The newsletter introduces MIT Technology Review’s annual 10 Breakthrough Technologies list, positioning it as a counterpoint to growing cynicism about the tech industry. While many high-profile “disruptions” of the last 15 years have catered to a narrow, affluent audience rather than broadly improving society, the editors argue that technology still has the capacity to make the planet healthier, more livable, and more equitable. The list is described as the product of months of debate across the newsroom, aiming to spotlight 10 technologies that are poised to fundamentally alter the world. Readers are encouraged to examine the full list and are given the chance to cast a vote for an 11th breakthrough, with voting open until April.
In a reflective section, Fabio Duarte of the MIT Senseable City Lab notes that this year marks the 25th edition of the 10 Breakthrough Technologies project, meaning journalists and editors have now labeled 250 technologies as breakthroughs. He references earlier work by editor at large David Rotman, who revisited the original list and found that while all the technologies remained relevant, they had evolved in often unpredictable ways. Duarte explains that in a graduate class he co-teaches at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning, students analyze these histories to understand not just successes but failures, arguing that examining why some “breakthrough” technologies do not work out is as important as predicting future advances.
The rest of the newsletter curates notable technology stories from around the world, including reports on Iran’s near-total internet shutdown during a violent government crackdown, new surveillance tools acquired by ICE that can track individuals across neighborhoods, and moves by Malaysia and Indonesia to block access to the Grok tool over its role in explicit non-consensual deepfakes. It also flags concerns over a proposed 5% wealth tax in Silicon Valley, Meta’s new deals with nuclear companies as demand for power grows alongside Artificial Intelligence ambitions, and the memorization problem in Artificial Intelligence models that reproduce copyrighted content. Additional links cover consumer gadgets from CES, the global reach of WhatsApp, the growing permanence of Artificial Intelligence music and its implications for authorship, and broader calls for better online experiences. The newsletter closes with a feature on startup Found Energy, which has activated what it says is the largest aluminum-water reactor ever built to test aluminum scrap as a potential zero-carbon fuel at a US tool manufacturing facility, and a lighthearted section offering small comforts, from intergenerational love stories to unusual museums and hobby ideas.
