{"id":821458,"date":"2025-01-20T23:12:06","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T05:12:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/20\/the-download-ais-coding-promises-and-openais-longevity-push\/"},"modified":"2025-01-20T23:12:06","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T05:12:06","slug":"the-download-ais-coding-promises-and-openais-longevity-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/20\/the-download-ais-coding-promises-and-openais-longevity-push\/","title":{"rendered":"The Download: AI\u2019s coding promises, and OpenAI\u2019s longevity push"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Plus: TikTok is back in the US after a temporary blackout<\/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

The second wave of AI coding is here<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Ask people building generative AI what generative AI is good for right now\u2014what they\u2019re really fired up about\u2014and many will tell you: coding.<\/p>\n

Everyone from established AI giants to buzzy startups is promising to take coding assistants to the next level. Instead of providing developers with a kind of supercharged autocomplete, this next generation can prototype, test, and debug code for you. The upshot is that developers could essentially turn into managers, who may spend more time reviewing and correcting code written by a model than writing it from scratch themselves.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

But there\u2019s more. Many of the people building generative coding assistants think that they could be a fast track to artificial general intelligence, the hypothetical superhuman technology that a number of top firms claim to have in their sights.Read the full story<\/a>.

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

OpenAI has created an AI model for longevity science<\/strong><\/p>\n

When you think of AI\u2019s contributions to science, you probably think of AlphaFold, the Google DeepMind protein-folding program that earned its creator a Nobel Prize last year<\/a>. Now OpenAI says it\u2019s getting into the science game too\u2014with a model for engineering proteins.<\/p>\n

The company says it has developed a language model that dreams up proteins capable of turning regular cells into stem cells\u2014and that it has handily beat humans at the task.<\/p>\n

The work represents OpenAI\u2019s first model focused on biological data and its first public claim that its models can deliver unexpected scientific results. But until outside scientists get their hands on it, we can\u2019t say just how impressive it really is. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014Antonio Regalado<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Cleaner jet fuel: 10 Breakthrough Technologies 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

New fuels made from used cooking oil, industrial waste, or even gases in the air could help power planes without fossil fuels. Depending on the source, they can reduce emissions by half or nearly eliminate them. And they can generally be used in existing planes, which could enable quick climate progress.<\/p>\n

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These alternative jet fuels have been in development for years, but now they\u2019re becoming a big business, with factories springing up to produce them and new government mandates requiring their use. So while only about 0.5% of the roughly 100 billion gallons of jet fuel consumed by planes last year was something other than fossil fuel, that could soon change. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014Casey Crownhart<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Cleaner jet fuel<\/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

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<\/p><\/div>\n

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1 TikTok is back online in the US\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>
The company thanked Donald Trump for vowing to fight the federal ban it\u2019s facing. (The Verge<\/a>)
+ The app went dark for users in America for around 14 hours. <\/em>(WP<\/a> $)
+ AI search startup Perplexity has suggested merging with TikTok. <\/em>(CNBC<\/a>)
+ Here\u2019s how people actually make money on TikTok. <\/em>(WSJ<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

2 Trump\u2019s staff has an Elon Musk problem<\/strong>
Aides are annoyed by his constant contributions to matters he has little knowledge of. (WSJ<\/a> $)
+ A power struggle between the two men is inevitable. <\/em>(Slate<\/a> $)
+ The great and the good of crypto attended a VIP Trump party on Friday. <\/em>(NY Mag<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

3 AI is speeding up the Pentagon\u2019s \u2018kill list\u2019\u00a0<\/strong>
Although the US military can\u2019t use the tech to directly kill humans, AI is making it faster and easier to plan how to do just that. (TechCrunch<\/a>)
+ OpenAI\u2019s new defense contract completes its military pivot. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

4 The majority of Americans haven\u2019t had their latest covid booster\u00a0<\/strong>
Though they could help to protect you\u2014and others. (Undark<\/a>)
+ It\u2019s five years today since the US registered its first covid case. <\/em>(USA Today<\/a>)<\/p>\n

5 Europol is cracking down on encryption<\/strong>
The agency plans to pressure Big Tech to give police access to encrypted messages. (FT<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

6 This Swiss startup has created a powerful robotic worm
<\/strong>Borobotics wants to deploy the bots to dig for geo-thermal heat in our gardens. (The Next Web<\/a>)<\/p>\n

7 Thousands of lithium batteries were destroyed in a massive fire
<\/strong>The world\u2019s largest battery storage plant went up in flames in California. (New Scientist<\/a> $)
+ Three takeaways about the current state of batteries. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

8 Amazon\u2019s delivery drones struggle in the rain <\/strong>????\ufe0f<\/strong>
<\/strong>Two drones crashed after flying through light rain in Oregon. (Bloomberg<\/a> $)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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9 A Ring doorbell captured a meteorite crashing to Earth\u00a0<\/strong>
It\u2019s the first known example of a meteorite fall documented by a doorbell cam. (CBS News<\/a>)<\/p>\n

10 AI is coming for your wardrobe ????<\/strong>
A wave of new apps will suggest what to wear and what to pair it with. (The Guardian<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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

“TikTok was 100x better than anything you’ve created.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014An Instagram user snaps at Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg<\/a> in the wake of TikTok\u2019s temporary US blackout over the weekend.<\/p>\n

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

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Running Tide is facing scientist departures and growing concerns over seaweed sinking for carbon removal<\/strong><\/p>\n

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June 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

Running Tide, an aquaculture company based in Portland, Maine, hopes to set tens of thousands of tiny floating kelp farms adrift in the North Atlantic. The idea is that the fast-growing macroalgae will eventually sink to the ocean floor, storing away thousands of tons of carbon dioxide in the process.<\/p>\n

The company has raised millions in venture funding and gained widespread media attention. But it struggled to grow kelp along rope lines in the open ocean during initial attempts last year and has lost a string of scientists in recent months, sources with knowledge of the matter tell MIT Technology Review. What happens next? Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014James Temple<\/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

+ Why not cheer up your Monday with the kings of merriment, The Smiths<\/a>?
+ This is fascinating: how fish<\/a> detect color and why it\u2019s so different to us humans.
+ The people of Finland know a thing or two about happiness<\/a>.
+ It\u2019s time to get planning a spring getaway, and these destinations<\/a> look just fabulous. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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

Plus: TikTok is back in the US after a temporary blackout 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. The second wave of AI coding is here Ask people building generative AI what generative AI is good for right now\u2014what<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":821459,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[83232,24097,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-821458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ais","category-download","category-technology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821458","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=821458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821458\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/821459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=821458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=821458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=821458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}