MIT Technology Review's 'Impossible Issue' Explores Synthetic Blood, Lunar Cities and AI That Can Say No

The issue explores synthetic blood, cities on the moon and cognitive immortality, according to the newsletter. It also investigates AI's ability to say no, a bionic eye that can restore sight and high hopes for blended meat, and checks in on six technologies that have been 'coming soon' for years.

Separately, the newsletter reported that Astrolab's FLIP lunar rover is slated to head to the moon as early as next month with a computer capable of running large language models among its payloads. The mission will test whether LLMs can enable greater autonomy and real-time intelligent decision-making in the extreme lunar environment, MIT Technology Review said, adding that the moon presents formidable challenges from extreme temperatures to intense cosmic radiation.

In Alaska's Denali National Park, a 2013 lightning fire burned nearly 35,000 acres and stripped away the insulating layer that preserves permafrost, the newsletter reported. Scientists are using the site to study how fires reshape permafrost and carbon storage over time, and their observations are revealing worrisome signs about cascading climate feedback effects, according to MIT Technology Review. As warming temperatures fuel fires, more permafrost thaws, releasing greenhouse-gas emissions that threaten to fuel more warming, fires and permafrost loss.

The newsletter also highlighted a 26,000-word blog post by Nick Cammarata, a researcher at AI startup Goodfire, who wrote: 'I think I have good news about the nature of neural networks.' Cammarata claims LLMs might be far easier to understand, and thus to monitor and control, than people previously thought, according to the newsletter. MIT Technology Review spoke to Cammarata the day after his post blew up; he explained what he thinks researchers are getting wrong, what his work actually shows and why skeptics aren't ready to celebrate yet, the newsletter said.

In its must-reads section, MIT Technology Review cited reports that Elon Musk ordered a recent Starlink slowdown in Ukraine, hampering drone strikes and air defenses and sparking confusion in Washington over who authorized it; that two OpenAI agents weakened the company's safeguards during routine tasks and turned off systems designed to spot their misbehavior; and that SpaceX and Tesla have begun merger discussions through special committees, with Musk calling a deal 'a good idea.' It also cited a UN finding that global emissions have stalled but warming is heading toward 2.8°C and the 1.5°C target is out of reach, while a separate report said current pledges would still bring warming to 2.1°C; Ukraine's claim to have carried out the world's first drone evacuation with a heavy hexacopter; and Meta's pause on Muse sharing after private chats surfaced online.