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

In today’s edition we are tackling the following:

🌓 Bitcoin goes to the moon after Trump’s win.
🎯 OpenAI new models show slower rates of progress.
🖼️ Turing painting by AI sells for more than $1M.
🦾 Robotics prosthetics are here.
🌭 Space Force has a robot dog that can detect nukes.

AI

• The push for Elon Musk to lead American AI policy is already starting

  • Nonprofit group ARI petitioned Trump to make Musk special AI adviser, citing his technical expertise and influence in AI.

  • Musk’s history with OpenAI and recent safety advocacy is seen as an asset, despite potential conflicts of interest.

  • ARI argues Musk could protect AI development while ensuring safety, aiming for 10,000 signatures on the proposal.

• OpenAI reportedly struggling to improve its next big AI model

  • OpenAI's new model, Orion, shows smaller improvements than expected, raising concerns of a performance plateau.

  • AI experts question whether scaling models alone can drive future gains as available data and compute power become limited.

  • Some, like Gary Marcus, argue AI is hitting diminishing returns; Altman remains optimistic but concedes resource constraints.

• X is testing a free version of AI chatbot Grok

  • X plans to make its AI chatbot Grok accessible to free users, expanding from the Premium-only model.

  • Currently testing in New Zealand, free access has limits: 10 queries per two hours for Grok-2 and 20 for Grok-2 mini.

  • xAI's move aims to grow Grok's userbase and compete with models like ChatGPT and Gemini by speeding up feedback.

ROBOTICS

• Painting by an AI robot sells for more than $1 million

  • Ai-Da, a humanoid robot artist, sold her Alan Turing painting for $1,084,800, surpassing the £100,000-£150,000 estimate.

  • Programmed with complex algorithms, Ai-Da created and selected three Turing portraits, using her robotic arms to add final textures.

  • Ai-Da's work aims to spark discussions about the role of emerging technologies in art and creativity.

• Space Force's Robot Dog Can Detect Nuclear, Chemical Weapons

  • Space Force’s Chappie robot dog detects nuclear and chemical threats, patrolling base areas autonomously.

  • Airman Dominic Garcia developed Chappie with a $1.24 million grant, inspired by his deployment in Syria.

  • Equipped with CBRN sensors, Chappie adds a unique tech layer to US defense operations.

• Humanoid robot highlighted in Beijing’s half marathon

  • Tiangong, a humanoid robot, paced runners at Beijing’s Yizhuang Half Marathon, crossing the finish line with them.

  • Known as the first electric-drive humanoid robot, it supports pacing and tracks metrics like heart rate and temperature.

  • Safety robots at the event monitored the crowd and provided emergency medical supplies if needed.

CRYPTO

• Bitcoin has topped $87,000 for a new record high.

  • Bitcoin hit a record $87,083 as investors anticipate Trump’s pro-crypto stance, with recent gains exceeding 28%.

  • The election victory sparked optimism over deregulation and legislative support, bolstering investor interest.

  • Risks remain high; crypto’s volatile nature continues to pose financial and environmental concerns.

• a16z says it is “very optimistic” that the US government will “foster innovation” in crypto

  • Crypto leaders view the post-election environment as a unique chance to boost U.S. crypto growth.

  • Regulatory clarity on tokens, decentralization, and consumer protections may enable responsible industry expansion.

  • New frameworks, like the Decentralized Unincorporated Nonprofit Association (DUNA), support compliant U.S.-based crypto projects.

• The U.S. Government Is One Step Closer To Holding 1 Million Bitcoins

  • Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced the BITCOIN Act, aiming to create a strategic reserve of 1 million Bitcoins.

  • The bill mandates purchasing up to 200,000 Bitcoin annually for five years, storing them for 20 years before potential sale.

  • Crypto supporters view this as a push for the U.S. to secure a foothold in the global Bitcoin landscape before other nations act.

CONTENT

• Dario Amodei: Anthropic CEO on Claude, AGI & the Future of AI & Humanity

  • Lex Fridman sits down with Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, Amanda Askell is an AI researcher Amanda Askell and Chris Olah.

  • Askell is an AI researcher working on Claude's character and personality, while Olah is working on mechanistic interpretability.

  • The total run time of the episode if over 5 hours.

• A conversation with OpenAI's CPO Kevin Weil, Anthropic's CPO Mike Krieger, and Sarah Guo

  • Discussion focus on ‘incorporating AI into your work and where it’s going.’

  • Recorded live at Lenny and Friends Summit on October 24th in San Francisco.

  • Total run time of 40 minutes.

• They're Building Him an AI Powered Robotic Arm

  • Atom Limbs is building vertically integrated, robotic arms driven by AI.

  • The arms are capable of near-full human range of motion, restore a basic sense of touch, and be mind-controlled.

  • They aim to own quality and cost to deliver value to amputees.

AND MORE…

• AI protein-prediction tool AlphaFold3 is now open source

  • AlphaFold3’s code is now downloadable for academic use, allowing researchers to model protein interactions independently.

  • The open-source release enables studies of drug interactions, previously restricted on DeepMind’s web server.

  • Rival models, such as those by ByteDance and Baidu, have also emerged, yet remain limited to non-commercial applications.

• Amazon developing driver eyeglasses to shave seconds off deliveries

  • Amazon’s ‘Amelia’ eyeglasses aim to guide drivers via turn-by-turn navigation, enhancing last-mile delivery speed.

  • Challenges include achieving all-day battery life, collecting extensive geographic data, and ensuring driver comfort.

  • The glasses, inspired by Echo Frames, could be required for contract drivers, though testing and refinement may take years.

• Google’s AI ‘learning companion’ takes chatbot answers a step further

  • Google’s new Learn About tool uses the LearnLM AI model to deliver interactive responses focused on deeper learning.

  • Unlike Gemini, it emphasizes educational elements with features like vocabulary aids, 'why it matters’ boxes, and others.

  • Designed for educational use, it also provides contextualized answers to clarify common misconceptions and aid concept mastery.