Robotics & A.I. News

Who is Timothy Morrissey, Ph.D.

Timothy Morrissey, Ph.D., is a mechanical engineer and entrepreneur, primarily known as the co-founder and CEO of Artimus Robotics, a company that develops soft robotics technology, particularly HASEL actuators. These actuators are artificial muscles designed to be more flexible and human-like compared to traditional robotic hardware. Morrissey’s background includes a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he and his team transitioned their research into the foundation of Artimus Robotics in 2018.

Morrissey has extensive experience in both technical engineering and entrepreneurial leadership. He led Artimus through securing National Science Foundation (NSF) funding to further develop and commercialize their robotics technology, with applications spanning industrial automation, defense, and healthcare​.

He also has a varied career in materials science and consumer products, having been involved in startups and creating content related to science and technology and is currently an investor with Drive Capital.

Geoffrey Hinton – Nobody is Working on Controlling A.I.

What advice would you give researchers entering the A.I. field.

“One piece of advice I’d give. Look at how many people are working on making these models and how many are working on preventing them from getting out of control. 99% of innovation is focused on making it better, and not controlling it.”

Hinton is also concerned A.I. will essentially wipe out jobs for an entire class of people and will become experts at manipulating us. He thinks the bots will be able to control and manipulate us like a parent could to a toddler.

Baja Adventures

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Baja Adventures

Who is Gaelan Brown

Gaelan Brown is one of the world’s leading renewable energy experts and author known for his work in promoting compost-powered heat systems. He is the author of The Compost-Powered Water Heater, a guide on how to extract heat from composting organic matter. His approach leverages the natural thermophilic process of composting to generate heat, which can be used for heating buildings, greenhouses, and water, offering an environmentally friendly and fuel-free energy solution.

Brown has been involved in numerous compost-heat recovery projects around the world, from Vermont to Chile, and has worked with Agrilab Technologies to refine compost heat systems for larger-scale applications, like farms and commercial compost producers. These systems, including the Isobar system, use compost to generate heat efficiently, often providing a significant financial return in energy savings. He also lives in a tiny house and advocates for sustainable living.

Who is Andrew Rush

Andrew Rush (CEO and Space Entrepreneur): He is known for his work in the space industry as the co-founder and former CEO of Made In Space, a company that pioneered 3D printing in space. After Made In Space was acquired by Redwire in 2020, Andrew became its President and helped take the company public. Currently, he leads Star Catcher Industries, a company aiming to build the first space-based power grid, designed to supply satellites with additional energy in low-Earth orbit​

Star Catcher – Power to Go Beyond.

Listen to a recent podcast interview here.

Who is Jensen Huang

Jensen Huang is the co-founder and CEO of NVIDIA Corporation, a leading technology company best known for designing graphics processing units (GPUs) that revolutionized industries like gaming, artificial intelligence (AI), and data centers. Born on February 17, 1963, in Taiwan, Huang moved to the United States as a child and later studied electrical engineering, earning a degree from Oregon State University and a master’s degree from Stanford University.

Huang co-founded NVIDIA in 1993 with a vision of creating hardware that would advance 3D graphics. Under his leadership, NVIDIA not only succeeded in the gaming market with its GeForce line of GPUs but also expanded into AI and deep learning, where its GPUs became essential for powering large-scale machine learning models. Today, NVIDIA is at the forefront of AI development, autonomous vehicles, and high-performance computing.

Huang is known for his visionary leadership, often emphasizing the role of GPUs in AI and computing innovation. He has received numerous awards, including recognition as one of the world’s top business leaders. His impact on the tech industry is widely regarded as transformative.

NVIDIA llama3-70b Model

Did hardware NVIDIA giant just signal that they are not getting into the language model race with Google and OpenAI? Try out their new A.I. chat on their website or here is the python code to try it.

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
  base_url = "https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1",
  api_key = "$API_KEY_REQUIRED_IF_EXECUTING_OUTSIDE_NGC"
)

completion = client.chat.completions.create(
  model="meta/llama3-70b-instruct",
  messages=[{"role":"user","content":"Write a limerick about the wonders of GPU computing."}],
  temperature=0.5,
  top_p=1,
  max_tokens=1024,
  stream=True
)

for chunk in completion:
  if chunk.choices[0].delta.content is not None:
    print(chunk.choices[0].delta.content, end="")

Optimus Robots are Fake

Multiple reports are surfacing online that the Optimus robots shown serving drinks at the recent We, Robot event last week by Elon Musk was staged.

We’re a little unsure what that means but apparently multiple people have come forward and admitted that the robots were in fact walking autonomously, but they were not serving drinks or talking with the crowd. Those were people in special suits controlling the robots remotely.

This is not robotics, it’s remote control.

They still look impressive but what else about the demo(s) we’ve seen are engineers with joysticks vs true A.I. navigating the world.

Who is Sam Altman?

Sam Altman is a prominent figure in the tech world, known for his work as an entrepreneur, investor, and, most notably, as the CEO of OpenAI, the artificial intelligence research organization that has become a leader in advancing the capabilities of AI. Altman’s influence extends beyond just artificial intelligence, however; he has made significant contributions to the startup ecosystem through his role as the president of Y Combinator, one of the world’s most successful startup accelerators. Like other high-profile tech figures, Altman’s vision is focused on the future, with ambitions to solve some of the world’s most challenging problems.

Early Life and Education

Samuel H. Altman was born on April 22, 1985, in St. Louis, Missouri. From a young age, he showed an aptitude for technology, learning to program computers when he was only 8 years old. Altman attended Stanford University, where he studied computer science, but like many Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, he dropped out to pursue his own ventures.

Altman’s early exposure to technology, along with his experience growing up in the Midwest, shaped his pragmatic yet forward-thinking approach to problem-solving. His childhood passion for coding and technology would eventually lead him to some of the most innovative corners of the tech world.

Loopt: The First Entrepreneurial Foray

Altman’s first major entrepreneurial venture was Loopt, a location-based social networking app that he co-founded in 2005 when he was just 19 years old. Loopt was designed to allow users to share their location with friends in real time, a concept that was ahead of its time but eventually became mainstream with apps like Foursquare and Google Maps.

Despite raising $30 million in venture capital, Loopt struggled to gain widespread adoption. In 2012, the company was sold to Green Dot Corporation for $43 million. While Loopt wasn’t a massive commercial success, the experience gave Altman a foothold in Silicon Valley and opened doors to bigger opportunities in the tech ecosystem.

Y Combinator: Fostering Innovation

In 2014, Altman became the president of Y Combinator (YC), a startup accelerator that provides funding, mentorship, and resources to early-stage companies. Under his leadership, YC expanded significantly, becoming one of the most influential institutions in Silicon Valley. YC has been instrumental in the growth of several billion-dollar startups, including Airbnb, Dropbox, Reddit, and Stripe, among others.

Altman’s tenure at Y Combinator marked a period of tremendous growth for the organization. He was known for his ability to identify talented founders and his emphasis on scalable, high-impact technology startups. During his time at YC, Altman also introduced initiatives like YC Continuity, which provides follow-on funding for later-stage startups, and YC Research, a nonprofit arm focused on long-term projects like artificial intelligence and basic income.

His leadership helped cement Y Combinator’s reputation as one of the top startup accelerators in the world, with its companies collectively valued at over $300 billion.

OpenAI: Shaping the Future of Artificial Intelligence

In 2015, Sam Altman co-founded OpenAI alongside Elon Musk and other notable tech figures with the mission to ensure that artificial intelligence (AI) benefits all of humanity. OpenAI was initially established as a non-profit research organization, with the goal of developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) that is safe and aligned with human values. Altman became the CEO of OpenAI in 2019, and under his leadership, the organization has developed groundbreaking AI technologies, including the GPT series of language models.

GPT-3 and GPT-4, the latter of which powers this very conversation, are some of the most advanced AI models in existence, capable of generating human-like text, answering complex questions, and even creating software. These advancements have garnered significant attention and spurred widespread discussions about the ethical and societal implications of AI.

Altman’s leadership at OpenAI has also focused on ensuring that powerful AI systems are developed in a way that minimizes risks, such as potential misuse or the concentration of power in too few hands. In 2019, OpenAI transitioned from a non-profit to a “capped-profit” model, allowing it to attract the massive funding required to compete with tech giants while staying committed to its core mission of aligning AI with humanity’s best interests.

Altman’s Broader Vision and Investments

Beyond OpenAI and Y Combinator, Sam Altman has a keen interest in other transformative technologies. He has invested in a wide range of companies, including Airbnb, Stripe, and Reddit, as well as more speculative ventures in fields like energy and biotechnology. One of his notable investments is in Helion Energy, a company focused on developing nuclear fusion technology—a potential game-changer for clean, unlimited energy.

Altman has publicly stated that he is particularly interested in problems that are both large in scale and difficult to solve, such as improving the quality of life for billions of people. His work on universal basic income (UBI), an idea that proposes providing a guaranteed income to all citizens, reflects his forward-thinking approach to addressing the societal challenges posed by technological progress, particularly automation and AI.

Leadership Style and Public Persona

Altman is known for his analytical and philosophical approach to leadership. He has a reputation for being thoughtful, methodical, and focused on long-term outcomes rather than short-term gains. Unlike some other tech leaders, Altman tends to stay out of the spotlight, preferring to let his work speak for itself.

Despite his relatively low-key public persona, Altman is active on social media and frequently shares his thoughts on a wide range of topics, including AI, economics, and the future of humanity. He is known for his optimism about technology’s ability to solve major global problems, but he also acknowledges the risks, particularly in fields like artificial intelligence.

The Future: Altman’s Legacy in the Making

Sam Altman’s career is defined by his desire to tackle the biggest challenges of our time, from space exploration and AI to energy sustainability and economic inequality. His work at OpenAI, in particular, has positioned him as a central figure in the debate about the future of artificial intelligence and its potential to reshape society.

As AI continues to develop at a rapid pace, Altman’s role in guiding its ethical and responsible use will be critical. His ambition to ensure that AI benefits all of humanity, not just a privileged few, is at the core of his vision for the future.

Conclusion

Sam Altman is a visionary leader who has left an indelible mark on the tech industry, from fostering innovation through Y Combinator to spearheading advancements in artificial intelligence with OpenAI. His journey is far from over, and his influence is likely to grow as the technologies he champions—such as AI, clean energy, and universal basic income—become increasingly central to global conversations about the future.

Whether as an entrepreneur, investor, or thought leader, Altman’s work reflects a commitment to using technology to solve humanity’s most pressing challenges. He stands at the forefront of efforts to ensure that future technologies are not only powerful but also equitable and beneficial to society at large.

4o

Who is Elon Musk?

Elon Musk is one of the most influential and controversial figures of the 21st century, known for his bold vision of the future and groundbreaking ventures in space exploration, electric vehicles, and artificial intelligence. Musk’s name is synonymous with innovation and disruption, as he has continuously pushed the boundaries of what is technologically possible. His ventures range from founding cutting-edge companies to making audacious predictions about humanity’s future. But who exactly is Elon Musk, and what has made him such a dominant force in today’s world?

Early Life and Education

Born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa, Musk grew up in a family that valued education and curiosity. His father, Errol Musk, was an engineer, and his mother, Maye Musk, was a model and dietitian. From an early age, Elon showed a fascination with technology and science, teaching himself computer programming at the age of 12 and selling a video game called Blastar for $500.

After moving to the United States to attend the University of Pennsylvania, Musk earned degrees in physics and economics. He briefly pursued a PhD at Stanford University but dropped out after just two days to focus on entrepreneurship. This decision marked the beginning of a career filled with ventures aimed at changing the world.

Zip2, PayPal, and the Early Years of Entrepreneurship

Musk’s first major entrepreneurial success came with Zip2, a software company he co-founded with his brother, Kimbal Musk, in 1996. Zip2 provided business directories and maps for newspapers, which was a novel idea at the time. In 1999, Compaq acquired Zip2 for nearly $300 million, giving Musk his first significant financial success.

He then co-founded X.com, an online payment company, which later became PayPal after a merger. PayPal revolutionized online payments, and when eBay bought it in 2002 for $1.5 billion in stock, Musk became a multi-millionaire. However, his ambitions were much larger than revolutionizing online payments.

SpaceX: Taking Humanity to the Stars

Perhaps Musk’s most audacious venture is SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.), which he founded in 2002 with the goal of reducing the cost of space travel and making life multi-planetary. Initially, SpaceX faced numerous challenges, including failed rocket launches and financial difficulties. However, in 2008, SpaceX became the first privately-funded company to send a liquid-fueled rocket into orbit.

In 2012, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft became the first commercial vehicle to deliver cargo to the International Space Station, solidifying the company’s place in space exploration. Musk’s ultimate goal with SpaceX is to establish a human colony on Mars, which he believes is crucial for the long-term survival of humanity. His Starship program, aimed at building fully reusable spacecraft, is central to this vision.

Tesla: Electrifying the Automotive Industry

While SpaceX was taking off, Musk joined Tesla Motors (now Tesla, Inc.) in 2004, just a year after its founding, by investing $6.3 million and becoming the largest shareholder. Under his leadership, Tesla grew from a fledgling electric car company to the most valuable automaker in the world.

Tesla’s Model S, Model 3, and Model Y have set benchmarks for electric vehicles (EVs), proving that EVs can be fast, luxurious, and accessible to a wide range of consumers. Tesla also expanded into solar energy and battery storage solutions, furthering Musk’s goal of accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy.

Tesla has not been without its controversies, however. Musk’s leadership style, his unpredictable tweets, and the company’s ambitious production goals have led to legal battles, criticism from industry experts, and volatility in Tesla’s stock price.

The Boring Company, Neuralink, and Other Ventures

Beyond Tesla and SpaceX, Musk has launched other ventures with bold ambitions. The Boring Company, for example, aims to solve urban traffic issues by building underground tunnel networks for high-speed transportation. Though in its early stages, the company has already begun testing this concept in cities like Las Vegas.

Another venture, Neuralink, seeks to develop brain-computer interface technology to help treat neurological conditions and, eventually, enable symbiosis between humans and artificial intelligence. Musk has voiced concerns about AI potentially becoming a threat to humanity, and Neuralink is one way he envisions helping humans keep pace with machine intelligence.

Personal Life and Public Persona

Elon Musk’s personal life has been the subject of intense media scrutiny. He has been married multiple times, has 11 children, and has dated celebrities like musician Grimes. Despite his remarkable achievements, Musk is no stranger to controversy. He has faced backlash for his comments on social media, including run-ins with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over tweets that affected Tesla’s stock price. His brash personality and often provocative statements have earned him as many critics as admirers.

Musk is known for his incredible work ethic, often working upwards of 100 hours per week across his various ventures. He has shared that he is driven by a deep sense of urgency to solve the world’s biggest problems, from climate change to the potential existential threat posed by artificial intelligence.

Legacy and Future Vision

Elon Musk’s impact on industries like aerospace, automotive, and energy is undeniable. He has not only pioneered the rise of electric vehicles and private space travel, but he has also created new paradigms for innovation and business. He has fundamentally challenged how people think about transportation, energy, and humanity’s future in space.

His future aspirations remain just as bold. In addition to colonizing Mars, Musk has hinted at even more disruptive ideas, like creating a sustainable energy grid for the world, building hyperloops for ultra-fast travel, and preventing humanity’s potential downfall due to superintelligent AI.

Conclusion

Elon Musk is a visionary entrepreneur who defies conventional wisdom, driven by the belief that technology can and should solve the world’s most pressing problems. Whether you admire him for his relentless drive and ambition or criticize him for his polarizing views and unconventional leadership, there’s no denying his profound impact on modern technology and society. As his ventures continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible, Musk remains a figure at the center of conversations about the future of humanity.

In many ways, Musk’s story is still being written, and only time will tell how his bold predictions and projects will shape the world. But for now, he stands as a symbol of innovation, disruption, and a relentless pursuit of the future.