The Download: Denmark’s robot city, and Google’s AI-only search results

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.

Welcome to robot city

The city of Odense, in Denmark, is best known as the site where King Canute, Denmark’s last Viking king, was murdered during the 11th century. Today, Odense it’s also home to more than 150 robotics, automation, and drone companies. It’s particularly renowned for collaborative robots, or cobots—those designed to work alongside humans, often in an industrial setting.

Odense’s robotics success has its roots in the more traditional industry of shipbuilding. During the ‘90s, the Mærsk shipping company funded the creation of the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Institute (MMMI), a center dedicated to autonomous systems that drew students keen to study robotics. But there are challenges to being based in a city that, though the third-largest in Denmark, is undeniably small on the global scale. Read the full story.

—Victoria Turk

This story is from our latest print issue, which is all about how technology is changing our relationships with each other—and ourselves. If you haven’t already, subscribe now to receive future issues once they land.

If you’re interested in robotics, why not check out: 

+ Will we ever trust robots? If most robots still need remote human operators to be safe and effective, why should we welcome them into our homes? Read the full story.

+ Why robots need to become lazier before they can be truly useful.

+ AI models let robots carry out tasks in unfamiliar environments. “Robot utility models” sidestep the need to tweak the data used to train robots every time they try to do something in unfamiliar settings. Read the full story.

+ What’s next for robots in 2025, from humanoid bots to new developments in military applications.

The must-reads

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

1 Google has started testing AI-only search results
What could possibly go wrong? (Ars Technica)
+ It’s also rolling out more AI Overview result summaries. (The Verge)
+ AI means the end of internet search as we’ve known it. (MIT Technology Review)  

2 Elon Musk’s DOGE is coming for consultants
Deloitte, Accenture and others will be told to justify the billions of dollars they receive from the US government. (FT $)
+ One federal agency has forbidden DOGE workers from entering its office. (WP $)
+ Anti-Musk protestors set up camp inside a Portland Tesla store. (Reuters)

3 The US military will use AI tools to plan maneuvers
Thanks to a new deal with startup Scale AI. (WP $)
+ Meanwhile, Europe’s defense sector is on the ascendancy. (FT $)
+ We saw a demo of the new AI system powering Anduril’s vision for war. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Global sea ice levels have fallen to a record low
The north pole experienced a period of extreme heat last month. (The Guardian)
+ The ice cores that will let us look 1.5 million years into the past. (MIT Technology Review)

5 Where are all the EV chargers?
Lack of charging infrastructure is still a major roadblock to wider adoption. So why haven’t we solved it? (IEEE Spectrum)
+ Why EV charging needs more than Tesla. (MIT Technology Review)

6 We need new tests to measure AI progress
Training models on questions they’re later tested on is a poor metric. (The Atlantic $)
+ The way we measure progress in AI is terrible. (MIT Technology Review)

7 American cities have a plan to combat extreme heatwaves
Data mapping projects are shedding new light on how to save lives. (Knowable Magazine)
+ A successful air monitoring program has come to an abrupt halt. (Wired $)

8 Chatbots need love too
New research suggests models can tweak their behavior to appear more likeable. (Wired $)
+ The AI relationship revolution is already here. (MIT Technology Review) 

9 McDonald’s is being given an AI makeover Read More