The Download: parkour for robot dogs, and Africa’s AI ambitions
This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology.
Generative AI taught a robot dog to scramble around a new environment
Teaching robots to navigate new environments is tough. You can train them on physical, real-world data taken from recordings made by humans, but that's scarce, and expensive to collect. Digital simulations are a rapid, scalable way to teach them to do new things, but the robots often fail when they're pulled out of virtual worlds and asked to do the same tasks in the real one.
Now, there's potentially a better option: a new system that uses generative AI models in conjunction with a physics simulator to develop virtual training grounds that more accurately mirror the physical world. Robots trained using this method worked with a higher success rate than those trained using more traditional techniques during real-world tests.
Researchers used the system, called LucidSim, to train a robot dog in parkour, getting it to scramble over a box and climb stairs, despite never seeing any real world data. The approach demonstrates how helpful generative AI could be when it comes to teaching robots to do challenging tasks. It also raises the possibility that we could ultimately train them in entirely virtual worlds. Read the full story.
-Rhiannon Williams
Africa's AI researchers are ready for takeoff
When we talk about the global race for AI dominance, the conversation often focuses on tensions between the US and China, and European efforts at regulating the technology. But it's high time we talk about another player: Africa.
African AI researchers are forging their own path, developing tools that answer the needs of Africans, in their own languages. Their story is not only one of persistence and innovation, but of preserving cultures and fighting to shape how AI technologies are used on their own continent. However, they face many barriers. Read the full story.
-Melissa Heikkila
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The must-reads
I've combed the internet to find you today's most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 How Silicon Valley is planning to work with Donald Trump
Avoiding antitrust regulation and boosting growth are at the top of Big Tech's agenda. (WP $)
+ Tech executives overwhelmingly supported Kamala Harris. (Vox)
+ Trump's policies could make it harder to hire and retain overseas talent. (Insider $)
+ Immigrant tech workers are rushing to secure visas before Trump's inauguration. (Forbes $)
2 People are abandoning X following the US election result
Threads and Bluesky are experiencing an influx of new users. (Bloomberg $)
+ Trump loved Twitter during his first Presidency. Will he during his second? (Insider $)
3 The Biden administration plans to back a controversial cybercrime treaty
Critics fear it could be abused by authoritarian regimes to pursue dissidents. (Politico)+ The treaty would also make electronic evidence more available to the US. (Bloomberg $)
4 DNA testing firm 23andMe is firing 40% of its workforce
Things aren't looking good for the embattled company. (WSJ $)
+ The company is axing all its therapy programs, too. (Reuters)
+ How to delete your 23andMe data. (MIT Technology Review)
5 How oil and gas companies are masking their methane emissions
The odorless, colorless gas is notoriously tough to track, but satellites are changing that. (FT $)
+ Even if we reach net zero, parts of the planet will keep getting warmer. (New Scientist $)+ Why methane emissions are still a mystery. (MIT Technology Review)
6 This database tracks license plate cameras across the world
The project, called DeFlock, aims to give drivers the choice to avoid certain routes. (404 Media)
7 Baidu has unveiled its AI-integrated smart glasses
The device can track calorie consumption, among other features. (FT $)
+ Smartglasses are a growing trend in China. (SCMP $)
+ The coolest thing about smart glasses is not the AR. It's the AI. (MIT Technology Review)
8 Everything we know about Uranus is wrong
A brief flyby 40 years ago coincided with a rare spike in solar activity. (NYT $)
9 How Ukraine is rewilding amid the war
Ecologists believe the conflict's catastrophes can birth environmental gains. (Undark Magazine)
+ Ukraine has a plan for getting Trump onside. (Vox)
10 To find alien life, look to the mountains
Who knows what's trapped under tectonic plates? (The Atlantic $)
Quote of the day
I did not say I was uncomfortable talking about it. I said we're not going to talk about it."
-Michael Barratt, an astronaut and medical doctor, refuses to elaborate on a medical issue an astronaut experienced during a recent mission, Ars Technica reports.
The big story
Zimbabwe's climate migration is a sign of what's to come
December 2021
Julius Mutero has spent his entire adult life farming a three-hectare plot in Zimbabwe, but has harvested virtually nothing in the past six years. He is just one of the 86 million people in sub-Saharan Africa who the World Bank estimates will migrate domestically by 2050 because of climate change.
In Zimbabwe, farmers who have tried to stay put and adapt have found their efforts woefully inadequate in the face of new weather extremes. Droughts have already forced tens of thousands from their homes. But their desperate moves are creating new competition for water in the region, and tensions may soon boil over. Read the full story.
-Andrew Mambondiyani
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 tweet 'em at me.)
+ Here's how to make perfect cacio e pepe every time.
+ New York is a wonderful place-even if you're a native New Yorker, there's always something new to try for the first time.
+ The 2024 Nature's Best Photo Awards are full of delights.
+ Good luck to the brave souls skiing in central London.