How mass-market military drones have changed the way wars are fought

Welcome back to What’s Next in Tech. In this edition, understand why the proliferation of widely available, inexpensive military drones marks a new chapter in the still-new era of drone warfare. Then, learn about the challenges associated with mining the rare-earth metals needed to support climate projects, even though there’s plenty of those materials to go around. Plus, find out how brain implants could let paralyzed people speak at almost normal speeds.

Turkish-made aircraft like the Bayraktar TB2 have dramatically expanded the role of drones in warfare.

When the United States first fired a missile from an armed Predator drone at suspected Al Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan in November 2001, it changed warfare permanently. During the two decades that followed, highly sophisticated US drones were repeatedly deployed in targeted killing campaigns. They were only available to the most powerful nations.

But new navigation systems and wireless technologies have helped to create a new type of Turkish-made military drone. It caught the world’s attention in Ukraine in 2022, when it proved itself capable of holding back one of the most formidable militaries on the planet.?

The Bayraktar TB2 drone marks a new chapter in drone warfare. Read the story.

Mass-market military drones are one of MIT Technology Review’s 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2023. Explore the full list.

We have enough materials to power the world with renewable energy

The news: Powering the world with renewable energy will take a lot of raw materials. The good news is, when it comes to aluminum, steel, and rare-earth metals, there’s plenty to go around, according to a new analysis.

Greater pay off: Although emissions are an unavoidable side effect of extracting the materials, over the next 30 years they add up to less than a year’s worth of global emissions from fossil fuels. Experts are confident the up-front emissions cost will be more than offset by savings from clean energy technologies replacing fossil fuels.

But there’s a catch: While we technically have enough of the materials we need to build renewable energy infrastructure, actually mining and processing them can be a challenge. If we don’t do it responsibly, getting those materials into usable form could lead to environmental harm or human rights violations. Read the story.

An ALS patient set a record for communicating via a brain implant

The news: Eight years ago, a patient lost her power of speech because of ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, which causes progressive paralysis. Now, after volunteering to receive a brain implant, the woman has been able to rapidly communicate phrases at a rate approaching normal speech.

Why it matters: Even in an era of keyboards, thumb-typing, emojis, and internet abbreviations, speech remains the fastest form of human-to-human communication. The scientists from Stanford University say their volunteer smashed previous records by using the brain-reading implant to communicate at a rate of 62 words a minute, three times the previous best.?

What’s next: Although the study has not been formally reviewed, experts have hailed the results as a significant breakthrough. The findings could pave the way for experimental brain-reading technology to leave the lab and become a useful product soon.? Read the story.

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Image credits: David Alabo; Chris McGrath/Getty Images; Willett, Kunz et al.