Research & Development news

• The backlash about data centers might really just be about electricity

  09-11-2026 20:35 via MIT Technology Review
  
  This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here.As voters went to the polls across the US last week, I was in Ashburn, Virginia, part of what’s known as Data Center Alley—the world’s largest data center hub. It’s also where the backlash now sweeping the country arguably first began taking shape.Driving through it is surreal. Concrete monolithic buildings loom along every major road, with names like
  
  Read more

• Nancy Pelosi’s replacement is ready to regulate AI

  09-11-2026 18:05 via MIT Technology Review
  
  As a California state senator, Scott Wiener authored legislation aimed at curbing the risks of advanced AI. Now, after winning a tight congressional race for former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s open San Francisco seat, he could play a key role in setting federal AI policy. I spoke with Wiener on Friday, only a few hours after he had been declared the victor. But he was already thinking about AI risk. The previous day, the AI nonprofit METR had released a report that had been widely in
  
  Read more

• The Download: empty AI climate claims, and an Nvidia investigation

  09-11-2026 14:15 via MIT Technology Review
  
  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.Opinion: The climate case for AI has not been made —By Mary Nichols, distinguished counsel at the UCLA School of Law and the former chair of the California Air Resources Board, and Jeremy Tamanini, the founder of Dual Citizen, a sustainability research and advisory firmThis week, as countries meet in Antalya, Turkey for the United Nations climate confere
  
  Read more

• Innovating with AI in the special chemicals industry

  09-11-2026 14:00 via MIT Technology Review
  
  As companies look to accelerate innovation with artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and advanced modeling, the primary challenge is connecting new technologies to reliable data, scientific expertise, and the practical realities of bringing products to market. For specialty chemicals manufacturer Lubrizol, digital transformation is all about giving researchers the tools to test ideas faster, make better-informed decisions, and develop more sustainable materials without compromising performa
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• The climate case for AI has not been made

  09-11-2026 11:00 via MIT Technology Review
  
  This week, as countries meet in Antalya, Turkey for the United Nations climate conference, one topic likely to dominate the conversation is artificial intelligence. The host has already called on countries to commit to ensuring that AI is designed, powered, and deployed in ways that support climate action.But so far, industries around the world aren’t doing nearly enough to harness the technology to actually drive down the greenhouse-gas emissions heating up the planet, despite some very optim
  
  Read more

Follow @R_and_D_UK on Twitter!