The Download: AI vs quantum, and the future of reproductive rights in the US

Tech companies have been funneling billions of dollars into quantum computers for years. The hope is that they’ll be a game changer for fields as diverse as finance, drug discovery, and logistics.

But while the field struggles with the realities of tricky quantum hardware, another challenger is making headway in some of these most promising use cases. AI is now being applied to fundamental physics, chemistry, and materials science in a way that suggests quantum computing’s purported home turf might not be so safe after all. Read the full story.

—Edd Gent

What’s next for reproductive rights in the US

This week, it wasn’t just the future president of the US that was on the ballot. Ten states also voted on abortion rights.

Two years ago, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a legal decision that protected the right to abortion. Since then, abortion bans have been enacted in multiple states, and millions of people in the US have lost access to local clinics.

Now, some states are voting to extend and protect access to abortion. Missouri, a state that has long restricted access, even voted to overturn its ban. But it’s not all good news for proponents of reproductive rights. Read the full story.