johnkoetsier

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Welcome to the agentic browser: Opera's new Neon

Will your next browser be AI-enabled? AI-first? Perhaps even an AI agent? Welcome to the age of the agentic browser … In this episode of TechFirst, we sit down with Henrik Lexow, Senior Product Leader at Opera, to explore Opera Neon, a big step toward agentic browsers that think, act, and create alongside you. (And buy stuff you want, solve hard problems, and do some of your work for you.) Check…

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Smart farm robots cut herbicide, fertilizer use by 90%

Can smart farm robots reduce herbicide and fertilizer use on farms by up to 90%? Probably yes. In this episode of TechFirst we chat with Verdant Robotics‘ CEO Gabe Sibley about SharpShooter, the company’s state-of-the-art farm tech that precisely targets herbicide and fertilizer application, massively reducing chemical use. That’s huge for the environment. It’s also huge for farmer’s pocketbooks…

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GPT-5’s System Prompt Just Leaked. Here’s What We Learned

My latest from Forbes: GPT-5’s system prompt just leaked to Github, showing what OpenAI wants ChatGPT to say, do, remember … and not do. Unsurprisingly, GPT-5 isn’t allowed to reproduce song lyrics or any other copyrighted material, even if asked. And GPT-5 is told to not remember personal facts that “could feel creepy,” or directly assert a user’s race, ethnicity, religion, or criminal…

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Inside the race to build humanoid robots with Apptronik CEO Jeff Cardenas

How will we scale humanoid robot product to hundreds of thousands and millions of units? In this TechFirst we do a deep dive with Apptronik CEO Jeff Cardenas. We chat about Apptronik’s Apollo, his recent $400M+ funding round, the partnership with manufacturing giant Jabil, and much more. We also talk about innovations in AI that have accelerated robot learning and dexterous manipulation, the…

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This personal AI is your 'twin mind'

Would you want a personal AI that acts as your twin mind? I’ve always dreamed of never forgetting anything. And instantly and effortlessly remembering anything I need, right away. Now, an AI-driven app called TwinMind might help me do something similar. In this episode of TechFirst we chat with Daniel George, the CEO of TwinMind. This innovative AI app aims to become your second brain, capturing…

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Drones, robots, & AI: future of military tech?

Will humanoid robots ever make sense for combat? How are robots and drones impacting the future of warfare? And where will AI fit in the future of military tech? We’ve all see what’s happening in Ukraine. Drones have become a key weapon of war, and might just be the key thing helping Ukraine defend against a much bigger opponent. What does this mean about the future of combat? And will AI-driven…

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Tiny AI: 8 kilobyte neural networks in shoes, bikes, cameras

AI is big these days. Massive. More parameters, more memory, more capability. But what if the future is in tiny AI. Neural networks as small at 8 kilobytes on tiny chips, embedded in everything? Think smart shoes. Smart doors. Smart … everything In this episode of TechFirst, host John Koetsier discusses the future of smart devices with Yubei Chen, co-founder of AIzip: The conversation explores…

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This Car Launches Drones From The Roof While You Drive

My latest at Forbes … Chinese EV maker BYD is partnering with drone manufacturer DJI to make science fiction Blade Runner-style movie magic real: a drone that launches from the roof of your car while driving. It even has gull-wing-style doors that open the drone launch pad for take-off. It’s now available in mainland China for 16,000 yuan, or about $2,200 USD. Get the full story

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AI Agents Mean We Are The ‘Last Generation Of Managers To Manage A Wholly Human Workforce

My latest at Forbes … Salesforce on Tuesday launched AgentExchange, a marketplace where developers can create and sell AI agents, and businesses can browse, test and buy pre-built AI actions, templates and agent solutions. Launching with “more than 200 initial partners” and “hundreds of ready-made solutions,” AgentExchange will help businesses build out an AI agent workforce to complement and…

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Robots Making Robots: These Humanoid Robots Are Getting Set To Reproduce

My latest at Forbes … Robotics manufacturer Apptronik announced this week that it has signed a strategic collaboration agreement with design and manufacturing giant Jabil to build, test, and deploy Apptronik’s Apollo humanoid robots. It’s not exactly a Von Neumann machine, but this is a big deal that will eventually see robots building robots. While Apptronik has significant expertise and just…

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61% Of Americans Too Afraid To Ride In Self-Driving Cars

My latest at Forbes … Six out of ten American drivers are afraid to ride in a self-driving car, according to a new survey by AAA, and only 13% think the development of self-driving technology for cars is a priority. That’s down from two years ago when 18% of Americans thought autonomous vehicles should be a priority, but up from just 9% last year. See the full post here

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World’s Largest Chip Sets AI Speed Record, Beating Nvidia

Most computer chips are the size of a postage stamp. The WSE packs 4 trillion transistors into a massive square, 8.5 inches on each side.

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Humanoid Robots Is The ‘Space Race Of Our Time,’ Says Apptronik CEO Jeff Cardenas

China is investing $138 billion in its domestic robotics industry. The first countries to create effective humanoid robots will have a huge manufacturing advantage.

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IBM Starling: 20,000X Faster Than Today’s Quantum Computers

“We really have a path to make this viable in this timescale.” IBM will have a fully fault tolerant large-scale quantum computer by 2029 …

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Hardware, Software, Meet Wetware: A Computer With 800,000 Human Neurons

The Cortical Labs CL1 costs $35,000 and has 800,000 human brain cells living and growing in a nutrient solution on a silicon chip.

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Watch The World’s First Humanoid Robot Kickboxing Match

Should UFC fighters be worried about their jobs? Humanoid robots are now engaging in kickboxing competitions, powered by AI-driven learning.

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Apple’s New Party App: Shockingly, People Actually Like It

Apple’s last app release for Sports was a dud for me (and most, it seems). But its newest app might just be a hit … From my latest post at Forbes: Apple Invites is a perfect potpourri app for Apple fans. It uses deep integrations with Apple’s apps for photos, emojis, calendaring, maps, music and weather to create party and event invitations. You can create them in about three minutes and they…