Summary
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. Why worms (and microbes) are catching on as a manure pollution solution Anthony Agueda, a third-generation California dairy farmer, pulls a rake through a bed of dark, wet wood chips to reveal a half-dozen squirming red earthworms. There are likely hundreds of thousands more wriggling just under the surface. The worms and microbes are part of a “vermifiltration” system that cleans manure wastewater. The approach may dramatically cut methane, nitrous oxide, and water pollution. Vermifiltration is just one of a variety of methods that farmers, companies, and scientists are employing to drive down manure pollution as the livestock industry faces growing pressure to address the environmental harms from one of the smelliest parts of the business. MIT Technology Review Narrated: geoengineering gets a reality check Solar geoengineering, the controversial idea that we could deliberately intervene in the climate system to counteract global warming, is moving beyond computer simulations and into the practical engineering challenges required to make it real. This is our latest story to be turned into an MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we publish each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it’s released. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 The Trump administration has lifted restrictions on OpenAI’s GPT 5.6 The green light came after additional testing and meetings. (Axios) + OpenAI subsequently said it will launch widely tomorrow. (Bloomberg ) + Beijing is also weighing the security risks of open-weight AI. (SCMP) + And has issued a “backdoor” security alert over Claude Code. (CNBC) 3 European NATO allies have unveiled a ) + The Dutch and British are also developing amphibious ships. (Bloomberg ) + It’s also released an AI image generator. (NYT ) 5 China’s DeepSeek is developing its own AI chip, sources say It could reduce the company’s reliance on Nvidia and Huawei. (Bloomberg ) + AI has given Wikipedia a language problem. (MIT Technology Review) 7 SpaceX plans to launch its first model coproduced with Cursor The new frontier model could arrive as soon as this week. (Information 60 billion. (FT ) 9 Scientists have detected a mystery chemical on Pluto and Titan It appears to absorb light in a way we don’t currently understand. (Wired $) 10 A Waymo robotaxi reportedly called the cops on drinking teens Officers then approached the vehicle with guns drawn. (404 Media) Quote of the day “Parents do you know where your teens are? Waymo does!” —Local police post on Facebook that a Waymo in California called the cops on two teenagers for “drinking and shooting from the vehicle.” One More Thing MICHAEL BYERS Your boss is watching Dora Manriquez has spent nine years driving for Uber and Lyft, where every ride she accepts or rejects is tracked by the apps she relies on for work. Having found herself unable to score enough better-paying rides, she has had to file for bankruptcy. App-based employers aren’t the only ones keeping a very close eye on workers today. Jobs today—whether in an office, a warehouse, or your car—can mean constant electronic surveillance with little transparency, and potentially with livelihood-ending consequences if your productivity flags. A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line.)
- Literary worlds collide in this marvellous Dr Seuss/Stephen King mashup. + A daring snorkeler saved a dolphin from a suckerfish—and then celebrated with its whole pod. + This clever musical project seamlessly constructs an original song from vocal snippets of 50 artists singing US city names. + A long-lost wallet from 1970 was recently unearthed, creating a cute time capsule from its owner’s high school years.