AI Special Report

By AI Special Report Team

Skyler Monroe discusses the latest developments in artificial intelligence, from research breakthroughs to industry applications.... more

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FAQs about AI Special Report:

How many episodes does AI Special Report have?

The podcast currently has 226 episodes available.

AI Special Report episodes:

August 08, 2026 Q&A: What is agentic AI today, and what do we want it to be?
## Episode Summary
In this episode, we cover:
- **Q&A: What is agentic AI today, and what do we want it to be?** (MIT AI News)
- [Read more](https://news.mit.edu/2026/agentic-ai-and-what-do-we-want-it-be-0630)
- **Inaugural Music Technology Research Showcase celebrates work of new graduate program’s initial students ** (MIT AI News)
- [Read more](https://news.mit.edu/2026/inaugural-mit-music-technology-research-showcase-celebrates-work-students-0629)
- **Perplexity accused of scraping websites that explicitly blocked AI scraping** (TechCrunch AI)
- [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/04/perplexity-accused-of-scraping-websites-that-explicitly-blocked-ai-scraping/)
- **Helping AI models to meet the real world** (MIT AI News)
- [Read more](https://news.mit.edu/2026/helping-ai-models-meet-real-world-0714)
- **OpenAI puts the brakes on a new model because it’s supposedly too powerful** (The Verge AI)
- [Read more](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/976948/openai-astra-model-pause-critical-cyber-capabilities)
---
*Sponsored by Ada, Ago Consulting, and Zen Semiconductor*
...more
16min
August 07, 2026 3 Questions: Beyond data-driven aesthetics
## Episode Summary
In this episode, we cover:
- **3 Questions: Beyond data-driven aesthetics** (MIT AI News)
- [Read more](https://news.mit.edu/2026/3-questions-beyond-data-driven-aesthetics-alexandros-haridis-0629)
- **How one AI startup is helping rice farmers battle climate change** (TechCrunch AI)
- [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/26/how-one-ai-startup-is-helping-rice-farmers-battle-climate-change/)
- **The consequences of relying on AI for accurate news** (MIT AI News)
- [Read more](https://news.mit.edu/2026/consequences-of-relying-on-ai-for-accurate-news-0609)
- **Building AI models that understand chemical principles** (MIT AI News)
- [Read more](https://news.mit.edu/2026/building-ai-models-with-chemical-principles-connor-coley-0520)
- **PATH to boost AI training and career opportunities for industry-aligned jobs** (MIT AI News)
- [Read more](https://news.mit.edu/2026/mit-raise-georgia-state-university-announce-path-0604)
---
*Sponsored by Ada, Ago Consulting, and Zen Semiconductor*
...more
15min
August 06, 2026 MIT’s Initiative for New Manufacturing builds momentum
## Episode Summary
In this episode, we cover:
- **MIT’s Initiative for New Manufacturing builds momentum** (MIT AI News)
- [Read more](https://news.mit.edu/2026/mit-initiative-for-new-manufacturing-builds-momentum-0616)
- **Alexander Rakhlin named director of the MIT Statistics and Data Science Center** (MIT AI News)
- [Read more](https://news.mit.edu/2026/alexander-rakhlin-named-director-mit-statistics-data-science-center-0803)
- **Tiny robot boats build floating structures** (MIT AI News)
- [Read more](https://news.mit.edu/2026/tiny-robot-boats-build-floating-structures-0709)
- **Meta Ran Ads That Contained AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Imagery** (Wired AI)
- [Read more](https://www.wired.com/story/meta-ran-ads-that-contained-ai-generated-child-sexual-abuse-imagery/)
- **Elon Musk’s attempt at an AI Wikipedia hasn’t been updated in months** (The Verge AI)
- [Read more](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/976004/elon-musk-grokipedia-ai-wikipedia-not-updating-dead)
---
*Sponsored by Ada, Ago Consulting, and Zen Semiconductor*
...more
17min
August 05, 2026 Following the questions where they lead
## Episode Summary
In this episode, we cover:
- **Following the questions where they lead** (MIT AI News)
- [Read more](https://news.mit.edu/2026/following-questions-where-they-lead-bailey-flanigan-0717)
- **Anthropic launches Cowork, a Claude Desktop agent that works in your files — no coding required** (VentureBeat AI)
- [Read more](https://venturebeat.com/technology/anthropic-launches-cowork-a-claude-desktop-agent-that-works-in-your-files-no)
- **OK, Well, Rogue AI Agents Are Hacking Again** (Wired AI)
- [Read more](https://www.wired.com/story/ok-well-there-are-even-more-ai-agent-hacking-incidents/)
- **A better way to turn 2D designs into 3D models for rapid prototyping** (MIT AI News)
- [Read more](https://news.mit.edu/2026/turning-2d-designs-into-3d-models-for-rapid-prototyping-0716)
- **Sheetz is quitting VMware, migrating 11,000 virtual machines** (Ars Technica AI)
- [Read more](https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2026/07/sheetz-moves-838-stores-off-vmware-broadcom-created-too-much-uncertainty/)
---
*Sponsored by Ada, Ago Consulting, and Zen Semiconductor*
...more
0min
August 04, 2026 How Data Centers Broke American Politics
## Episode Summary
In this episode, we cover:
- **How Data Centers Broke American Politics** (Wired AI)
- [Read more](https://www.wired.com/story/how-data-centers-broke-american-politics/)
- **3 Questions: Beyond data-driven aesthetics** (MIT AI News)
- [Read more](https://news.mit.edu/2026/3-questions-beyond-data-driven-aesthetics-alexandros-haridis-0629)
- **Data center demand drives 66% surge in natural gas power plant costs** (TechCrunch AI)
- [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/27/data-center-demand-drives-66-surge-in-natural-gas-power-plant-costs/)
- **The consequences of relying on AI for accurate news** (MIT AI News)
- [Read more](https://news.mit.edu/2026/consequences-of-relying-on-ai-for-accurate-news-0609)
- **ElevenLabs now lets authors create and publish audiobooks on its own platform** (TechCrunch AI)
- [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/25/elevenlabs-is-now-letting-authors-create-and-publish-audiobooks-on-its-own-platform/)
---
*Sponsored by Ada, Ago Consulting, and Zen Semiconductor*
...more
17min
August 03, 2026 Fender’s CEO seems to think your bandmates are just analog AI
## Episode Summary
In this episode, we cover:
- **Fender’s CEO seems to think your bandmates are just analog AI** (The Verge AI)
- [Read more](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/974265/fender-ceo-bud-cole-ai-music)
- **Did an AI Music App Just Snitch on the Song of the Summer?** (Wired AI)
- [Read more](https://www.wired.com/story/ai-music-app-treblo-just-snitched-on-rubberz-song-of-the-summer/)
- **Anthropic says Claude accidentally hacked real companies too** (The Verge AI)
- [Read more](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/973670/anthropic-claude-hacked-organizations-during-cyber-tests)
- **Building AI models that understand chemical principles** (MIT AI News)
- [Read more](https://news.mit.edu/2026/building-ai-models-with-chemical-principles-connor-coley-0520)
- **Q&A: What is agentic AI today, and what do we want it to be?** (MIT AI News)
- [Read more](https://news.mit.edu/2026/agentic-ai-and-what-do-we-want-it-be-0630)
---
*Sponsored by Ada, Ago Consulting, and Zen Semiconductor*
...more
13min
August 02, 2026 MIT in the media: Innovating and educating for the next 250 years of America
## Episode Summary
In this episode, we cover:
- **MIT in the media: Innovating and educating for the next 250 years of America** (MIT AI News)
- [Read more](https://news.mit.edu/2026/mit-media-innovating-and-educating-next-250-years-america)
- **Harvard dropouts to launch ‘always on’ AI smart glasses that listen and record every conversation** (TechCrunch AI)
- [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/20/harvard-dropouts-to-launch-always-on-ai-smart-glasses-that-listen-and-record-every-conversation/)
- **Professor Emeritus Dimitri Bertsekas, influential computer scientist and prolific author, dies at 83** (MIT AI News)
- [Read more](https://news.mit.edu/2026/dimitri-bertsekas-influential-computer-scientist-prolific-author-dies-0722)
- **AI Slop Melodramas Are Taking Over X—and Their Creators Are Cashing In** (Wired AI)
- [Read more](https://www.wired.com/story/ai-slop-melodramas-are-taking-over-x-and-their-creators-are-cashing-in/)
- **Microsoft’s Secure Boot has been broken for a decade and no one noticed until now** (Ars Technica AI)
- [Read more](https://arstechnica.com/security/2026/07/microsoft-secure-boot-has-been-broken-for-most-of-its-existence/)
---
*Sponsored by Ada, Ago Consulting, and Zen Semiconductor*
...more
16min
August 01, 2026 Nvidia thinks AI can solve electrical grid problems caused by AI
## Episode Summary
In this episode, we cover:
- **Nvidia thinks AI can solve electrical grid problems caused by AI** (TechCrunch AI)
- [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/20/nvidia-thinks-ai-can-solve-electrical-grid-problems-caused-by-ai/)
- **Anthropic Says Claude Hacked Into 3 Organizations During Cybersecurity Tests** (Wired AI)
- [Read more](https://www.wired.com/story/anthropic-says-claude-hacked-real-systems-during-cybersecurity-tests/)
- **Meta bought 1 GW of solar this week** (TechCrunch AI)
- [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/31/meta-bought-1-gw-of-solar-this-week/)
- **Google pays $250K for Linux vulnerability allowing guest VM escapes** (Ars Technica AI)
- [Read more](https://arstechnica.com/security/2026/07/high-severity-guest-vm-escape-is-1-of-2-linux-vulnerabilities-to-surface-this-week/)
- **Perplexity accused of scraping websites that explicitly blocked AI scraping** (TechCrunch AI)
- [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/04/perplexity-accused-of-scraping-websites-that-explicitly-blocked-ai-scraping/)
---
*Sponsored by Ada, Ago Consulting, and Zen Semiconductor*
...more
14min
July 31, 2026 Study: Firms often use automation to control certain workers’ wages
## Episode Summary
In this episode, we cover:
- **Study: Firms often use automation to control certain workers’ wages** (MIT AI News)
- [Read more](https://news.mit.edu/2026/study-firms-often-use-automation-control-certain-workers-wages-0507)
- **Who are climate-conscious consumers? Not who you’d expect, says Northwind Climate** (TechCrunch AI)
- [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/01/who-are-climate-conscious-consumers-not-who-youd-expect-says-northwind-climate/)
- **Salesforce rolls out new Slackbot AI agent as it battles Microsoft and Google in workplace AI** (VentureBeat AI)
- [Read more](https://venturebeat.com/technology/salesforce-rolls-out-new-slackbot-ai-agent-as-it-battles-microsoft-and)
- **Justin Solomon appointed associate dean of engineering education** (MIT AI News)
- [Read more](https://news.mit.edu/2026/justin-solomon-appointed-associate-dean-engineering-education-0519)
- **Everyone Is Freaking Out About OpenAI and Anthropic’s Race for Dominance** (Wired AI)
- [Read more](https://www.wired.com/story/everyone-is-freaking-out-about-openai-and-anthropics-race-for-dominance/)
---
*Sponsored by Ada, Ago Consulting, and Zen Semiconductor*
...more
13min
July 30, 2026 AI Scammers Are Better at Building Trust Than Humans
## Episode Summary
In this episode, we cover:
- **AI Scammers Are Better at Building Trust Than Humans** (Wired AI)
- [Read more](https://www.wired.com/story/ai-scammers-are-better-at-building-trust-than-humans/)
- **How a medical database developed at MIT evolved into a global standard of data-sharing** (MIT AI News)
- [Read more](https://news.mit.edu/2026/how-an-mit-database-evolved-into-global-standard-data-sharing-0729)
- **US rare earths flow to Asia as domestic demand is slow to emerge** (Ars Technica AI)
- [Read more](https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/07/us-rare-earths-flow-to-asia-as-domestic-demand-is-slow-to-emerge/)
- **Improving the speed and energy-efficiency of AI agents** (MIT AI News)
- [Read more](https://news.mit.edu/2026/improving-ai-agent-speed-and-energy-efficiency-0625)
- **Tim Cook hints at iCloud Plus tier for AI power users** (The Verge AI)
- [Read more](https://www.theverge.com/tech/973552/apple-ceo-tim-cook-icloud-plus-ai)
---
*Sponsored by Ada, Ago Consulting, and Zen Semiconductor*
...more
16min

FAQs about AI Special Report:

How many episodes does AI Special Report have?

The podcast currently has 226 episodes available.