Science - The Batch | DeepLearning.AI

Image illustrates data flow from raw satellite sources through processing to embeddings for climate tracking.

Machine Learning Research

Earth Modeled in 10-Meter Squares: Google’s AlphaEarth Foundations tracks the whole planet’s climate, land use, potential for disasters, in detail and at scale

Researchers built a model that integrates satellite imagery and other sensor readings across the entire surface of the Earth to reveal patterns of climate, land use, and other features.

Electron microscope image of bacteriophages with distinct hexagonal heads and tails on a gray background.

Machine Learning Research

AI Generates Viral Genomes: Researchers use genomic language models to create custom viruses

Researchers used AI models to create novel viruses from scratch.

Google study chart comparing energy use of AI accelerators for Gemini, including chip power, CPU, and idle machines.

Science

Gemini’s Environmental Impact Measured: Google study directly measures electricity, water use, and greenhouse emissions of its models

Google determined that its large language models have a smaller environmental footprint than previous estimates had led it to expect.

Researcher adjusts sensors on a quadruped robot disguised as a Tibetan antelope in a high-altitude reserve.

Robotics

Robot Antelope Joins Herd: Chinese scientists disguise modified robot dog as antelope to study herd behavior

Researchers in China disguised a quadruped robot as a Tibetan antelope to help study the animals close-up.

Infographic showing Mistral Large 2’s environmental impact across emissions, water, and material use.

Science

Mistral Measures LLM Consumption of Energy, Water, and Materials: French AI startup discloses full lifecycle consumption and emissions for Mistral Large 2

The French AI company Mistral measured the environmental impacts of its flagship large language model.

A fully autonomous surgical robot clips and cuts a bile duct in an ex-vivo gallbladder removal experiment using the da Vinci system, guided by AI.

Machine Learning Research

Robot Surgeon Cuts and Clips: Doctors at Stanford, Johns Hopkins, and Optosurgical operate on animal organs without human intervention

An autonomous robot performed intricate surgical operations without human intervention.

Electric substation representing the energy use and carbon emissions linked to running large AI language models.

Science

Reasoning Boosts Carbon Emissions: Researchers confirm reasoning models that generate more tokens have a bigger environmental footprint

In the era of reasoning models, delivering better answers to questions has an environmental cost. A new study quantifies the impact.

Graph showing frequent chatbot users report lower well-being, based on Character.AI usage and survey analysis.

Machine Learning Research

People With AI Friends Feel Worse: Study shows heavy use of AI companions correlates with lower emotional well-being

People who turn to chatbots for companionship show indications of lower self-reported well-being, researchers found.

Beekeepers inspect Beewise robotic hive that uses computer vision and other AI to monitor and maintain a bee colony.

Science

Robotic Beehive For Healthier Bees: Beewise’s robotic beehive uses AI to save pollinators.

An automated beehive uses computer vision and robotics to help keep bees healthy and crops pollinated.

AI model animation predicting Cyclone Alfred’s path. An ensemble graph neural networks produces more-accurate 15-day forecasts.

Science

AI Weather Prediction Gains Traction: U.S. working with Google Weather Lab AI to improve storm forecasts

The U.S. government is using AI to predict the paths of hurricanes.

Biomni AI agent analyzes oncogenic pathways using genomics tools like Scanpy and CellxGene.

Machine Learning Research

A Research Agent for All Biology: Biomni, an AI agent for multidisciplinary biology research

An agent designed for broad biological research could accelerate the work of scientists in specialties from anatomy to zoology.

Bar chart comparing electricity use by various text-generation models: very small, small, medium-sized, large MoE, and large reasoning.

Tech & Society

AI Uses Energy, AI Saves Energy: The International Energy Agency examines the energy costs and potential savings of the AI boom

AI’s thirst for energy is growing, but the technology also could help produce huge energy savings over the next five to 10 years, according to a recent report.