Artificial Intelligence
Google’s Recent AI Generates Hypotheses for ResearchersRyan Whitwam | Ars Technica
“Over the past few years, Google has launched into a quest to jam generative AI into every product and initiative possible. …And sometimes, the output of generative AI systems may be surprisingly good despite lacking any real knowledge. But can they do science? Google Research is now angling to show AI right into a scientist—well, a ‘co-scientist.'”
Robotics
Norway’s 1X Is Constructing a Humanoid Robot for the HomeBrian Heater | TechCrunch
“Norwegian robotics firm 1X unveiled its latest home robot, Neo Gamma, on Friday. The humanoid system will succeed Neo Beta, which debuted in August. Like its predecessors, the Neo Gamma is a prototype designed for testing in the house environment. Images of the robot show it performing numerous household tasks like making coffee, doing the laundry, and vacuuming.”
BIOTECH
Your Next Pet Could Be a Glowing RabbitEmily Mullin | Wired
“Humans have been selectively breeding cats and dogs for 1000’s of years to make more desirable pets. A brand new startup called the Los Angeles Project goals to hurry up that process with genetic engineering to make glow-in-the-dark rabbits, hypoallergenic cats and dogs, and possibly, someday, actual unicorns.”
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
DeepSeek Goes Beyond ‘Open Weights’ AI With Plans for Source Code ReleaseKyle Orland | Ars Technica
“Last month, DeepSeek turned the AI world on its head with the release of a brand new, competitive simulated reasoning model that was free to download and use under an MIT license. Now, the corporate is preparing to make the underlying code behind that model more accessible, promising to release five open source repos starting next week.”
3D PRINTING
Nature-Inspired Breakthrough Yields Thinnest 3D-Printed Fibers YetMargherita Bassi | Gizmodo
“Professionals of every kind—from artists to architects to scientists—have been drawing inspiration from nature for millennia. Now, engineers have managed to supply extremely positive fibers inspired by spider silk and hagfish slime. A team of international researchers has used a brand new 3D-printing technique to create microfibers just 1.5 microns thick.”
Future
AI Agents Will Outmaneuver Salespeople by Optimizing PersuasionLouis Rosenberg | Big Think
“AI agents have evolved from easy heuristics to classy systems that analyze human personalities in real time to optimize persuasion.
These conversational agents could soon engage us each day, adapting their tactics based on our traits, emotions, and behaviors. On this op-ed, AI researcher Louis Rosenberg argues that as conversational AI agents develop into more interactive and personalized, they are going to surpass human influencers of their ability to shape our decisions without us realizing it.”
ROBOTICS
Reinforcement Learning Triples Spot’s Running SpeedEvan Ackerman | IEEE Spectrum
“If Spot running this quickly looks a bit strange, that’s probably since it is strange, within the sense that the way in which this robot dog’s legs and body move because it runs is just not very very similar to how an actual dog runs in any respect. ‘The gait is just not biological, however the robot isn’t biological,’ explains Farbod Farshidian, roboticist on the RAI Institute. ‘Spot’s actuators are different from muscles, and its kinematics are different, so a gait that’s suitable for a dog to run fast isn’t necessarily best for this robot.'”
future
AI Is Prompting an Evolution, Not Extinction, for CodersSteve Lohr | The Recent York Times
“‘The talents software developers need will change significantly, but AI is not going to eliminate the necessity for them,’ said Arnal Dayaratna, an analyst at IDC, a technology research firm. ‘Not anytime soon anyway.’ The outlook for software engineers offers a window into the impact that generative AI—the type behind chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT—is prone to have on knowledge employees across the economy, from doctors and lawyers to marketing managers and financial analysts.”
The Lunar Economy Is ComingJorge Garay | Wired
“The lunar economy, complete with its own supply chain, may seem to be a distant concept, but its foundations are already here. It would focus on using the moon’s natural resources to construct scientific infrastructure on its surface, in addition to develop capability for future space exploration (the moon is a potential spaceport for more distant destinations, akin to Mars).”
TECH
Why AI Spending Isn’t Slowing DownChristopher Mims | The Wall Street Journal
“Despite a temporary period of investor doubt, money is pouring into artificial intelligence from big tech corporations, national governments and enterprise capitalists at unprecedented levels. To know why, it helps to understand the way in which that AI itself is changing. The technology is shifting away from conventional large language models and toward reasoning models and AI agents.”
