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By Jennifer Conrad | 05.26.22

Happy Thursday! This week I learned that my garbage goes on quite a journey
after I leave it out on the curb.

 
 

Minecraft’s Code-Writing AI Points to the Future of Computers



Yesterday, Microsoft chief technology officer Kevin Scott demonstrated a new
nonplayer character for the company’s wildly popular game Minecraft. But this
isn’t just an ordinary bot meant to move the game along.

As Will Knight reports, the helper is powered by the same AI used for GitHub
Copilot, a tool Microsoft created for auto-generating software code. “The
Minecraft agent responds appropriately to typed commands by converting them into
working code behind the scenes using the software API for the game,” writes
Knight. Tell the agent to “come here,” and the underlying artificial
intelligence model will generate the code to have the agent move in the player’s
direction.

What’s more, the feat points to a future of personal computing in which
interfaces you tap, type, and click to navigate are replaced by those you simply
converse with. For example, an AI could be told in a few words to search for a
document and email it to a colleague.

“We’re gonna see lots and lots and lots of big productivity wins for all sorts
of routine cognitive work that none of us especially enjoys,” Scott told Knight.

Read about the AI-powered Minecraft helper.

 
 

Deep(er) Learning: Minecraft Masters



These Astonishing Minecraft Builds Were Years in the Making

Last year, Simon Hill took a look at some of the incredible structures forged by
builders in the best-selling video game.

 

I Used Minecraft to Cope with My Apocalypse Anxiety

In 2020, Julie Muncy explained how a series of mods can transform the game into
a way to explore what the world may look like after climate change.

 

The Mirai Botnet Architects Are Now Fighting Crime With the FBI

In 2016, three friends created a botnet that started as a way to attack rival
Minecraft hosts—and nearly broke the internet. Two years later, they were
helping catch cybercriminals, Garrett M. Graff reported.


 
 

Need to Know

The Mystery of Monkeypox’s Global Spread

Initial genomic sequencing suggests the virus hasn’t mutated to become more
transmissible. So what explains its unprecedented rise across the world?

The Surveillance State Is Primed for Criminalized Abortion

A new report lays out existing US policing capabilities that can easily be
repurposed to monitor pregnant people.

Open Source Intelligence May Be Changing Old-School War

Intelligence collected from public information online could be impacting
traditional warfare and altering the calculus between large and small powers.

Undersea Cables Are Carrying Scientific Secrets

Rumbles and tides create tiny disturbances in fiber optics. The world’s undersea
cables could form a vast network for detecting earthquakes and tsunamis.




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So, This Happened

Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, donated almost half a billion
dollars to help officials secure the 2020 US elections—and fueled an enduring
conspiracy theory. (Protocol)

More than 50 countries are working on regulations that would limit what data
from citizens could leave their borders. (The New York Times)

Before Russia invaded Ukraine, Siberian startup inDriver was positioned to
become a global competitor to Uber. (Rest of World)

Residents of Beijing are facing a “soft lockdown” but have so far avoided the
shortages and chaos that erupted during Shanghai’s recent Covid lockdown.
(Foreign Policy)



 
 

Until Next Time

 

How NYC’s trash makes its way from garbage cans to landfills.

 







 

 







 
 



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