GoKawiil
Tech News
Danijar Hafner, a 31-year-old AI researcher named to MIT Technology Review's 35 Innovators Under 35 list, runs a quiet San Francisco startup filled with humanoid robots suspended from racks. He has spent years refining world-model-based agents by testing them against video games, and is now moving that work from simulations into physical robots operating in real environments.
Danijar Hafner is developing 'world models' — AI systems that simulate physical reality — and training reinforcement-learning agents inside them so robots can anticipate outcomes before acting in the real world. This model-based approach lets agents rehearse complex tasks virtually, avoiding the costly trial-and-error training typical of conventional robotics. Hafner, a former Google Brain and DeepMind researcher who worked alongside figures like Geoffrey Hinton, is now recognized as a rising talent in AI research.