Democrats Just Might Win the Senate
Strategists in both parties have long thought that everything would need to go right for Democrats to take over Congress this fall. Their map, though, is becoming more forgiving.
Technology
The Meta Settlement Will Put Limits on Instagram for Teens. They’re Still Vulnerable
Child safety groups and former Meta employees welcome proposed changes to how the company’s platforms will work for teens. They also think states should have demanded more.
Waffle House Teleporter Gregg Phillips Is Still on the Trump Administration’s Payroll
In June, a FEMA official infamous for claiming to have teleported to a Waffle House was reportedly ousted. He’s still employed by the government, though—and meeting with a Trump fixer.
The Download: the Kids issue arrives, and Bill Gates reveals his AI fears
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. Introducing: the Kids issue If the desire to limit kids’ use of technology was once a subcurrent, it has become a raging flood. Countries around the world are banning children from…
AgeLab research inspires an A I startup
When Don Yansen ’63 arrived at the MIT AgeLab for a study on technology in caregiving for older adults, he didn’t plan to launch another company. But when he heard participants talk about how hard modern devices can be to use, he decided to develop an alternative. Yansen, a serial entrepreneur who retired to care for…
A new stamp on cyberfraud prevention
For Rupert Young ’95, SM ’95, his career in data science and cybersecurity began when his grandfather gifted him thousands of stamps: He built intricate databases to catalogue them, displaying the “precise eye” for detail and nuance that his MIT application essay said would make him a good engineer. Young is now chief product officer…
Viral AI startup Instinct has raised $350 million at a $2.5 billion valuation
The startup is only a year old but it has already generated a massive amount of hype (and money) while also spurring privacy concerns.
Amazon just tripled its order of Nvidia chips over ‘surging demand’
Amazon is adding another 2 million Nvidia GPU chips to its data centers over the next two years. But this extended partnerships stretches beyond buying more chips.
Meta’s $18B child-safety deal hinges on age-verification tech that doesn’t work well
The historic settlement reignites ongoing concern around how age-verification technology puts privacy at risk.
Flipboard acquires Graze, the feed builder working to monetize the open social web
Flipboard is acquiring Bluesky feed-building startup Graze, bringing its privacy-friendly ad technology and creator monetization tools into Flipboard’s growing open social web ecosystem.