Robots & AI

New AI generates CRISPR proteins unlike any seen in nature

An AI that generates CRISPR proteins is opening the door to gene editors with capabilities beyond what we’ve found in nature.

Kristin Houser

A stylized digital illustration of a hand wearing a futuristic SIMA glove, manipulating a ghostly image of a game controller against a dark, gradient background.

Why AI playing video games is a big deal

Google’s SIMA can follow human instructions to play 3D video games. Researchers hopes the platform can one day help AI navigate real-world environments.

Kevin Dickinson

A man wearing a gray beanie, white AI glasses, and a green puffer jacket smiles subtly against a light brown background.

How Brilliant Labs CEO is creating a “symbiosis of humanity and artificial intelligence”

CEO Bobak Tavangar discusses the philosophy behind Brilliant’s latest device, Frame, and his vision for the future of AI.

Kevin Dickinson

A man working on an old typewriter in a workshop, showcasing his trust in traditional methods of communication.

How does studying 500 years of the printing press help us tackle the era of AI?

For around 500 years, the printed word shaped our education and culture. What lessons can we learn from it in the new age of AI?

Ewan Thomson | World Economic Forum

an image from the POV of a robot "seeing" objects to grab

Robotics

Install open-source AI in a commercial robot and it’ll clean your room

Open-source AIs and commercial hardware may be enough to build domestic robots that can take over our chores.

Kristin Houser

OpenAI is developing “AI agents.” Here’s what that means.

OpenAI is reportedly developing “AI agents,” software that can perform tasks on people’s devices upon request.

Kristin Houser

Google’s Lumiere has created a new paradigm for text-to-video AI

Google's new text-to-video model, Lumiere, promises a new architecture that will make video AI models more modern and powerful.

Kevin Dickinson

Google’s Gemini Ultra AI has been released

Google just made its most capable generative AI — Gemini Ultra — available to the public, while killing the “Bard” brand.

Kristin Houser

A hand reaching out to a robotic hand with an AI in the background.

AI is here – and everywhere: 3 AI researchers look to the challenges ahead in 2024

AI scholars look ahead to 2024 and describe the issues developers, regulators, and everyday people are likely to face.

Casey Fiesler and Anjana Susarla and Kentaro Toyama

Figure's humanoid robot shown from the chest up

Robotics

OpenAI is reportedly investing in humanoid robots

Microsoft and OpenAI reportedly plan to invest $100 million into Figure, a startup developing a humanoid robot for the workplace.

Kristin Houser

An image of a robot extending a hand out towards the viewer

Will AI companions help or hurt the “loneliness epidemic”?

About a third of people are lonely. Three scholars consider whether AI can help, or if it'll just make things worse.

Kelly-Ann Allen and Joseph Crawford and Michael Cowling

An AI-generated image featuring a barcode pattern in black and yellow on a solid black background.

New AI detection tool measures how “surprising” word choices are

A new AI detection tool that measure how "surprising" text is reportedly delivers far fewer false positives than existing options.

Kristin Houser

DeepMind’s AI could accelerate drug discovery

A new study suggests that AlphaFold, DeepMind’s AI tool for predicting protein structures, could be useful for drug discovery after all.

Kristin Houser

Sections

Video

Freethink

We focus on solutions: the smartest people, the biggest ideas, and the most ground breaking technology shaping our future.