AI NEWS: Boston Dynamics Robot Gets Smarter, AI Pet, AI Artist, AI Sexbots, AI Massage...

If you think AI can't surprise you anymore, think again. We've got stories that range from art auctions to robotic massages, and they're all powered by artificial intelligence. We've got a robot artist about to make history at Sotheby's with a painting that could sell for nearly $200,000. There's also a furry little AI pet that's learning to love you. High tech robots flipping pancakes and and even AI travel influencers helping you plan your next trip to Germany. But that's not all. Nvidia's new AI model is breaking records. AI sexbots are sparking major ethical debates. And former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati is launching her own startup. Oh, and if you need to relax after all that, how about an AI powered robot massage? Alright, let's start with the big one. A robot artist's painting is going to auction. An AI powered humanoid robot named Aida is about to make history by having one of its paintings auctioned and at a major auction house, specifically Sotheby's in London. Now, if you're thinking, what does an AI even paint? Well, Ida's latest work is a massive 7.5 foot portrait of none other than Alan Turing, the legendary English mathematician who laid the groundwork for modern computing. They're calling it AI God and it's expected to sell for somewhere between £100,000 and £150,000. That's $130,000 to $196,000 for those of you keeping track. The robot is ultra realistic, with a human like face, large eyes and even a brown wig. What makes her unique is her use of AI algorithms, along with cameras in her eyes and bionic hands to create her art. Think about that for a second. A machine creating art that can evoke emotion, provoke thought and even reflect on the ethical dilemmas that come with AI. Ida's gallery owner Aidan Meller even mentioned that the muted tones and fragmented look of Turing's face in the portrait are meant to symbolize the very challenges he foresaw about AI back in the 1950s. It's wild that a painting created by a robot could be this deep, right? But that's not even the only thing going on in the AI art world. Aida has been making waves for a while now, having painted portraits of famous musicians like Billie Eilish, Diana ross and Paul McCartney at Glastonbury Festival. This whole auction is part of a digital art sale running from October 31 to November 7, which will explore the intersection between art and technology. And that's a space we're seeing more and more AI getting involved in. Speaking of AI companions, let's talk about the Casio Mofflin, the robot pet that wants to be your best friend. This little AI powered furball is kind of like the love child of an owl and a hamster. And it's designed to mimic the emotions of a real pet. Casio teamed up with Vanguard Industries to make it happen, and it first showed up back at sea CES 2021. Now, though, it's available for pre order in Japan for 59, 400 yen or about $400. Mofflin is no ordinary toy. It's packed with AI tech that learns from your behavior, meaning it can start reacting to things like cuddles and pats. It even has an app called MOF Life where you can track its mood, kind of like a Tamagotchi, but on steroids. The robot starts off with basic emotions, but after 25 days of interacting with it, Mofflin's emotional responses get richer. And by 50 days, it's fully matured in terms of how it shows emotions. And just like a real pet, Mofflin recognizes your voice and will react differently to yours compared to someone it's not as familiar with. Now, there's a slight downside. It only lasts about five hours on a single charge. But hey, five hours of emotional support from a cute AI creature before it needs a 3.5 hour nap. Not bad, right? Plus, if you're someone who feels bad about leaving a real pet home alone while you go to work, Mofflin might just be the perfect companion. But AI isn't just creating art or offering emotional support. Robots are now teaming up to become smarter than ever. Boston Dynamics, the company behind that incredible robot dog spot, has partnered with Toyota Research Institute to boost the intelligence of their humanoid robot, Atlas. If you're not familiar, ATLAS is one of the most advanced robots out there, capable of doing things like flipping pancakes, performing push ups and navigating tricky environments. Boston Dynamics has been doing a lot of work on making their robots more autonomous. And now, with with TRI's help, they're pushing even further into AI territory. TRI's focus has been on developing large behavior models, which are kind of like the large language models, LLMs we're used to seeing in AI tools like ChatGPT. They've been able to train robots to perform tasks with up to 90% accuracy through much shorter training sessions. What used to take millions of training cases now takes just days, dozens. That's huge because training A robot is no easy feat, especially when physical limitations come into play. Boston Dynamics electric version of Atlas is a beast. They're hoping to develop it into a general purpose humanoid robot that can eventually do everything a person can do and maybe more. Imagine having a robot that not only cleans your house, but also flips your pancakes and does your yard work, all without any additional training. It's closer to reality than you think, but don't get too excited yet. True general AI for robots is still a little ways off. And now let's move on to the AI Travel Influencer Emma the latest trendsetter in destination marketing, Germany has rolled out its first AI generated travel influencer and her name is emma. This blonde 30 something AI ambassador lives in Berlin and she's got a passion for, you guessed it, traveling. You can find her on Instagram at matravelsgermany where where she shares tips and videos about all the best places to visit in Germany. She speaks over 20 languages, responds to travelers questions and can even hold conversations on Germany's tourism website. Germany's National Tourist Board, the brains behind Emma, is working towards making her a full blown travel companion that could even provide personalized itineraries based on your preferences. The goal is to eventually partner with hotels and airlines to offer exclusive deals through Emma, making her a one stop shop for all your travel needs. But here's the catch. Right now, Emma's answers are still pretty simple. If you ask her what to do in Berlin, she'll give you a basic itinerary. But don't expect her to plan your entire trip just yet. The tourism board is working on enhancing her responses with continuous machine learning so she'll get better with time. Now Nvidia has dropped something massive, so the company quietly released a new AI model called Llama 3.1 Nimatron 70B instruction, and it's already outperforming some of the biggest names in AI, like OpenAI's GPT4. This model isn't just powerful, it's breaking benchmarks. For instance, it scored 85.0 on the Arena Hard benchmark and 57.6 on Alpaca Evil 2LC, surpassing even GPT4 Turbo. What makes this model special is its ability to handle complex queries with ease. It was able to answer detailed questions like how many Rs are in the word strawberry without needing extra prompts or tokens. Nvidia is moving beyond just being the hardware kings of AI. Now they're stepping up their software game too. Challenging companies that have traditionally focused on AI language models. Llama 3.1 Nemetron 70B instruct is expected to offer businesses a more cost effective and capable AI solution. With Nvidia's model, businesses can now experiment with AI technology at a level of sophistication that rivals the best out there. And the best part is that Nvidia offers free hosted inference through its platform, making it more accessible for companies that want to test the waters with advanced AI without the hefty price tag. Alright, now let's touch on a topic that's a little more controversial. AI Sexbots the AI sexbot industry is growing and it's bringing up some pretty strange questions about ethics and relationships. One of the leading AI companion services, Replika, has around 30 million users who create custom digital partners. These users can exchange intimate messages and even pictures with their AI companions. Now, it's important to note that this industry is facing a lot of criticism. For one, the creators of these AI systems have full control over the bots, meaning they can modify or even shut them down at any time. Plus, all the data from these interactions is being collected, raising concerns about privacy. There's also the issue of whether this technology is normalizing unhealthy behaviors. Early studies suggest that narcissism is common among users of AI sex bots, and some worry it could lead to the normalization of harmful behaviors like sadism or worse. So while AI sexbots might seem like a harmless novelty now, the long term societal impact could be a lot more complicated. Alright now big news in the AI startup world. Mira Murati, the former CTO of OpenAI, is striking out on her own. After stepping down last month, she's reportedly raising more than $100 million to fund her new AI startup. Murati didn't give a ton of details on her plans when she left OpenAI, but she hinted that she wants to focus on creating AI products based on proprietary models. This makes sense given her background in helping develop some of the most cutting edge AI systems, including her time at Tesla and Leap motion. She left OpenAI after the company had just raised a staggering $6.6 billion, which shows the massive demand for AI innovation right now. Her new startup could be the next big thing, so keep an eye out for more details soon. Next up, let's talk about an AI that could give you the most relaxing experience of your life. An AI powered robot massage from a company called Escape. Imagine this. You walk into a spa and instead of a person, two robotic arms are waiting to give you a massage. Sounds futuristic, right? The Escape machine uses a body scan to customize your massage, adjusting pressure technique and timing to fit your needs. It's even heated to about 95 degrees to give you that warm, human like touch. The massage I'm talking about was reviewed by a writer who tried it out in New York City. She was skeptical at first, but ended up being really impressed by how effective the massage was. The machine could accurately target pressure points and give a highly personalized experience, all while keeping you safe. If you move in a way the robot doesn't like, it stops. It's not perfect yet. It doesn't offer a full body massage, but it's still a game changer for people looking for a quick, customized relaxation session after a workout. Alright, that's it for today's video. If you found this helpful, hit that like button and subscribe if you haven't already. Thanks for watching and I'll catch you in the next one.