The Download: Yann LeCun’s new venture, and lithium’s on the rise

The Download: Yann LeCun's New Venture and Lithium's Rise

Yann LeCun's Contrarian Bet Against Large Language Models

Yann LeCun, a Turing Award recipient and top AI researcher, has long been a contrarian figure in the tech world. He believes that the industry's current obsession with large language models is wrong-headed and will ultimately fail to solve many pressing problems. Instead, he thinks we should be betting on world models—a different type of AI that accurately reflects the dynamics of the real world.

LeCun's views are not surprising, given his departure from Meta, where he had served as chief scientist for FAIR (Fundamental AI Research), the company's influential research lab that he founded. In an exclusive online interview with MIT Technology Review, LeCun discussed his new venture, life after Meta, the future of artificial intelligence, and why he thinks the industry is chasing the wrong ideas.

LeCun's skepticism towards large language models is rooted in their limitations. While they excel at generating human-like text, they struggle to understand the nuances of human language and often produce biased or inaccurate responses. In contrast, world models aim to capture the complexity of the real world by learning from a wide range of data sources, including images, videos, and sensor readings.

LeCun's new venture is focused on developing world models that can be applied to a variety of domains, from robotics to healthcare. While the details of his project are still under wraps, LeCun's vision is clear: to create AI systems that can truly understand and interact with the world around us.

2026: A Hot Year for Lithium

In 2026, I'll be closely watching the price of lithium. The metal is crucial for lithium-ion batteries used in phones and laptops, electric vehicles, and large-scale energy storage arrays on the grid. Prices have been on quite the roller coaster over the last few years, and they're ticking up again.

What happens next could have big implications for mining and battery technology. Lithium is a key component in the transition to renewable energy, and its price can have a significant impact on the adoption of electric vehicles and other clean technologies.

The demand for lithium is expected to increase significantly in the coming years, driven by the growth of the electric vehicle market and the increasing adoption of renewable energy sources. However, the supply of lithium is limited, and the metal is often extracted from hard rock deposits that are difficult and expensive to mine.

As a result, the price of lithium is likely to continue to fluctuate in response to changes in demand and supply. However, the long-term trend is clear: lithium will play an increasingly important role in the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The Must-Reads

Here are some of the most interesting and important stories about technology that I've come across recently:

1. Trump has climbed down from his plan for the US to take Greenland. To the relief of many across Europe, Trump has agreed a deal to access Greenland's rare earths. Experts say that's 'bonkers.'
2. Apple is reportedly developing a wearable AI pin. It's still in the very early stages, but this could be a huge deal if it makes it to launch.
3. CEOs say AI saves people time. Their employees disagree. Many even say that it's currently dragging down their productivity.
4. This chart shows how measles cases are exploding in America. They've hit a 30-year high, with the US on track to lose its 'elimination status.'
5. Your first humanoid robot coworker will almost definitely be Chinese. But will it be truly useful? That's the even bigger question.

One More Thing

BOB O'CONNOR

How Electricity Could Help Tackle a Surprising Climate Villain

Cement is a climate threat. Cement production accounts for more than 7% of global carbon dioxide emissions, more than sectors like aviation, shipping, or landfills. One solution to this climate catastrophe might be coursing through the pipes at Sublime Systems. The startup is developing an entirely new way to make cement. Instead of heating crushed-up rocks in lava-hot kilns, Sublime's technology zaps them in water with electricity, kicking off chemical reactions that form the main ingredients in its cement.

But it faces huge challenges: competing with established industry players, and persuading builders to use its materials in the first place.

Source: https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/01/22/1131680/the-download-yann-lecun-lithium-rise/