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This Week in Tech 37: Apple event, Elon's Colossus and 200 million people use ChatGPT
Latest announcements from Apple and around the tech industry from the past week
Vision Quest
September 11, 2024
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Welcome to the cutting edge
Read time: 6 min
To our new subscribers, thanks for joining our community as we unveil the future of technology that is moving faster by the day. Our goal is to equip you with the knowledge to positively impact our future.
Today’s Slate
Industry News
Apple’s latest event
200 million ChatGPT users weekly
Flying cars…kinda
Isaac the remote control humanoid
More tech news!
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Industry News
Apple iPhone 16 Event
Apple's "It's Glowtime" event unveiled new tech including:
iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, and Pro Max with larger displays, improved battery life, and advanced A18 Pro chip.
Apple Watch Series 10 with a new S10 chip and polished titanium finish.
AirPods 4 and updated AirPods Max with USB-C charging.
Airpods Pro 2 to get new clinical grade hearing aid functionality
Apple Intelligence features launching in beta next month.
Our vision:
Apple’s software continues to make significant strides with the addition of Apple and Visual Intelligence into their latest line of phones. That being said, their phones look identical lately don’t they? This could be driving the decline in Google search volume for “new iphone”.
We’ll have to wait and see if Apple Intelligence is a big leap forward for mobile UX or if it fails to make a significant impact.
Artificial Intelligence
At a glance:
Elon Musk's new venture, xAI, has partnered with Nvidia to create "Colossus," a massive AI project powered by Nvidia's cutting-edge hardware.
The collaboration aims to push AI development beyond current limitations, leveraging the combined strength of xAI's ambitions and Nvidia’s expertise in GPUs and computing.
Our vision:
Musk’s xAI and Nvidia’s collaboration could mark a pivotal moment in AI advancement. With Nvidia’s dominance in AI hardware and Musk’s ambition for superintelligence, "Colossus" could accelerate breakthroughs in AI and reshape the industry.
At a glance:
The future of software engineering is evolving rapidly, driven by advancements in AI, automation, and low-code platforms.
These tools aim to streamline development processes, enabling faster, more efficient programming.
Automation will reduce repetitive tasks for developers.
Low-code platforms will empower non-engineers to build applications.
Our vision:
As AI and automation integrate into software engineering, developers will focus more on creative problem-solving, leaving routine tasks to machines. This could significantly reshape how software is built and maintained.
Replit AI Agents just dropped in addition to Cursor and other existing competitors making it even easier to get a project off the ground with a simple prompt.
At a glance:
ChatGPT has hit 200 million weekly active users, but a significant number of users are hesitant to openly admit using the AI tool. Despite its widespread adoption, there's a lingering perception around AI usage that could impact how it's publicly discussed.
Our vision:
With ChatGPT's increasing popularity, AI is becoming an integral part of our lives and we don’t see that momentum stopping. But with this many users, how much are we spending on data storage and cooling?
A new startup Lumen Orbit is planning on testing out moving data centers to space in 2025 - no we’re not kidding..
At a glance:
Unlike most AI available Illuminate can turn these summaries into conversational dialogues and make it sound like a podcast.
There are 25 summaries available on their website you can check out.
Our vision:
This might not be breaking news but we were (thankfully!) told about this by Vlad Larichev and it’s a tool worth investigating at the very least. For folks like us it could prove useful to create content for our newsletter - but we’ll let you know if we end up doing so.
This is yet another example of fascinating AI advancements that are slowly making their way into the hands of the public. Imagine the amount of AI generated content that will be available in the next 3-5 years.
Spatial Computing
At a glance:
Cosm Dallas hosted an immersive watch party for the Texas vs. Michigan game, utilizing advanced screens, synchronized audio, and LED displays to create an enhanced, next-level sports experience.
Our vision:
COSM is the future of watching sports remotely. They are leading the charge in transforming live sports entertainment. This blend of immersive technology and sports may set the stage for the future of stadium-like viewing experiences, bringing fans closer to the action from anywhere.
Transportation
At a glance:
Archer Aviation completed 400 test flights, four months ahead of schedule, focusing on performance, handling, and safety.
The company plans to launch commercial air taxi services in Los Angeles by 2026.
Recent deals include 116 flying vehicles sold to Future Flight Global for $580M and FAA certification for commercial operations.
Our vision:
With early completion of tests and strategic global partnerships, Archer is accelerating the urban air mobility landscape. The development of air taxi services in key cities like Los Angeles could redefine urban transportation, merging sustainability with convenience.
Robotics
At a glance:
Weave Robotics has introduced "Isaac," a personal home robot set to launch in fall 2025. Isaac is designed to handle household chores like tidying, folding laundry, and other repetitive tasks autonomously, controlled via voice, text, or app automation.
Isaac features a privacy-focused design with a foldable camera.
Remote operation is available for tasks beyond its current capabilities.
Our vision:
Isaac represents another competitor akin to Optimus, Figure AI and Atlas that are all poised to tackle the future of household automation, promising to give people more free time by taking over mundane chores.
As competition continues to heat up let’s see if robots actually enter our home or live solely in warehouses. There are countless privacy concerns that could make in-home humanoids impractical in the near future.
NEO the humanoid robot - really a human puppet?!
Wait…the NEO is going to be controlled by another human? I wasn’t expecting that. It demonstrates the difference in progress between hardware and software engineering that the robotic body is fully operational but for now it will rely on human intelligence instead of software.
1x's VP of AI, Eric Jang, states that NEO will initially be remotely controlled by human teleoperators for household tasks, but over time, AI will gradually take over parts of the robot's operations until it becomes fully autonomous.
— The Humanoid Hub (@TheHumanoidHub)
5:31 PM • Sep 7, 2024
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