The Download: the secret lives of AI characters, and commercializing space

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.

These AI Minecraft characters did weirdly human stuff all on their own

Left to their own devices, an army of AI characters didn’t just survive — they thrived. They developed in-game jobs, shared memes, voted on tax reforms and even spread a religion.

The experiment played out on the open-world gaming platform Minecraft, where up to 1000 software agents at a time used large language models to interact with one another. Given just a nudge through text prompting, they developed a remarkable range of personality traits, preferences and specialist roles, with no further inputs from their human creators.

The work, from AI startup Altera, is part of a broader field that wants to use simulated agents to model how human groups would react to new economic policies or other interventions. And its creators see it as an early step towards large-scale “AI civilizations” that can coexist and work alongside us in digital spaces. Read the full story.

—Niall Firth

To learn more about the intersection of AI and gaming, why not check out:

+ How generative AI could reinvent what it means to play. AI-powered NPCs that don’t need a script could make games—and other worlds—deeply immersive. Read the full story.

+ What impact will AI have on video game development? It could make working conditions more bearable—or it could just put people out of work. Read the full story.

+ What happened when MIT Technology Review’s staff turned our colleague Niall into an AI-powered nonplayer character—and why he hated his digital incarnation so much.

MIT Technology Review Narrated: The great commercial takeover of low Earth orbit

Did you know that NASA intends to destroy the International Space Station by around 2030? Once it’s gone, private companies will likely swoop in with their own replacements. Get ready for the great commercial takeover of low Earth orbit.

This is our latest story to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we’re publishing each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it’s released.

The must-reads

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

1 OpenAI has suspended access to its Sora video tool
After a group of artists leaked access to it in protest. (TechCrunch)
+ OpenAI responded to say they were under no obligation to use its tool. (WP $)
+ Four ways to protect your art from AI. (MIT Technology Review)

2 A researcher created a database of one million public Bluesky posts
Even though Bluesky itself doesn’t use AI trained on its user content. (404 Media)
+ A new public database lists all the ways AI could go wrong. (MIT Technology Review)

3 China is on a Silicon Valley hiring offensive
Chinese firms are prepared to triple engineers’ salaries to lure them in. (WSJ $)

4 What happens when autonomous weapons make life-or-death decisions
The notion of algorithms making decisions over who lives or dies is chilling. (Undark Magazine)
+ Inside the messy ethics of making war with machines. (MIT Technology Review)

5 How Elon Musk is trying to make xAI a bona fide OpenAI competitor 
It’s up against some pretty stiff competition. (WSJ $)
+ The firm is likely to double its current valuation to the tune of $50 billion. (FT $)
+ How OpenAI stress-tests its large language models. (MIT Technology Review)

6 These treatments can bring patients back from the brink of death
So when should they be deployed—and who should get them? (New Scientist $)
+ Inside the billion-dollar meeting for the mega-rich who want to live forever. (MIT Technology Review)

7 How this gigantic laser achieved a nuclear fusion milestone
The team behind it already has a new goal in its sights, too. (Nature)
+ When the race for fusion ground to a halt. (MIT Technology Review)

8 These two influencers are locked in a legal battle
But can you really legally protect an aesthetic that’s everywhere? (The Verge)

9 LinkedIn’s viral posts are mostly written by AI
That explains a lot. (Wired $)

10 This lollipop device allows you to ‘taste’ nine virtual flavors
Willy Wonka eat your heart out. (Ars Technica)

Quote of the day

“We are not your free bug testers, PR puppets, training data, validation tokens.”

—A group of artists decry OpenAI’s treatment of creators in an open letter accompanying a leaked version of the company Sora generative AI video tool, Variety reports.

The big story

Why we can no longer afford to ignore the case for climate adaptation

August 2022

Back in the 1990s, anyone suggesting that we’d need to adapt to climate change while also cutting emissions was met with suspicion. Most climate change researchers felt adaptation studies would distract from the vital work of keeping pollution out of the atmosphere to begin with.

Despite this hostile environment, a handful of experts were already sowing the seeds for a new field of research called “climate change adaptation”: study and policy on how the world could prepare for and adapt to the new disasters and dangers brought forth on a warming planet. Today, their research is more important than ever. Read the full story. 

—Madeline Ostrander

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 tweet ’em at me.)

+ Japanese leaf art is truly an impressive feat (thanks Stephen!)
+ Can our Los Angeles readers let me know if this Cyberpunk exhibition at the Academy Museum is as amazing as it looks?
+ The year’s best music books serve as great Christmas present inspiration.
+ If you hate how Sam Altman takes notes, here’s how to do it the right way.