AI Helps Bring Monkey Species Back from Brink of Extinction

MONKEY BUSINESS

In Southern China, among the karst mountains in Guangxi, a species has swung its way back from extinction. Going from just 300 animals in the 1980s to over 1,400 today, the white-headed langur has recently made a significant comeback. This increase in number was largely due to information from AI-powered video-based monitoring stations posted around the region. The system collects real-time data on the primates’ activity, uses AI-driven labeling and analytics, and displays it on a dashboard, informing conservation strategies that support the animals and their habitat. So far the devices have recorded more than 37,000 instances of langur activity.
Source: Huawei

4 MILLION SQUARE FEET

That’s the footprint of Meta’s largest data center to date, currently under construction in Richland Parish, La. Along with other big tech companies, Meta has pledged to offset rising electricity costs to residents living near these data centers. While the pledge is nonbinding, in this case Meta has made a deal with local electricity provider Entergy Louisiana to fund seven new natural gas power plants and up to 2,500 MW of renewable resources, among other regional investments. Entergy anticipates Meta will deliver $2 billion in savings to its customers over 20 years.
Source: Engadget, Entergy Louisiana

PUMPING IRON

In Munich, Germany, a new type of gym is being constructed. Spanning 25,000 square feet, this gym won’t house dumbbells and treadmills — but robots. A collaboration between Technical University of Munich and private firm NEURA Robotics, TUM RoboGym will be the largest robotics research and training center in the world, where human supervisors will train humanoid robots to perform everyday tasks. The research will seek further progress in humanoid robotics and embodied artificial intelligence.
Source: Interesting Engineering

$1.25 BILLION

Uber recently announced that it will be entering into a partnership with electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian in a deal worth $1.25 billion. This massive sum will provide the ride-share company with 50,000 Rivian R2 robotaxis, to be used at their will. By 2028, the first 10,000 will be out and about in Miami and San Francisco. By 2031, another 40,000 will be deployed across 25 major cities.
Source: Engadget