Revisiting a year of Roundtables, MIT Technology Review’s subscriber-only events

The rise of AI comes with a growing carbon footprint and greater demand for electricity. Analysts project that AI could drive up data centers’ energy consumption by 160% this decade. So how worried should we be? Editor at large David Rotman, senior AI reporter Melissa Heikkilä, and senior editor for energy James Temple explored the energy trade-offs involved in AI.

CRISPR Babies: Six years later

Gene editing can correct or improve the DNA of human embryos, potentially opening the door to the “technological evolution” of our species. But in 2018, a premature attempt to use the technology this way led to a prison term for He Jiankui, the researcher involved. Editor in chief Mat Honan and senior editor for biomedicine Antonio Regalado had a conversation with He, a biophysicist and the creator of the first gene-edited humans, to revisit this controversial technology and the future of editing in IVF clinics.

Why Thermal Batteries Are So Hot Right Now

Thermal batteries could be a key part of cleaning up heavy industry. Executive editor Amy Nordrum and senior climate reporter Casey Crownhart told us what we can expect next from this emerging technology—which was also voted the 11th breakthrough technology of 2024 by our readers.