TechFirst with John Koetsier

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 h...

IBM has just unveiled its boldest quantum computing roadmap yet: Starling, the first large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer—coming in 2029. Capable of running 20,000X more operations than today’s quantum machines, Starling could unlock breakthroughs in chemistry, materials science, and optimization. According to IBM, this is not just a pie-in-the-sky roadmap: they actually have the ability t...

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 c...

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, capturi...

Microsoft just announced a massive quantum computer breakthrough that uses an entirely new state of matter. The new quantum computer uses topological superconductors to create stable qubits with low error rates. Topological superconductors enable stable qubits by utilizing Majorana zero modes to protect quantum information from decoherence. The result: Microsoft should have a fault-tolerant usable...

What humanoid robots is Europe working on? There are maybe 100 humanoid robot companies on the planet, and 16 major ones, but none in Europe according to Peter Diamandis' recent report. That might just have changed. Neura Robotics out of Germany is working on the third generation of its 4NE-1 robot and CEO David Reger says in June they'll be releasing it. And it should be the best humanoid...

It feels like we're at a tipping point right now in humanoid robotics. Models are getting released faster and faster, more and more capable than ever. Robots are actually taking paying gigs in warehouses and factories, and there's accelerating innovation. Author, engineer, doctor, investor, and entrepreneur Peter Diamandis just released a major report on the entire industry, and together w...

Most of the time when we're talking about humanoid robots, we're talking about laborers ... workers who will fill our factories and fields. What about friends? Companions? Or more? In this episode of TechFirst, host John Koetsier chats with Andrew Kiguel, CEO of Realbotix, and Aria, his hyper-realistic AI-integrated robot. We talk about the development, capabilities, and future applications of rob...

Predicting Space Weather with AI & Satellites: A TechFirst Exclusive In this episode of TechFirst, host John Koetsier chats with Alex Pospeckov, CEO of Mission Space, about the critical role of space weather forecasting. Learn how advanced AI and a planned constellation of 24 satellites will predict space weather and protect billions of dollars of assets. Discover the implications for aerospac...

Could you love an AI? What does love with "digital humans?" look like? Is this the future of relationships? In this TechFirst, we chat with Artem Rodichev, CEO of Ex-human and former head of AI at Replika. We dive into the concept of forming relationships with AI companions and the future of love and friendship in a world integrating advanced artificial intelligence. The discussion covers Rachev's...

Is AGI just a really dumb idea? Is the concept essentially meaningless? And are we entirely barking up the wrong tree? In this episode of TechFirst, host John Koetsier interviews Neil Lawrence, the DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge and senior Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute about his latest book 'The Atomic Human: What Makes Us Unique in the Age of AI.&#...

How will AI change games? How is AI changing games? In this TechFirst we chat with Morgan McGuire, Roblox's Chief Scientist and a former Nvidia research scientist. He tells host John Koetsier how AI is not only enhancing game creation through generative AI but also revolutionizing multiplayer game safety with advanced AI moderation systems. We chat about the explosive growth of Roblox and shar...

Is an AI system smart when it can do what a human can do? Or … when it can do things humans can’t do? For years we’ve had the Turing Test … measuring AI’s ability to mimic being human. But is that really the right benchmark? In this TechFirst, host John Koetsier chats with a computer scientist who has been working in AI for more than a decade. He’s currently VP strategy at Intuition Robotics, whic...

A whimsically-named quantum company named Alice & Bob actually has a quantum chip in the Google Cloud marketplace. Its "cat qbits" solve a massive issue that affects all other quantum chips. And it might just make quantum computing actually matter In this episode of TechFirst, host John Koetsier explores the fascinating paradox of building a quantum computer with Théau Peronnin, CEO...

When will AI replace developers? Or is it an if? In this TechFirst we dive into a survey focused on how 4,000 software developers use AI to generate, test, and check code. Justice Erolin, the CTO of BairesDev, recently surveyed over 4,000 developers globally. The goal: exploreing how AI tools like ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot are being utilized in software development. He and host John Koetsier chat...

Where does Boston Dynamics fit in the emerging golden age of robots? In a lot of ways we're entering a golden age of robots. We're seeing prototype humanoid robots from Apptronik, Amazon, Sanctuary AI, Figure.ai, Tesla, Fourier Intelligence, and probably more. And of course Boston Dynamics is the OG of humanoid bipedal robots with Atlas. But there are a lot of form factors out there. And n...

The world's tallest autonomous robot can scan a million square feet of warehouse and 100,000 pallets in a day. In this episode of TechFirst, we chat about AI and robotics with Andrei Danescu, the CEO of Dexory. Dexory's autonomous robot can scan a million of square feet daily, creating a digital twin of entire warehouses and significantly improving efficiency and accuracy. 00:00 AI and Rob...

What is it like to go to space? Today we have a special privilege: we’re talking to an astronaut who has spent 136 days in the International Space Station and completed 2 space walks. He’s also the mission director for the recent Intuitive Machines lunar lander, the first US mission to the moon in more than 50 years. His name is Jack Fischer In this episode of TechFirst, host John Koetsier intervi...

Have we already achieved AGI? OpenAI just released GPT-4o. It’s impressive, and the implications are huge for so many different professions ... not least of which is education and tutoring. It’s also showing us the beginning of AI that is truly present in our lives ... AI that sees what we see, doesn’t exist just in a box with text input, hears what we hear, and hallucinates less. What does that —...

If our planet turns to Dune, how will you survive? We're already experiencing water crises in thousands of global cities, places like Flint Michigan, or even native reserves in Canada. How can you ensure you'll get good, healthy, clean drinking water? In this episode of TechFirst, we explore the critical global challenge of securing clean water, a resource essential yet scarce for over 2 b...

In this episode of TechFirst, host John Koetsier explores the future of robotics and agricultural technology (agtech) with Kevin Dowling, managing director at Robotics Factory in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They discuss the evolution of robotics in farming, from traditional methods to the modern use of drones, autonomous tractors, and AI-driven systems. Kevin highlights the diversity of robotic form...

In January of this year, Peregrine Mission One launched with at least 22 payloads. One was intended to be the first American made rover to land on the moon since the Apollo days: 1972. It was called Iris, and it was also the first lunar rover constructed with carbon fiber. It was designed and built by students at Carnegie Mellon University. Today, we’re going to chat with them ... Despite a missio...

What happens after AGI? AGI is artificial general intelligence: it’s when AI achieves human-level intelligence nd likely quickly thereafter super-human abilities, maybe even ushering in the Singularity. I was recently at the Beneficial AGI conference in Panama. One of the speakers was the founder of Emerj Artificial Intelligence Research. He’s interviewed nearly 1,000 AI leaders, his name is Dan F...

If you have an iPhone, you've got a notch. Now there's tech that can get rid of that notch ... and the same tech can bring secure Face ID to Android: at a fraction of the cost. In this TechFirst, I chat with Metalenz CEO Rob Devlin about his meta surfaces product. Not only can they produce about 10,000 lenses on a single 30-centimeter wafer, just like computer chips, they can now decode po...

Billions of robots within a decade? A similar growth curve to smartphones? We currently have about 30 million robots on the planet, not counting Roombas and similar small bots. RobotLab CEO Elad Inbar says that will hit BILLIONS with a B within 10 years. We discuss the exponential increase in commercial robots globally and predict billions of robots integrating into daily activities, from service...