Image missing.
The Download: China’s AI agent boom, and GPS alternatives

Rhiannon Williams

created: June 6, 2025, 12:10 p.m. | updated: June 12, 2025, 10:16 a.m.

Last year, China saw a boom in foundation models, the do-everything large language models that underpin the AI revolution. This year, the focus has shifted to AI agents—systems that are less about responding to users’ queries and more about autonomously accomplishing things for them. —Caiwei ChenInside the race to find GPS alternativesLater this month, an inconspicuous 150-kilogram satellite is set to launch into space aboard the SpaceX Transporter 14 mission. Once in orbit, it will test super-accurate next-generation satnav technology designed to make up for the shortcomings of the US Global Positioning System (GPS). Now, startup Xona Space Systems wants to create a space-based system that would do what GPS does but better.

2 weeks, 6 days ago: MIT Technology Review