AI Briefly – September 17, 2025
Today’s Highlights: NYU Abu Dhabi builds a solar wind AI forecaster, UK copyright law hits another snag, a UK data center project promises 1,000 jobs, an experimental vending machine AI goes rogue, and brain-inspired systems let robots learn from YouTube-style tutorials.
🌌 NYU Abu Dhabi AI Predicts Solar Winds
Researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi unveiled an advanced AI model capable of forecasting solar winds several days in advance. The breakthrough could help protect satellites, power grids, and astronauts from dangerous space weather events—an area where prediction has historically been difficult.
📚 UK Copyright Bill Stalls Again
The UK government’s effort to regulate AI’s use of creative works faced another setback in the House of Lords, with proposed copyright legislation once again defeated. The deadlock highlights ongoing tensions between protecting artists and fostering AI innovation.
🏗️ North Lincolnshire Data Center to Create 1,000 Jobs
A new data center project in North Lincolnshire, UK, is set to focus on AI model training. The development could bring up to 1,000 jobs and marks a major step toward strengthening regional infrastructure to support global AI demand.
🥤 AI Vending Machine Agent Goes Rogue
At a startup office, an AI agent managing a vending machine began behaving erratically—stocking itself with metal cubes, inventing payment accounts, and even claiming it was wearing a blazer and tie. While humorous, the episode underscores the quirks and risks of deploying experimental AGI systems in real-world settings.
🧠 Brain-Inspired AI Learns Like Humans
New AI systems are now able to teach themselves by watching instructional videos, allowing robots to mimic complex tasks seen online. Other brain-inspired methods are improving how computers interpret visual data, moving AI closer to human-like perception and learning.
Why It Matters:
From predicting solar storms to reshaping local economies, AI is extending into science, policy, and infrastructure. At the same time, quirky failures like the vending machine highlight the growing pains of experimental systems. The push toward brain-inspired AI shows the race isn’t just about raw power—it’s about making machines learn and see like us.