NEWS YOU CAN’T MISS

Psychedelics Without the High? AI Made One

Psychedelic drugs like psilocybin (known as “magic mushrooms”) and LSD are having a medical moment.

Studies suggest they can help treat stubborn conditions such as depression, PTSD, and addiction, especially in people who don’t respond to traditional therapies.

The challenge is their side effects: intense, hours-long hallucinogenic “trips” that can be overwhelming, unpredictable, and even risky. That makes them difficult to use safely in clinical settings.

Now, Silicon Valley–backed startup Mindstate Design Labs thinks it has found a way to keep the brain-boosting benefits of psychedelics without the hallucinations.

• Using AI, the team analyzed the chemistry of known psychoactive drugs and more than 70,000 firsthand reports of what those drugs felt like — from lab trials to Reddit. The result was MSD-001, a kind of “psychedelic tofu” that keeps the benefits but skips the trip.

• In an early safety trial in the Netherlands, volunteers reported brighter colors, heightened emotions, and more imaginative thinking, but no visions, ego-dissolution, or other intense hallucinatory effects.

The appeal is clear: Psychedelics appear to boost neuroplasticity, helping the brain break cycles of depression and anxiety. If that reset can happen without the trip, therapy could be safer and more accessible.

But there are caveats: the trial was small, patient outcomes are unproven, some experts say hallucinations may be essential, and regulators could be wary of AI-designed drugs.

For now, MSD-001 is promising, but far from proven.

Whitney Houston Sings Again? 👩‍🎤

Thirteen years after her passing, Whitney Houston’s vocals are back on tour.

The new show, The Voice of Whitney: A Symphonic Celebration, uses AI to pull her voice out of old fully mixed recordings. Those restored vocals are now paired with a live orchestra and big-screen footage, timed to the 40th anniversary of her debut. 🎶

The tech comes from Moises, an AI company that can peel vocals out of old songs even when no original studio files exist. Whitney has been brought back before - a hologram tour in 2020 tried to re-create her on stage - but this one is focused on bringing back her real voice.

Fans are calling it a moving tribute, while others wonder if this is just the start of an endless AI revival circuit. Today Whitney, tomorrow Michael Jackson featuring Selena?

Meet Paula Ingabire, Rwanda’s Minister of ICT & Innovation

Celebrating this week’s Woman in Tech 🥳: Meet Paula Ingabire, Rwanda’s Minister of ICT and Innovation. Inagbire is leading bold initiatives that have brought in global partnerships - including a $7.5M Gates Foundation grant to build Africa’s first AI Scaling Hub.

Born in Kenya and driven by a passion for technology, Ingabire studied Computer Engineering and IT in Kigali before heading to MIT for a Master’s in Systems Design and Management.

From the start, she’s been at the forefront of Rwanda’s digital journey - helping move government services online, supporting businesses to go digital, and championing Smart Africa, a program to expand internet access across the continent. She also helped launch Kigali Innovation City, a hub designed to fuel African startups and tech talent.

Since becoming Minister in 2018, Ingabire has pushed policies on AI, blockchain, and digital inclusion - always with a focus on equity and opportunity. Her leadership has made Rwanda a recognized regional leader in tech innovation.

And her influence goes global. Ingabire sits with the World Economic Forum and other leading tech groups, shaping how the world thinks about the future of technology. She’s also earned her place on major lists like the Top 100 in AI and the TIME100 AI list.

AI Around The World:

In the US, a new app called Neon has climbed to #2 in Apple’s App Store by paying users to record their phone calls and then selling the audio to AI companies. The app promises up to 30¢ per minute (capped at $30/day), but its terms give Neon sweeping rights over the recordings, raising privacy concerns.

In India, Bollywood stars including Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Karan Johar have gone to court to protect their personality rights amid a surge in deepfakes. The Delhi High Court has backed their claims, ordering platforms to take down fake content, from obscene AI videos to fake merchandise.

In Japan, global private equity KKR sees the nation’s aging population as a major investment opportunity. KKR Co-CEO Joe Bae said that if Japan doesn’t invest in areas such as automation, robotics and artificial intelligence, "the aging population and decline will become a bigger and bigger challenge for its success as a nation.”