Plus: the EU is retaliating in opposition to the Trump administration’s tariffs
That is at present’s version of The Obtain, our weekday e-newsletter that gives a each day dose of what is going on on on the earth of expertise.
Gemini Robotics makes use of Google’s high language mannequin to make robots extra helpful
The information: Google DeepMind has launched a brand new mannequin, Gemini Robotics, that mixes its greatest giant language mannequin with robotics. Plugging within the LLM appears to present robots the power to be extra dexterous, work from natural-language instructions, and generalize throughout duties. All three are issues that robots have struggled to do till now.
Why it issues: The group hopes their work may usher in an period of robots which are way more helpful and require much less detailed coaching for every activity. Incorporating LLMs into robotics is a part of a rising pattern, and this can be probably the most spectacular instance but. Learn the total story.
—Scott J Mulligan
In case you’re excited by how researchers are making robots extra helpful, why not check out these tales:
+ The robotic race is fueling a battle for coaching knowledge. AI is upending the way in which robots study, leaving corporations and researchers with a necessity for extra knowledge. Learn the total story.
+ It’s turning into simpler to coach robots with sound, which helps them adapt to duties and environments the place visibility is proscribed. Learn the total story.
+ To be extra helpful, robots have to change into lazier. Smarter knowledge processing may make machines extra useful and energy-efficient in the true world. A great way to check this precept is to make robots play soccer.
+ Gen AI fashions aren’t simply good for creating footage—they are often fine-tuned to generate helpful robotic coaching knowledge, too. Learn the total story.
MIT Know-how Overview Narrated: How the Ukraine-Russia conflict is reshaping the tech sector in Japanese Europe
Startups in Latvia and different close by nations see the mobilization of Ukraine as a warning and as inspiration. They’re now altering client merchandise—from scooters to leisure drones—to be used on the battlefield.
That is our newest story to be became a MIT Know-how Overview Narrated podcast, which
we’re publishing every week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Simply navigate to MIT Know-how Overview Narrated on both platform, and comply with us to get all our new content material because it’s launched.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to search out you at present’s most enjoyable/essential/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.
1 The European Union is pushing again in opposition to Donald Trump’s tariffs
By slapping the US with its personal levies. (WP $)
+ Its measure may have an effect on as much as €26bn of American-made items. (FT $)
2 What does ‘waste’ imply to Elon Musk?
DOGE’s crude calculation of what’s—and isn’t—beneficial doesn’t make sense. (The Atlantic $)
+ Musk appears to be testing the boundaries of Trump’s endurance. (FT $)
+ He’s admitted he’s struggling to steadiness his DOGE commitments along with his work. (Insider $)
+ Can AI assist DOGE slash authorities budgets? It’s advanced. (MIT Know-how Overview)
3 Huge Tech is asking for brand spanking new nuclear energy stations
With the notable exception of Microsoft. (FT $)
+ Curiosity in nuclear energy is surging. Is it sufficient to construct new reactors? (MIT Know-how Overview)
4 BYD is quickly gaining on Tesla 🚗
It’s undercutting the EV maker in 10 main non-Western markets. (Remainder of World)
+ Mercedes-Benz is popping its consideration to solid-state batteries. (IEEE Spectrum)
+ The place all of it went flawed for Europe’s EV battery darling. (Bloomberg $)
+ BYD is one among MIT Know-how Overview’s 15 local weather tech corporations to observe. (MIT Know-how Overview)
5 Intel’s future is hanging within the steadiness
Shares are down, jobs are being minimize, and competitors is heating up. (The Guardian)
6 North Korean hackers snuck spy ware onto the Google Play app retailer
The malicious software program can take management of a tool’s audio and digicam programs. (TechCrunch)
7 Issues aren’t wanting good for iRobot
Its future appears more and more precarious. (The Verge)
+ The corporate is present process a strategic assessment to see if it may be salvaged. (Bloomberg $)
+ A Roomba recorded a lady on the bathroom. How did screenshots find yourself on Fb? (MIT Know-how Overview)
8 Spotify has eliminated Andrew Tate’s misogynistic programs
Following complaints from its personal workers. (404 Media)
9 An arbitrator has instructed a former Meta worker to cease selling her new ebook
The brand new memoir particulars alleged claims of misconduct on the firm. (The Verge)
10 Tips on how to determine the place to hunt for alien life
High tip: seek for the cosmic shoreline. (Quanta Journal)
Quote of the day
“The President is mainly a automobile salesman now.”
—Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky accuses Donald Trump of appearing like a showroom salesman after he urged Individuals to purchase Tesla electrical vehicles, MSNBC studies.
The massive story
What the longer term holds for these born at present
August 2024
Completely happy birthday, child.
You could have been born into an period of clever machines. They’ve watched over you virtually since your conception. They let your mother and father eavesdrop on your tiny heartbeat, monitor your gestation on an app, and publish your sonogram on social media. Properly earlier than you had been born, you had been recognized to the algorithm.
Your arrival coincided with the one hundred and twenty fifth anniversary of this journal. Hopefully and the precise genes, you may see the following 125 years. How will you and the following technology of machines develop up collectively? We requested greater than a dozen specialists to think about your future. Learn what they prophesied.
—Kara Platoni
We will nonetheless have good issues
A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction to brighten up your day. (Obtained any concepts? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)
+ These indigenous heavy metallic bands are tackling local weather change, one devastating riff at a time.
+ Consuming asparagus uncooked is a factor, apparently.
+ How our tradition’s monsters have developed over time, and what they inform us about ourselves.
+ There are few animals extra fascinating than the Greenland shark.
