Two seats. No steering wheel. As Cybercab reaches paying passengers, Elon Musk’s boldest design choice puts the entire service on trial.
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News and analysis on technology, science and how they change our lives.
The essential readsSelected by Vastkind
Fei-Fei Li’s AI Fills in the World. What Did It Invent?
The ImageNet pioneer is building AI that can imagine spaces beyond a photograph. Knowing what it invented may be the crucial next step.
Alain Aspect Changed Physics. Now His Quantum Company Must Prove Useful.
A Nobel laureate, fresh capital and a protein experiment: Pasqal’s next test is turning extraordinary physics into work that matters.
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Selected 8 September 2026 · Four signals worth your attention.
Intel’s new chipmaking tools cross a million wafers.
Intel and ASML say their next-generation chipmaking tools have processed over a million wafers. That includes testing and research as well as selected production layers—a manufacturing milestone, not a million finished chips.
An AI-designed lung drug moves six aging clocks.
A new analysis of 42 trial participants found lower predicted biological age with rentosertib. The researchers cannot yet separate effects on aging from effects on lung disease.
Figure’s robot brains get a $3.5bn compute commitment.
Figure and Nscale plan capacity of up to 100,000 Nvidia GPUs, starting in the second half of 2027. The commitment reveals the infrastructure bill behind humanoids; better robots still have to follow.
Figure ·
Jülich switches on JION. Useful quantum work comes next.
The trapped-ion computer is running, with access through JUNIQ planned for researchers and companies. The next test is combining it with supercomputers to tackle practical problems.
The latest thinking
All articles Fresh perspectives.
Sanders wants to ban superintelligence. Human-level AI could be caught.
A new proposal would prohibit superintelligence and pause advanced AI development. Its definition reaches further than the slogan suggests.
The AI Boom Has a Veto Problem
New York, Seattle and Charlotte are putting brakes on data-center approvals. The AI boom is discovering that a construction budget cannot buy public permission.
EnergyStory update
AI Wants the Grid. Who Pays When the Boom Walks Away?
Ohio wants data centers to carry their own grid burden. The emerging rules expose the AI boom’s uncomfortable question: who pays when promised demand becomes public infrastructure?
A Tiny Tilt Made This Light Converter Work
A 0.3-degree adjustment unlocked an unusually strong optical response. The experiment shows why designing a remarkable material is only half the job.
AI Flagged More Methane Plumes. Which Ones Are Real?
Google’s satellite model makes invisible emissions easier to investigate. Its confidence labels reveal why a striking map needs a careful reading.
This Fly Wiring Map Doesn’t Stop at the Neck
A map of nearly 167,000 neurons follows the male fruit fly’s nervous system through its neck. Its real power is helping researchers choose what to test next.
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