🧠 MIT's AI Warning, 💊 Australia's Psychedelic Pioneers, and 🌌 Glitter Rods for Mars Terraforming
🧠 MIT's AI Warning, 💊 Australia's Psychedelic Pioneers, and 🌌 Glitter Rods for Mars Terraforming
Thomas's Innovation Wrap #90
Greetings,
Here’s your weekly wrap of technology, innovation, and finance news.
💎 Artificial Intelligence
What worries you about AI? Is it the potential for job displacement, privacy concerns, or the rise of autonomous weapons? MIT Technology Review suggests we should be more concerned about something far more insidious: the allure of AI companions, or what they're calling "addictive intelligence."
We're seeing a giant, real-world experiment unfold, uncertain what impact these AI companions will have either on us individually or on society as a whole. Will Grandma spend her final neglected days chatting with her grandson's digital double, while her real grandson is mentored by an edgy simulated elder? AI wields the collective charm of all human history and culture with infinite seductive mimicry.
Alibaba's Qwen2-Math has claimed the top spot in AI math models, outperforming rivals from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. The 72-billion parameter model achieved 84% on the MATH Benchmark, showcasing its ability to solve complex mathematical problems. This could accelerate research and problem-solving in fields heavily reliant on mathematics, from engineering to finance.
Candidly, it's not one I could answer on my own, and certainly not within seconds, but Qwen2-Math apparently can most of the time.
OpenAI released a new API feature that ensures more reliable, structured outputs from AI models, reducing the need for extensive error-checking code. This addresses a major pain point for developers. CEO Sam Altman also teased "Project Strawberry", hinting at a possible upcoming release of an advanced version of ChatGPT.
LG released Exaone 3.0, South Korea’s first open-source AI model. This 7.8 billion parameter model excels in both Korean and English language tasks (see the blog and paper).
ByteDance launched Jimeng AI, a text-to-image and text-to-video generator for Chinese users.
Researchers from Imperial College London and Google DeepMind have created a new AI system called DAAG (Diffusion Augmented Agents). It helps robots and other AI that interact with the physical world learn more efficiently (see the paper).
“We are interested in enabling agents to autonomously set and score subgoals, even in the absence of external rewards, and to repurpose their experience from previous tasks to accelerate learning of new tasks,” the researchers write.
Perplexity AI, a rapidly growing AI search startup, has seen impressive growth in both revenue and usage since the start of the year. The company is now pivoting towards an advertising-based model, aiming to challenge Google's dominance in search advertising. With Google handling an estimated 8.5 billion searches per day, it’ll probably be a while before Perplexity makes a dent.
The AI-powered search engine answered roughly 250mn questions in the last month, compared with 500mn queries for the whole of 2023, Dmitry Shevelenko, Perplexity’s chief business officer, told the Financial Times.
CNBC released a 20-minute video profiling the rise of OpenAI.
🧊 Simulation
A new working paper suggests that large language models (LLMs) can accurately predict the results of social science experiments. It shows a strong correlation between simulated and observed effects across 70 studies.
Across 70 studies, we find striking alignment (r = .85) between simulated and observed effects
LG Innotek is expanding its use of digital twin technology to boost efficiency. Partnering with Ansys, they've reduced semiconductor package substrate durability testing from 11 days to 3.6 hours using 3D modelling.
💪 Augmented Humans
Elon Musk's Neuralink has successfully implanted its brain chip in a second human patient. Musk revealed that about 400 electrodes are showing signals in the patient's brain. The patient has a spinal cord injury similar to Neuralink's first patient, Noland Arbaugh. Neuralink aims to perform another eight trials by year-end, pending regulatory approval.
🛰️ Space
China is entering the satellite internet race with its first batch of 18 Qianfan satellites, part of a planned 14,000-satellite megaconstellation. This Shanghai-backed project aims to rival SpaceX's Starlink, with another 13,000-satellite network called Guowang also in the works.
Qianfan will be operated by Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology, a company backed by the Shanghai municipal government.
The Aurelia Institute is developing TESSERAE, a self-assembling space habitat that could be ready for human habitation by the 2030s.
Australia is contributing its mining expertise to space exploration, adapting technologies for use on the ISS and future lunar missions.
"When you start looking at potential extraction of resources on the moon or Mars or asteroids and all those kinds of future visions, when you start sort of trying to design the concept of operations to how that would look, we're certainly well-credentialed to sit at the table and give our insights."
Scientists are exploring ways to make Mars more habitable. A new study suggests that releasing glitter-sized iron rods into the Martian atmosphere could warm the planet by about 30°C, potentially creating conditions for liquid water.
🤖 Robotics
Google DeepMind has developed a robot that plays table tennis at an "amateur human level". The robotic arm won all matches against beginners and 55% against intermediate players, demonstrating progress in robotic dexterity and real-time adaptation.
"Even a few months back, we projected that realistically the robot may not be able to win against people it had not played before. The system certainly exceeded our expectations," says Pannag Sanketi, a senior staff software engineer at Google DeepMind who led the project.
Figure launched its next-generation humanoid robot, Figure 02. It seems impressive. I wonder how far we are from humanoid robots being used at scale and what the real-world implications of this would be. Elon Musk thinks they’ll have "genuinely useful humanoid robots" in production at Tesla next year.
Chinese researchers have developed the Nezha-SeaDart, an amphibious drone that can hover, fly, and dive underwater. Engineers at North Carolina State University have created origami-inspired "transformer" robots for potential space applications.
"We think these can be used as deployable, configurable space robots and habitats," Antonio Di Lallo, co-first author of the study, said in the statement.
Hyundai Elevator and Kakao Mobility are developing standardised interactions between elevators and robots, paving the way for seamless robotic delivery services.
Hyundai Elevator has already rolled out robotic transportation services at 14 sites nationwide, including corporate offices, hospitals, and hotels, handling everyday tasks from room service to medicine delivery.
🛍️ Ecommerce
Amazon is partnering with TikTok and Pinterest for in-app purchasing, allowing users to shop directly within social apps. This "Project Handshake" collaboration will show Amazon product recommendations in TikTok's "For You" feed, complete with real-time pricing and Prime eligibility. TikTok's involvement is notable given its own ecommerce ambitions, with over 15 million sellers as of December and forecasts of tenfold growth in US ecommerce this year.
💊 Health
The AFR profiled Australia's burgeoning psychedelics industry, a year after becoming the first country to legalise medical use of these substances.
That decision has triggered a wave of investment into what some in mainstream medicine still view as an unorthodox way to treat mental illness. Australia’s first psychedelic treatment clinics opened this year, the son of a Canadian billionaire last month started importing legally manufactured psychedelic drugs, and big names in business including Andrew Forrest and Gina Rinehart are pouring money into the fledgling industry. There are already clinics in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
A study of thoroughbred foals suggests that early gut microbiome diversity could improve racing performance, adding to the evidence linking gut health to overall well-being across species.
💻 Chips and Computing
Groq, a startup developing specialised AI chips called LPUs (Language Processing Units), secured $640 million in funding, valuing it at $2.8 billion. Their chips claim significant performance advantages over Nvidia's GPUs, intensifying the AI chip race. Meta's AI chief, Yann LeCun, has joined as an adviser.
"Groq nearly died many times," Ross says from inside the startup's semiconductor lab in San Jose, California, recalling one low point in 2019 where the startup was a month away from running out of money.
Malaysia aims to become a major player in the global semiconductor industry. To foster innovation, the country opened its first chip design hub and secured a massive €5 billion investment from Infineon for a cutting-edge manufacturing plant.
💲 Finance
Enterprise Search AI startup Glean is nearing a $250 million raise at a $4.5 billion valuation.
US telecoms firm Lumen saw its stock nearly double after announcing $5 billion in AI-related business. Siemens reported a 50% jump in quarterly profits, citing benefits from the boom in AI and the accelerated energy transition, while Corning saw a boost from its role in AI data centre cabling.
Indian EV maker Ola Electric saw its shares jump 20% in their debut, while Chinese self-driving startup WeRide seeks up to $440 million in a US IPO (see the F-1).
Defence tech startup Anduril secured $1.5 billion at $14 billion. Anduril is planning a massive 5 million-square-foot factory to produce "tens of thousands of autonomous weapons systems" annually.
Tencent has joined a $300+ million funding round for Chinese AI startup Moonshot, valuing the company at $3.3 billion. This move mirrors Alibaba's strategy of investing in multiple AI hopefuls in the competitive Chinese market.
VC Thrive Capital had its largest-ever fundraising, raising $5 billion for its latest two funds.
Thrive’s newest fundraising will be split between a $1 billion early-stage venture fund and a $4 billion fund dedicated to later-stage investments.
South Korea logged its biggest current account surplus in over six years, driven by demand for AI chips and tech exports.
⚙️ Mobility
China is seeing increased investment in eVTOL aircraft. Battery giant CATL is backing eVTOL developer AutoFlight, while Xpeng's flying car affiliate AeroHT raised US$150 million to accelerate development.
China hit a milestone in EV adoption: EVs and PHEVs outsold gasoline cars for the first time, capturing 50.7% of new car sales in July.
The rapid growth in China has been astounding – three years ago, NEV sales accounted for just 7% of total vehicle sales – and government incentives are making a big impact.
In the US, Archer Aviation unveiled plans for a Los Angeles air taxi network, set to launch in 2026. Stellantis committed up to $370 million to support Archer's manufacturing ramp-up.
Those hops, ranging from several miles to up to 50, will cut current ground travel time from as much as two hours--bottlenecks included--to just 10 to 15 minutes.
As mobility tech advances, so do security concerns. The US is preparing to propose limits on Chinese vehicle software, citing cybersecurity risks from internet-connected and autonomous vehicles.
The restrictions, which would be enforced by the Commerce Department, are meant to keep Chinese companies from collecting data on US drivers and sending it back to China.
📚 Regulation
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an antitrust probe into Amazon's $4 billion stake in Anthropic, investigating whether the deal constitutes a merger and potentially harms UK competition. The probe stems from concerns about "quasi-mergers", where tech giants influence startups through investments without full acquisition scrutiny. Both Amazon and Anthropic reject the merger claims, emphasising Anthropic's independence and openness to other partnerships.
⚡ Other Snippets
Atoco, a startup founded by UC Berkeley chemistry professor Omar Yaghi, is developing an innovative technology called metallic organic frameworks (MOFs) to harvest water from air without electricity. This could be a game-changer for addressing global water scarcity, especially in arid regions.
"You can harvest water from air anywhere in the world, at any time of the year regardless of the level of humidity, without a carbon footprint," says Omar Yaghi, Atoco's founder and UC Berkeley chemistry professor.
Reddit is expanding its AI capabilities with the $19.9 million acquisition of Memorable AI to enhance ad performance. Apple is introducing a new fee structure for EU apps that link to external purchases.
Australian researchers are using endangered sea lions as underwater filmmakers, capturing unique footage of ocean habitats to improve marine science and mapping.
"Using animal-borne video and movement data from a benthic predator is a really effective way of mapping diverse benthic habitats across large areas of the seabed," said Nathan Angelakis, a Ph.D. student at The University of Adelaide.
In Texas, a massive 3D printer is building an entire neighbourhood. ICON's Vulcan printer is creating 100 homes in what will be the world's largest 3D-printed community, promising faster, cheaper, and less wasteful construction.
In sports “innovation”, Swedish beach volleyball duo David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig have revolutionised the game with their "Swedish Jump Set". This strategy, involving a leaping setter, has propelled the young pair to Olympic gold.
Teenage Engineering has unveiled the EP-1320, a quirky medieval-themed digital music sequencer. This US$299 device lets you mix lutes and hurdy-gurdies with Gregorian chants and the clash of swords, allowing you to unleash your inner bard.
Have a great week,
Thomas
About Thomas Rice
Thomas Rice co-founded Minotaur Capital, a technology-driven, AI-led global equities fund, and is based in Sydney, Australia. He can be found on the X at @thomasrice_au.