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The Download: Google DeepMind’s plans for robots, and Eastern Europe’s changing tech sector
Plus: the EU is retaliating against the Trump administration’s tariffs
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.
Gemini Robotics uses Google’s top language model to make robots more useful
The news: Google DeepMind has released a new model, Gemini Robotics, that combines its best large language model with robotics. Plugging in the LLM seems to give robots the ability to be more dexterous, work from natural-language commands, and generalize across tasks. All three are things that robots have struggled to do until now.
Why it matters: The team hopes their work could usher in an era of robots that are far more useful and require less detailed training for each task. Incorporating LLMs into robotics is part of a growing trend, and this may be the most impressive example yet. Read the full story.
—Scott J Mulligan
If you’re interested in how researchers are making robots more useful, why not take a look at these stories:
+ The robot race is fueling a fight for training data. AI is upending the way robots learn, leaving companies and researchers with a need for more data. Read the full story.
+ It’s becoming easier to train robots with sound, which helps them adapt to tasks and environments where visibility is limited. Read the full story.
+ To be more useful, robots need to become lazier. Smarter data processing could make machines more helpful and energy-efficient in the real world. A good way to test this principle is to make robots play soccer.
+ Gen AI models aren’t just good for creating pictures—they can be fine-tuned to generate useful robot training data, too. Read the full story.
MIT Technology Review Narrated: How the Ukraine-Russia war is reshaping the tech sector in Eastern Europe
Startups in Latvia and other nearby countries see the mobilization of Ukraine as a warning and as inspiration. They are now changing consumer products—from scooters to recreational drones—for use on the battlefield.
This is our latest story to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which
we’re publishing each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it’s released.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 The European Union is pushing back against Donald Trump’s tariffs
By slapping the US with its own levies. (WP $)
+ Its measure could affect up to €26bn of American-made goods. (FT $)
2 What does ‘waste’ mean to Elon Musk?
DOGE’s crude calculation of what is—and isn’t—valuable doesn’t make sense. (The Atlantic $)
+ Musk seems to be testing the limits of Trump’s patience. (FT $)
+ He’s admitted he’s struggling to balance his DOGE commitments with his work. (Insider $)
+ Can AI help DOGE slash government budgets? It’s complex. (MIT Technology Review)
3 Big Tech is calling for new nuclear power stations
With the notable exception of Microsoft. (FT $)
+ Interest in nuclear power is surging. Is it enough to build new reactors? (MIT Technology Review)
4 BYD is rapidly gaining on Tesla 🚗
It’s undercutting the EV maker in 10 major non-Western markets. (Rest of World)
+ Mercedes-Benz is turning its attention to solid-state batteries. (IEEE Spectrum)
+ Where it all went wrong for Europe’s EV battery darling. (Bloomberg $)
+ BYD is one of MIT Technology Review’s 15 climate tech companies to watch. (MIT Technology Review)
5 Intel’s future is hanging in the balance
Shares are down, jobs are being cut, and competition is heating up. (The Guardian)
6 North Korean hackers snuck spyware onto the Google Play app store
The malicious software can take control of a device’s audio and camera systems. (TechCrunch)
7 Things aren’t looking good for iRobot
Its future seems increasingly precarious. (The Verge)
+ The company is undergoing a strategic review to see if it can be salvaged. (Bloomberg $)
+ A Roomba recorded a woman on the toilet. How did screenshots end up on Facebook? (MIT Technology Review)
8 Spotify has removed Andrew Tate’s misogynistic courses
Following complaints from its own employees. (404 Media)
9 An arbitrator has instructed a former Meta employee to stop promoting her new book
The new memoir details alleged claims of misconduct at the company. (The Verge)
10 How to decide where to hunt for alien life
Top tip: search for the cosmic shoreline. (Quanta Magazine)
Quote of the day
“The President is basically a car salesman now.”
—Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky accuses Donald Trump of acting like a showroom salesman after he urged Americans to buy Tesla electric cars, MSNBC reports.
The big story
What the future holds for those born today
August 2024
Happy birthday, baby.
You have been born into an era of intelligent machines. They have watched over you almost since your conception. They let your parents listen in on your tiny heartbeat, track your gestation on an app, and post your sonogram on social media. Well before you were born, you were known to the algorithm.
Your arrival coincided with the 125th anniversary of this magazine. With a bit of luck and the right genes, you might see the next 125 years. How will you and the next generation of machines grow up together? We asked more than a dozen experts to imagine your future. Read what they prophesied.
—Kara Platoni
We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)
+ These indigenous heavy metal bands are tackling climate change, one devastating riff at a time.
+ Eating asparagus raw is a thing, apparently.
+ How our culture’s monsters have evolved over time, and what they tell us about ourselves.
+ There are few animals more fascinating than the Greenland shark.
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