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.
What to expect from Neuralink in 2025
In November, a young man named Noland Arbaugh announced he’d be livestreaming from his home for three days straight. His broadcast was in some ways typical fare: a backyard tour, video games, meet mom.
The difference is that Arbaugh, who is paralyzed, has thin electrode-studded wires installed in his brain, which he used to move a computer mouse on a screen, click menus, and play chess. The implant, called N1, was installed last year by neurosurgeons working with Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain-interface company.
Arbaugh’s livestream is an indicator that Neuralink is a whole lot closer to creating a plug-and-play experience that can restore people’s daily ability to roam the web and play games, giving them what the company has called “digital freedom.”
But this is not yet a commercial product. The current studies are small-scale—they are true experiments, explorations of how the device works and how it can be improved. Read on for our analysis of what to expect from the company in 2025.
—Antonio Regalado
Meta’s new AI model can translate speech from more than 100 languages
What’s new: Meta has released a new AI model that can translate speech from 101 different languages. It represents a step toward real-time, simultaneous interpretation, where words are translated as soon as they come out of someone’s mouth.
Why it matters: Typically, translation models for speech use a multistep approach which can be inefficient, and at each step, errors and mistranslations can creep in. But Meta’s new model, called SeamlessM4T, enables more direct translation from speech in one language to speech in another. Read the full story.
—Scott J Mulligan
Interest in nuclear power is surging. Is it enough to build new reactors?
Lately, the vibes have been good for nuclear power. Public support is building, and public and private funding have made the technology more economical in key markets. There’s also a swell of interest from major companies looking to power their data centers.
These shifts have been great for existing nuclear plants. We’re seeing efforts to boost their power output, extend the lifetime of old reactors, and even reopen facilities that have shut down. That’s good news for climate action, because nuclear power plants produce consistent electricity with very low greenhouse-gas emissions.
I covered all these trends in my latest story, which digs into what’s next for nuclear power in 2025 and beyond. But as I spoke with experts, one central question kept coming up for me: Will all of this be enough to actually get new reactors built?
—Casey Crownhart
This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate and energy newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Donald Trump is exploring how to save TikTok
An executive order could suspend its ban or sale by up to 90 days. (WP $)
+ But questions remain over the legality of such a move. (Axios)
+ YouTuber MrBeast has said he’s interested in buying the app. (Insider $)
+ The depressing truth about TikTok’s impending ban. (MIT Technology Review)
2 Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket has made it into space
But it lost a booster along the way. (The Verge)
3 Angelenos are naming and shaming landlords for illegal price gouging
A grassroots Google Sheet is tracking rentals with significant price increases among the wild fires. (Fast Company $)
4 How the Trump administration will shake up defense tech
It’s likely to favor newer players over established firms for lucrative contracts. (FT $)
+ Weapons startup Anduril plans to build a $1 billion factory in Ohio. (Axios)
+ Palmer Luckey on the Pentagon’s future of mixed reality. (MIT Technology Review)
5 The difference between mistakes made by humans and AI
Machines’ errors are a whole lot weirder, for a start. (IEEE Spectrum)
+ A new public database lists all the ways AI could go wrong. (MIT Technology Review)
6 The creator economy is bouncing back
Funding for creator startups is rising, after two years in the doldrums. (The Information $)
7 Predicting the future of tech is notoriously tough
But asking better initial questions is a good place to start. (WSJ $)
8 IVF isn’t just for combating fertility problems any more
It’s becoming a tool for genetic screening before a baby is even born. (The Atlantic $)
+ Three-parent baby technique could create babies at risk of severe disease. (MIT Technology Review)
9 The killer caterpillars could pave the way to better medicine 
Studying their toxic secretions could help create new drugs more quickly. (Knowable Magazine)
10 How to document your life digitally
If physical diaries aren’t for you, there are plenty of smartphone-based options. (NYT $)
Quote of the day
“Americans may only be able to watch as their app rots.”
—Joseph Lorenzo Hall, a technologist at the nonprofit Internet Society, tells Reuters how TikTok’s complicated network of service providers means that the app could fall apart gradually, rather than all at once, if the proposed US ban goes ahead.
The big story
How refrigeration ruined fresh food
October 2024
Three-quarters of everything in the average American diet passes through the cold chain—the network of warehouses, shipping containers, trucks, display cases, and domestic fridges that keep meat, milk, and more chilled on the journey from farm to fork.
As consumers, we put a lot of faith in terms like “fresh” and “natural,” but artificial refrigeration has created a blind spot. We’ve gotten so good at preserving (and storing) food, that we know more about how to lengthen an apple’s life span than a human’s, and most of us don’t give that extraordinary process much thought at all. But all that convenience has come at the expense of diversity and deliciousness. Read the full story.
—Allison Arieff
We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)
+ The biggest and best tours of 2025 look really exciting (especially Oasis!)
+ If you love classic mobile phones, you need to check out Aalto University’s newly launched Nokia Design Archive immediately.
+ The one and only Ridley Scott explains how a cigarette inspired that iconic hand-in-wheat shot in Gladiator.
+ Set aside your reading goals for the year—your only aim should be to read the books you really want to.
#Download #whats #Neuralink #Metas #language #translation
