Niall Firth

Moltbook was peak AI theater The viral social network for bots reveals as much about our own current mania for AI as it does about the future of agents.

For some, Moltbook showed us what’s coming next: an internet where millions of autonomous agents interact online with little or no human oversight. But is it? Smart from @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social
www.technologyreview.com/2026/02/06/1...

Moltbook was peak AI theater The viral social network for bots reveals as much about our own current mania for AI as it does about the future of agents.

For some, Moltbook showed us what’s coming next: an internet where millions of autonomous agents interact online with little or no human oversight. But is it? Smart from @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social
www.technologyreview.com/2026/02/06/1...

YouTube video by stan tonkin Mike Skinner Backstage Peter Mandelson Went Mad | Turn The Page Live | The Streets

Cannot read about Mandelson with thinking of Mike Skinner and this incredible moment. youtu.be/Ue1U9Se6jQI?...

Meet the Vitalists: the hardcore longevity enthusiasts who believe death is “wrong” They argue we need a revolution—and more and more influential scientists, funders, and politicians are taking them seriously.

Our first Big Story of 2026 is on the Vitalists—the extreme-longevity movement that believes death is immoral, and we need to just... stop it.

Excited to be publishing this deep dive on an increasingly influential group, from @jesshamzelou.bsky.social natch

www.technologyreview.com/2026/01/29/1...

Meet the Vitalists: the hardcore longevity enthusiasts who believe death is “wrong” They argue we need a revolution—and more and more influential scientists, funders, and politicians are taking them seriously.

Our first Big Story of 2026 is on the Vitalists—the extreme-longevity movement that believes death is immoral, and we need to just... stop it.

Excited to be publishing this deep dive on an increasingly influential group, from @jesshamzelou.bsky.social natch

www.technologyreview.com/2026/01/29/1...

Um. Headlines are easier than this.

Lots of “the Jimmys wear bad tracksuits and odd blonde wigs….”

Thoroughly enjoyed The Bone Temple. Reading reviews afterwards, as I like to, suspect many American reviewers don’t get who the Jimmys are styled after. But why would they?

10 Breakthrough Technologies 2026 Here are our picks for the advances to watch in the years ahead—and why we think they matter right now.

A big day for us here at @technologyreview.com - our annual list of 10 Breakthrough Technologies is here! And it's a beauty.

Here are the advances that we think will drive progress or incite the most change—for better or worse—in the years ahead.

www.technologyreview.com/2026/01/12/1...

Finally, I will be free from the unwanted labor of leisure

LLMs contain a LOT of parameters. But what’s a parameter? They’re the mysterious numbers that make your favorite AI models tick. What are they and what do they do?

I out myself as the annoying editor in the lede to this terrific @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social explainer on parameters. We hear about them constantly - but usually explained in metaphorical terms. But what are they REALLY?? www.technologyreview.com/2026/01/07/1...

What’s next for AI in 2026 Our AI writers make their big bets for the coming year—here are five hot trends to watch.

Every year, our AI writers here at @technologyreview.com make some predictions about things to look out for the year ahead. Our track record is pretty good - see what you think about their view for 2026. www.technologyreview.com/2026/01/05/1...

YouTube video by SXSW Sydney Featured | Everything you need to know about AI in 2026 w/ Niall Firth

In October I gave a talk at @sxswsydney.com about all things AI: the trends, the breakthroughs, the issues. You can watch it back here. youtu.be/MSoU_orO2nc?...

YouTube video by SXSW Sydney Featured | Everything you need to know about AI in 2026 w/ Niall Firth

In October I gave a talk at @sxswsydney.com about all things AI: the trends, the breakthroughs, the issues. You can watch it back here. youtu.be/MSoU_orO2nc?...

The great AI hype correction of 2025 Four ways to think about this year's reckoning

2025 was the year AI reached peak hype. (I mean, one hopes!). We have a fantastic series looking at the froth, anchored by this gem from @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social

www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/15/1...

Hype Correction An MIT Technology Review series Hype Correction  It’s time to reset expectations. AI is going to reproduce human intelligence. AI will eliminate disease. AI is the single biggest, most important inven...

Today @technologyreview.com has a fantastic new package that corrects all the AI hype www.technologyreview.com/supertopic/h...

I'm so proud of this series, so dive in and let us know what you think!

Generative AI hype distracts us from AI’s more important breakthroughs It's a seductive distraction from the advances in AI that are most likely to improve or even save your life

Finally @mmitchell.bsky.social explains why generative AI hype can blind us to the AI breakthroughs that we should really celebrate. www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/15/1...

AI materials discovery now needs to move into the real world Startups flush with cash are spinning up AI-assisted laboratories with the hope of finding new materials much faster.

And @davidrotman.bsky.social tells us why the AI materials industry is still waiting for its ChatGPT moment. www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/15/1...

AI might not be coming for lawyers’ jobs anytime soon Generative AI might have aced the bar exam, but an LLM still can’t think like a lawyer.

And Michelle Kim lays out for us why AI isn't taking junior lawyers' jobs anytime soon. www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/15/1...

AI coding is now everywhere. But not everyone is convinced. Developers are navigating confusing gaps between expectation and reality. So are the rest of us.

Then Edd Gent takes a critical appraisal of where we are with AI coding. www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/15/1...

The AI doomers feel undeterred But they certainly wish people were still taking their threats really seriously.

And @garrisonlovely.bsky.social speaks to Geoff Hinton, Yoshua Bengio, and others about the doomers are feeling right now. www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/15/1...

A brief history of Sam Altman’s hype Here’s how pinning a utopian vision for AI on LLMs kicked off the hype cycle that’s causing fears of a bubble today.

Elsewhere in the package, @jamesodonnell.bsky.social ’Donnell looks at Sam Altman, the ultimate AI hypeman, through the medium of his own words. www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/15/1...

What even is the AI bubble? Everyone in tech agrees we’re in a bubble. They just can’t agree on what it looks like — or what happens when it pops.

Then we have an explainer from @alexeheath.com on the AI bubble. www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/15/1...

The great AI hype correction of 2025 Four ways to think about this year's reckoning

I'd suggest starting here with @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social and his intro essay on the why we're calling this period a much-needed hype correction. www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/15/1...

OK here we go! Today we launch Hype Correction, our critical look at where AI is, and how we should reset our expectations. www.technologyreview.com/supertopic/h...

Dropping a big package about AI tomorrow morning. Keep a look out!

Must you have seen the other two?

The State of AI: A vision of the world in 2030 Senior AI editor Will Douglas Heaven talks with Tim Bradshaw, FT global tech correspondent, about what our world will look like in the next five years.

Yesterday we sent out the final part of State of AI: our partnership with @financialtimes.com Times - and it was a doozy! In this 6th edition @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social and @tim.fo debated how AI will shape the world at the end of the decade.
www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/08/1...

Sr. Editorial Director, Print Position Overview: Do you love print? Do you thrive on imagining eye-catching front of the book treatments, deeply reported features, and powerful photo essays? This is an incredible and rare opportun...

Brilliant job working with me here at @technologyreview.com. Come and be our new editorial director, print and manage our bi-monthly print magazine (126 years and still going strong!) www.technologyreview.com/job/editoria...