MIT Technology Review's The Download: Rejuvenation Drugs and AI Insights

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. The outspoken longevity scientist David Sinclair has predicted that, one day, you’ll go to the doctor and get a prescription that will make you 10 years younger. MIT Technology Review has learned of his latest step toward this: human tests of a “reprogramming” drug.

Sinclair, a biologist at Harvard Medical School, plans to launch the tests in a $101 million competition organized by the XPrize Foundation. The winners will “restore” a person to an earlier apparent age, as measured by improvements in immune, cognitive, and muscle function. The grand prize goes to any team able to show a 10-year (or greater) relative improvement after one year of treatment.

Sinclair says he plans to give an oral drug mixture to volunteers, in a bid to seek “evidence for age restoration in humans.” At SXSW London last week, I gave a talk called “Five things you need to know about AI,” in which I shared what I think are the biggest themes in AI right now. I pulled a few things from our first AI10 list, an annual guide to the top trends in this buzzy world, but I also veered off on several tangents. In my half-hour slot, I tried to cover the key talking points that I think help to make sense of what’s going on in tech—and thus the economy—today.

Five key thoughts emerged: AI is everywhere all at once, it’s getting scary, a backlash is growing, it’s becoming a big deal for science—and I didn’t even need to show up at the talk. I've combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 OpenAI has confidentially filed for a US IPO The listing could come as early as September.

(Reuters) + OpenAI is targeting a valuation of up to $1 trillion. (Financial Times) + The IPO will test investor appetite for AI companies. (WSJ) + The move follows IPO filings from Anthropic and SpaceX.

(CNN) 2 The US claims BYD, Baidu, Alibaba, and others are aiding China’s military The Pentagon added them to a list of military-linked companies. (WSJ) + The designations limit their operations in the US. (BBC) + The new additions also include humanoid firm Unitree.

(TechCrunch) + The Pentagon is adapting to China’s tech rise. (MIT Technology Review) 3 Apple’s long-awaited AI overhaul of Siri is finally here “Siri AI” promises to be a more conversational assistant. (NYT) + It includes a standalone app and screen-reading features.

(Reuters) + And arrives after two years of repeated delays. (Axios) 4 The White House and Congress are working to limit state AI laws A new deal would curb state rules for federal legislation. (Axios) + AI regulation has divided US politicians.