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Hey, Explorer!

The next big thing getting the AI treatment appears to be robots. 🤖 That can’t possibly go wrong. In other news, we’re going to show you how to use AI to land your next job and how to set up a Midjourney bot on your own private Discord server, just because we like you. Let’s go adventuring!

In this edition of Strange Magic…

• 🦾 Google releases RT-2, AI for robots

• 🪙 Worldcoin puts your identity on the blockchain

• 🤝 Use AI to beat AI and snag your next job

• 👩‍💻 Browse the web your way with Arc

Read time: 6 minutes

🔮 What’s New

Robots are evolving. Everything is fine.

We are probably a long way from having Robocop or Johnny 5 (look it up kids) by our sides, but huge advances in AI are bringing huge advances in robotics much closer into view. At the forefront of these advances sits Google. You’ve probably heard of them. And, this week they showed off their newest AI model, RT-2.

According to Google, RT-2 is “… a novel vision-language-action (VLA) model that learns from both web and robotics data, and translates this knowledge into generalized instructions for robotic control.”

In human, that means Google is combining its language models like Bard with robotic data to help robots comprehend natural language instructions instead of relying on limited programmed skills.

They apparently don’t always understand the subtle differences between LaCroix water flavors, but this is a huge step towards bringing about autonomous general purpose robots.

Go regulate yourself!

While various governments around the world grapple with the pace of innovation and implementation of AI regulation, the four largest players in the space have joined forces with the creation of the “Frontier Model Forum”.

Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic formed the self-governing group that’s open to additional members developing frontier AI, a term that Open AI defines as “highly capable foundation models that could possess dangerous capabilities sufficient to pose severe risks to public safety.”

The group laid out four initial goals for advancing AI safety research, identifying best practices for responsible development, collaborating with policymakers and academics, and supporting efforts to build the types of applications that could most benefit society.

Advocates will applaud the voluntary steps from these industry leaders, and naysayers may see this as a side-step against enforceable regulation from government groups. But, at least the conversation is active, and every step towards transparency, oversight, and responsible competition is a good thing.

In Other News

• On top of the Worldcoin: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (aka Millennial Musk) has launched his newest venture, a crypto identity product called Worldcoin. The stated goal is to give everyone a verifiable identity in a world soon to be overrun with deepfakes and digital clones. But, some people aren’t into scanning their iris in exchange for crypto tokens.

• Over to you, AI: Broadcasters have been testing AI voice commentary on some sports highlights, like these Wimbeldon clips. The U.S. Open is the next event incorporating IBM’s WastonX tech. While viewers have mixed reviews on the quality of the AI commentators, the broadcasters say the AI is just there to relieve the real talent of their more tedious duties.

• Your AI coach would like to connect: Microsoft owned LinkedIn appears to be working AI into its platform, recently launching an AI assisted Enhance Profile feature that helps users write headlines and bios. Now rumors have surfaced that a LinkedIn coach chat bot may be bringing more ways to help users connect and find jobs.

   

📖 Good Reads

How to use AI to get hired

It’s no real secret that AI and automated systems have infiltrated the hiring pipeline, but what can job seekers do about it? For starters, use AI as an ally instead of an enemy in your job hunt. The tools in this article will give you an advantage against the machines that may hold your next career move in their digital hands.

A view from the creative frontlines

New machine learning tools are democratizing the creative process, allowing more people to build and create, even without formal training. These tools are increasingly being adopted into professional workflows too. But, as the technology evolves and more tools make creation even easier, the focus has to be on how humans use technology to enhance creativity, not replace it.

More Reads

• Publishers want billions, not millions, from AI 

• On holding back the strange AI tide

• AI Won’t Replace Human Spies, Says Britain’s MI6 Chief

⚙️ Try These

• Decorify: From the online home goods retailer Wayfair, Decorify lets users upload an image of a room for a generative AI remodel complete with purchasable furniture. Right now, it’s free to use on the web, but only fully supports living rooms.

• Rosebud: If you have ever considered journaling, Rosebud is a journaling app that uses AI to uncover insights, summarize, and auto-tag your entries for a more in-depth and complete journaling experience.

• Arc Browser: While the newly released V1.0 of the Arc browser doesn’t tout loads of AI integrations, it does promise an entirely new browsing experience, built for customization, personalization, and utility. It’s a little strange trying a wildly different browser after years of the same old thing, but it’s also kind of exhilarating.

🧪 The Lab

• How to set up a Midjourney bot in your own private Discord: In under a minute, we’ll show you how to ditch the overstuffed Midjourney Discord channels with your own private server and Midjourney bot. Goblins forever!

✨ We’re Diggin’

• Horizon:Awakening: Gavin Holmes shows us how promising AI video can be in creative hands with this thrilling AI generated Sci-Fi trailer.

• AI robotic weed destroyer: Here’s a really interesting way that tech is moving to farms via Carbon Robotics’ AI powered precision laser weed killer.

🌤️ Fresh Air

Whats happening outside of tech?

• You can eat that?: Alexis Nicole, known on TikTok as Blackforager, teaches us amazing facts about the edible delights growing in own backyards, always in hilarious fashion, and with the prudent reminder, “Don’t die!”

• We’re Number One!: The voting is open for the very important America’s Best Bathroom contest. Honestly, we have to applaud the designers of these luxurious lavatories. Where would you go, er…vote?

Gimme that sweet, sweet feedback! We might feature it in the next newsletter.

Well, that’s enough strangeness for one day. Hope you learned something new. If you enjoyed it, please spread the word! Our robot signed up for summer pottery classes. 🤖

And, of course, if you have anything interesting to share, or just want to say hi, please feel free to reach out to us.