The Download: dead robot friends and the “censorship-industrial complex”

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. What happens when a kid’s robot best friend dies? When Xander first met Moxie, she taught him how to calm down when he was anxious or mad. Six years later, she mostly watches him play Minecraft and talks to him about his stuffed animals. Moxie is a robot—a 15-inch-tall device that looks a bit like a blue, legless astronaut. It belongs to a subset of robots designed to assist neurodivergent children by providing connection and helping kids practice social skills usually learned from therapists. Xander still uses Moxie when he feels like he needs someone to talk to, but the device has had a troubled life. The robot’s maker went out of business, its servers were shut down, and parents rushed to convert their Moxies before the servers went offline. Read our story about how it exposes the promise and pitfalls of AI companion toys for children . —Sara Harrison This article is from the next issue of our print magazine, which is all about kids. Subscribe now to read it when it lands. Inside the “censorship-industrial complex” idea shaping US policy The idea of a “censorship-industrial complex” has moved from the fringes of right-wing online discourse into US policy. The basic theory is that, under the guise of combating disinformation, government agencies, academics, civil society groups, and Big Tech platforms have worked together to suppress conservative and populist speech online. It has now made its way into the Trump administration. Over the past nine months, MIT Technology Review investigated its rise . In a recent Roundtables session, senior reporter Eileen Guo and executive editor Amy Nordrum revealed what they discovered, where the theory is going, and what it could mean for the future of democracy and the internet. Subscribers and MIT alumni can now watch the full event here . The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you