That is immediately’s version of The Obtain, our weekday publication that gives a every day dose of what’s happening on this planet of expertise.
This scientist rewarmed and studied items of his buddy’s cryopreserved mind
L. Stephen Coles’s mind sits in a vat at a storage facility in Arizona. It has been held there at a temperature of round −146 levels °C for over a decade, largely undisturbed. Earlier than he died in 2014, Coles had the mind frozen with an formidable objective in thoughts: reanimation.
His buddy, cryobiologist Greg Fahy, believes it may very well be revived in the future. However different consultants are much less optimistic.
Nonetheless, Fahy’s analysis might result in new methods to check the mind. And utilizing cryopreservation for organ transplantation is turning into a viable actuality.
Learn the total story to seek out out what the longer term holds for the expertise.
—Jessica Hamzelou
The AI Hype Index
Separating AI actuality from hyped-up fiction isn’t all the time simple. That’s why we’ve created the AI Hype Index—a easy, at-a-glance abstract of all the things it’s essential know in regards to the state of the business. Take a have a look at this month’s version.
MIT Expertise Assessment Narrated: how Pokémon Go is giving supply robots an inch-perfect view of the world
Pokémon Go was the world’s first augmented-reality megahit. Launched in 2016 by Niantic, the AR twist on the juggernaut Pokémon franchise quick turned a worldwide phenomenon. “500 million individuals put in that app in 60 days,” says Brian McClendon, CTO at Niantic Spatial, an AI firm that Niantic spun out final 12 months.
Now Niantic Spatial is utilizing that huge trove of crowdsourced knowledge to construct a type of world mannequin—a buzzy new expertise that grounds the smarts of LLMs in actual environments. The agency needs to make use of it to assist robots navigate extra exactly.
—Will Douglas Heaven
That is our newest story to be become an MIT Expertise Assessment Narrated podcast, which we’re publishing every week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Simply navigate to MIT Expertise Assessment Narrated on both platform, and comply with us to get all our new content material as it’s launched.
The subsequent period of area exploration
Our footprint within the photo voltaic system is quickly increasing. Packages to construct everlasting Moon bases and discover life on Mars have transitioned from science fiction to energetic area company missions. The scientists behind them is not going to solely shed new gentle on the cosmos, however additionally reveal the place humanity is headed.
To look at what the longer term holds in retailer, MIT Expertise Assessment options editor Amanda Silverman will sit down immediately with award-winning science journalist and creator Robin George Andrews for an unique subscriber-only Roundtable dialog about “The Subsequent Period of Area Exploration.” Register right here to affix the session at 16:00 GMT / 12:00 PM ET / 9:00 AM PT.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to seek out you immediately’s most enjoyable/necessary/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.
1 OpenAI is shutting down AI video generator Sora
The app attracted a minimum of as a lot controversy as acclaim. (CNBC)
+ Closing it means saying goodbye to $1 billion from Disney. (BBC)
+ OpenAI is chopping again on aspect initiatives forward of an anticipated IPO. (WSJ $)
+ However it’s focusing its efforts on constructing a totally automated researcher. (MIT Expertise Assessment)
2 A choose suspects the Pentagon is illegally punishing Anthropic
She labelled the DoD’s ban “troubling.” (Bloomberg)
+ Anthropic and the Pentagon are going through off in court docket. (Guardian)
+ The DoD needs AI firms to coach on labeled knowledge. (MIT Expertise Assessment)
3 Meta has been ordered to pay $375 million for endangering kids on-line
Prosecutors mentioned the corporate knew it put kids in danger. (Engadget)
+ Meta is providing its high expertise inventory choices as incentives for its AI push. (CNBC)
4 Arm will promote its personal laptop chips for the primary time
It’s geared toward knowledge facilities that run AI duties. (NYT $)
+ Arm inventory jumped 13% on the information. (CNBC)
5 Manus’s founders have been barred from leaving China following Meta’s takeover
Beijing is reviewing the $2 billion acquisition of the AI startup. (FT $)
6 Baltimore has sued xAI over Grok’s pretend nude photographs
The chatbot allegedly violated shopper protections. (Guardian)
+ There’s an enormous marketplace for pornographic deepfakes of actual girls. (MIT Expertise Assessment)
7 NASA plans to ship a nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars in 2028
It’ll take a payload of Ingenuity-class helicopters to the Pink Planet. (NYT $)
+ NASA additionally needs to place a $20 billion base on the Moon. (The Verge)
8 An organization is secretly turning Zoom conferences into AI-generated podcasts
WebinarTV turns the calls into content material with out telling anybody. (404 Media)
9 Iranian volunteers have constructed their very own missile warning map
It fills the hole left by Iran’s lack of a public emergency alert device. (Wired $)
+ Right here’s the place OpenAI’s tech might present up in Iran. (MIT Expertise Assessment)
10 A nonprofit is sending fundamental earnings funds to AI-impacted employees
It’s beginning by giving 25-50 individuals $1,000 per 30 days. (Gizmodo)
Quote of the day
“I’m initially a scientist. My objective is to know nature. However doing science is, form of, like studying the thoughts of God.”
—DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis shares his strategy to AI technique with the FT.
One Extra Factor
Contained in the hunt for essentially the most harmful asteroid ever
As asteroid 2024 YR4 hurtled towards Earth, astronomers decided that this huge rock posed the next danger of influence than any object of its dimension in recorded historical past. Then, simply as shortly as historical past was made, consultants declared that the hazard had handed.
That is the within story of the community of world scientists who discovered, adopted, deliberate for, and at last dismissed essentially the most harmful asteroid ever discovered—all below the tightest of timelines and with the best of stakes. Learn how they did it.
—Robin George Andrews
We will nonetheless have good issues
A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction to brighten up your day. (Acquired any concepts? Drop me a line.)
+ Soothe subscription fatigue with this easy cancellation device.
+ Takashi Murakami’s reimagined Monets are pop-art magic.
+ Soar right into a rabbit gap with this app that visualizes hyperlinks between Wikipedia pages.
+ This playful lynx that snatched the highest prize in a photograph competitors is a delight.
