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

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

How to encourage smarter AI use in the classroom

Chatbots took schools by surprise. Suddenly, students carried an app in their phones that could magically answer almost any homework question or spin up an essay in seconds.

Organizations ranging from OpenAI to UNESCO encourage AI use in the classroom, but many teachers aren’t sure how to handle it. Yet some promising approaches are emerging.

At Cheshire Academy, for example, teachers are trained on general techniques for using AI rather than prescribed tools. They use generative AI to prepare class materials, and one teacher has developed a traffic light system that tells students when they can use AI for assignments.

The school has also explored specialized tools including an  AI platform for educators. Here’s how it works—and how other teachers can apply it.

—Peter Hall

This article is from Making AI Work, our limited-run newsletter examining how to apply LLMs across industries. To receive it in your inbox, sign up here.

I spent a day at a robot “carnival” in Shanghai. Here’s what I saw.

—You Xiaoying

Applause rings out from the main tent of a robot “carnival” on the outskirts of Shanghai. There, a humanoid wearing a blinged-out top is showing off a martial arts style known as drunken boxing as a fellow humanoid performs a front flip to woo the crowd. The audience can’t get enough. They chant: “More, more, more.” 

Humanoid robots are having a moment in China. The popular machines are part of the country’s strategy to bring AI into daily life. Nearly 90% of the more than 13,000 two-armed, two-legged robots delivered globally last year were made in China.    

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 $)

Quote of the day

“Dear peasants, we will bequeath upon you these gifts of a cure for cancer and material wealth and great entertainment, and you stop complaining, and we’ll make all the decisions about the future. And just trust us, we’ll be benevolent dictators.” 

—Sam Altman caricatures the AI industry’s sales pitch as a grotesque bargain with the public in an interview with the podcaster David Senra.

One More Thing

Inside the stealthy startup that pitched brainless human clones

After operating in secrecy for years, R3 Bio, a California-based startup, suddenly revealed last week that it had raised money to create non-sentient monkey “organ sacks” as an alternative to animal testing. But there is more to the story. And R3 doesn’t want that story told.

MIT Technology Review discovered that founder John Schloendorn also pitched a startling, ethically charged vision: “brainless clones” that serve as backup human bodies.

Dive into the details on the radical proposal.

—Antonio Regalado

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line.)

+ A hamster has become a surprisingly serious Strava athlete.
+ Here’s a gorgeous cinematic tribute to the breathtaking imagery from Artemis II.
+ Chomp your way through Planetwurst’s deliciously niche world atlas of sausages.
+ Shipwreck divers have discovered a 162-year-old bottle of Guinness—and they want to take a swig.