This year has been bustling and fruitful at MIT Technology Review. We released magazine editions focused on power, creativity, innovation, bodies, relationships, and security. We organized 14 exclusive virtual discussions with our editors and external specialists in our subscriber-only series, Roundtables, and conducted two events on MIT’s campus. Additionally, we published numerous articles online, keeping up with the latest in computing, climate tech, robotics, and beyond.
As the year comes to a close, we invite you to revisit some of this work with us. Whether discussing the explosive growth of artificial intelligence or the future of biotechnology, these are some of the stories that resonated most with our audience.
We analyzed AI’s energy consumption. Here’s the untold story.
Understanding AI’s energy consumption sparked a major global discussion in 2025 as countless individuals began regularly using generative AI tools. Senior reporters James O’Donnell and Casey Crownhart examined the figures and released an unparalleled insight into AI’s resource demand, even down to a single query, to clarify how much energy and water AI might require in the future.
We’re discovering more about the effects of vitamin D on our bodies
Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent, especially during winter months when sunlight is scarce for its synthesis within our bodies. The “sunshine vitamin” is crucial for bone health, but as senior reporter Jessica Hamzelou highlighted, recent studies are revealing surprising new findings about its influence on other aspects of our health, including the immune system and heart health.
Senior editor Will Douglas Heaven’s extensive examination of how to define AI was published in 2024, yet it continued to engage numerous readers this year. He elucidates why consensus on what constitutes AI is elusive—and discusses the significance of that uncertainty, including how it can shape our critical approach to this technology.
Ethically sourced “spare” human bodies could transform medicine
In this thought-provoking op-ed, a group of experts at Stanford University contend that creating living human bodies that lack consciousness, awareness, and pain perception could revolutionize medical research and drug testing by providing crucial biological materials. Recent advancements in biotechnology have opened potential possibilities for such “bodyoids,” although numerous technical and ethical challenges persist.
It’s unexpectedly easy to enter a relationship with an AI chatbot
Chatbots became ubiquitous this year, and reporter Rhiannon Williams documented how swiftly users can form connections with them. This may be harmless for some, but poses risks for others, with some individuals even describing unintended romantic relationships with chatbots. This is a trend we will certainly monitor in 2026.
Could this represent the future electric grid?
The electric grid is preparing for disruptions due to more frequent storms and fires, alongside an unpredictable regulatory environment. In many respects, the publicly owned utility Lincoln Electric in Nebraska serves as an excellent lens through which to analyze this transformation as it confronts the challenges of delivering service that is reliable, affordable, and sustainable.
Exclusive: A record-setting baby has been born from an embryo over 30 years old
This year marked the birth of the world’s “oldest baby”: Thaddeus Daniel Pierce, born on July 26. The embryo he developed from was created in 1994 during the early days of IVF and had been preserved ever since. The new baby’s parents were toddlers at the time, and the embryo was donated to them decades later through a Christian “embryo adoption” agency.
How these two siblings became leading experts on America’s “mystery drone” situation
Twin brothers John and Gerald Tedesco collaborated to probe into a troubling new risk—unidentified drones. In 2024 alone, around 350 drones encroached airspace over a hundred different US military sites, with many instances remaining unresolved, as reported by a senior military official. This article invites readers into the equipment-laden RV the Tedescos developed to investigate enigmatic aerial phenomena, and how they earned recognition among government officials.
10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2025
Our newsroom has presented this annual overview of significant advances that will matter in the long term for over two decades. This year’s compilation featured generative AI search, cleaner jet fuel, long-acting HIV prevention medications, and other emerging technologies deemed worthy of attention by our journalists. We will unveil the 2026 edition of the list on January 12, so stay tuned. (Meanwhile, here’s what didn’t make the list.)
