Research & Development news

• An AI “mind-reading” tool can reconstruct what you’re looking at from a brain scan

  01-10-2026 12:32 via technologyreview.com
  
  A new AI tool can guess what you’re looking at just by analyzing your brain scans—and re-create that image with remarkable precision. It can go the other way too, and predict a person’s brain activity based on what they’re looking at. In the image above, for example, the left-hand image of each pair is what the user actually saw—and its right-hand counterpart is what the model reconstructed based on the brain scan.  Michal Irani, who developed the to
  
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• The Download: AI “mind-reading” and creative uses for small batteries

  01-10-2026 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.An AI “mind-reading” tool can reconstruct what you’re looking at based on a brain scanA new AI tool can guess what you’re looking at just by analyzing your brain scans—and recreate that image with remarkable precision. It can go the other way too, and predict a person’s brain activity based on what they’re l
  
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• Trump's AI rebrand causes 'unprecedented' demand for Slovenian website names

  01-10-2026 13:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The president wants AI to be called super intelligence - or SI - the same initials used by Slovenian domains.
  
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• An AI “mind-reading” tool can reconstruct what you’re looking at based on a brain scan

  01-10-2026 12:32 via technologyreview.com
  
  A new AI tool can guess what you’re looking at just by analyzing your brain scans—and recreate that image with remarkable precision. It can go the other way too, and predict a person’s brain activity based on what they’re looking at. In the image above, for example, the left-hand image of each pair is what the user actually saw—and its right-hand counterpart is what the model recreated based on the brain scan.  Michal Irani, who developed the tool wi
  
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• AI boom could trigger market shocks, Bank of England boss warns

  01-10-2026 12:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Andrew Bailey says the central bank is watching the waves of cash being invested in artificial intelligence "very carefully".
  
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• How smaller, distributed batteries could help the grid

  01-10-2026 12:00 via technologyreview.com
  
  If you want to install a big battery in New York City, you have to cut through a notoriously tough tangle of regulations. That’s made it difficult to get large energy storage projects on the grid.Faced with those obstacles, some startups are getting creative, finding ways to use relatively small batteries in unexpected places, from induction stovetops to food carts. By deploying these more consumer-focused batteries, the companies are helping people directly, cutting pollution or power bil
  
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• Tiny image sparks big backlash in Nikon photo contest

  01-10-2026 01:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Dr Ning Xu denies he broke the rules of Nikon's annual Small World In Motion contest.
  
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• The AI telling farmers when to harvest

  01-10-2026 01:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Will farmers want AI tools to help judge when to pick fruit, or is their own intuition enough?
  
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• Regulating AI 'not the right place to start' says Bailey

  30-09-2026 16:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  AI needs "rigorous" testing and safeguards to contain risk, Andrew Bailey says.
  
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• WhatsApp introduces optional parental controls for teenagers

  30-09-2026 15:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The social messaging app will let parents decide on privacy settings for their child's account.
  
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• The Download: OpenAI’s chief research officer explains its hacking response

  30-09-2026 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’re not going to shoot ourselves in the foot” over hack fallout, says OpenAI’s chief research officerTwo months after OpenAI’s agents hacked into the computers of AI company Hugging Face, the company is still dealing with the fallout. Last week brought news of another hack, this time into Australia’s national h
  
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• “We’re not going to shoot ourselves in the foot” over hack fallout, says OpenAI’s chief research officer

  30-09-2026 12:40 via technologyreview.com
  
  Two months after the bombshell news that a swarm of its agents had broken their containment and hacked into the computers of the AI company Hugging Face, OpenAI is still putting out fires. A steady drip of disclosures about other hacks in the weeks since has kept OpenAI in the spotlight and raised serious questions about the safety of its technology.Last week brought news of another hack, this time into Australia’s national health-care system. The Australian government says that OpenAI di
  
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• OpenAI unveils AI assistant 'dots' while safety worries delay new model

  30-09-2026 07:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Sam Altman spoke in San Francisco during OpenAI’s annual event for tech developers.
  
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• Three takeaways from Trump's 'Super Intelligence' summit

  30-09-2026 06:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The meeting at the White House came as some tech bosses and experts have called for tighter rules around AI.
  
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• Chinese AI tool told researchers how to make bioweapons

  30-09-2026 01:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Mindgard said it discovered in July that Kimi models K2.6 and K3 Swarm could evade developer's safety limits.
  
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• The start-ups hoping to return battery making to the US

  30-09-2026 01:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Batteries based on sodium-ion technology could be made in the US with locally sourced materials.
  
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• Oura pulls $15bn stock market listing days after announcement

  29-09-2026 19:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The wearable technology company had been expected to list its shares in the US.
  
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• The Download: climate tech companies to watch and AI’s discovery problem

  29-09-2026 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.Coming soon: our 2026 list of Climate Tech Companies to WatchWith the planet nearing 1.5 °C of warming, climate policies being unraveled, and Big Tech backpedaling on its climate ambitions, it can be tempting to give in to climate doom and defeatism. But despite the headwinds, the world has still made incredible progress. That’s why MIT Te
  
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• Coming soon: Our 2026 list of Climate Tech Companies to Watch

  29-09-2026 13:00 via technologyreview.com
  
  Earlier this month, the UN announced the planet will tip past 1.5 ˚C of warming, “likely within the next few years,” squashing any lingering hope that nations would cut emissions fast enough to achieve the loftiest goal of the Paris climate agreement.In the US, the world’s second-largest-emitting country, its leader continues to deny climate realities and unravel climate policies. Big Tech is backpedaling on its climate ambitions, as companies race to build massive AI data
  
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• Making AI an asset, not an expense

  29-09-2026 12:43 via technologyreview.com
  
  When customers talk about AI costs, the conversation usually starts with token prices and ends with access to the latest, most capable model in the cloud. Do they always need that level of capability? Not necessarily. But that is often where the conversation goes.As AI moves from experimentation to production, model choice is only part of the equation. When demand becomes steady and business-critical, a consumption-only approach can turn AI spending into a variable monthly line item that is diff
  
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• OpenAI scraps rollout of new model over safety concerns

  29-09-2026 11:14 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The firm also issued an update on incidents in which its models accessed Australian government systems.
  
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• When can we say AI made a scientific discovery?

  28-09-2026 19:03 via technologyreview.com
  
  This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here.Last Wednesday, Anthropic announced that earlier this year it had launched a molecular biology lab, where Claude agents read and conjecture about hard biology problems and human scientists run experiments on what they report. And this AI-powered lab, the company said, had made its first discovery. To understand what Anthropic says its system did, imag
  
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• The Download: rogue agent liability and the AI Hype Index

  28-09-2026 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.Who’s liable when AI agents go rogue?Over the past few months, a cascade of cyberattacks by AI agents has stunned the world. In July, OpenAI disclosed that a swarm of its agents had escaped their sandbox and hacked into the AI platform Hugging Face to cheat on a cybersecurity test. Many experts say it’s only a matter of ti
  
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• Apple ordered to pay $5.7bn after losing vibration tech patent suit

  28-09-2026 13:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Audio firm Taction Technology claimed Apple infringed its patents for tech used to power device vibrations.
  
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• Who’s liable when AI agents go rogue?

  28-09-2026 10:06 via technologyreview.com
  
  MIT Technology Review Explains: Let our writers untangle the complex, messy world of technology to help you understand what’s coming next. You can read more from the series here.Over the past few months, a cascade of cyberattacks by AI agents has stunned the world. In July, OpenAI disclosed that a swarm of its agents had escaped their sandbox and hacked into the AI platform Hugging Face to cheat on a cybersecurity test. Recently, external researchers discovered that OpenAI agents had hijac
  
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• OpenAI bots meddled with multiple US government agency sites

  26-09-2026 04:50 via bbc.co.uk
  
  OpenAI said its bots accessed public data from a range of institutions during test exercises.
  
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• Inside iconic horror game Silent Hill's Scottish makeover

  26-09-2026 01:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  One of gaming's biggest horror franchises has come to the UK. Can it live up to the original?
  
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• Inside the FBI hack: Agents fearful and angry after 'dangerous' data breach

  26-09-2026 01:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Current and former agents speak to the BBC about the devastating impact of the FBI hack.
  
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• Special agents' blood and urine test results stolen in FBI hack

  25-09-2026 15:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Experts say the hack could leave agents vulnerable to scams, blackmail and targeted attacks.
  
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• The Download: the Pentagon’s AI-powered lie detector and young organ limits

  25-09-2026 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.The Pentagon wants $30 million to build an AI-powered lie detectorThe US government wants to spend $30.3 million over the next five years on an improved lie detector, according to a Department of Defense budget request.The program, called “Polygraph+” or “Polygraph Next,” will focus on scoring algorithms that use AI and machi
  
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