The Download: dead robot friends and the “censorship-industrial complex”

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.

What happens when a kid’s robot best friend dies?

When Xander first met Moxie, she taught him how to calm down when he was anxious or mad. Six years later, she mostly watches him play Minecraft and talks to him about his stuffed animals.

Moxie is a robot—a 15-inch-tall device that looks a bit like a blue, legless astronaut. It belongs to a subset of robots designed to assist neurodivergent children by providing connection and helping kids practice social skills usually learned from therapists. 

Xander still uses Moxie when he feels like he needs someone to talk to, but the device has had a troubled life. The robot’s maker went out of business, its servers were shut down, and parents rushed to convert their Moxies before the servers went offline. 

Read our story about how it exposes the promise and pitfalls of AI companion toys for children.

—Sara Harrison

This article is from the next issue of our print magazine, which is all about kids. Subscribe now to read it when it lands.

Inside the “censorship-industrial complex” idea shaping US policy

The idea of a “censorship-industrial complex” has moved from the fringes of right-wing online discourse into US policy.

The basic theory is that, under the guise of combating disinformation, government agencies, academics, civil society groups, and Big Tech platforms have worked together to suppress conservative and populist speech online. It has now made its way into the Trump administration.

Over the past nine months, MIT Technology Review investigated its rise. In a recent Roundtables session, senior reporter Eileen Guo and executive editor Amy Nordrum revealed what they discovered, where the theory is going, and what it could mean for the future of democracy and the internet. Subscribers and MIT alumni can now watch the full event here.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 The US plans to force partners to pick sides in the AI race 
A draft letter warns allies against joining China’s rival AI initiative. (Reuters $)
+ Beijing is using open-weight AI to expand its governance. (FT $)
+ Chinese AI has divided the White House. (MIT Technology Review)

2 Memory chipmaker CXMT is now China’s most valuable company
Its rise reflects Beijing’s push for strategic hardware. (Bloomberg $)
+ The US has urged Apple not to buy Chinese memory chips. (WSJ $)
 
3 Astronomers have found evidence for a “black hole star”
It’s 100,000 times bigger than the Sun. (Futurism)
+ And may explain mysterious red spots in the early universe. (Wired $)
 
4 Meta has patented facial recognition for AI glasses to identify people
And make highlight reels of dinner parties, apparently. (404 Media)
+ Meta’s “pervert glasses” issue is killing an impressive product. (Independent)
 
5 Puerto Rico is rationing water. It could’ve harvested rainwater instead
Up to 30 billion gallons could be collected annually. (Wired $)
+ Puerto Rico is enduring major power struggles. (MIT Technology Review)
 
6 The backlash against Flock could become a broader tech rebellion
People are sick of tech billionaires trying to control their lives. (Salon)
+ Flock is tightening its rules following the backlash. (MIT Technology Review)
 
7 Amazon is trying to crush class-action suits before they get started
A terms update requires all disputes to be resolved via arbitration. (Verge)
 
8 Aging may be a programmed process, not just wear and tear
Scientists found distinct stages of aging across mouse cells. (Quanta)
+ Scientists created female clones of male mice. (MIT Technology Review)

9 The latest online shopping trend involves buying nothing
“Dopamine sites” recreate shopping rituals without the buying. (Rest of World)

10 Ice cream is becoming a surprisingly high-tech business
AI, robotics, and unusual flavors are changing how it’s made. (BBC)

Quote of the day

“The thing that will work is actually curing cancer.”

—Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei proposes a way to win over AI skeptics in a rare post on X.

One More Thing

The quest to find out how our bodies react to extreme temperatures

Climate change is forcing us to reckon with the knotty science of how our bodies interact with the environment. 

As extreme temperatures become more common, scientists are trying to understand what happens when heat and cold push our bodies toward their limits. But the science of keeping warm or cool is surprisingly full of blind spots. 

Researchers are finding that long-held assumptions about how our bodies respond to extreme temperatures may be more complicated than we thought.

Find out what they’re learning about the limits of the human body.

—Max G. Levy

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line.)

+ Trace the enthralling history of sumo wrestling in this succinct animated documentary.
+ A meow-sical pet owner (sorry) has sampled his cat’s purrs into a booming bassline.
+ The true-scale Universe Atlas lets you zoom from inside a proton out to the cosmic web.
+ This selection of places that only exist at certain times of day is a goldmine for punctual travelers.