The Download: Making AI Fairer, and Why Everyone’s Talking About AGI

What’s new: An updated set of AI benchmarks may help developers to reduce bias in AI algorithms, making them more fair and less likely cause harm. The benchmarks assess AI systems on their awareness of various scenarios and contexts. They could provide a more nuanced method to measure AI’s understanding of the world and its bias.

What it means: After witnessing the clumsy mistakes of previous approaches, the researchers were inspired to investigate the problem of bias. They showed how ignoring differences among groups can make AI systems less fair. These new benchmarks may help teams to better judge the fairness of AI models, but fixing them could require other techniques. Read the complete story.

AGI can be compared to a balloon that is repeatedly inflated by hype during times of high optimism (or fear), and then deflated when reality doesn’t meet expectations.

During the past week, many news stories have been released to inflate the AGI balloon. This includes the launch of Manus, a new AI agent created by a Chinese start-up that seems to be super-capable. Learn what happened and why it’s important by reading our story. This story was originally published in The Algorithm – our weekly newsletter about AI. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to receive stories like this first or

The must-reads

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

The US has rebranded their immigration app with a “self-deport” function
This is a bid to encourage those living illegally to leave voluntarily. Undocumented migrants who fail to self-report could face harsher penalties. BBC (19459034)
andwarns that immigrants should be very careful before relying on the app. The app was used to schedule appointments for asylum. MIT Technology Review

DOGE is scrambling around for some victories
Growing backlash against its clumsy cutbacks puts DOGE’s top officials under pressure. (WP$)
+ The biomedical research cuts will affect both elite and lower-income universities. (Undark)
+ This agency is causing chaos in the offices of social security. New Yorker($)
+ What’s the next step? Giving decisions to machines. The Atlantic ($)

Donald Trump doesn’t like the CHIPS Act.
This is despite the fact that the law was designed to support the chip manufacturing industry in the US. (NYT$)
+ Here are the stakes if he goes through with his threats to scrap the law. (Bloomberg $)

4 Elon Musk claims a hack on X was from ‘the Ukraine region’
However, the billionaire who is a fierce opponent of Ukraine has not provided any evidence. (FT $)
+ Despite the attack’s unusual power, the platform was temporarily knocked down. Cyber experts are not convinced. (AP News )

Five AI-powered PlayStation Characters are on the horizon.
Sony has been testing AI avatars which can have conversations with players. The Verge
+ How AI can reinvent the way we play. MIT Technology Review

DeepSeek’s founding father isn’t concerned about making a quick buck.
Liang Wenfeng has turned down large investment offers to retain his freedom. (WSJ $)
+ China’s tech optimism has reached a new high. Bloomberg($)
+ DeepSeek’s AI playbook – and why everyone will follow it. MIT Technology Review

The rain is full with pollutants, including microplastics.
You thought acid rain was bad. Vox

Eight A seaglider that is all-electric is being tested in Rhode Island.
This device can seamlessly switch between floating and flying. These aircraft could revolutionize the way we fly. MIT Technology Review

Nine Tesla Cybertruck owners formed an emotional support team
A member wants Cybertruck abuse to treated as hate crime. Fast Company$]

There’s only one good X-account left
Joyce Carol Oates. (The Guardian )

Today’s Quote

There is no longer asylum.

— US Immigration officials told a businessman who was seeking asylum that he could not enter the country days after Donald Trump became president, according to the Washington Post (19459034).

PowerPoint is everywhere. It is used at funerals, weddings, and school book reports. Microsoft announced in 2010 that PowerPoint was installed on over a billion computers around the world. Before PowerPoint, 35mm film slides ruled. They were the only way to deliver the high-impact presentations that CEOs and top brass made at annual meetings of stockholders, employees and salespeople.

These presentations, known in the industry as “multi-image shows”required a small team of producers, photographers and live production staff. This story will take you on a journey through the history of corporate presentations.

– Claire L. Evans