraine’s resistance. And, if it wants to be ready to meet the threat of attack, it needs to find new ways of working with the tech sector. Read the full story.
—Peter Guest
This is our latest Big Story—MIT Technology Review’s most important, ambitious reporting on technologies that are coming next and what they will mean for us and the world we live in. Check out the rest of the section here.
The startup trying to turn the web into a database
What’s new: A startup called Exa is pitching a new spin on generative search. It uses the tech behind large language models to return lists of results that it claims are more on point than those from its rivals, including Google and OpenAI.
Exa already provides its search engine as a back-end service to companies that want to build their own applications on top of it. Now it’s launching the first consumer version of that search engine, called Websets.
What’s the goal here? The aim is to turn the internet’s chaotic tangle of web pages into a kind of directory, with results that are specific and precise. It’s aimed at power users who need to look for things that other search engines aren’t great at finding, such as types of people or companies. Read the full story.
—Will Douglas Heaven
MIT Technology Review Narrated: Beyond gene-edited babies
In the future, CRISPR will get easier and easier to administer, potentially opening up paths for tinkering with human evolution. What will that mean for our species?
This is our latest story to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which
we’re publishing 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 The US is struggling to kick Chinese hackers out of its networks
Six months after its investigations into their intrusions began. (Axios)
+ Authorities are advising concerned users to switch to encrypted apps. (WP $)
2 Russia is using civilians as target practice for its killer drones
Creating an atmosphere of psychological terror for Ukraine’s residents. (FT $)
+ Meet the radio-obsessed civilian shaping Ukraine’s drone defense. (MIT Technology Review)
3 Can anyone topple Nvidia?
Many have tried, but none—yet—have succeeded. (NYT $)
+ China is claiming the US-made chips pose a security risk. (Reuters)
+ Meanwhile, Apple is using Amazon’s custom chips for its search. (CNBC)
+ Amazon has lofty plans for a colossal AI supercomputer made of chips. (WSJ $)
4 Mark Zuckerberg is hankering for an ‘active role’ in Trump’s administration
It sounds like the former enemies could be on the verge of burying the hatchet. (The Guardian)
+ Meta’s claims that it previously ‘overdid’ moderation will be music to Trump’s ears. (Insider $)
+ Trump offered billionaire Stephen Feinberg the job of deputy defense secretary. (WP $)
5 Inside Chicago’s ambitious plans to become a quantum hub
It’s carving its own path away from Silicon Valley. (WSJ $)
+ Quantum computing is taking on its biggest challenge: noise. (MIT Technology Review)
6 Abortion policy in America is at a stalemate
The ability to travel for reproductive care is the next frontier. (The Atlantic $)
7 Why we should think carefully about geoengineering
Blocking sunlight isn’t without risks. (Undark Magazine)
+ The inadvertent geoengineering experiment that the world is now shutting off. (MIT Technology Review)
8 The unstoppable rise of raw milk
RFK has become the poster boy for the unpasteurised movement. (NY Mag $)
+ Raw milk could also act as a vehicle for bird flu right now. (MIT Technology Review)
9 What happens when you fall in love with an AI?
These people have firsthand experience of just that. (The Verge)
10 What sweat can teach us about our health
A lot more than you might think. (New Scientist $)
Quote of the day
“I can’t give you a running commentary on conversations I was not part of.”
—Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, plays coy when asked by the Verge about Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg’s recent dinner with President-elect Donald Trump.
The big story
How this Turing Award–winning researcher became a legendary academic advisor
October 2023
Every academic field has its superstars. But a rare few achieve superstardom not just by demonstrating individual excellence but also by consistently producing future superstars.
Computer science has its own such figure: Manuel Blum, who won the 1995 Turing Award—the Nobel Prize of computer science. He is the inventor of the captcha—a test designed to distinguish humans from bots online.
Three of Blum’s students have also won Turing Awards, and many have received other high honors in theoretical computer science, such as the Gödel Prize and the Knuth Prize. More than 20 hold professorships at top computer science departments. But is there some formula to his success? Read the full story.
—Sheon Han
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 tweet ’em at me.)
+ Why does everyone sing ‘caught in the middle’ like that? Music theory has an answer.
+ The mysterious Breakmaster Cylinder has completely reengineered the sound from the first 20 minutes of Mad Max: Fury Road and it’s great.
+ This 16-year old Australian sprinter might just be the next Usain Bolt.
+ Don’t expect Dune and Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve to direct a Star Wars movie any time soon.
