securus technologies has been building an Artificial Intelligence system using its archive of recorded inmate communications and began developing those tools in 2023, president Kevin Elder told MIT Technology Review. the company trained at least one model using seven years of calls made by inmates in the Texas prison system and has worked on models for other states and counties. it is piloting those models to scan prisoners’ calls, texts and emails in the stated hope of predicting and preventing crimes.
prisoner rights advocates have raised concerns that the new system enables invasive surveillance, and the article notes that courts have specified few limits on such powers. alongside that reporting, MIT Technology Review has opened nominations for its 2026 Innovators Under 35 competition. the annual list recognizes 35 of the world’s best young scientists and inventors, and the newsroom has produced it for more than two decades. it is free to nominate yourself or someone you know, and the process is described as taking only a few moments.
the newsletter also rounds up must-read technology stories of the day. highlights include a New York law requiring retailers to disclose personalized pricing informed by users’ data; the White House launch of a media bias tracker; American startups’ reliance on open-source Chinese Artificial Intelligence models; reporting on how police body cam footage has become viral YouTube content; construction workers benefiting from the data center boom; China’s cautious stance on crypto; a startup experimenting with treating Artificial Intelligence companions like novel characters; developments in individualized weight-loss drugs; how Artificial Intelligence is reshaping consulting work; and Disney’s Artificial Intelligence animation accelerator. a quote of the day from Jenna Ortega reflects creative ambivalence about Artificial Intelligence. a final piece by Douglas Main examines how weeds are evolving herbicide resistance, noting they can reduce yields by 50% or more and have evolved resistance to 168 different herbicides and 21 of the 31 known “modes of action.”
