Welcome back to your daily dossier talking AI, robotics, crypto and the future of tech. 👾

In today’s edition we are tackling the following:

🎬 Disney sues Midjourney over AI images of protected characters.
💬 OpenAI's ChatGPT goes down worldwide in brief June outage.
🤖 China begins emotional eldercare robot trial across 20 locations.
🧠 Taboola’s DeeperDive AI chatbot launches with embedded ad answers.
🦿 Humanoid robot swarm deployed in factory for synchronized task execution.

AI

• Disney and Universal sue Midjourney over copyright infringement

  • Disney and Universal claim Midjourney created unauthorized AI images of protected characters like Shrek and Darth Vader.

  • The lawsuit alleges Midjourney ignored takedown requests and used copyrighted content for training without permission.

  • The studios are demanding a jury trial, monetary damages, and an injunction to halt future AI image generation.

• Taboola’s clickbait chumbox evolves into AI chatbot ‘DeeperDive’

  • Taboola introduced DeeperDive, an AI chatbot now live in beta on sites like USA Today and The Independent.

  • The bot pulls answers from licensed journalism while inserting ads directly into its AI-generated content flow.

  • Only 1% of users currently see the chatbot as Taboola tests engagement and monetization metrics.

• OpenAI ChatGPT and Sora suffer global outage

  • A widespread outage on June 10 disrupted ChatGPT, Sora, and API services due to elevated latency and error rates.

  • Users in the U.S. and U.K. reported failures in prompt generation and degraded app performance.

  • OpenAI resolved the issue within hours, gradually restoring full functionality later the same afternoon.

ROBOTICS

• Bio-mimetic robotic hand seamlessly integrates tactile feedback

  • The F‑TAC Hand features 17 high-resolution tactile sensors covering 70% of its palm for 0.1 mm touch precision.

  • A probabilistic algorithm enables 19 grasp styles and adapts grip strategy within 100 ms to unexpected object dynamics.

  • In 600 real-world tests, grasp success jumped from 53% to 100%, suggesting potential in surgery, aerospace, and assembly tasks.

• China orders trial of aged care robots that can provide emotional support

  • China is launching a three-year pilot deploying at least 200 eldercare robots across 20-plus sites in homes and institutions.

  • Robots will handle cooking, cleaning, mobility support, feeding, toileting, dementia detection, and fall prevention tasks.

  • The trial aims to ease caregiver shortages, improve elder well-being, and establish standards for robo-care in Chinese communities.

• World’s first humanoid robot swarm tackles complex factory tasks

  • UBTech’s Walker S1 humanoid fleet uses BrainNet AI for swarm coordination in Zeekr’s 5G smart factory.

  • A central ‘super brain’ distributes tasks via sub-brains, enabling task scheduling, skill transfer, and multimodal reasoning.

  • This marks the first multi-robot humanoid collaboration in an industrial setting, advancing embodied AI deployment goals.

CRYPTO

• Ether outshines Bitcoin ahead of CPI; traders eye altcoin ETF summer

  • Bitcoin briefly topped $110K before stabilizing, as altcoins rallied and the CoinDesk 20 index jumped ~2%.

  • Ether led gains ahead of key U.S. CPI data, reflecting preparation for potential institutional-driven altcoin ETF launches.

  • Market sentiment turned cautiously optimistic, though traders warn breakout may falter if inflation readings disappoint.

• Fitness firm Interactive Strength plans to raise up to $500M to buy Fetch.AI’s FET tokens

  • Nasdaq-listed Interactive Strength seeks to raise $500M to build a crypto treasury focused on Fetch.AI’s FET token.

  • The company already secured $55M and began accumulating FET to fuel its AI-driven fitness ecosystem strategy.

  • Leadership aims to create the largest corporate AI-token portfolio and integrate autonomous agents into fitness tools.

• Crypto funds’ assets hit record high in May as investors hedge and diversify

  • Crypto fund assets reached a record $167B in May following a $7B inflow into 294 funds to hedge portfolio risk.

  • Bitcoin and Ether funds attracted $5.5B and $0.9B inflows respectively, highlighting institutional interest and ETF momentum.

  • Investors diversified amid easing trade tensions, moving away from equities and gold toward digital asset hedges.

CONTENT

• Cursor CEO: Going Beyond Code, Superintelligent AI Agents, And Why Taste Still Matters

  • Michael Truell shares Cursor’s journey from false starts to building a tool that could replace programming entirely.

  • He discusses the challenges of scaling, early hiring strategy, and why product taste remains a critical differentiator.

  • The episode explores agentic AI, new coding paradigms, and how Cursor aligns with the future of creative software.

• ‘$100M brands are being built for boring products’– Harley Finkelstein

  • Shopify’s Harley Finkelstein explains how simple products like soap and tea can anchor billion-dollar consumer brands.

  • He emphasizes storytelling, niche focus, and repetition as tools to stand out and scale in saturated markets.

  • The conversation also touches on Shopify's internal AI plans, storytelling as strategy, and longevity as a founder edge.

• DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis on how AI is reshaping Google

  • Demis Hassabis discusses DeepMind’s latest models and how they aim to solve reasoning, planning, and creativity.

  • He outlines AI’s role in transforming healthcare, education, and work—and predicts what daily life might look like by 2030.

  • The interview also dives into AGI risks, scaling challenges, and how Google is preparing for an AI-first future.

AND MORE…

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• Millions more to have robotic surgery in NHS plan to cut waiting lists

  • NHS aims to increase robot-assisted procedures from 70,000 to 500,000 per year by 2035.

  • Plan covers keyhole cancer, hysterectomy, joint replacement, and emergency surgeries to boost precision.

  • Officials expect shorter hospital stays, faster recoveries, and eased pressure on surgical waiting lists.

• Tesla sets tentative June 22 launch for robotaxi service in Austin

  • Tesla plans to launch 10–20 driverless Model Y robotaxis in Austin starting June 22, pending safety checks.

  • Vehicles will be software-upgraded, teleoperator-supported, and geofenced to pre-approved zones.

  • Musk’s debut aims to prove self-driving tech viability amid investor scrutiny and regulatory attention.