Research & Development news

The Download: the claim shaking up AI and the internet’s agent problem

20-10-2026 14:10 via technologyreview.com

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.“We were looking at it wrong”: The explosive claim that’s upended the AI world“I think I have good news about the nature of neural networks.” With those simple words of optimism, Nick Cammarata, a researcher at AI startup Goodfire, kicked off a 26,000-word blog post that has knocked the AI world on its head, sparking wi

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AI adoption by industry shows what other sectors can learn

20-10-2026 14:00 via technologyreview.com

The current narrative around artificial intelligence in the workplace is largely driven by Silicon Valley. But treating the tech sector as an island misses the actual trends in technology adoption–tech is just the first industry in line.As generative AI and automation tools mature, the shifts currently reshaping software engineering and product management will inevitably filter into healthcare, education, retail, and manufacturing. The variation in adoption rates today isn’t a sign t

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How to study a swiftly melting climate disaster

20-10-2026 12:00 via technologyreview.com

Andrew Haverdink, a tall grad student in a rain bib and rubber boots, wrenched a double-handed drill from the frozen soil that underlies much of Alaska’s Denali National Park and then unclipped the hollow barrel from the end of the bit. He knelt in front of a blue tarp, lined the barrel up with a plastic tray, and pushed a rod through the opposite end. A perfect solid, cylindrical core of ancient soil emerged—dark, rich permafrost at least a foot long.On that late morning in ea

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These startups hope “blended” food will cut our appetite for red meat

20-10-2026 11:00 via technologyreview.com

In the fall of 2025, Jeff Dodge set up a six-foot folding table in the cafeteria of Cane Bay High School in Summerville, South Carolina, to conduct a taste test. When the first rush of about 150 hungry students hit, he was waiting with slow cookers filled with steaming marinara sauce and meatballs. Kids love a taste test, but they’re also discerning, and Dodge wasn’t sure what they would make of his product, a blend featuring both meat and mushrooms. As students swarmed the tabl

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A visit to Samsung’s massive new semiconductor hub

20-10-2026 11:00 via technologyreview.com

_____________
THE PLACE
Pyeongtaek,
South KoreaGenerative AI models run on powerful chips known as GPUs, which depend on stacks of specialized memory chips packaged with the processor. To meet growing demand for memory, Samsung is building a massive new semiconductor manufacturing complex in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Three fabs already operate around the clock, and a fourth is coming online. Construction of a fifth was halted during a drop in demand for memory chips in 2024 but restarted when the

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