From MIT Technology Review · · 3m
Blended meat, restored sight, and the agentic web
Startups blend plants into meat to cut beef consumption, an implant restores vision for the blind, and AI agents are reshaping how we use the internet.
In brief
Startups blend plants into meat to cut beef consumption, an implant restores vision for the blind, and AI agents are reshaping how we use the internet. Three technology stories: startups are mixing mushrooms into meat to reduce beef consumption, a retinal implant restores sight in macular degeneration patients, and AI…
Mushroom meatballs pass the taste test
In fall 2025, Jeff Dodge served students meatballs blended with mushrooms. Ninety-two percent of those who tried them wanted them on the menu, unaware of the plant content.
Joyn's 50/Cut tackles beef consumption
Joyn created 50/Cut, a blended meat combining plant proteins with real meat, available as meatballs, burgers, and ground meat. The product aims to reduce beef consumption and address climate crisis challenges.
Blended meat startups multiply
A wave of startups is creating blended meat products, based on the logic that the best meat replacement is better meat. These companies aim to make eating less beef more appealing.
Implant restores sight in macular degeneration
More than five million people have geographic atrophy, an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration where retinal cells die. A system called PRIMA combines a retinal implant with camera-equipped eyeglasses.
PRIMA enables reading and daily tasks
After training sessions, more than eighty percent of PRIMA recipients could read, do crosswords, and use their phones. The implant improves sight in patients who develop a blind spot in the middle of their vision.
Tim Berners-Lee's vision becomes real
In 2001, Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the World Wide Web a decade earlier, articulated a vision of an internet navigated by autonomous software agents. A quarter-century on, AI agents are making it reality.
AI agents handle personal tasks
AI agents can now triage your inbox, do your grocery shopping, and even access your bank accounts. They navigate the web without requiring users to interact with browsers and search engines.
The agentic web transforms the internet
This new era is being called the agentic web, and it will inevitably transform the internet. Whether the human web survives this transition is anyone's guess.
“Whether the human web survives this transition is anyone's guess.”
The agentic web is now a podcast
MIT Technology Review Narrated published the agentic web story as a podcast, available weekly on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Listeners can follow the platform to receive new content as it releases.
Three breakthroughs reshape daily life
Blended meat offers climate-friendly eating, retinal implants restore vision to the blind, and AI agents automate web browsing. Together they represent significant shifts in food, health, and how we interact with technology.
The big picture
Three technology stories: startups are mixing mushrooms into meat to reduce beef consumption, a retinal implant restores sight in macular degeneration patients, and AI agents are beginning to automate web browsing.
