The Download: AI puzzles and a path to our nearest star system

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.

AI models flub these intelligence tests. Can you fare any better?

Puzzles and games have always been central to AI development. The term “machine learning” was popularized in a 1959 article about an algorithm that learned to play checkers. Chess and Go are famous AI test beds too.

Judged purely on its puzzling skills, AI is improving a lot—and quickly. In late 2024, even the best models could figure out only 18% of the infamous New York Times Connections puzzles; by early 2025, some could solve them nearly perfectly every time.

But puzzles do more than highlight AI’s progress. Seeing where models succeed and fail, and where humans still beat them, offers a window into the technology’s strengths and weaknesses.

We’ve gathered seven puzzles that have stumped models at one time or another—now it’s your turn to see how you fare. Take our test to find out whether you can outsmart AI. 

—Grace Huckins

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How AI plotted an interstellar journey to Alpha Centauri

A nonprofit organization called the Fermi Explorer Mission announced yesterday that it intends to launch a spacecraft to our nearest star system by the end of 2029.

It’s a hugely ambitious mission—if all goes well, the spacecraft could take up to 80,000 years to arrive at Alpha Centauri, which is 4.4 light-years away. To get there, it will follow a novel trajectory discovered by an AI system developed by PSI, a physics research lab.

Explore how AI found a new route to Alpha Centauri—and what the mission could tell us about alien life.

—Michelle Kim

MIT Technology Review Narrated: the role of the astronaut is in flux

We go to space for geopolitical prestige, manifest destiny, spiritual fulfillment, scientific curiosity, and, increasingly, business opportunities. In the wake of Artemis II, a slew of new books suggest that these justifications are subsumed by one unifying fact: humans have itchy feet, and we are simply wired to roam. 

In The Ultraview Effect, space anthropologist Deana L. Weibel frames human space exploration as part of our need to embark on pilgrimages. In A Heart for Space, civilian astronaut Eiman Jahangir recounts one such voyage with Blue Origin. And in Dinner with an Astronaut, former NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao argues that people simply “need to know what’s on the other side.”

“We go into space because we want to explore,” says. “We want to see what it’s like to walk on another world.” But as our presence in space expands, we are bound to bring along the same human foibles that have stymied us on Earth.

This is our latest article 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 OpenAI is restricting its next model after rating it a “critical” cyber riskTesting showed Astra can automate cyberattacks. (WSJ $)+ OpenAI says it’s the first model to cross its “critical” threshold. (CNBC)+ The company plans to give it extra security measures. (Reuters $)+ Its safety issues could indicate cultural problems. (MIT Technology Review)

2 The Pentagon official overseeing military AI just sold millions in AI stockEmil Michael sold his Perplexity shares for up to $25 million. (Guardian)+ Pundits say he’s turning the Pentagon into a VC firm. (WP $)+ He previously sold xAI stock after the Pentagon adopted Grok. (Guardian)

3 A data center backlash appears to have cost a Missouri councilman his seatVoters opposed the billions in tax breaks he helped approve. (NYT $)+ Data center construction spending surged in July. (Axios)+ But they face bipartisan public opposition. (MIT Technology Review)

4 The first signs of dark matter particles may finally have been spottedThe finding could be monumental, but more evidence is needed. (New Scientist $)+ The search for dark matter has been blown wide open. (MIT Technology Review)

5 Google is reportedly set to release a model that closes the coding gapTests suggest it could rival OpenAI and Anthropic on coding. (WSJ $)+ Named Gemini 3.8 Flash, it may be released today. (Gizmodo)+ But not everyone is convinced about AI coding. (MIT Technology Review)

6 The US Army used a laser to shoot down three drones near the Mexico borderThe weapon can detect, track and destroy drones with light. (Wired $)+ Palantir’s CEO is backing the former Ukrainian defense minister’s startup. (WP $)

7 Map apps are handling Trump’s “Lake America” order differentlyGoogle and Apple made the change