Artificial Intelligence
Gemini AI Solves Coding Problem That Stumped 139 Human Teams at ICPC World FinalsRyan Whitwam | Ars Technica
“After 677 minutes, Gemini 2.5 Deep Think had 10 correct answers, securing a second-place finish among the university teams. You can take a look at all of Gemini’s solutions on GitHub, but Google points to Problem C as especially impressive. This question, a multi-dimensional optimization problem revolving around fictitious ‘flubber’ storage and drainage rates, stumped every human team. But not Gemini.”
Computing
The New AirPods Can Translate Languages in Your Ears. This Is Profound.Brian X. Chen | The New York Times
“The robust translation technology in the AirPods is a sign that Apple is still in the AI race, despite its early stumbles. Digital language translators are not new, but Apple’s execution of the feature with the AirPods, a product that perfectly fits in your ears, should make a profound difference in how often people use the technology.”
Biotechnology
Biotech Startup Claims It’s Getting Closer to ‘Resurrecting’ the Extinct DodoEd Cara | Gizmodo
“With its latest accomplishments, Colossal Biosciences expects to functionally restore the dodo within the next 5 to 7 years. …’These advances create a clear pathway: edit Nicobar pigeon germ cells with dodo traits, inject them into surrogate chickens, breed the results, and eventually produce birds with dodo characteristics,’ Lamm said.”
Computing
Meta Goes Even Harder Into Smart Glasses With 3 New ModelsBoone Ashworth | Wired
“The new models include a set of frames made for action sports, an update to Meta’s original design, and a more capable model with display technology built into the lenses that lets the wearer see text, images, and video overlaid onto their field of vision.”
Tech
The Looming Crackdown on AI CompanionshipJames O’Donnell | MIT Technology Review
“As long as there has been AI, there have been people sounding alarms about what it might do to us: rogue superintelligence, mass unemployment, or environmental ruin from data center sprawl. But this week showed that another threat entirely—that of kids forming unhealthy bonds with AI—is the one pulling AI safety out of the academic fringe and into regulators’ crosshairs.”
Tech
Inside Microsoft’s Plans for the ‘Most Advanced AI Data Center in the World’Isabelle Bousquette | The Wall Street Journal
“[Microsoft’s Brad] Smith said a combination of the number of Nvidia GPUs, the power of those GPUs, and the networking and systems that connect all the compute power will make the project so cutting edge. Smith added, ‘You put all of this together and it makes it possible to train more advanced AI models than have ever been trained before.'”
Future
AI Psychosis Is Rarely Psychosis at AllRobert Hart | Wired
“Distressed users and family and friends have described spirals that led to lost jobs, ruptured relationships, involuntary hospital admissions, jail time, and even death. Yet clinicians tell Wired the medical community is split. Is this a distinct phenomenon that deserves its own label, or a familiar problem with a modern trigger?”
Energy
Clean Hydrogen Is Facing a Big Reality CheckCasey Crownhart | MIT Technology Review
“A number of major projects face cancellations and delays, especially in the US and Europe. The US in particular is seeing a slowdown after changes to key tax credits and cuts in support for renewable energy. Still, there are bright spots for the industry, including in China, and new markets could soon become crucial for growth. Here are three things to know about the state of hydrogen in 2025.”
Robotics
Robotaxis as Public Transit? Waymo Thinks SoAndrew J. Hawkins | The Verge
“Phoenix residents have been able to hail a Waymo via the Waymo or Uber apps for years now, with rides priced comparably to human-driven rideshare trips. But autonomous rides along a planned route for a low-cost, flat fare is sure to open up the technology to a new segment of the population.”
Artificial Intelligence
What Do People Actually Use ChatGPT For? OpenAI Provides Some Numbers.Kyle Orland | Ars Technica
“[This week], OpenAI’s Economic Research Team went a long way toward answering that question, on a population level, releasing a first-of-its-kind National Bureau of Economic Research working paper (in association with Harvard economist David Denning) detailing how people end up using ChatGPT across time and tasks.”
A Collision With Another Planet Could Have Allowed for Life on EarthJorge Garay | Wired
“Many scientists believe that in its infancy, Earth collided with another world the size of Mars, and that instead of being destroyed, it was transformed, incorporating the mass of that foreign body to become the planet we know. Recent research adds another layer of relevance to that hypothesized cosmic event: Scientists believe that without that other body, the basic conditions for life to emerge on Earth might never have appeared.”
Artificial Intelligence
OpenAI’s Models Are Getting Too Smart For Their Human TeachersStephanie Palazzolo | The Information
“In the fight to improve AI models, Anthropic and OpenAI have doubled down on two methods: letting models train on fake clones of apps—otherwise known as reinforcement learning environments or gyms—and getting experts in various fields to teach models new things, as I reported in this Tuesday story. One problem is emerging, though: It’s getting a lot harder for human experts to stump the models and expand their knowledge in certain fields.”
Artificial Intelligence
AI Agents Are Getting Ready to Handle Your Whole Financial LifeJack Pitcher | The Wall Street Journal
“Tech and finance executives—well aware of how Wall Street is constantly reinventing itself with technology—are investing billions in new AI tools. And most agree: It’s a matter of when, not if, agentic AI can act on a person’s behalf across numerous accounts.”
Future
Scientists Gather to Confront the Doomsday Risks of ‘Mirror Life’Ellyn Lapointe | Gizmodo
“‘Pretty much everybody agrees’ that mirror-image cells would be ‘a bad thing,’ John Glass, a synthetic biologist at the J. Craig Venter Institute, told Nature. At the same time, some scientists argue that mirror-life research offers potential benefits that shouldn’t be ignored. The question is: How should experts regulate such research to maximize those benefits while minimizing risk?”
Science’s Answer to the Ultimate Question: Where Do We Come From?Ethan Siegel | Big Think
“For countless generations, these questions powered the thoughts of poets, philosophers, and theologians, but today, we have meaningful answers provided by our scientific endeavors. Although there are still gaps in what we know, and plenty of room for surprises, we’ve come incredibly far in pursuit of the answers to the ultimate questions. Here’s where we are today.”
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