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

In today’s edition, we are tackling the following:

🤖 Cornell teaches robots to learn tasks from videos in under 30 minutes.
🧠 Meta’s Llama AI models surpass 1.2B downloads and power nearly 1B users.
🎧 Google’s AI podcast summaries now support 50+ languages in 200+ countries.
📉 U.S. crypto ETFs surge as Bitcoin nears $96K amid stock market stability.
🚀 Amazon launches 27 internet satellites as it races Starlink to orbit.

AI

• Meta says its Llama AI models have been downloaded 1.2B times

  • Meta’s Llama models hit 1.2 billion downloads, driven by developer adoption and rapid open-source model experimentation.

  • Tens of thousands of derivative models have emerged, making Llama one of the most forked AI ecosystems today.

  • Meta’s assistant, powered by Llama has gained nearly one billion users across messaging platforms and productivity tools globally.

• Duolingo will replace contract workers with AI

  • Duolingo is replacing contractors with AI, which is part of its long-term shift toward becoming an AI-first education company.

  • CEO Luis von Ahn said AI will free up staff to focus on creative strategy, product design, and innovation.

  • The company plans deeper AI integration into hiring, performance reviews, and internal resource allocation going forward.

• Google's AI podcast maker is now available in over 50 languages

  • Google’s Audio Overviews tool now supports over 50 languages and converts documents into podcast-style summaries automatically.

  • Available through NotebookLM, the feature aims to expand accessibility and reduce information overload across research-heavy workflows.

  • Audio Overviews is now live in 200+ countries and will integrate with Gemini and Google Docs over time.

ROBOTICS

• How to play a $5 trillion market for humanoid robots by 2050

  • Analysts say humanoid robots could drive a $5 trillion market by 2050, led by labor automation and AI breakthroughs.

  • Companies like Tesla and Boston Dynamics are investing in industrial robots targeting factories, logistics, and healthcare sectors.

  • Investors are backing robotics startups and AI chipmakers, anticipating massive growth across enterprise and consumer verticals.

• Cornell University teaches robots new tasks from how-to videos

  • Cornell’s RHyME framework helps robots learn tasks like cooking by watching videos, cutting training time to 30 minutes.

  • The AI observes human demonstrations to mimic multi-step physical actions without pre-written code or manual engineering input.

  • Researchers say this method could simplify robot deployment across homes, offices, and commercial environments rapidly.

• A robot that you ride like a horse is being developed

  • Engineers are building a rideable robot horse that balances dynamic movement and human load across varied terrains.

  • It uses complex control systems and adaptive limbs to ensure stability, even while carrying a full-grown adult rider.

  • Future applications include agriculture, eco-tourism, and personal transport in areas inaccessible to traditional vehicles.

CRYPTO

• Bitcoin edges up to $95K; U.S. stocks remain strong as analyst warns of 'blind' market

  • Bitcoin nears $96K, its highest since February, as crypto and stock markets show resilience despite tariff concerns.

  • The CoinDesk 20 index rose 1.1%, with Bitcoin Cash leading gains, surging 6.3% amid broader market optimism.

  • Bitwise's Jeff Park cautions investors about market complacency, describing current sentiment as ‘hard to fathom how blind.’

• Kraken powers new crypto trading venture for Europe's second-largest neobank

  • Kraken partners with bunq to launch in-app crypto trading across six European countries, enhancing user access to digital assets.

  • The integration allows bunq's customers to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies directly within the neobank's mobile application.

  • This collaboration signifies Kraken's strategic expansion into mainstream banking platforms, bridging traditional finance and crypto.

• South Korea's ruling party vows to approve spot crypto ETFs

  • South Korea's People Power Party pledges to legalize spot crypto ETFs and dismantle restrictive banking regulations before year-end.

  • The proposed reforms aim to align South Korea's crypto policies with global standards, fostering a more competitive market environment.

  • These initiatives are part of a broader effort to modernize the country's digital asset framework and attract institutional investors.

CONTENT

• Mark Zuckerberg – Meta’s AGI plan

  • Zuckerberg says Llama 4 prioritizes usefulness over benchmarks, with AGI focused on assistants, agents, and personal tools.

  • He defends open-source AI, warns about export controls, and critiques reward-hacking risks in consumer-facing AI systems.

  • Topics include AI girlfriends, Orion glasses, China’s DeepSeek, and Trump’s tech influence on global AI competition.

• Stanford creativity expert: This simple shift will 10x your AI creativity

  • Jeremy Utley explains that treating AI as a teammate, not a tool, unlocks far greater creative collaboration.

  • He urges people to let AI ask questions, enabling deeper exploration and more surprising, productive ideation sessions.

  • Mindset—not skill—is the key factor behind creative success with AI, especially for non-technical professionals using LLM tools.

• Sleep time compute – AI that 'thinks' 24/7

  • Matthew Berman reveals how sleep-time compute pre-processes data offline to reduce cost and boost model efficiency.

  • It’s ideal for predictable queries, freeing up real-time compute during user interactions while maintaining strong performance.

  • The method outperforms test-time models on cost and response time, especially in reasoning and doc-heavy use cases.

AND MORE…

• Meta's ChatGPT competitor shows how your friends use AI

  • Meta launched an AI app with Llama 4, offering text, voice, image generation, and real-time search integration.

  • A Discover feed shows friends’ AI prompts, blending chat assistant tools with social sharing across Meta’s platforms.

  • The app personalizes answers using Instagram and Facebook data, currently rolling out in select English-speaking countries.

• WhatsApp is walking a tightrope between AI features and privacy

  • WhatsApp debuts Private Processing to enable AI tools like message summarization while preserving end-to-end encryption.

  • The system uses secure hardware so Meta cannot access message content during AI analysis or generation.

  • Users opt into AI features manually and can limit group AI access through advanced chat privacy settings.

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• Amazon's first 27 internet satellites launched into space

  • Amazon deployed 27 Project Kuiper satellites to begin building a global broadband internet constellation in low orbit.

  • The launch was completed by United Launch Alliance from Florida as part of a $10 billion investment.

  • Amazon plans to launch over 3,200 satellites by 2026 to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink offering.