The Download: DeepMind’s AI shortcomings, and China’s social media translation problem
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.
The hype around DeepMind's new AI model misses what's actually cool about it
Earlier this month, DeepMind presented a new generalist" AI model called Gato. The model can play the video game Atari, caption images, chat, and stack blocks with a real robot arm, the Alphabet-owned AI lab announced. All in all, Gato can do hundreds of different tasks.
But while Gato is undeniably fascinating, in the week since its release some researchers have got a bit carried away.
One of DeepMind's top researchers and a coauthor of the Gato paper, Nando de Freitas, couldn't contain his excitement. The game is over!" he tweeted, suggesting that there is now a clear path from Gato to artificial general intelligence, or AGI', a vague concept of human or superhuman-level AI. The way to build AGI, he claimed, is mostly a question of scale: making models such as Gato bigger and better.
Unsurprisingly, de Freitas's announcement triggered breathless press coverage that Deepmind is on the verge" of human-level artificial intelligence. This is not the first time hype has outstripped reality. Other exciting new AI models, such as OpenAI's text generator GPT-3 and image generator DALL-E, have generated similar grand claims.
For many in the field, this kind of feverish discourse overshadows other important research areas in AI. Read the full story.
-Melissa Heikkila
The must-reads
I've combed the internet to find you today's most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Volunteers are translating Chinese social media posts into English
Even though the posts have passed China's internet censorship regime, Beijing is unhappy. (The Atlantic $)
+ WeChat wants people to use its video platform. So they did, for digital protests. (TR)
2 Ukraine's startup community is resuming business as usual
Many workers are juggling their day jobs with after-hours war effort volunteering. (WP $)
+ Russian-speaking tech bosses living in the US are cutting ties with pro-war workers. (NYT $)
+ YouTube has taken down more than 9,000 channels linked to the war. (The Guardian)
3 The Buffalo shooting highlighted the failings of tech's anti-terrorism accord
Critics say platforms haven't done enough to tackle the root causes of extremism. (WSJ $)
+ America has experienced more than 3,500 mass shootings since Sandy Hook. (WP $)
4 Crypto appears to have an insider trading problem
Just like the banking system its supporters rail against. (WSJ $)
+ Christine Lagarde thinks crypto is worth nothing." (Bloomberg $)
+ Crypto is weathering a bitter storm. Some still hold on for dear life. (TR)
+ The crypto industry has lost around $1.5 trillion since November. (The Atlantic $)
+ Stablecoin Tether has paid out $10 billion in withdrawals since the crash started. (The Guardian)
5 The nuclear fusion industry is in turmoil
It isn't even up and running yet, but fuel supplies are already running low. (Wired $)
+ A hole in the ground could be the future of fusion power. (TR)
+ The US midwest could be facing power grid failure this summer. (Motherboard)
6 Big Tech isn't worried about the economic downturn
Even if it drops some of its market valuation along the way. (NYT $)
+ But lawmakers are determined to rein them in with antitrust legislation. (Recode)
+ Their carbon emissions are spiraling out of control, too. (New Yorker $)
7 The US military wants to build a flying ship
The Liberty Lifer X-plane would be independent of fixed airfields and ports. (IEEE Spectrum)
8 We need to change how we recycle plastic
The good news is that the technology to overhaul it exists-it just needs refining. (Wired $)
+ A French company is using enzymes to recycle one of the most common single-use plastics. (TR)
9 Why you should treat using your phone like drinking wine
Striking that delicate balance from stopping the positive tipping into negative. (The Guardian $)
10 Inside the wholesome world of internet knitting 
Its favorite knitter's creations have gained a cult following. (Input)
+ How a ban on pro-Trump patterns unraveled the online knitting world. (TR)
Quote of the day
I like the instant gratification of making the internet better."
-Jason Moore, who is credited with creating more than 50,000 Wikipedia pages, tells CNN about his motivations for taking on the unpaid work.
We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these weird times. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet 'em at me.)
+ This site that randomly directs you to a livestream with zero viewers, is fascinating.
+ The Goede Hoop Marimba Band playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons is guaranteed to brighten up your day (Thanks Mike!)
+ Jiaqi Wang's illustrations and animations are so fun and vibrant.
+ Why not try whipping up these classic takeaway dishes (aka fakeaways) when you want something comforting but kind of healthy?
+ A gold signet ring that's more than 3,000 years old has been returned to its rightful home in Greece, after being stolen during World War II.
+ If you've been wondering what the less high-profile Harry Potter film cast members are up to, wonder no more.
+ A convincing defense of reality TV's All-Star seasons.