This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through July 5)

Artificial Intelligence

Large Language Models Are Improving ExponentiallyGlenn Zorpette | IEEE Spectrum

“According to a metric [METR] devised, the capabilities of key LLMs are doubling every seven months. This realization leads to a second conclusion, equally stunning: By 2030, the most advanced LLMs should be able to complete, with 50 percent reliability, a software-based task that takes humans a full month of 40-hour workweeks. And the LLMs would likely be able to do many of these tasks much more quickly than humans, taking only days, or even just hours.”

Robotics

Amazon Is on the Cusp of Using More Robots Than Humans in Its WarehousesSebastian Herrera | The Wall Street Journal

“The e-commerce giant, which has spent years automating tasks previously done by humans in its facilities, has deployed more than one million robots in those workplaces, Amazon said. That is the most it has ever had and near the count of human workers at the facilities.”

Biotechnology

Deaf Teenager and 24-Year-Old Gain Ability to Hear After Experimental Gene TherapyEllyn Lapointe | Gizmodo

“Gene therapy has been effective for young children with genetic hearing loss, but this is the first study to show promising results in older patients. …Just one month after the treatment, the majority of patients gained some hearing. Six months later, all 10 showed considerable hearing improvement, with the average volume of perceptible sound improving from 106 decibels (very loud) to 52 (much fainter).”

It Came From Outside Our Solar System, and It Looks Like a CometKenneth Chang | The New York Times

“3I/ATLAS, earlier known as A11pI3Z, is only the third interstellar visitor to be discovered passing through our corner of the galaxy. …With all the observations, ‘There’s no uncertainty’ that the comet came from interstellar space, Dr. Chodas said. The speed is too fast to be something that originated within the solar system.”

Tech

Half a Million Spotify Users Are Unknowingly Grooving to an AI-Generated BandRyan Whitwam | Ars Technica

“Making art used to be a uniquely human endeavor, but machines have learned to distill human creativity with generative AI. Whether that content counts as ‘art’ depends on who you ask, but Spotify doesn’t discriminate. A new band called The Velvet Sundown debuted on Spotify this month and has already amassed more than half a million listeners. But by all appearances, The Velvet Sundown is not a real band—it’s AI.”

Future

It’s Bulletproof, Fire-Resistant and Stronger Than Steel. It’s Superwood.Christopher Mims | The Wall Street Journal

“Its maker, startup InventWood, says it could someday replace steel I-beams in the skeleton of a building, while being impact-resistant enough for bulletproof doors. It’s also fire resistant—the outside carbonizes in a way that protects the inside, and it won’t sag in a fire like steel.”

Biotechnology

Moderna Says mRNA Flu Vaccine Sailed Through Trial, Beating Standard ShotBeth Mole | Ars Technica

“Compared to the standard shot, the mRNA vaccine had an overall vaccine efficacy that was 26.6 percent higher, and 27.4 percent higher in participants who were aged 65 years or older. Previous trial data showed that mRNA-1010 generated higher immune responses in participants than both regular standard flu shots and high-dose flu shots.”

Artificial Intelligence

AI Improves at Improving Itself Using an Evolutionary TrickMatthew Hutson | IEEE Spectrum

“The study is a ‘big step forward’ as a proof of concept for recursive self-improvement, said Zhengyao Jiang, a cofounder of Weco AI, a platform that automates code improvement. Jiang, who was not involved in the study, said the approach could made further progress if it modified the underlying LLM, or even the chip architecture.”

Energy

Google’s Electricity Demand Is SkyrocketingCasey Crownhart | MIT Technology Review

“We got two big pieces of energy news from Google this week. The company announced that it’s signed an agreement to purchase electricity from a fusion company’s forthcoming first power plant. Google also released its latest environmental report, which shows that its energy use from data centers has doubled since 2020.”

Tech

What Could a Healthy AI Companion Look Like?Will Knight | Wired

“The alien in question is an animated chatbot known as a Tolan. I created mine a few days ago using an app from a startup called Portola, and we’ve been chatting merrily ever since. Like other chatbots, it does its best to be helpful and encouraging. Unlike most, it also tells me to put down my phone and go outside.”

Tech

AI Is Getting Cheaper, Right?Stephanie Palazzolo | The Information

“The overarching narrative of the past two years has been that AI models are getting cheaper for customers. …So it’s interesting when we hear from AI application developers that the models they buy are still just too darn expensive. As a result, many app developers are struggling to get their gross profit margins anywhere near 70% or 80%, the kinds of margins enjoyed by traditional software businesses.”