“It’s OK to get butterflies (in your stomach). You just got to get them into formation.”
– Britt Lower’s high-school drama teacher
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1. How Many Words Is a Picture Really Worth?
PaLM-E is an AI that translates the real world by combining text, images, and sensor data (or, as some might say, “sensor fusion”) into a language-like format that a robot can understand. It can guide robots through complex tasks, adapt to new objects, and answer visual questions, enabling them to make smarter decisions. Tested on real robots, it successfully completes multistep tasks, even with unfamiliar items. It’s like telling a phone-scrolling teen to “watch out, bruh!” before they fall into an open manhole.
2. Manufacturing’s Next Lap
This wonderfully curated collection of articles covers CAD/CAM advancements, from AI-driven automation and Agentic AI optimizes manufacturing by enabling machines to self-adjust, predict faults, and schedule maintenance. This shift may reduce low-skilled jobs but increases demand for experts to oversee AI. The challenge is closing future expertise gaps and attracting Gen Z to skilled trades. Think of it as Stuxnet – if it went to therapy, turned good, and got a job making factories more efficient instead of causing chaos. Whoa, will AI need therapy? Are AI trainers really computer therapists?
3. Honestly, Could They Just Do the Dishes?
Food manufacturers are rapidly adopting cobots and robots to address labor shortages, increase efficiency, and optimize space. In 2024, food and consumer goods saw a 65% year-over-year increase in robot adoption. Automation is helping companies to future-proof operations, improve ROI, and enhance safety. Innovations like mobile robotic cells, AI-driven programming, and vision technology are shaping the next wave of automation in food production. Talk about “processed foods”!
4. It Is a Tool. Learn How To Use the Tool.
I think that having mixed feelings about AI is not only fair but should be the norm. I stand behind my past comments that “nobody ever lost their job to a wrench, but people have lost their jobs to another person who is better at wrenching.” On the flip side, I also agree with what my teachers said about calculators. Today I am happy that I am never without a calculator – but only because I also have some idea of how they – and math – work. This paragraph has been generated entirely by organic matter.
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