The Download: Musk v. Altman, smart glasses for warfare, and Google I/O

A foundation model’s reputation these days rests largely on its coding capabilities, and for months Google’s coding tools have been outgunned by Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex. But the company still shapes the cutting edge in areas such as AI for science. At I/O this week, it will try to prove it can compete on both fronts.

I’m going to be at Mountain View this week to see what goes down. Here are three things to keep a close eye on.

—Grace Huckins

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Can AI learn to understand the world?

As the limits of LLMs become clearer, researchers are developing a new kind of AI designed to understand the physical environment: world models. 

Recent developments from Google DeepMind, Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs, and Yann LeCun’s new startup have pushed these systems to the forefront of AI. At an upcoming virtual event, MIT Technology Review will examine the progress—and what comes next.

On Thursday, May 21, editor in chief Mat Honan, senior AI editor Will Douglas Heaven, and AI reporter Grace Huckins will take part in an exclusive Roundtables discussion on world models. Register here to join the session at 19:30 GMT / 2:30 PM ET / 11:30 AM PT.

World models are one of our 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now, a new guide to the technologies and ideas shaping the future of AI.