Ray Blanco:

Toyota Set To Launch World’s First Robot City at Japan’s Mount Fuji Base in 2025

At the foot of Mount Fuji, Japan has launched one of its most ambitious technological experiments, known as Woven City, a fully connected, self-contained prototype metropolis developed by Toyota Motor Corporation.

More than a decade in conceptual development and five years in construction, the 175-acre site is designed to serve as a real-world testbed for future mobility, smart infrastructure, and sustainable living.

Announced at CES 2020 and now set to launch in fall 2025, Woven City marks a critical milestone in Toyota’s transformation from an automobile manufacturer to a mobility-focused technology company.

The aim is to test autonomous systems in a controlled but fully functional urban setting. “We are building a city where everything, people, buildings, vehicles, is connected through sensors and AI,” said Akio Toyoda, Chairman of Toyota’s Board of Directors.

“It’s a unique opportunity to create a living digital operating system for urban life."

⇒ Read More Here

James Altucher:

Meta Launching AI Superintelligence Lab With Nine-Figure Pay Push

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is personally creating a new "superintelligence" team dedicated to building the world's most advanced AI platform, and splashing out nine-figure packages to hire top talent, The New York Times and Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

The Times reported that Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang would join a new Meta lab, which is intended to develop an AI with powers that ultimately exceed those of the human brain.

Meta has been in talks to invest billions of dollars in Scale and bring on some of its employees.

Zuckerberg has been personally leading recruiting for the team of about 50 people — and has even rearranged Meta's offices so the new hires sit near him.

Meta has offered compensation packages between seven and nine figures to AI researchers from top competitors, some of whom have accepted.

This follows reports that Zuckerberg has been frustrated with the pace of Meta's AI development and public stumbles, and has gone into a more hands-on mode to accelerate progress.

⇒ Read More Here

Davis Wilson:

Apple’s Upgraded AI Models Underwhelm on Performance

Apple has announced updates to the AI models that power its suite of Apple Intelligence features across iOS, macOS, and more. But according to the company’s own benchmarks, the models underperform older models from rival tech firms, including OpenAI.

Apple said in a blog post Monday that human testers rated the quality of text generated by its newest “Apple On-Device” model — which runs offline on products including the iPhone — “comparably” to, but not better than, text from similarly-sized Google and Alibaba models.

Meanwhile, those same testers rated Apple’s more capable new model, which is called “Apple Server” and designed to run in the company’s data centers, behind OpenAI’s year-old GPT-4o.

The benchmark results add credence to reports suggesting Apple’s AI research division has struggled to catch up to competitors in the cutthroat AI race. Apple’s AI capabilities in recent years have underwhelmed, and a promised Siri upgrade has been delayed indefinitely. Some customers have sued Apple, accusing the firm of marketing AI features for its products that it hasn’t yet delivered.

⇒ Read More Here