MIT Technology Review Flags AI Roadblocks for Humanoids as WaveSave Joins Climate Tech List

The newsletter said much of the excitement around humanoid robots comes from the idea that the same AI advances behind ChatGPT and Claude could let robots imitate human movement the way chatbots imitate human language. Many researchers are skeptical. They argue that such assumptions minimize the challenges of using an intelligence built on language and images to master the infinite variability of the physical world. They also say conflating humanoids with so-called generalist machines is misleading. Across robotics labs, tensions have emerged over whether current forms of AI are all that is needed to perfect all-purpose humanoids or whether an entirely new path is required, MIT Technology Review reported. The story was produced in collaboration with Aventine, a non-profit research foundation.

WaveSave’s tool is a portable rubber dam that can be installed quickly when flooding starts. According to MIT Technology Review, anyone can unfurl the SlamDam on the ground along a riverbank or shoreline and pump it full of water until it swells into place. It stands up to 1.3 meters high, shielding nearby property or structures as waters rise. WaveSave plans to take the approach further. The company is one of MIT Technology Review’s 10 Climate Tech Companies to Watch 2026, a subscriber-only list that spans smart turbines, sustainable cement and carbon dioxide batteries.

In a note accompanying the climate tech list, Casey Crownhart wrote that the selection reflects several aspects of the current moment: China is the center of the climate and energy tech world, companies want a piece of the data center pie, and the grid needs support, with energy storage a key piece moving forward. The list is part of The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate tech newsletter.

The Download’s must-reads section also pointed to several other developments. Scientists in Austria and China have built the first nuclear clocks, which MIT Technology Review said could become the world’s most precise timekeepers and help scientists search for dark matter; China’s nuclear clock is six times more stable than Austria’s. Three fired OpenAI researchers want to protect AI reasoning monitoring, warning that AI companies could lose a key safety tool; OpenAI fired them for allegedly sharing sensitive information. Samsung has forecast the highest quarterly profit ever for a tech firm, with the AI chip boom sending projected profits to $80 billion. OpenAI’s math breakthroughs point beyond mathematics, as AI progresses into increasingly specialized fields, and OpenAI is catching up with Anthropic on coding.

Other items in the roundup included a 194-year-old tortoise whose genome has been sequenced, with his longevity potentially revealing ways to extend human lifespan; a fraudster who used AI to outstream Taylor Swift and was jailed after using AI-generated songs and bots to earn $8 million, though prosecutors said he stole royalty payments; TikTok allegedly giving kids fake safety features to study engagement, with tests measuring time spent and ad revenue; burglars potentially being identified from DNA floating in the air through a new device that collects airborne genetic material; pioneers of mirror-image molecules winning the chemistry Nobel for work that has become a key tool in developing medicines; and California declaring a human-vs-robot fight illegal because the state’s combat-sports laws were never written for machines.