The Download: AI “mind-reading” and creative uses for small batteries

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.

An AI “mind-reading” tool can reconstruct what you’re looking at based on a brain scan

A new AI tool can guess what you’re looking at just by analyzing your brain scans—and recreate that image with remarkable precision. It can go the other way too, and predict a person’s brain activity based on what they’re looking at.

The researchers hope the “mindreading” tool could reveal more about how the brain works. It could also help locked-in people communicate and, incredibly, maybe even allow scientists to recreate the content of dreams.

But other scientists warn that a similar approach could reveal people’s inner thoughts and mental imagery, potentially without their consent.

Here’s how AI is getting closer to reading images from the brain.

How smaller, distributed batteries could help the grid

Large, utility-scale battery installations are coming online …