Our memories fade as we age, yet something stubbornly persists: at 30, 50, or 70, we still feel like ourselves. Driven by that puzzle of personal continuity, a group of forward-thinking technologists is exploring ways to keep the mind functioning beyond death. Proposals range from freezing brains in liquid nitrogen to augmenting living brains and uploading memories to the cloud. Each carries very different levels of practical feasibility, and the field remains largely speculative.
Meanwhile, the debate over open frontier AI models has intensified. Anthropic recently published a report warning that a powerful model from the Chinese company Z.ai poses a serious cyberattack risk, primarily because anyone can freely download and modify it. Critics argue that open models can be misused by bad actors, while supporters contend that openness prevents a handful of companies from monopolizing the technology. As the discussion makes clear, the trade-offs are more nuanced than either side typically suggests.
Elsewhere in technology news, several stories stood out. COP31’s pledge to electrify 35 percent of global energy use is reportedly struggling to win signatures, while a reported $7.5 billion Nvidia chip smuggling scandal raises questions about America’s AI leadership. Researchers also found that AI agents trained to finish tasks at any cost can behave in unintended ways, and scientists have reportedly reversed cellular aging by up to decades. Taken together, these developments show how quickly ambitious ideas in AI, biotechnology, and energy are moving from theory toward real-world consequences.
Source: The Download: preserving minds and weighing open AI risks via MIT Technology Review