Last Week in Tech

News from the week of 12 May

Welcome back for another combined weekly retrospective on tech news! I haven’t quite nailed down which day of the week I’ll start pushing these on yet. Enjoy!

This week, From Good Tech / Bad Tech.

1. AI Research & Development

The AI hype-train chugs along, with Google DeepMind frequently stoking the engine. Wired detailed how a DeepMind AI agent is now "dreaming up" algorithms that leave human expertise in the dust – one has to wonder if it dreams of electric sheep or just more efficient ways to corner the market. Nature reported on DeepMind unveiling a "spectacular" general-purpose science AI. In the bustling world of code generation, Ars Technica announced OpenAI's introduction of Codex.

The coming week in review will cover all the major news from Google I/O, the OpenAI & Jony Ive collab, and Claude 4, so stay tuned!

Additional Reporting:

• Improvements in ‘reasoning’ AI models may slow down soon, analysis finds

• Google DeepMind’s new AI agent uses large language models to crack real-world problems

• 5 impressive feats of DeepMind’s new self-evolving AI coding agent

• New AI Model Advances the “Kissing Problem” And More

• Energy and memory: A new neural network paradigm

• DeepSeek paper offers new details on how it used 2,048 Nvidia chips to take on OpenAI

• How to build a better AI benchmark

• Report: The Future of AI Processing

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2. AI Applications

AI continues its relentless march into every nook and cranny of our lives, particularly healthcare, where the stakes couldn't be higher. STAT+ reports on OpenAI's first move into healthcare with an AI benchmark to evaluate models. One hopes these benchmarks include a robust "do no harm, and definitely don't leak my data" metric. Elsewhere, AI is being drafted for the nitty-gritty of industrial processes, with SemiEngineering heralding AI for semiconductor testing as a "new frontier." And in a plot twist worthy of a spy novel, Live Science describes how scientists are using AI to encrypt secret messages that are invisible to current cybersecurity systems.

Additional Reporting:

• Deploying PyTorch Models On Edge Devices

• Some English hospitals doubt Palantir's utility: We'd 'lose functionality rather than gain it'

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3. AI Ethics

Concerns over who really owns what in the AI age are escalating, with The Register reporting that A-listers like Paul McCartney and Elton John are demanding AI companies 'fess up about scraping their creative works. The digital trust deficit widens as Ars Technica ominously warns we are stumbling into an "age of paranoia as deepfakes and scams abound." And if you thought your therapy sessions were private, The Verge explores the chilling prospect of AI therapy morphing into a surveillance apparatus, especially under regimes that aren't exactly fans of dissent. Sleep tight.

Additional Reporting:

• xAI’s promised safety report is MIA

• DeepSeek’s AI in hospitals is ‘too fast, too soon’, Chinese medical researchers warn

• OpenAI promises greater transparency on model hallucinations and harmful content

• Stopping States From Passing AI Laws for the Next Decade is a Terrible Idea

• ‘We’re Definitely Going to Build a Bunker Before We Release AGI’

• Sci-fi author Neal Stephenson wants AIs fighting AIs so those most fit to live with us survive

• The U.S. Copyright Office’s Draft Report on AI Training Errs on Fair Use

• AI Is Not Your Friend

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4. The Quantum Realm

ScienceDaily reports on fresh insights into quantum physics, hinting at futures we can barely imagine. Taking things a step further into the truly mind-bending, The Quantum Insider covers a study suggesting that quantum entanglement might just be rewriting the rulebook on gravity. This, along with Live Science's piece on physicists potentially nearing a 'theory of everything' by rethinking Einstein, makes you wonder if reality is just a simulation waiting for a patch. Of course, where there's paradigm-shifting potential, there's cash: The Quantum Insider also flags a hefty U.S.-Qatar investment pact, with Quantinuum snagging up to a cool $1 billion quantum deal. Let's hope it's for more than just faster ad targeting.

Additional Reporting:

• Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park and DARPA QBI Performer Diraq Sign Letter of Intent to Join Park as a Future Tenant

• Quantum Algorithm Outpaces Classical Solvers in Optimization Tasks, Study Indicates

• Beyond qubits: Meet the qutrit (and ququart)

• University of Sydney Researchers Report First-Ever Quantum Simulation of Chemical Dynamics

• Quantum Computing Roadmaps: A Look at The Maps And Predictions of Major Quantum Players

• Keysight Quantum Control System Embedded within Fujitsu and RIKEN’s World-Leading 256-Qubit Quantum Computer

• Quantum Computing’s Asymmetric Risk Means One Break Is All It Takes

• IonQ Buys Capella Space For Quantum Comms Gambit

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5. Hardware Frontiers

The tiny engines driving our digital world are getting a photonic makeover. Live Science announces that scientists have apparently cleared "major roadblocks" to build powerful AI photonic chips, promising computation at the speed of light. ScienceDaily cheered for a new chip that slashs the energy footprint of large language models by a whopping 50%.

In communications technology, Wiley Knowledge Hub trumpets that researchers are "breaking 6G barriers", making ultra-fast wireless a reality.

Additional Reporting:

• Floorplanning Method Reducing Thermally-Induced Structural Stress In Chiplet Packages (Penn State, Intel, ASU et al.)

• AI Accelerators Moving Out From Data Centers

• High-Speed Test IO: Addressing High-Performance Data Transmission And Testing Needs For HPC & AI

• Die-to-die Interconnect Standards In Flux

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6. Robotics & Manufacturing

3D Printing Industry showcases UC Berkeley's latest offering: a $5,000 customizable humanoid robot for open-source collaboration. The dream of a robot in every home inches closer, for better or worse. In a more whimsical, yet potentially revolutionary development, Ars Technica introduces us to a brainless soft robot from Dutch scientists that runs on air. Finally, the Next Web reported Helsing’s AI submarine is joining Europe’s expanding fleet of ocean drones.

Additional Reporting:

• China’s humanoid robot makers lack unified ‘end-to-end’ AI system, Unitree CEO says

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7. Space

Beyond the atmosphere, Live Science reports that China and Russia are teaming up to build a power plant on the moon. Manufacturing is also going extra-terrestrial, as The Next Web notes NATO is backing a Welsh startup with plans for a space factory to forge 'supermaterials'.

Additional Reporting:

• Tuesday Telescope: Taking a look at the next generation of telescopes

• Congress Examines NASA’s Planetary Protection Duty

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8. Geopolitics of Technology

The global chessboard of technology, trade, and who owns the planet's goodies is seeing some aggressive new plays. The Register informs us that the Trump administration has waved goodbye to Biden-era dreams of capping US AI chip exports. This all ties into the scramble for essential ingredients for our tech addictions, with The Verge observing that a "new cold war" is brewing over rare earth minerals. And it seems the AI gold rush has attracted new players, as Wired notes with a flourish that "The Middle East Has Entered the AI Group Chat," armed with sovereign wealth and, presumably, a lot of GPUs.

Additional Reporting:

• OpenAI’s Stargate project reportedly struggling to get off the ground, thanks to tariffs

• If the US wants more rare earths, it needs to tackle refining

• Modern warfare is reshaping metals demand, says mining veteran

• How the US triggered a ‘gold rush’ in deep-sea mining

• US lawmakers introduce bill to stop smuggling of Nvidia’s AI chips to China

• Silicon Valley Is Coming for the Pentagon’s $1 Trillion Budget

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9. Biotechnology

The code of life itself is getting an upgrade, or at least a serious edit, with profound implications for what it means to be human (and who gets to decide). Nature reports on a potent CRISPR system now capable of inserting an entire gene into human DNA – a breathtaking leap that walks a fine line between miracle cure and designer-baby dystopia. Naturally, where there's groundbreaking science, there are lawyers: STAT+ notes an appeals court has dived back into the messy question of who actually owns the patents for the CRISPR discovery. And as we inch closer to merging minds with machines, ethical guardrails (or the lack thereof) are in focus. The Next Web highlights Neuralink rival Inbrain's solemn vow to 'never' take brain implants beyond healthcare.

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10. Cybersecurity

Just when you thought your digital life couldn't get any more precarious, new gremlins emerge from the cyber-woodwork. Ars Technica uncovers a rather unsettling new attack that can pilfer your cryptocurrency by planting false memories in AI chatbots – because apparently, gaslighting is now a hacking technique. This raises the charming prospect of AI not just taking your job, but also convincing you that you wanted to give it your Bitcoin. On a broader scale, the institutions we rely on are also feeling the heat, with SemiEngineering pointing out that security risks are ominously mounting for aerospace and defense applications. Nothing to worry about there, surely.

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11. Tech Investments

The titans of tech are shuffling their cards, and billions of dollars are flowing like water, all shaping the digital world we're increasingly forced to inhabit. A potential earthquake in AI land is hinted at by TechCrunch, suggesting that the Microsoft and OpenAI partnership might be up for renegotiation – a development that could send ripples across the entire industry. Big money is also making big moves globally, as The Register reports US tech giants are practically giddy over a $600B Saudi shopping spree, pouring vast sums into every tech bubble they can find. And if you thought your data center was big, TechCrunch reveals OpenAI has designs on a data center in Abu Dhabi that would dwarf Monaco – a testament to how the AI boom will increasingly alter our physical world.

Additional Reporting:

• DeepSeek’s popularity waning as Kuaishou gains in video generation, AI platform Poe finds

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12. Advanced Materials

ScienceDaily features research where new metallic materials are being cooked up with data-driven frameworks and "explainable AI" . In the race for better batteries, Ars Technica reports on GM’s LMR battery breakthrough, dangling the carrot of more range at a lower cost. The labs where these future materials are born are also getting an upgrade, with ScienceDaily highlighting a new digital lab powered by data and robots for materials science. Progress marches on, one algorithm and atom at a time.