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Simulating everything, sort of: The promise and limits of world models

13 July 2026 at 11:00

Over the past few years, many of us have gotten a crash course in what we now call artificial intelligence—but really, it has mostly been a crash course in large language models. Increasingly, however, LLMs are no longer the only category of AI drawing high expectations, massive funding rounds, and significant research and product development.

Over the past year, we've seen a plethora of new announcements in a category labeled "world models," and you'll likely see more movement there in the coming months and years.

Instead of or in addition to working with language, world models aim to lay the groundwork for AI systems that are capable of simulating the physical world, or at least a useful approximation of it.

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How AI could enable autonomous robot workers in workplaces—and maybe homes

7 July 2026 at 11:00

In a world where self-driving robotaxis glide through major city streets without drivers behind the wheel and delivery drones autonomously fly through the skies to drop off orders at customers’ homes, the idea of general-purpose robots helping humans with various tasks in workplaces or even homes may not seem far-fetched.

But that future hinges on developing increasingly autonomous robots powered by modern artificial intelligence—an ambitious vision that has motivated many researchers to become startup founders while also attracting billions of dollars in investment.

“When I started maybe about 15 years ago, I led a project team that was focused on autonomy, but in that era, the goal of that team was to just get a robot to navigate from point A to point B,” said Matt Malchano, vice president of software at the robotics company Boston Dynamics based in Waltham, Massachusetts. “And now, when we think of autonomy, we think of this huge space of tasks and things that we can imagine a robot doing on its own.”

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© Agility Robotics

How AI could enable autonomous robot workers in workplaces—and maybe homes

7 July 2026 at 11:00

In a world where self-driving robotaxis glide through major city streets without drivers behind the wheel and delivery drones autonomously fly through the skies to drop off orders at customers’ homes, the idea of general-purpose robots helping humans with various tasks in workplaces or even homes may not seem far-fetched.

But that future hinges on developing increasingly autonomous robots powered by modern artificial intelligence—an ambitious vision that has motivated many researchers to become startup founders while also attracting billions of dollars in investment.

“When I started maybe about 15 years ago, I led a project team that was focused on autonomy, but in that era, the goal of that team was to just get a robot to navigate from point A to point B,” said Matt Malchano, vice president of software at the robotics company Boston Dynamics based in Waltham, Massachusetts. “And now, when we think of autonomy, we think of this huge space of tasks and things that we can imagine a robot doing on its own.”

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