Robot Replacements, Galaxy XR, $133 Million Raised By General Intuition, ChatGPT’s Atlas Browser

I’ve been doing loads of analysis into the consequences of AI on media, together with social media, and the craft of content material creation. Each NPR and CBS interviewed me and requested “why are individuals so afraid of AI?” Persons are afraid of shedding their jobs, I advised them. They usually have good causes to be. After I learn tales like this subsequent one about Amazon, it seems like the reply is extra apparent than the query. Nobody is in cost, no guardrails or limits are in place. The one factor we are able to do is take our drugs, adapt and in some way flip this period of epic disruption to our benefit.

07 Could 2025, North Rhine-Westphalia, Dortmund: A gripper arm of the Vulcan robotic picks up a product from an Amazon cell warehouse shelf. This robotic, geared up with particular cameras and sensors, is for use increasingly steadily in Amazon areas sooner or later. It’s supposed to alleviate workers of labor and make their jobs simpler, as they’ll then need to stretch and bend much less. Picture: Wolf von Dewitz/dpa (Picture by Wolf von Dewitz/image alliance by way of Getty Photographs)

dpa/image alliance by way of Getty Photographs

Amazon plans to replace more than half a million jobs with robots by 2033. The NY Occasions revealed inner firm paperwork Tuesday. Amazon’s automation crew estimates the corporate can keep away from hiring greater than 160,000 individuals within the US that it might in any other case want by 2027, saving thirty cents on every merchandise it delivers. A dissonant companion article introduces Sparrow, Cardinal and Proteus, the chipper robots that will replace the human workers in the company’s warehouses.

Meta is cutting about 600 positions across its AI division as it consolidates research under the newly formed TBD Lab, which now leads its push toward superintelligence. Legacy items like FAIR and product AI groups are being folded into fewer, extra targeted teams. New Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang advised workers the purpose is smaller groups with better influence. The corporate is encouraging affected workers to use for different jobs inside Meta and expects most will discover one other place internally. It continues hiring for TBD Lab and different model-building efforts. On this recreation of company musical chairs, even the disruptors’ jobs will not be protected.

Samsung’s new Galaxy XR headset launched on Oct 21 2025 in the U.S. with an $1,800 Price Tag. We welcome Samsung again to the world of XR that it exited after making a mark with the smartphone-powered Samsung Gear in 2016. That shipped six million items and was supplanted by the sadly stillborn Samsung View for Google Daydream. Regardless of these whippings, the Android smartphone maker is again with a state-of-the-art combined actuality headset powered by Google and Qualcomm, the primary of many Google Android XR gadgets to come back. The brand new Galaxy XR options twin 3,552 × 3,840 Micro-OLED shows (default 72 Hz, as much as 90 Hz), 16 GB RAM, Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chip, and runs Android XR OS, giving entry to each cell and XR-optimized apps. All of it permits 3D looking of your 2D picture library, one thing that can make you say ‘Wow!’ Once you first see it. The headset is positioned for prosumers and enterprise slightly than mass market, with a broader XR product roadmap deliberate by Google. Cnet editor Scott Stein, their top specialist in XR, said “the headset felt like an open door for product ideas to come,” and that Gemini is its killer app.

Normal Instinct raises $133.7 million seed spherical for AI Coaching information generated by video games. GI goes to coach AI brokers in spatial-temporal reasoning utilizing billions of user-generated recreation movies. CEO Pim de Witte says this real-world visible information helps brokers study to navigate environments and predict actions, which can be utilized to coach robots, drones, and autos. Khosla Ventures and Normal Catalyst led the spherical, which adopted a reported $500 million acquisition try by OpenAI.

OpenAI has launched Atlas, a free Mac browser that merges ChatGPT with live web access. Customers can chat with the mannequin about any web page, or, for paid subscribers, let “agent mode” carry out looking duties autonomously. Atlas runs on Chromium and contains parental controls, incognito mode, and granular permissions for logins, cookies, and information sharing. OpenAI warns that agent mode will increase privateness dangers since it may act on logged-in websites, although it can not execute code or entry native information. The non-obligatory “recollections” characteristic personalizes experiences however shops extra information, elevating questions on surveillance, promoting, and long-term info safety. Two days after OpenAI’s Atlas, Microsoft re-launches a nearly identical AI browser.

App Building AI startup Rocket has raised a $15 million seed round. Surat-based in a seed spherical led by Salesforce Ventures and Accel, with participation from Collectively Fund. Based by Vishal Virani, Rahul Shingala, and Deepak Dhanak, Rocket affords an AI platform that lets customers construct production-ready apps utilizing pure language. The corporate says greater than 400,000 customers throughout 180 nations have created over 500,000 apps since launch. The brand new capital will fund R&D, hiring, and a brand new workplace in Palo Alto because the startup expands internationally. Rocket grew out of DhiWise, an earlier developer software constructed by the identical crew.

nDreams’ Reach a new VR cinematic action-adventure for the Quest 3, PSVR and Steam won this rave evaluation from Add’s Henry Stockdale, who stated “Attain is an exemplary hit that excels in its VR-focused design, and it’s out at present on most main platforms.”

This column has a companion, The AI/XR Podcast, hosted by its creator, Charlie Fink, and Ted Schilowitz, former studio government and futurist for Paramount and Fox, and Rony Abovitz, founding father of Magic Leap. This week’s visitor is Rikard Steiber, former Google and HTC Vive SVP, turned Enterprise investor. We will be discovered on Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube.