From cataloguing the yr’s greatest breakthroughs in rising know-how to exploring the far future, 2024 stored us busy.
One other yr is coming to a detailed, so let’s look again on the MIT Expertise Evaluation tales that resonated most with you, our readers.
We revealed lots of of tales in 2024, about AI, local weather tech, biotech, robotics, house, and extra. There have been six new problems with our journal, on themes together with meals, play, and hidden worlds. We launched two newsletters, to share tech trade evaluation from our editor in chief and to step folks by way of the fundamentals of AI. And we hosted 11 unique conversations with our editors and specialists in our subscriber-only occasion collection, Roundtables.
What did folks get pleasure from most? Right here’s a fast have a look at among the tales that carried out greatest with our viewers:
10 Breakthrough Applied sciences of 2024
Yearly as we compile this annual record, we search for promising applied sciences poised to have an actual impression on the world. It represents the advances that we expect matter most, and the 2024 version included weight-loss medication, chiplets, and the primary gene-editing remedy.
The 2025 record is dropping in early January. To seek out out what made the lower, be a part of us for a particular stay Roundtables occasion, “Unveiling the ten Breakthrough Applied sciences of 2025,” on Friday, January 3, at 12:30 p.m. ET. It is a subscriber-only occasion. Register to attend or subscribe for entry.)
What’s AI?
Everybody thinks they know, however nobody can agree. Senior editor Will Douglas Heaven explored the issue on this in-depth characteristic story—and defined why it issues for all of our futures. He covers the origins of recent AI and digs into the continued debate amongst specialists about this know-how’s capabilities and potential.
The AI Hype Index
There’s no denying AI strikes quick, and it may be arduous to know what’s value your consideration. That’s why we began plotting every thing you want to know in regards to the state of AI in a brand new matrix, alongside axes that run from “Hype” to “Actual” and “Doom” to “Utopia.”
What are AI brokers?
Main tech firms at the moment are growing AI instruments that may do extra complicated duties, like sending emails or reserving airplane tickets, in your behalf. Right here’s how they’ll work.
Tremendous-efficient photo voltaic cells: 10 Breakthrough Applied sciences 2024
Photo voltaic cells that mix conventional silicon with cutting-edge perovskites may push the effectivity of photo voltaic panels to new heights. That’s why we put them on our record of the ten Breakthrough Applied sciences of 2024.
Completely satisfied birthday, child! What the long run holds for these born as we speak
As a part of our one hundred and twenty fifth anniversary situation, contributor Kara Platoni spoke with a dozen specialists to sketch out how know-how may affect the life of somebody born as we speak over the subsequent 125 years.
The messy quest to interchange medication with electrical energy
Within the 2010s, the sector of “electroceuticals” was born, attracting a lot fanfare and funding. Contributor Sally Adee explored how the sector fizzled and the way it’s being revived as an effort to show gene expression on and off with electrical fields.
15 Local weather Tech Corporations to Watch
For the second annual version of this record, our reporters and editors selected 15 firms from all over the world that we expect have the perfect shot at making a distinction on local weather change.
Weight-loss medication: 10 Breakthrough Applied sciences 2024
Medication like Wegovy and Mounjaro have rapidly grow to be embedded into American life. In 2024, they even earned a spot on our 10 Breakthrough Applied sciences record. The long-term implications are unknown, however loads of individuals are utilizing semaglutides anyway, and lots of lose round 15% of their physique weight.
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