{"id":866279,"date":"2025-08-19T21:12:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T02:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/19\/the-download-pigeons-role-in-developing-ai-and-native-artists-tech-interpretations\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T21:12:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T02:12:00","slug":"the-download-pigeons-role-in-developing-ai-and-native-artists-tech-interpretations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/19\/the-download-pigeons-role-in-developing-ai-and-native-artists-tech-interpretations\/","title":{"rendered":"The Download: pigeons\u2019 role in developing AI, and Native artists\u2019 tech interpretations"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Plus: Anthropic’s AI models will start to cut off harmful conversations<\/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

Why we should thank pigeons for our AI breakthroughs<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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People looking for precursors to artificial intelligence often point to science fiction by authors like Isaac Asimov or thought experiments like the Turing test. But an equally important, if surprising and less appreciated, forerunner is American psychologist B.F. Skinner\u2019s research with pigeons in the middle of the 20th century.<\/p>\n

Skinner believed that association\u2014learning, through trial and error, to link an action with a punishment or reward\u2014was the building block of every behavior, not just in pigeons but in all living organisms, including human beings.<\/p>\n

His \u201cbehaviorist\u201d theories fell out of favor with psychologists and animal researchers in the 1960s but were taken up by computer scientists who eventually provided the foundation for many of the artificial-intelligence tools from leading firms like Google and OpenAI. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2014Ben Crair<\/em><\/p>\n

This story is from our forthcoming print issue, which is all about security. If you haven\u2019t already, <\/strong>subscribe now<\/strong><\/a> to receive future issues once they land.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Indigenous knowledge meets artificial intelligence<\/strong><\/p>\n

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There is no word for art in most Native American languages. Instead, the closest terms speak not to objecthood but to action and intention. Art is not separate from life; it is ceremony, instruction, design.<\/p>\n

A new vanguard of Native artists are building on this principle. They are united not by stereotypical weaving and carving or revanchist critique of Silicon Valley, but through their rejection of extractive data models in favor of relationship-based systems. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2014Petala Ironcloud<\/em><\/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 Anthropic has a plan to combat harmful chatbot conversations<\/strong>
Its latest AI models now have the ability to cut off a chat as a last resort. (Engadget<\/a>)
+ But it\u2019s not to protect the user\u2014it\u2019s to protect the model, apparently. <\/em>(TechCrunch<\/a>)
+ The company has also updated its policy to ban the development of weapons. <\/em>(The Verge<\/a>)<\/p>\n

2 CEOs want their workers to embrace AI<\/strong>
Even if they\u2019re struggling to get to grips with it themselves. (NYT<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

3 How cuts to NASA could damage public health research<\/strong>
Its essential tracking data is under threat. (Undark<\/a>)
+ 8,000 pregnant women may die because of US aid cuts to reproductive care. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

4 Churning out AI slop videos is a lucrative business<\/strong>
It\u2019s a seriously low-effort, high-reward enterprise. (WP<\/a> $)
+ Addictive, low-quality soap operas are rife on TikTok, too. <\/em>(The Guardian<\/a>)
+ China\u2019s next cultural export could be TikTok-style short soap operas. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

5 Stage-four cancer patients are living for longer<\/strong>
But they\u2019re also facing long, uncertain treatments with ongoing side effects. (WSJ<\/a> $)
+ Why it\u2019s so hard to use AI to diagnose cancer. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

6 AI is hackers\u2019 most valuable new tool<\/strong>
It\u2019s supercharging criminals who were already extremely proficient. (NBC News<\/a>)
+ Cyberattacks by AI agents are coming. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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7 A tiny Californian startup now owns Europe\u2019s biggest battery giant
<\/strong>Northvolt\u2019s future looked bright\u2014until it wasn’t. (The Information<\/a> $)
+ This startup wants to use the Earth as a massive battery. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

8 China is going wild for podcasts <\/strong>????\ufe0f<\/strong>
<\/strong>A grassroots movement is highlighting social issues and highly personal stories. (FT<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

9 How to turn seaweed into biofuel<\/strong>
The Gulf of Mexico\u2019s beaches are covered in it\u2014and these entrepreneurs have a plan. (Wired<\/a> $)
+ The hope and hype of seaweed farming for carbon removal. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

10 The robot Olympics\u2019 athletes fell over a lot<\/strong>
It\u2019s all part of teaching them how to navigate the world more efficiently. (CNN<\/a>)
+ Some of them were more successful than others. <\/em>(NYT<\/a> $)
+ To be more useful, robots need to become lazier. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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

\u201cPretend-me is doing better than the real me in all the years of social media that I\u2019ve been trying to do this.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014Tracy Fetter, an artist and occasional stand-up comedian, explains why she has no regrets in allowing her likeness to be used in an AI TikTok avatar to the New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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One more thing<\/strong><\/p>\n

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How to fine-tune AI for prosperity<\/strong>Predictions abound on how the growing list of generative AI models will transform the way we work and organize our lives, providing instant advice on everything from financial investments to where to spend your next vacation.<\/p>\n

But for economists, the most critical question around our obsession with AI is how the fledgling technology will (or won\u2019t) boost overall productivity, and if it does, how long it will take. Can the technology lead to renewed prosperity after years of stagnant economic growth? Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2014David Rotman<\/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 world\u2019s first video rental store<\/a> is a lot older than you might think.
+ Here\u2019s what all those unread books<\/a> lying around your home are trying to tell you.
+ Need more energy to get through the day? These foods<\/a> can help.
+ This wild hamster<\/a> is just too cute. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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

Plus: Anthropic’s AI models will start to cut off harmful conversations 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. Why we should thank pigeons for our AI breakthroughs People looking for precursors to artificial intelligence often point to science fiction<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":866280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24097,124326,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-866279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-download","category-pigeons","category-technology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/866279","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=866279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/866279\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/866280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=866279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=866279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=866279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}