TechFirst

Home of the TechFirst podcast. AI, robotics, autonomous everything, deep tech, XR/VR/AR. Subscribe here:

[TechFirst @TechFirstDraft1]

The struggle to grow is real. Sometimes you go forward, sometimes backward. But I'll take being right behind Engadget :-)

This is a list of the top 100 podcasts in the U.S. by @ChartableDotCom

[John Koetsier @johnkoetsier]

How do we know when a machine is smart?

I chatted with Assaf Gad from @intuitionrobo about what makes machines smart ... and how artificial intelligence is different from organic intelligence.

Watch https://t.co/F0yvI7W6eD
Listen https://t.co/D9l7RiHZtj

[John Koetsier @johnkoetsier]

Boston Dynamics and the coming golden age of robotics ...

I chat with 3 experts from Boston Dyamics about:
- Spot
- Stretch
- Atlas

... and wheeled vs bipedal vs quadruped robots.

What's best?

watch https://t.co/Abf4UPP2aP
listen https://t.co/oBc9hCgeJt

[Warren Whitlock @WarrenWhitlock]

I had the pleasure of reading the new Kurzweil book the day it came out.. yesterday.

Since I read at least one book a week on future emerging tech, there was a lot of familiar territory, which was told in a way that. only Ray Kurzweil can.

Plus, a view of the 2030's that makes a lot of sense

[John Koetsier @johnkoetsier]

Check out the world's largest autonomous robot

- Works in a factory
- Covers a million square feet/day
- Checks 100,000 pallets a day

12 meters tall (about 40 feet)

It's by @dexory & it's operational

YouTube: https://t.co/roiYZtIkbq
Audio podcasts: https://t.co/ur9MIPEXOw

[John Koetsier @johnkoetsier]

new TechFirst podcast!

Moon first, then Mars: a conversation with astronaut Jack Fischer

Jack is also a VP at @Int_Machines, and was the mission director for their recent lunar lander.

YouTube:
https://t.co/r3pm5GcsQE
Spotify & other audio podcast:
https://t.co/upbNbYP2C6

[John Koetsier @johnkoetsier]

Have we already achieved AGI?

GPT-4o performs better than most humans at most tasks, and better than any human when looking at a very wide range of tasks.

Is that AGI?

YouTube https://t.co/KoOoWOde0O
Spotify/Apple/other podcasting platforms: https://t.co/OzhLCgMK0R

[John Koetsier @johnkoetsier]

New TechFirst:

Water from the air from 10 cents/gallon

I chat with the CEO of Aquaria about atmospheric water generators and where they fit ...

YouTube: https://t.co/s2qXnwBZwb
Audio platforms: https://t.co/lAHYo5l0Ov

[John Koetsier @johnkoetsier]

Farm robots of the future ... do they:

- walk?
- roll?
- fly?
- swim?

The answer is YES.

Here I chat with @Robo_Factory director Kevin Dowling about the future of agtech and robotics.

Video: https://t.co/gHa4cVXar9
Podcast: https://t.co/bSZahsZnYv

[John Koetsier @johnkoetsier]

Meet the team behind the first micro lunar rover

It's called Iris, and it is the first lunar rover constructed with carbon fiber.

Spotify https://t.co/dH4Im7ZQXI
YouTube https://t.co/pJ2jXObuBH

[John Koetsier @johnkoetsier]

What happens after AGI?

A trillion years of simulation in a few minutes?
Extinction?
Heaven?
Domestication?

Here's my fascinating discussion with Dan Fagella, founder of Emerj Artificial Intelligence Research.

YouTube:
https://t.co/QogXam2LIz
Spotify https://t.co/KaSytuTgDK

[John Koetsier @johnkoetsier]

Privacy-safe eye tracking?

Cornell invents a way to track your gaze -- and capture your expressions -- without using a camera pointed at you.

That's potentially huge for future visual operation system and virtual reality headsets.
https://t.co/85z0uGxywq

[John Koetsier @johnkoetsier]

TikTok Is The Highest Earning App In The World (Again), Beating YouTube, Disney, Tinder

Data via @arielmichaeli https://t.co/sRE6ZAWGTl

[John Koetsier @johnkoetsier]

Apple Vision Pro is perhaps the best virtual tool yet for training surgeons, says a company that builds virtual experiences to medical training ...

Using Apple Vision Pro in training can reduce surgical training time by 40% to 200%.
https://t.co/1jWeK0nkrC

[John Koetsier @johnkoetsier]

1. location data from in-app ads exists for all of us
2. multiple vendors have it, including ones you don't know
3. multiple vendors sel it
4. buyers include countries & companies
5. buyers will leverage this data for their advantage (extortion, bribes)

https://t.co/hY6Ozojld8

[John Koetsier @johnkoetsier]

Apple antitrust: the 27 spiciest bits!

I read the massive U.S. Department of Justice filing so you don't have to. The DOJ is going after:

- App Store
- Apple Search Ads
- App submission guidelines
- Private APIs
- Third-party app stores

It's all here:
https://t.co/PIe3kUFfiO

[John Koetsier @johnkoetsier]

Generative AI for making game assets, via BuildBox, a low-code to no-code game building tool

In alpha, so don't freak out just yet ... but you know where this is trending, and it'd gonna be awesome.

[John Koetsier @johnkoetsier]

My latest at Forbes

>> 1500 Robotics Startups Have Raised $90 Billion, But Investment Just Cratered https://t.co/Ds17VThSkh

[Jeremiah Owyang @jowyang]

Deep fake anyone and everyone for low or zero cost. Is the world ready? Are you? Your kids?

[John Koetsier @johnkoetsier]

Apple Vision Pro: worth buying?

And: where does it fit in the evolution of VR?

Must-read post by by Hugo Barra (former Head of Oculus at Meta)
https://t.co/Nxi3vjSu1U

[TechFirst @TechFirstDraft1]

@jowyang wow ...