{"id":20465,"date":"2026-04-01T12:37:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T12:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/01\/the-download-gig-workers-training-humanoids-better-ai-benchmarks\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T12:37:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T12:37:10","slug":"the-download-gig-workers-training-humanoids-better-ai-benchmarks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/01\/the-download-gig-workers-training-humanoids-better-ai-benchmarks\/","title":{"rendered":"The Download: gig workers training humanoids, and better AI benchmarks"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

This is today\u2019s edition of <\/em>The Download<\/em><\/a>, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what\u2019s going on in the world of technology.<\/em><\/p>\n

The gig workers who are training humanoid robots at home<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n

When Zeus, a medical student in Nigeria, returns to his apartment from a long day at the hospital, he straps his iPhone to his forehead and records himself doing chores.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Zeus is a data recorder for Micro1, which sells the data he collects to robotics firms. As these companies race to build humanoids, videos from workers like Zeus have become the hottest new way to train them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Micro1 has hired thousands of them in more than 50 countries, including India, Nigeria, and Argentina. The jobs pay well\u00a0locally, but\u00a0raise thorny questions around privacy and informed consent. The work can be challenging\u2014and weird.\u00a0Read the full story<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014Michelle Kim<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Our readers recently voted humanoid robots the \u201c11th breakthrough\u201d to add to our 2026 list of 10 Breakthrough Technologies.\u00a0<\/strong>Check out what else officially made the cut<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

AI benchmarks are broken.\u00a0Here\u2019s\u00a0what we need instead.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n

For decades, AI has been evaluated based on whether it can outperform humans on isolated problems. But\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0seldom used this way in the real world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While AI is assessed in a vacuum, it\u00a0operates\u00a0in messy, complex, multi-person environments over time. This misalignment leads us to misunderstand its capabilities, risks, and impacts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We need new benchmarks that assess AI\u2019s performance over longer horizons within human teams, workflows, and organizations.\u00a0Here\u2019s\u00a0a proposal for one such approach:\u00a0Human\u2013AI, Context-Specific Evaluation<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014Angela\u00a0Aristidou,<\/em>\u00a0professor at University College London and faculty fellow at the Stanford Digital Economy Lab and the Stanford Human-Centered\u00a0AI Institute.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

MIT Technology Review Narrated: can quantum computers now solve health care problems?\u00a0We\u2019ll\u00a0soon find out.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n

In a laboratory on the outskirts of Oxford, a quantum computer built from atoms and light awaits its moment. The device is small but powerful\u2014and also\u00a0very valuable.\u00a0Infleqtion, the company that owns it, is hoping its abilities will\u00a0win $5 million at a competition<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The prize will go to the quantum computer that can solve real health care problems that \u201cclassical\u201d computers cannot. But there can be only one big winner\u2014if there is a winner at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014Michael Brooks<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is our latest\u00a0<\/strong>story<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to be turned into an MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0publishing each week on\u00a0<\/strong>Spotify<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/strong>Apple Podcasts<\/strong><\/a>. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform,\u00a0and\u00a0follow us to get all our\u00a0new content\u00a0as\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0released.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

The must-reads\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve\u00a0combed the internet to find you today\u2019s most fun\/important\/scary\/fascinating stories about technology.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

1 OpenAI just closed the biggest funding round in Silicon Valley history<\/strong>\u00a0
It raised $122 billion ahead of its blockbuster IPO, which is expected later this year. (WSJ<\/a>\u00a0$)\u00a0
+\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0also prepping a push to \u201crethink the social contract.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(Vanity Fair<\/a>\u00a0$)\u00a0
+ Campaigners are urging people to quit ChatGPT.\u00a0<\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

2 Iran has threatened to attack 18 US tech companies\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0
It\u2019s\u00a0eyeing their operations in the Middle East. (Politico<\/a>)\u00a0
+ Targets include Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, and Google.\u00a0<\/em>(Engadget<\/a>)\u00a0
+ Iran struck AWS data\u00a0centers\u00a0earlier this month.<\/em>\u00a0(Reuters<\/a>\u00a0$)\u00a0<\/p>\n

3 Artemis II is about to fly humans to the Moon.\u00a0Here\u2019s\u00a0the science\u00a0they\u2019ll\u00a0do<\/strong>\u00a0
Their experiments will set the stage for future explorers. (Nature<\/a>)\u00a0
+ You can watch the launch attempt today.\u00a0<\/em>(Engadget<\/a>)\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

4 Putin is trying to take full control of Russia\u2019s internet<\/strong>\u00a0
New outages and blockages are cutting the country off from the world. (NYT<\/a>\u00a0$)\u00a0
+ Can we repair the internet?\u00a0<\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)\u00a0<\/p>\n

5 A robotaxi outage in China left passengers stranded on highways\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0
Baidu vehicles froze on the streets of Wuhan. (Bloomberg<\/a>\u00a0$)\u00a0
+ Police are blaming a \u201csystem failure.\u201d (<\/em>Reuters<\/a>\u00a0$)\u00a0<\/p>\n

6 US government requests for social media user data are soaring<\/strong>\u00a0
They\u2019ve\u00a0skyrocketed by 770% in the past decade. (Bloomberg<\/a>\u00a0$)\u00a0
+ Is the Pentagon allowed to\u00a0surveil\u00a0Americans with AI?\u00a0<\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)\u00a0<\/p>\n

7 Tesla has admitted that humans sometimes drive its robotaxis<\/strong>\u00a0
Remote drivers occasionally control them completely. (Wired<\/a>\u00a0$)\u00a0<\/p>\n

8 A satellite-smashing chain reaction could spiral out of control<\/strong>\u00a0
This data visualization captures the dangers of space collisions. (Guardian<\/a>)\u00a0
+\u00a0Here\u2019s\u00a0all the stuff\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0put into space.<\/em>\u00a0(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)\u00a0<\/p>\n

9 Meta\u2019s\u00a0smartglasses\u00a0can turn you into a creep<\/strong>\u00a0
According to one journalist who wore them for a month. (Guardian<\/a>)\u00a0<\/p>\n

10 A Claude Code leak has exposed plans for a virtual pet\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0
We could be getting a Tamagotchi for the GenAI era.\u00a0<\/em>(The Verge<\/a>)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Quote of the day\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cFrom now on, for every assassination, an American company will be destroyed.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n

\u2014Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatens US tech firms in an affiliated Telegram, per\u00a0CNBC<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One More Thing\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"Ryan<\/p>\n
ACKERMAN + GRUBER<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

How one mine could unlock billions in EV subsidies<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h4>\n

In a pine farm north of the tiny town of Tamarack, Minnesota, Talon Metals has uncovered one of America\u2019s densest nickel deposits. Now it wants to begin mining the ore.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Products made from the nickel could net more than $26 billion in subsidies through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which is starting to transform the US economy. To understand how, we tallied up the potential tax credits available.\u00a0Read the full story to find out what we discovered<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014James Temple<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

We can still have\u00a0nice things\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas?\u00a0<\/em>Drop me a line<\/em><\/a>.)<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

+ A selfless group of gluttons tried to\u00a0taste-test<\/a>\u00a0every potato chip in the world.\u00a0\u00a0
+\u00a0Get romantic inspiration from these\u00a0penguins\u2019 engagement pebbles<\/a>.\u00a0
+ Good news: global terrorism has hit a 15-year low<\/a>.\u00a0
+ Enjoy endless new views through these windows around the world<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is today\u2019s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[226],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20465\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}