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Amazon has “acqui-hired” robotics startup Covariant for an undisclosed amount, setting the stage for the retail giant to turn its network of fulfillment warehouses into robot-employment epicenters. The Big Picture: Ecommerce requires a huge headcount to keep the shipping machine running… but companies that figure out how to make actual machines the backbone of the physical labor […]
Neal Stephenson’s Lamina1 metaverse platform is teaming up with Oscar-winning VFX house Wētā Workshop on the “participatory worldbuilding” project called Artefacts. The Big Picture: Social gaming is more popular than ever, thanks to platforms like Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft. While those are more kid-centered for the time being, a similar project aimed at adults could be a game-changer. Between The […]
The Future. Historically, photographs have been considered reliable evidence of reality, playing a crucial role in shaping social consensus and documenting important events. But thanks to AI, that paradigm might be all but over — and reality is about to become a whole lot less knowable. Blink and you’ll miss itAI photo-editing technology is ushering in a […]
The Future. Because AI is well-suited to the rigid rules and repetitive structures of code, many are already using it to replace human labor. AWS’ CEO thinks that AI will make human programmers’ jobs nearly unrecognizable in two years, but will those jobs simply change — or disappear completely, leaving thousands without work? Begin the countdownAWS CEO Matt […]
The Future. The ability to talk with ChatGPT in a humanlike voice, a feature released last month, comes with a big risk factor, according to the company — the possibility of developing an unhealthy emotional connection to the system. Considering that some users are hosting group chats or even dating chatbots via Character.AI and Replika, […]
The Future. One of the most-used features on the iPhone these days is the NFC chip — the technology that allows users to make contactless payments with Apple Pay. Now, that tech will be open to third-party developers, who can retrofit its use for any contactless applications. Expect there to be a new app gold […]
The Future. A run of “acqui-hires,” in which tech giants hire a startup’s employees and license its underlying technology, are reshaping the AI market. If the unique deals continue, expect AI to stealthily become almost completely centralized under Big Tech. Generating an exitThe AI industry is contracting in a number of all-but-in-name acquisition deals. Why […]
The Future. A federal judge has sided with the Department of Justice that Google is a monopoly in both the search and search-powered ad market — the biggest antitrust ruling since the case against Microsoft in 2000. The verdict may cast a long shadow over similar cases against Amazon, Apple, and Meta. With Google likely […]
The Future. A crop of new fertility tech startups in Silicon Valley are launching innovations in baby development. While the startups are mostly focused on making bringing a child into the world a more flexible and less stressful process, the capabilities could eventually evolve to a point where parents can pick and choose what qualities […]
The Future. As young people wrestle with a loneliness epidemic, tech entrepreneur Avi Schiffmann believes that carrying an AI around with us could provide some much-needed companionship — specifically, a device called “Friend.” If enough people give the device a try, it could spark an industry of AI-companion devices that market themselves by what kind […]