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 
In a bid to reduce stress for customers and its workers alike. (WSJ $)
10 How to stop doom scrolling
Spoiler: those screen time reports aren’t helping. (Vox)
+ How to log off. (MIT Technology Review)
Quote of the day
“What happens when you get to a point where every video, audio, everything you read and see online can be fake? Where’s our shared sense of reality?”
—Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, tells the Guardian why it’s essential to question the veracity of the media we come across online.
The big story
What Africa needs to do to become a major AI player
Africa is still early in the process of adopting AI technologies. But researchers say the continent is uniquely hospitable to it for several reasons, including a relatively young and increasingly well-educated population, a rapidly growing ecosystem of AI startups, and lots of potential consumers.
However, ambitious efforts to develop AI tools that answer the needs of Africans face numerous hurdles. The biggest are inadequate funding and poor infrastructure. Limited internet access and a scarcity of domestic data centers also mean that developers might not be able to deploy cutting-edge AI capabilities. Complicating this further is a lack of overarching policies or strategies for harnessing AI’s immense benefits—and regulating its downsides.
Taken together, researchers worry, these issues will hold Africa’s AI sector back and hamper its efforts to pave its own pathway in the global AI race. Read the full story.
—Abdullahi Tsanni
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 or skeet ’em at me.)+ Are you a summer or winter? Warm or cool? If you don’t know, it’s time to get your colors done.
+ Why more women are choosing to explore the world on women-only trips.
+ Whitetop the llama, who spends his days comforting ill kids, is a true hero 
+ If you missed the great sourdough craze of 2020, fear not—here are some great tips to get you started.