Can you pretend the be a humanoid robot? Tesla wants you!

Welcome to this edition of This Week in Tech, your gateway to the latest in tech innovation.

Laugh at Tesla’s unique humanoid actor roles and discover booming opportunities as top robotics firms like Boston Dynamics and Amazon hire aggressively. Dive into Artificial Intelligence with Luma’s Dream Machine 1.5 and Salesforce’s new AI sales agents transforming the workplace. Explore Spatial Computing through Los Angeles’ take on the stunning Las Vegas Sphere and Pico’s Ultra 4 VR headset launching in China.

Don’t miss Sony’s Soneium blockchain for Web3 and see how Cruise and Waymo are revolutionizing urban transportation. Scroll down for all these exciting stories and more!

Artificial Intelligence

Luma has released Dream Machine 1.5, an upgrade to its AI-powered video tool that brings several new features. The update includes enhanced 3D effects, improved rendering speeds, and more intuitive controls for creating cinematic visuals. Dream Machine 1.5 is designed to simplify the process of producing high-quality videos with advanced effects, making it accessible to both professionals and enthusiasts.

Salesforce has announced Einstein Sales Agent, an AI-powered tool designed to assist sales teams by automating routine tasks, generating personalized recommendations, and predicting customer needs. This tool leverages generative AI to enhance productivity, allowing sales agents to focus on higher-value activities. It integrates seamlessly with Salesforce's CRM platform, offering real-time insights and driving more efficient and effective customer interactions.

The introduction of AI tools like Einstein suggests significant changes for people currently working in sales and related roles. As AI takes over routine tasks such as data entry, lead generation, and customer recommendations, the demand for roles focused on these tasks may decrease.

However, this shift also opens up opportunities for workers to focus on more strategic, high-value activities, like relationship building and complex problem-solving, potentially requiring upskilling to adapt to new responsibilities and leverage AI tools effectively.

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) announced its investment in Cursor, a company building AI-powered tools to enhance coding productivity. Cursor's platform assists developers in writing, refactoring, and understanding code more efficiently using AI-driven suggestions and automation.

The investment reflects a16z's belief in the transformative potential of AI in software development, aiming to empower developers to work faster and more effectively, ultimately shaping the future of programming and software engineering.

DeepMind employees have signed a letter protesting Google's defense contracts, expressing concerns about AI being used for military purposes. This issue underscores a growing ethical dilemma in the AI industry as technology advances and companies increasingly collaborate with defense organizations. As AI continues to progress, similar protests and ethical challenges could become more frequent, highlighting the need for clear guidelines and ethical standards in AI development and deployment.

Spatial Computing

Reality replacement

This was a term I read in this post that stuck out to me. That’s really what is being built with VR/AR/MR devices - a replacement or enhancement of base reality. These devices overlay partial or full environmental replacements while adding interactive digital objects to the scene.

As the post mentions it’ll take some time before we get to lightweight AR glasses from someone like Apple or Meta, but the future approaches faster than we realize with the exponential progress being made each day.

Cosm has launched a "Shared Reality" experience in Los Angeles, offering an immersive, communal viewing experience without the need for headsets. This innovative venue blends real-time interaction with augmented reality, allowing groups to experience sports, concerts, and other events together on a massive, dome-shaped screen. This development marks a significant step in the evolution of AR entertainment, providing a unique and accessible way for people to engage with digital content in a social setting.

What is Shared Reality? According to Cosm:

It gives you the immersive experience of augmented or virtual reality but on a much more immense scale. It facilitates real-time interaction, providing a communal experience with your friends and fellow fans that you can’t get with a headset.

Back to headsets, which seem boring compared to Cosm.

Pico has released the Ultra 4, a VR/MR headset, exclusively in China. The device features a 4K resolution display, advanced pancake lenses, and mixed reality (MR) capabilities, making it a competitor in the growing VR/MR market. It also boasts a lightweight design and improved comfort for extended use. This launch marks Pico’s continued expansion and innovation in the virtual and mixed reality space, signaling its intent to compete with major global players like Meta and Apple.

Meta has reportedly canceled its next high-end VR headset, possibly due to competition from Apple's Vision Pro. This move comes shortly after Pico announced the Ultra 4 VR/MR headset, emphasizing the increasing competition in the VR/MR market. The shift suggests that Meta might be reevaluating its strategy in response to the evolving landscape and intensifying competition, particularly from Apple's advanced offerings. This decision highlights the challenges companies face in keeping up with rapidly advancing technology in the VR/MR space.

Development resources for Vision Pro

Gaming

More mind control - this time playing the latest hit Black Myth: Wukong. The game has sold over 10,000,000 copies in 3 days on PS5 and PC. Quite impressive given how difficult the game looks. You can probably thank the Elden Ring hype for the hype around these types of games.

This Twitch streamer continues to crush bosses and explore new worlds with just her mind. Fascinating that she can do this with her mind and people give up on the game using a controller.

Robotics

Many well-known robotics companies, including Boston Dynamics, Tesla, and Amazon, are actively hiring across various roles as the robotics industry continues to expand. These companies are seeking talent to drive advancements in AI, automation, and robotics to meet increasing demand for innovative solutions in sectors like logistics, manufacturing, and consumer technology.

Tesla is offering a quirky job opportunity where you can get paid to pretend to be a humanoid robot. Yes, you read that right—Tesla is looking for actors to mimic their upcoming humanoid robot's movements to help refine its design and performance. It’s like method acting meets the tech world, giving a whole new meaning to "getting in on the ground floor." If you've got a knack for robotic moves, this might just be your gig!

Crypto

Sony Group and Startale Labs have unveiled the Soneium blockchain, a platform designed to accelerate Web3 innovation. This initiative aims to support decentralized applications and digital assets, particularly in the gaming sector. By leveraging blockchain technology, Sony and Startale hope to create new opportunities for developers and gamers alike, fostering a more open and innovative digital economy.

This move highlights Sony's increasing commitment to advancing blockchain and Web3 technologies within its ecosystem.

Space

NASA has decided to halt its contract with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft for ferrying astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) after 2025, opting to rely solely on SpaceX's Crew Dragon. The decision was influenced by ongoing delays and technical issues with Starliner.

SpaceX's proven reliability and successful missions made it the preferred choice, signaling a significant shift in NASA's commercial crew program. This move validates Elon Musk's SpaceX as the dominant player in the space transportation industry.

This is straight out of James Bond.

A California-based startup plans to offer "sunlight on demand" by using a network of solar reflectors to deliver sunlight to locations lacking natural light. This innovative solution aims to improve well-being in urban areas, where access to natural sunlight is limited. The technology could also be used in agriculture, architecture, and other fields that benefit from controlled sunlight exposure, marking a step forward in sustainable and health-conscious design.

Transportation

Cruise's robotaxis will be available on the Uber app starting in 2025, integrating autonomous vehicle technology into everyday urban transportation. This partnership could significantly impact urban living by providing a more efficient and accessible ride-hailing option, potentially reducing traffic congestion and emissions. But it could also mean that fleets of vehicles get stuck in traffic james in parking garages at 4am waking the neighbors.

The collaboration signals a shift towards more widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles in city environments, reshaping how people navigate urban areas.

Would you send your kid in a car without a human driver?

Waymo is expanding its autonomous vehicle services to include chauffeuring children, signaling a broader push into daily family transportation. Similar to Cruise's partnership with Uber, this move highlights the growing role of robotaxis in urban living.

By targeting parents and offering a safe, reliable option for transporting kids, Waymo aims to integrate autonomous vehicles into more aspects of daily life, potentially transforming how families navigate cities and further normalizing the use of self-driving cars in everyday routines.