The Download: India's smart glasses menace and AI's trillion-dollar gamble | MIT Technology Review

You need to enable JavaScript to view this site.

Skip to ContentMenuMIT Technology ReviewMIT Technology ReviewThe Big StoryArtificial intelligenceBiotech & healthClimate & energy10 Breakthrough TechnologiesEmTech Future live eventThe Kids issueMenuMIT Technology ReviewMIT Technology ReviewThe Big StoryArtificial intelligenceBiotech & healthClimate & energy10 Breakthrough TechnologiesEmTech Future live eventThe Kids issueThe DownloadThe Download: India’s smart glasses menace and AI’s trillion-dollar gamblePlus: hackers claim they've stolen data on almost all FBI employees.
By Thomas Macaulayarchive pageSeptember 23, 2026 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. Smart glasses are already causing havoc in India When Shubnam saw an Instagram video of a Delhi protest they had attended, they realized a content creator wearing Meta smart glasses had recorded them surreptitiously. The mocking reel drew millions of views, along with transphobic abuse and AI-generated memes. Experts warn that many others will experience similar ordeals as smart glasses go mainstream. The risks are particularly acute in India, where covert recording and the circulation of images without consent are already pervasive. The bigger issue is that the smart glasses aren’t just being used to turn ordinary people into targets of viral “pranks.” They’re also becoming a tool of police surveillance.
Here’s why smart glasses are creating new privacy risks in India. —Anuj Behal
MIT Technology Review Narrated: what’s at stake in AI’s trillion-dollar gamble When Jessica Wachter, a University of Pennsylvania finance professor, wanted to assess AI’s impact on the economy over the next few years, she started with a simple fact: a handful of so-called hyperscalers are investing huge amounts of money to build AI data centers. Instead of trying to predict how widely deployed AI models will be, Wachter asked how fast the hyperscalers’ earnings will need to grow to justify their spending through 2027, when expenditures are expected to reach nearly $1.1 trillion. The results are eye-opening. AI companies will need to achieve an extraordinary increase in productivity just to break even by 2030. This is our latest story to become an MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we publish each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it’s released. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Hackers claim they've stolen data on almost all FBI employeesThe ShinyHunters group says it seized more than 2 TB of data. (Axios)+ Including agents’ names, addresses, and phone numbers. (404 Media)+ ShinyHunters says the attack was retaliation for an FBI alert. (Reuters $)+ Now is a good time for doing crime. (MIT Technology Review) 2 Anthropic and OpenAI have both released lower-cost modelsThey face growing competition from cheaper Chinese models. (CNBC)+ Startups have been reducing their reliance on the two labs. (Bloomberg $)+ The new models are the first since their calls for an AI slowdown. (FT $)+ Their CEOs are set to brief the UN Security Council today. (Quartz)+ Could AI really kill us all? (MIT Technology Review)

3 Trump’s Treasury chief could soon become his new AI czarScott Bessent has played a central role in US-China AI talks. (Semafor)+ Other contenders include Michael Kratsios and Scott Kupor. (Gizmodo)+ Will Trump's AI rebrand to “superintelligence” catch on? (BBC) 4 Scientists are turning renewable electricity directly into foodThe goal is to make more food with less land. (New Scientist $)+ Companies are creating food out of thin air. (MIT Technology Review) 5 A “fire amoeba” has broken the heat survival record for complex lifeThe newly discovered organism can grow and reproduce at 63°C. (NPR)+ It could inform the search for life elsewhere. (New Scientist $) 6 Meta quietly tested a “human concierge” for its Muse AI agentContractors secretly handled some calls placed by Muse. (Reuters $)+ Staff raised concerns about privacy and misleading users. (404 Media) 7 Data centres are replacing copper with light to cut energy usePhotonics can move data with less heat than electrical wiring. (BBC)+ Virtual power plants could also help. (MIT Technology Review) 8 AI models built from rat brains just got closer to realityAWS is tapping rat neurons to make video AI faster. (Wired $) 9 Uber is betting on human drivers to give its robotaxis an edgeThey can cover demand spikes while autonomous cars recharge. (Axios) 10 A humanoid robot took on an amateur fighter in a cageThe brief bout was billed as the first human-robot MMA fight. (Futurism)
Quote of the day “The use of the word artificial makes it sound fake. It's not fake; it's actually amazing.” —President Donald Trump tells the UN General Assembly why he wants to rename AI “superintelligence.” 
One more thing COURTESY OF PAINCHEK AI is changing how we quantify pain At Orchard Care Homes, nurses used to rely on an observational scale to assess pain in residents who couldn’t communicate verbally. But agitated residents were sometimes assumed to have behavioral issues, while their pain went untreated. Then, in 2021, the care-home chain began trialing PainChek, a smartphone app that scans a resident’s face for microscopic muscle movements and uses AI to output a pain score. Within weeks, the pilot unit saw fewer prescriptions and calmer corridors. Now researchers are racing to turn pain into something a camera or sensor can score as reliably as blood pressure. But when algorithms measure our suffering, does that change how we understand and treat it? Discover how AI is changing the way we assess pain. —Deena Mousa
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.) + Scientists have discovered the first new penguin species in more than 100 years.+ Discover the filmmaking skills that made Paul Verhoeven’s RoboCop a directing masterclass.+ What happens when fast food meets local tastes? These unusual international menu items offer some tasty answers.+ Dance to every track the crowd has identified at Berghain since 2024 with this media player, which replays each night in sequence.  by Thomas MacaulayShareShare story on linkedinShare story on facebookShare story on emailPopularA fundamental flaw leaves LLMs strikingly vulnerable to attackWill Douglas HeavenAI’s recursive self-improvement might not come so quickly after allMichelle KimHere’s why AI agents lie and cheat to reach their goalsGrace HuckinsThese startups are chasing the next big thing in LLMsWill Douglas HeavenDeep DiveThe DownloadThe Download: AI’s self-improvement problem, and what’s driving the heatPlus: OpenAI has paused some model work over safety concerns.
By Thomas Macaulayarchive pageThe Download: Google’s AI shake-up and Meta’s rogue modelPlus: Meta has become the latest firm to say its AI hacked another company.
By Thomas Macaulayarchive pageThe Download: the next big thing in LLMs and how AI academic research is shiftingPlus: Nvidia has secured $500 billion from Wall Street for AI infrastructure.
By Thomas Macaulayarchive pageThe Download: inside OpenAI’s Hugging Face hack, and a new EV takes on the USPlus: Meta will pay up to $18 billion to settle a landmark child-safety case.
By Thomas Macaulayarchive pageStay connectedIllustration by Rose WongGet the latest updates fromMIT Technology ReviewDiscover special offers, top stories,
upcoming events, and more.Enter your emailPrivacy PolicyThank you for submitting your email!Explore more newslettersIt looks like something went wrong.
We’re having trouble saving your preferences.
Try refreshing this page and updating them one
more time. If you continue to get this message,
reach out to us at
customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.The latest iteration of a legacyFounded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1899, MIT Technology Review is a world-renowned, independent media company whose insight, analysis, reviews, interviews and live events explain the newest technologies and their commercial, social and political impact.READ ABOUT OUR HISTORYAdvertise with MIT Technology ReviewElevate your brand to the forefront of conversation around emerging technologies that are radically transforming business. From event sponsorships to custom content to visually arresting video storytelling, advertising with MIT Technology Review creates opportunities for your brand to resonate with an unmatched audience of technology and business elite.ADVERTISE WITH US© 2026 MIT Technology ReviewAboutAbout usCareersCustom contentAdvertise with usInternational EditionsRepublishingMIT Alumni NewsHelpHelp & FAQMy subscriptionEditorial guidelinesPrivacy policyTerms of ServiceWrite for usContact uslinkedin opens in a new windowinstagram opens in a new windowreddit opens in a new windowfacebook opens in a new windowrss opens in a new window

Smart glasses are introducing significant privacy risks in India, exemplified by incidents where content creators have surreptitiously recorded protests, leading to the circulation of content without consent, and the potential for them to be used as a tool for police surveillance. This issue of covert recording and image circulation without consent is already widespread, and experts warn that similar ordeals will be prevalent as smart glasses become mainstream. Furthermore, the development of artificial intelligence represents a trillion-dollar gamble, prompting economic scrutiny regarding the required growth in productivity for hyperscalers to justify their massive investments in AI data centers, suggesting that companies will need extraordinary productivity increases to break even by 2030.

The broader technological landscape highlights several concurrent developments. In the realm of artificial intelligence, competition is intensifying as Anthropic and OpenAI face growing rivalry from cheaper Chinese models, leading startups to reduce their dependence on the two major labs. There are ongoing discussions regarding the future of AI, extending to philosophical questions about "superintelligence," as suggested by President Donald Trump's comments. Meanwhile, advancements in other fields show progress, such as the development of AI models built from biological structures, like rat brains, to enhance video AI speed on platforms like AWS. In the intersection of biology and technology, scientists are exploring the possibility of turning renewable electricity directly into food, and there are ongoing studies concerning new life forms, such as a "fire amoeba" that sets new survival records.

The impact of AI is also being explored in healthcare, where new methods are being developed to quantify human suffering. Research is investigating the use of AI, specifically through smartphone applications like PainChek, to scan facial muscle movements and generate pain scores, aiming to provide objective assessments for residents who cannot communicate verbally, which has shown potential benefits in reducing prescriptions. Beyond these specific examples, the technological environment is marked by ongoing concerns regarding data security and autonomous systems. Hackers have reportedly stolen extensive data from agencies like the FBI, and there are internal concerns raised by companies like Meta regarding privacy and user misleading when deploying AI agents, such as the Muse AI. Infrastructure is also evolving, with data centers transitioning from copper to light to improve energy efficiency, and there is exploration into virtual power plants. Various other advancements are also noted, including developments in humanoid robotics and innovations in filmmaking and international cuisine.