Robotics
Invasion of the Home Humanoid RobotsCade Metz | The New York Times
“Artificial intelligence is already driving cars, writing essays and even writing computer code. Now, humanoids, machines built to look like humans and powered by AI, are poised to move into our homes so they can help with the daily chores.”
Robotics
Roomba Creator Says Humanoid Robots Are OverhypedRocket Drew | The Information
“‘We’ve hardly started on humanoid hype,’ [Rodney] Brooks said. ‘It’s going to go worse and worse and worse.’ Humanoid robots are enthralling because people can imagine them doing everything a human can do, Brooks said, but they still struggle with basic skills such as walking, falling, and coordinating multiple body parts to manipulate an object.”
Computing
A 32-Bit Processor Made With an Atomically Thin SemiconductorJohn Timmer | Ars Technica
“The authors argue that it’s probably one of the most sophisticated bits of ‘beyond silicon’ hardware yet implemented. That said, they don’t expect this technology to replace silicon; instead, they view it as potentially filling some niche needs, like ultra-low-power processing for simple sensors. But if the technology continues to advance, the scope of its potential uses may expand beyond that.”
Computing
World’s Smallest LED Pixels Squeeze Into Astounding 127,000-PPI DisplayMichael Irving | New Atlas
“Scientists in China have created a new type of display with the smallest pixels and the highest pixel density ever. Individual pixels were shrunk to 90 nanometers—about the size of a virus—and a record 127,000 of them were crammed into every inch of a display.”
Biotechnology
Alphabet-Backed Isomorphic Labs Raises $600 Million for AI Drug DevelopmentHelena Smolak | The Wall Street Journal
“‘This funding will further turbocharge the development of our next-generation AI drug design engine, help us advance our own programs into clinical development, and is a significant step forward towards our mission of one day solving all disease with the help of AI,’ Chief Executive Officer Demis Hassabis, who is also the head of Google’s AI division DeepMind, said.”
Robotics
The Hypershell Exoskeleton Is So Good at Climbing Cliffs, It Ruined My WorkoutKyle Barr | Gizmodo
“The Hypershell is a device made for assisting your walks, runs, bikes, or hikes. In a rarity for weird tech, the hiking exoskeleton accomplishes nearly everything it promises to. It does its job so well, and it left me devoid of the exercise and that sense of calm I normally get from my hikes.”
Science
Why Everything in the Universe Turns More ComplexPhilip Ball | Quanta Magazine
“[The researchers] have proposed nothing less than a new law of nature, according to which the complexity of entities in the universe increases over time with an inexorability comparable to the second law of thermodynamics—the law that dictates an inevitable rise in entropy, a measure of disorder. If they’re right, complex and intelligent life should be widespread.”
Future
DeepMind Has Detailed All the Ways AGI Could Wreck the WorldRyan Whitwam | Ars Technica
“While some in the AI field believe AGI is a pipe dream, the authors of [a new] DeepMind paper project that it could happen by 2030. With that in mind, they aimed to understand the risks of a human-like synthetic intelligence, which they acknowledge could lead to ‘severe harm.’”
Energy
The Hottest Thing in Clean EnergyAlexander C. Kaufman | The Atlantic
“For now, most of the efforts to debut next-generation geothermal technology are still in the American West, where drilling is relatively cheap and easy because the rocks they’re targeting are closer to the surface. But if the industry can prove to investors that its power plants work as described—which experts expect to happen by the end of the decade—geothermal could expand quickly, just like oil-and-gas fracking did.”
Space
SpaceX Took a Big Step Toward Reusing Starship’s Super Heavy BoosterStephen Clark | Ars Technica
“This was the first time SpaceX has test-fired a ‘flight-proven’ Super Heavy booster, and it paves the way for this particular rocket—designated Booster 14—to fly again soon. SpaceX confirmed a reflight of Booster 14, which previously launched and returned to Earth in January, will happen on next Starship launch.”
Space
Amazon Is Ready to Launch Its Starlink CompetitorThomas Ricker | The Verge
“The first batch of 27 Project Kuiper space internet satellites are scheduled to launch next week. Amazon has secured 80 such launch missions that will each deliver dozens of satellites into low earth orbit (LEO) to create a constellation capable of competing with Elon Musk’s Starlink juggernaut. Amazon says it expects to begin offering high-speed, low-latency internet service ‘later this year.’”
Science
Bonobos’ Calls May Be the Closest Thing to Animal Language We’ve SeenJacek Krywko | Ars Technica
“A team of Swiss scientists led by Melissa Berthet, an evolutionary anthropologist at the University of Zurich, discovered bonobos can combine [vocal calls including peeps, hoots, yelps, grunts, and whistles] into larger semantic structures. In these communications, meaning is something more than just a sum of individual calls—a trait known as non-trivial compositionality, which we once thought was uniquely human.”
Artificial Intelligence
DeepMind Is Holding Back Release of AI Research to Give Google an EdgeMelissa Heikkilä and Stephen Morris | Ars Technica
“Three former researchers said the group was most reluctant to share papers that reveal innovations that could be exploited by competitors, or cast Google’s own Gemini AI model in a negative light compared with others. The changes represent a significant shift for DeepMind, which has long prided itself on its reputation for releasing groundbreaking papers and as a home for the best scientists building AI.”
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