The Download: smarter AI in schools, and a robot “carnival” in Shanghai

Showcases like this event are important because they invite the public to experience robots up close. And exposure matters, as elsewhere, humanoids’ progress has been slow,

Take a tour of the robot carnival to see what it reveals about China’s humanoid ambitions.

This story is from the next issue of our print magazine, which is all about kids. Subscribe now to get a copy when it lands.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 No one really knows how to safely test frontier AI models
The best models are increasingly difficult to contain and evaluate. (NYT $)
+ Alabama’s AG has subpoenaed OpenAI over the Hugging Face hack. (Verge)
+ China’s Z.ai is open-sourcing a model with powerful hacking abilities. (NYT $)
+ Here’s why AI agents lie and cheat. (MIT Technology Review)

2 An Nvidia manager was charged with smuggling AI chips into China
Prosecutors called the employee a “central figure” in the scheme. (FT $)
+ Jensen Huang had scolded Supermicro for AI smuggling. (Ars Technica)
+ Taiwan has indicted nine people over the alleged illegal exports. (Reuters $)

3 Unitree’s stock plunge has raised fears Chinese robotics is a bubble
After a spectacular IPO debut, shares have fallen 45%. (Reuters $)
+ But China is still replacing factory workers with robots at speed. (BBC)
+ And its robotics firms are becoming dominant. (MIT Technology Review)

4 The UK and Ukraine have signed a partnership to develop AI for defense
Britain will gain access to Ukraine’s battlefield AI data platform. (Guardian)
+ The resulting models will be used to protect sensitive sites. (Reuters $)

5 The data center era is reshaping America
The AI buildout is straining the country’s grid, labor, and politics. (Axios)
+ No one wants a data center in their backyard. (MIT Technology Review)

6 Trump tried to curb clean energy, but it’s booming anyway
Clean energy additions are setting new records. (Ars Technica)
+ Climate tech companies are now going public. (MIT Technology Review)

7 Amazon has hiked device prices by up to 60% amid a memory shortage
The company blamed the AI-driven memory crunch. (TechCrunch)

8 Muscle-boosting drugs could be the next big thing after GLP-1s
New treatments aim to preserve muscle while shedding fat. (New Scientist $)

9 A Chinese aircraft has generated electricity from high-altitude winds
The helium-filled craft harnessed winds at an altitude of 4,000 meters. (SCMP)

10 Digital carrier pigeons are providing an escape from instant messaging
Apps that slow down texting are taking off. (NYT $)

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