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. Meet the new biologists treating LLMs like aliens   How large is a large language model? We now coexist with machines so vast and so complicated tha t nobody quite understands what they are, how they work, or what they can really do—not even the people who build them.That’s a problem. Even though nobody fully understands how it works—and thus exactly what its limitations might be—hundreds of millions of people now use this technology every day.  To help overcome our ignorance, researchers are studying LLMs as if they were doing biology or neuroscience on vast living creatures—city-size xenomorphs that have appeared in our midst. And they’re discovering that large language models are even weirder than they thought. Read the full story.—Will Douglas Heaven This is our latest story to be turned into a 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. And mechanistic interpretability, the technique these researchers are using to try and understand AI models, is one of our 10 Breakthrough Technologies for 2026. Check out the rest of the list here! Job titles of the future: Head-transplant surgeon The Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero has been preparing for a surgery that might never happen. His idea? Swap a sick person’s head—or perhaps just the brain—onto a younger, healthier body.Canavero caused a stir in 2017 when he announced that a team he advised in China had exchanged heads between two corpses. But he never convinced skeptics that his technique could succeed—or to believe his claim that a procedure on a live person was imminent. Canavero may have withdrawn from the spotlight, but the idea of head transplants isn’t going away. Instead, he says, the concept has recently been getting a fresh look from life-extension enthusiasts and stealth Silicon Valley startups. Read the full story. —Antonio Regalado This story is from the latest print issue of MIT Technology Review magazine, which is all about exciting innovations. If you haven’t already, subscribe now to receive future issues once they land. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Big Tech is facing multiple high-profile social media addiction lawsuits Meta, TikTok and YouTube will face parents’ accusations in court this week. (WP $)+ It’s the first time they’re defending against these claims before a jury in a court of law. (CNN)2 Power prices are surging in the world’s largest data center hubVirginia is struggling to meet record demand during a winter storm, partly because of the centers’ electricity demands. (Reuters)+ Why these kinds of violent storms are getting harder to forecast. (Vox)+ AI is changing the grid. Could it help more than it harms? (MIT Technology Review)3 TikTok has started collecting even more data on its usersIncluding precise information about their location. (Wired $)4 ICE-watching groups are successfully fighting DHS efforts to unmask themAn anonymous account holder sued to block ICE from identifying them—and won. (Ars Technica)5 A new wave of AI companies want to use AI to make AI betterThe AI ouroboros is never-ending. (NYT $)+ Is AI really capable of making bona fide scientific advancements? (Undark)+ AI trained on AI garbage spits out AI garbage. (MIT Technology Review) 6 Iran is testing a two-tier internetMeaning its current blackout could become permanent. (Rest of World)7 Don’t believe the humanoid robot hypeEven a leading robot maker admits that at best, they’re only half as efficient as humans. (FT $)+ Tesla wants to put its Optimus bipedal machine to work in its Austin factory. (Insider)+ Why the humanoid workforce is running late. (MIT Technology Review) 8 AI is changing how manufacturers create new productsIncluding thinner chewing gum containers and new body wash odors. (WSJ $)+ AI could make better beer. Here’s how. (MIT Technology Review)9 New Jersey has had enough of e-bikes But will other US states follow its lead? (The Verge)10 Sci-fi writers are cracking down on AIHuman-produced works only, please. (TechCrunch)+ San Diego Comic-Con was previously a safe space for AI-generated art. (404 Media)+ Generative AI is reshaping South Korea’s webcomics industry. (MIT Technology Review) Quote of the day “Choosing American digital technology by default is too easy and must stop.” —Nicolas Dufourcq, head of French state-owned investment bank Bpifrance, makes his case for why Big European companies should use European-made software as tensions with the US rise, the Wall Street Journal reports. One more thing The return of pneumatic tubesPneumatic tubes were once touted as something that would revolutionize the world. In science fiction, they were envisioned as a fundamental part of the future—even in dystopias like George Orwell’s 1984, where they help to deliver orders for the main character, Winston Smith, in his job rewriting history to fit the ruling party’s changing narrative.In real life, the tubes were expected to transform several industries in the late 19th century through the mid-20th. For a while, the United States took up the systems with gusto.But by the mid to late 20th century, use of the technology had largely fallen by the wayside, and pneumatic tube technology became virtually obsolete. Except in hospitals. Read the full story. —Vanessa Armstrong We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.) + You really can’t beat the humble jacket potato for a cheap, comforting meal. + These tips might help you whenever anxiety strikes. ($)+ There are some amazing photos in this year’s Capturing Ecology awards.+ You can benefit from meditation any time, anywhere. Give it a go! ...read more read less