FT: “Tech groups, start-ups and investors have been clamouring to build an AI “brain” that can independently operate robots for applications in healthcare, manufacturing and even household chores. After decades of tedious progress that involved manually coding each movement a robot made, AI training is turning robots into fast learners. They can now absorb reams of text, images and videos from the internet to develop their understanding of the physical world. The latest software developments suggest the technology is developing to the point where robots can adjust to new situations, respond to verbal instructions and be dexterous enough to manipulate objects.”
Tim Berners-Lee: “If you have all your data in one area, you can make links between it. That’s where the real magic happens, where insights between different data points can be seen. A recent study showed financial transaction data could help to flag ovarian cancer, for example, by spotting that people were managing symptoms by buying products like pain and indigestion medication. The next level is to make these data insights accessible to everyone via artificial intelligence agents. But in order not to repeat the worst mistakes of the social media era, we need to make sure these agents really work for you, with your best interests in mind. That’s why Inrupt is building Charlie — an AI agent that uses data from the Solid wallet to generate personalised answers. This is my vision for a new interface between users and the web — the evolution from ChatGPT, Gemini, Pi and DeepSeek. We have shown what is technically possible — now we need to show the force of social linked data to empower people all over the world.”
NYTimes: “The giant leap forward in computing for A.I. was driven by a tiny ingredient: the specialized computer chips called graphics processing units, or GPUs. Companies like the Silicon Valley chipmaker Nvidia originally designed these chips to render graphics for video games. But GPUs had a knack for running the math that powers what are known as neural networks, which can learn skills by analyzing large amounts of data. Neural networks are the basis of chatbots and other leading A.I. technologies…It is not just the chips that are different. To get the most out of GPUs, tech companies must speed the flow of digital data among the chips…The closer the chips are to one another, the faster they can work. So companies are packing as many chips into a single data center as they can. They have also developed new hardware and cabling to rapidly stream data from chip to chip.”
Just watched Severance Season 1. Bloomberg: “Severance rests on a simple premise: What if you could split your work self from your after-hours self? The four main characters undergo a procedure that does just that. Their “Innies” live their entire conscious lives within the confines of the office, while their “Outies” excise the 9-to-5 timeslot from their awareness entirely.”
CNBC: “The biggest challenge for [AMD’s Lisa] Su may lie in software. AMD’s hardware is comparable to Nvidia’s chips and can even win in some benchmarks. The company’s AI chips are viable, and Su is building their credibility. While AMD is the only real alternative to Nvidia, most AI developers already know how to use Nvidia’s proprietary CUDA software, which allows programmers to access core hardware parts of a GPU for AI development. For Su, the answer is ROCm. That’s AMD’s version of CUDA, and it’s free to use. Su is counting on ROCm to help AMD win over developers who want more than just what Nvidia offers.”
FT: “[BYD’s] Wang is “much more of a disrupter than many had expected”, says Ilaria Mazzocco, an expert on Chinese cleantech industrial policy at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. “He’s an empire builder: people should think about him in the same category as Bezos or Musk,” she adds…Chinese EV maker’s five-minute charge puts the disrupter one step closer to conquering global markets…Still, questions remain about whether BYD’s business model, so successful in China, can be exported abroad. BYD’s vertical integration — controlling supply chains from the lithium mines to factories — has been pivotal in producing low-cost cars. So has access to China’s migrant labour force and Beijing’s support for cleantech champions.”
