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Sensory-Motor Control with Large Language Models via Iterative Policy Refinement

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

We propose a method that enables large language models (LLMs) to control embodied agents through the generation of control policies that directly map continuous observation vectors to continuous action vectors. At the outset, the LLMs generate a control strategy based on a textual description of the agent, its environment, and the intended goal. This strategy is then iteratively refined through a learning process in which the LLMs are repeatedly prompted to improve the current strategy, using performance feedback and sensory-motor data collected during its evaluation. The method is validated on classic control tasks from the Gymnasium library and the inverted pendulum task from the MuJoCo library. The approach proves effective with relatively compact models such as GPT-oss:120b and Qwen2.5:72b. In most cases, it successfully identifies optimal or near-optimal solutions by integrating symbolic knowledge derived through reasoning with sub-symbolic sensory-motor data gathered as the agent interacts with its environment.


Niger fallout under Biden leaves US troops 'blind' in battle with terror groups

FOX News

Biden administration's diplomatic dispute led to U.S. expulsion from Niger, eliminating drone surveillance capabilities needed to combat Sahel region terrorism.


Zelenskyy says Ukraine working on new prisoner exchange with Russia

Al Jazeera

Is the fall of Pokrovsk inevitable? Is Trump losing patience with Putin? Will sanctions against Russian oil giants hurt Putin? Ukraine is working to resume prisoner exchanges with Russia that could bring 1,200 Ukrainians home, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says, a day after his national security chief announced progress in negotiations. "We are counting on the resumption of POW exchanges," Zelenskyy wrote on X on Sunday.


Nature is not a blocker to housing growth, MPs find

BBC News

Nature is not a blocker to housing growth and the government risks missing both its housing and nature targets if it views it as one, a cross-party group of MPs has warned in a new report. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill overrides existing habitat protections, which the government has suggested is a barrier to its target to build 1.5 million houses by the end of this parliament. But in a report published on Sunday, the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) found the measures outlined in the bill are not enough to allow the government to meet its goals. Using nature as a scapegoat means that the government will be less effective at tackling some of the genuine challenges facing the planning system, the report said. A Ministry of Housing spokesperson said it was fixing a failing system with landmark reforms, which would deliver a win-win for the economy and the environment.


Man tells Al Jazeera he left Gaza through Al Majd 'displacement flight'

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera speaks to man who left Gaza through controversial'displacement flight' NewsFeed Man tells Al Jazeera he left Gaza through Al Majd'displacement flight' This Palestinian man, who wants to remain anonymous, left Gaza through'Al Majd Europe', a controversial group using unofficial, Israeli-coordinated channels that required registration, screening, and payments to unknown individuals. Investigators probe group that arranged'trafficking' flights out of Gaza Football's Pep Guardiola calls on fans to attend Palestine charity match Ukraine's Kyiv pounded by hundreds of Russian drones


Zelensky vows energy sector overhaul after 100m corruption scandal

BBC News

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to overhaul state-owned energy companies, after a major corruption scandal engulfed the country's energy sector. Around $100 million (£76m) has been embezzled, anti-graft investigators said, causing outrage in a country where Russian attacks have resulted in crippling power outages. Alongside a full audit of their financial activities, the management of these companies is to be renewed, Zelensky wrote in a post on X on Saturday. Energoatom, the state nuclear company at the heart of the scandal, will have a new supervisory board within a week, he added. Several of those implicated in the scandal have close links to the Ukrainian president.


An Invasive Disease-Carrying Mosquito Has Spread to the Rocky Mountains

WIRED

The Aedes aegypti mosquito that can carry dengue, yellow fever, and Zika was thought to be too reliant on a hot and wet climate to survive in the Mountain West. But now, a population is thriving in Western Colorado. Hannah Livesay, biologist at the Grand River Mosquito Control District, points out the characteristic white markings of an Aedes aegypti mosquito shown under a microscope at her lab in Grand Junction, Colo. It can carry life-threatening diseases. It's difficult to find and hard to kill.


Nine killed in blast at police station in Indian-administered Kashmir

Al Jazeera

An explosion at a police station in Indian-administered Kashmir has killed at least nine people and injured 32 others, mainly police personnel. Officials said the blast was an accident. It happened as officers were inspecting confiscated explosives. Football's Pep Guardiola calls on fans to attend Palestine charity match Ukraine's Kyiv pounded by hundreds of Russian drones Italian prosecutors investigate Bosnian war'sniper safaris'