{"id":819613,"date":"2025-01-13T23:11:51","date_gmt":"2025-01-14T05:11:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/13\/the-download-ivf-embryo-limbo-and-anthropic-on-ai-agents\/"},"modified":"2025-01-13T23:11:51","modified_gmt":"2025-01-14T05:11:51","slug":"the-download-ivf-embryo-limbo-and-anthropic-on-ai-agents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/13\/the-download-ivf-embryo-limbo-and-anthropic-on-ai-agents\/","title":{"rendered":"The Download: IVF embryo limbo, and Anthropic on AI agents"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Plus: Blue Origin’s rocket launch has been postponed <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n

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This is today’s edition of\u00a0The Download<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.<\/em><\/p>\n

Inside the strange limbo facing millions of IVF embryos<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Millions of embryos created through IVF sit frozen in time, stored in cryopreservation tanks around the world. The number is only growing thanks to advances in technology, the rising popularity of IVF, and improvements in its success rates.<\/p>\n

At a basic level, an embryo is simply a tiny ball of a hundred or so cells. But unlike other types of body tissue, it holds the potential for life. Many argue that this endows embryos with a special moral status, one that requires special protections.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The problem is that no one can really agree on what that status is. To some, they\u2019re human cells and nothing else. To others, they\u2019re morally equivalent to children. Many feel they exist somewhere between those two extremes.<\/p>\n

While these embryos persist in suspended animation, patients, clinicians, embryologists, and legislators must grapple with the essential question of what we should<\/em> do with them. What do these embryos mean to us? Who should be responsible for them? <\/strong>Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014Jessica Hamzelou<\/em><\/p>\n

Anthropic\u2019s chief scientist on 5 ways agents will be even better in 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

Agents are the hottest thing in tech right now. Top firms from Google DeepMind to OpenAI to Anthropic are racing to augment large language models with the ability to carry out tasks by themselves.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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In October, Anthropic showed off one of the most advanced agents yet: an extension of its Claude large language model called computer use. As the name suggests, it lets you direct Claude to use a computer much as a person would, by moving a cursor, clicking buttons, and typing text. Instead of simply having a conversation with Claude, you can now ask it to carry out on-screen tasks for you.<\/p>\n

Computer use is a glimpse of what\u2019s to come for agents. To learn what\u2019s coming next, MIT Technology Review talked to Anthropic\u2019s cofounder and chief scientist Jared Kaplan. Here are five ways that agents are going to get even better in 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014Melissa Heikkil\u00e4 & Will Douglas Heaven<\/em><\/p>\n

Small language models: 10 Breakthrough Technologies 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Make no mistake: Size matters in the AI world. When OpenAI launched GPT-3 back in 2020, it was the largest language model ever built. The firm showed that supersizing this type of model was enough to send performance through the roof. That kicked off a technology boom that has been sustained by bigger models ever since.<\/p>\n

But as the marginal gains for new high-end models trail off, researchers are figuring out how to do more with less. For certain tasks, smaller models that are trained on more focused data sets can now perform just as well as larger ones\u2014if not better. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2014Will Douglas Heaven<\/em><\/p>\n

Small language models<\/strong><\/a> is one of our <\/strong>10 Breakthrough Technologies for 2025<\/strong><\/a>, MIT Technology Review\u2019s annual list of tech to watch. Check out the rest of the list, and <\/strong>cast your vote<\/strong><\/a> for the honorary 11th breakthrough.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The must-reads<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve combed the internet to find you today\u2019s most fun\/important\/scary\/fascinating stories about technology.<\/em><\/p>\n

1 Blue Origin\u2019s rocket launch has been cancelled\u00a0<\/strong>
Its engineers were unable to fix an issue with the New Glenn rocket\u2019s vehicle subsystem. (BBC<\/a>)
+ It\u2019s also likely that ice blocked an essential vent line designed to expel gas. <\/em>(Ars Technica<\/a>)
+ The company is yet to announce a rescheduled launch date. <\/em>(The Verge<\/a>)<\/p>\n

2 How is Donald Trump planning to save TikTok, exactly?<\/strong>
It\u2019s unclear whether his supposed deal-making prowess will hold any sway here. (WP<\/a> $)
+ TikTok founder Zhang Yiming might have a few ideas. <\/em>(WSJ<\/a> $)
+ It looks as though the US Supreme Court is leaning towards banning the app. <\/em>(Forbes<\/a> $)
+ The depressing truth about TikTok\u2019s impending ban. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

3 The Biden administration\u2019s final chip export curb is here<\/strong>
The policy is designed to make it harder for China to circumvent restrictions. (FT<\/a> $)
+ Australia, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan won\u2019t be restricted under the new rules. <\/em>(CNN<\/a>)
+ Nvidia thinks all these sanctions are only backfiring on the US<\/em>. (Quartz<\/a>)<\/p>\n

4 Big Tech\u2019s leaders are lining up to attend Trump\u2019s inauguration<\/strong>
Silicon Valley\u2019s sucking up continues. (Bloomberg<\/a> $)
+ Mark Zuckerberg appears to be doing his best to secure an invite. <\/em>(NYT<\/a> $)
+ He seems to be entering \u2018Founder Mode\u2019 in a bid to impress Trump. <\/em>(The Verge<\/a>)<\/p>\n

5 AI financial advisers are going after broke young people\u00a0<\/strong>
Its money management tips come with a hefty price tag. (Wired<\/a> $)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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6 Neuralink has implanted a brain device in a third person, according to Musk
<\/strong>Ahead of its plans to insert up to 30 devices this year. (Fortune<\/a> $)
+ Beyond Neuralink: Meet the other companies developing brain-computer interfaces. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

7 The future of self-driving cars is cleaved in two<\/strong>
Companies are divided over whether we\u2019ll hail or own future autonomous vehicles. (NY Mag<\/a> $)
+ How Wayve\u2019s driverless cars will meet one of their biggest challenges yet. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

8 Smartwatches are out, old-school watches are in
<\/strong>It\u2019s hard to beat a wristwatch when it comes to luxury status symbols. (The Guardian<\/a>)<\/p>\n

9 Notre-Dame cathedral is full of hidden speakers<\/strong>
And you can fit out your home with them too\u2014for a price. (FT<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

10 How to free up space on your iPhone<\/strong>
Don\u2019t be afraid to purge those ancient duplicate photos. (WSJ<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

Quote of the day<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI’m worried about everything.”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u2014Jeff Bezos describes his (well-placed) nerves to Ars Technica<\/a> ahead of his rocket company Blue Origin\u2019s first orbital launch\u2014which was later called off over technical issues.<\/p>\n

The big story<\/strong><\/p>\n

AI was supposed to make police bodycams better. What happened?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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<\/a>April 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

When police departments first started buying and deploying bodycams in the wake of the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, a decade ago, activists hoped it would bring about real change.<\/p>\n

Years later, despite what\u2019s become a multibillion-dollar market for these devices, the tech is far from a panacea. Most footage they generate goes unwatched.\u00a0 Officers often don’t use them properly. And if they do finally provide video to the public, it usually doesn\u2019t tell the complete story.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A handful of AI startups see this problem as an opportunity to create what are essentially bodycam-to-text programs for different players in the legal system, mining this footage for misdeeds. But like the bodycams themselves, the technology still faces procedural, legal, and cultural barriers to success. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u2014Patrick Sisson<\/em><\/p>\n

We can still have nice things<\/strong><\/p>\n

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? <\/em>Drop me a line<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>skeet ’em at me<\/em><\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

+ The first big fashion trend of 2025? We\u2019re all going basic<\/a>.
+ Spoilers ahead\u2014this list of the best film endings<\/a> is great fun\u2014including that infamous lingering final shot from Psycho.
+ If parts of your life could be better, it\u2019s time to embrace the tiny changes<\/a> that can make a real difference.
+ This Brazilian banana bread<\/a> recipe sounds beyond delicious. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Rhiannon Williams<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Plus: Blue Origin’s rocket launch has been postponed This is today’s edition of\u00a0The Download ,\u00a0our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Inside the strange limbo facing millions of IVF embryos Millions of embryos created through IVF sit frozen in time, stored in cryopreservation tanks around<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":819614,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24097,58499,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-819613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-download","category-embryo","category-technology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=819613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/819614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=819613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=819613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=819613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}