A new "super-humanoid" robot

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Welcome back, Superhuman

Getting stuck during rush hour is no fun for anyone. But if you’re a paramedic, a traffic jam could be a matter of literal life and death. Read on to find out how AI companies are helping EMTs navigate the roadways more efficiently.

Today’s Insights

• Boston Robotics shows off its new humanoid robot

• Prompt of the day

• How AI could help EMS workers

• Chart: Mapping AI job hotspots

• 5 new AI tools to boost your productivity

• AI-Generated Images: Soft Sunsets

NEWS

Today in AI & Tech

• A Click Away: Logitech announced a new mouse featuring a dedicated AI button that lets users quickly call up ChatGPT.

• AI Incubator: The VC firm Andreessen Horowitz raised $7.2B to invest in new tech startups, with a special focus on those building generative AI.

• Curated with Code: Amazon Music is following in Spotify’s footsteps by releasing Maestro, its own AI-powered playlist maker.

• Art Evolved: Stable AI will soon open up access to its latest text-to-image model, Stable Diffusion 3, which it claims “equals or outperforms” competitors like DALL-E and Midjourney.

• Retail Reboot: BestBuy is going to start using generative AI to help customers with tech support. It also announced a wave of layoffs as it responds to “months of declining sales.”

NEXT IN AI

A “humanoid” robot that’s more like a superhero

Robotics geeks shed a collective tear this week. They’d learned that Boston Dynamics’ beloved Atlas — a 330-pound robot that could win any dance-off and do backflips on command — was being decommissioned. For many, the decision didn’t make sense. Why would one of the world’s leading robot developers give up on what was arguably its most impressive creation?

It turns out that was just the lead-up to an exciting announcement: Atlas is back, but with a brand-new, AI-powered design. The new version is sleeker and nimbler. And instead of using hydraulics, it runs on electricity.

What else is different? The old Atlas got around just like humans, using its arms and legs to navigate through different environments. The new version is more like Mister Fantastic. A video preview showed it laying flat on the ground, then twisting its legs and hips at odd angles to come to a standing position (don’t try that at home). It doesn’t really have a frontside or backside, instead moving its limbs in whatever direction works best for each situation.

What prompted the update? The Hyundai-owned company already had a few robots on the market, like Spot (its canine version) and Stretch (its warehouse helper). But Atlas had been stuck in testing for over a decade. This new iteration is a big step toward commercialization.

How does AI play into this? These days, robots are built to perform one task extremely well. But Boston Dynamics thinks AI is the key to reaching the next level — when robots can perform a wide variety of tasks. In 2022, it launched an AI Institute that researches ways to integrate AI and robotics. “The diversity of manipulation tasks we need to do with this robot [Atlas] is huge, and AI is essential to enabling that generality,” CEO Robert Playter told the Robot Report.

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PROMPT OF THE DAY

CX EXPERT

Prompt: Pretend you are the Head of Customer Experience for a company that focuses on [insert product/industry here]. Read through the customer feedback provided and find any patterns. Provide insight on customer concerns, emotions, or potential problems. [insert all customer feedback copy here].

You can adapt the prompt to your needs. For example, you could upload the feedback in a document instead of copy/pasting it all within the text box. You can ask the chatbot to help you rate the product on a scale of 1-10 based on the feedback received. You can even ask the chatbot for tailored responses to the majority of the feedback given.

_{Source: Inspired by Boldly}

AI & AMBULANCES

How AI can help during emergencies

In the US, it takes an average of seven minutes for an ambulance to reach a patient. That might not sound like a long time, but in matters of life and death, every second counts. And as traffic continues to swell in many cities, experts say the problem is only going to get worse.

That is, unless AI can turn things around:

• The research consortium C2Smarter is using AI to analyze street sensors. Its platform can suggest alternative routes for firefighters so they don’t get caught in clogged roadways.

• San Jose-based startup Lyt takes things a step further: It uses AI to change traffic signals on-the-fly, ensuring that emergency workers have a clear path to their destination.

• Other companies use AI to classify emergencies into different categories based on their level of urgency. That’s important because about half of all 911 calls are considered low-priority.

What about other types of emergencies? Alphabet is using AI to direct resources during floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. This summer, the National Guard will start using Alphabet’s system to spot infrastructure that has been damaged in wildfires — turning a process that once took days into something that can be done in seconds.

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CHART

Mapping AI job hotspots across the US

Three west coast cities — San Jose, Seattle, and San Francisco — rank highest among the country’s AI hotspots. In the first quarter of 2024, there were nearly 3,000 new AI jobs posted in Seattle alone. Meanwhile, in San Jose, about 7.5% of new jobs are related to AI.

PRODUCTIVITY

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AI GENERATED IMAGES

Soft Sunsets

Prompt: 3d surreal place, minimalistic, covered by pink linen drapes, spring vibe, sunset, Fujifilm Fujicolor,
--ar 9:16 

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🧞 Your wish is my command 

Thanks for reading.

Until next time!

Zain

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