the Microdose

Flipping Out

+ sweet moves, AI's mixed signals, and Detroit's got bots
Adam Wildheart
new Unitree R1 sport humanoid robot walks on hands and does flips
new Unitree R1 sport humanoid robot walks on hands and does flips

Unitree/The Microdose

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Cheri Wildheart
Adam Wildheart

Happy National Milk Chocolate Day 🍫 Speaking of sweet moves, Astronomer just pulled off the ultimate surrealist PR coup. They responded to the flood of publicity from Coldplay’s kiss-cam disaster by tapping the lead singer’s ex-wife Gwyneth Paltrow to reset the narrative. Who knew data workflow automation could be this entertaining?

ICYMI on Friday: Here’s the full story on the AI web protocol that’s transforming agents and robotics.

🤸‍♂️ Unitree just dropped a $5,900 humanoid robot that’s flipping the robotics world upside down. Literally. Have you seen this thing? R1 cartwheels, walks on its hands, and moves like a gymnast. Behind the slick moves and jaw-dropping price is China’s push to flood the market and collect massive amounts of real-world training data. Buckle up, Boston Dynamics. The competition just got real.

🔮 The AI market is sending mixed signals. Tech giants are cutting jobs to reallocate billions into AI infrastructure. Meanwhile, investors are quietly cashing out, often at a loss, because profits and productivity gains haven’t materialized yet. The hype machine is spinning the narrative that AI is replacing jobs, but investors aren’t buying it.

🌱 France’s Mistral AI just released its AI impact study. Each prompt produces as much carbon as streaming 10 seconds of Netflix, and drinks an espresso shot of water. Mostly harmless… until you hit billions of prompts. After 18 months, it’s like running 4,500 cars nonstop for a year and filling 100 Olympic pools. Mistral’s footprint stays smaller than the US thanks to renewable energy and cooler climates – but it’s still a reminder that even “cleaner” AI isn’t exactly clean.

🥊 Trump’s AI Action Plan is causing global backlash. The UN’s tech chief is warning that messy, country-by-country rules might boost misinformation and deepen inequalities. China also spoke up, urging global cooperation instead of letting wealthy nations control the AI game. Meanwhile, the US is pushing for fewer rules and bigger headlines.

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🤖 Detroit is swarming with real-life Wall-E robots. They’re handling chores like cleaning beaches, mowing grass, removing snow, picking up food scraps, and even charging electric buses. It’s all part of the city’s deliberate push to boost efficiency and innovation through robotics. Next up: floating La-z-boys. 

fun stats

700%

increase in AI referrals to news and media websites since June 2024 🗣️ ChatGPT accounted for more than 80% of AI referrals to the top 1k domains.

Unitree’s new R1 sporty humanoid robot is a real show off 

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