Tech Brew Ride Home - Fri. 11/10 – The Humane Ai Pin Is The Star Trek Combadge

Episode Date: November 10, 2023

More details on that whole Humane Ai Pin device cause whatever you think about it, it’s the first radically new take on computing that we’ve seen since the smartphone. The first company to do carbon capture in the US is operational. I’ll tell you how it works. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Nutrafol.com/men and promocode ridehome Links: Humane’s Ai Pin is a $700 Smartphone Alternative You Wear All Day (Wired) Introducing Humane Ai Pin (The Humane Launch Video) In a U.S. First, a Commercial Plant Starts Pulling Carbon From the Air (NYTimes) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: AI is about to completely change how you use computers (GatesNotes) Elon Musk’s Brain Implant Startup Is Ready to Start Surgery (Bloomberg) Inside an OnlyFans empire: Sex, influence and the new American Dream (Washington Post) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On April 4th, 2023, around 2 in the morning, a man was found stabbed multiple times on a sidewalk in downtown San Francisco. Hey, who did this to you? What happened next turned the story into a political firestorm. Reports have identified the victim as Bob Lee, the founder of Cash App. From Bloomberg Podcasts, this is Foundering, the Killing of Bob Lee, beginning April 16. Welcome to the Tech meme right home for Friday, November 10th, 2023. I'm Brian McCullough today. More details on that whole humane AI pin device, because whatever you think about it, it's the first radically new take on computing that we've seen since the smartphone. The first company to do carbon capture in the U.S. is operational. I'll tell you how it works. And of course, the weekend long-read suggestions. Here's what you missed today in the world of tech. We need to talk more about humane. Everything I told you yesterday about their new AI pin. especially around the $699 price tag plus a $24 a month subscription panned out. But we also learned that pre-orders begin November 16th,

and they've apparently made 100,000 of these devices, so they're expecting something of a demand, considering that this is a brand-new device category all by itself. Quoting Wired for even more details. Humane CEO Bethany Bongiorno is confident of the PIN's mass appeal, calling out the world's first contextual computer. computer. AI now has become something that everyone is curious about and really wants to know how it's going to change their life, she says. We're offering the first opportunity to bring it with you

everywhere. It's really touching people from every background, every age group, globally in terms of what we're feeling and seeing in the feedback, end quote. When Bonjourno and her husband, Imran Chowdry, founded Humane in 2018, after long spans working on hardware design and software engineering at Apple, they set strict parameters for their product. It needed to be a standalone device connected directly to the cell network, transparent about when it's recording, and not always listening for wake words like, hey, Siri, or OK Google, as smart speakers and some phones do. And the whole package should be affordable, quote, that really set the tone for where we are today, Bongiorno says. The startup has raised $230 million in funding, including $100 million

announced in March, reportedly valuing it at $850 million. He mains investors include OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who holds the largest outside stake at nearly 15%. Salesforce CEO Mark Beniof, Microsoft, and the venture arms of LG, Volvo, and Qualcomm have also invested. To put on the AI pin involves placing a magnetic battery pack on the inside of a shirt or other piece of clothing and letting a magnet on the pin itself hold the system in place. It's altogether about 55 grams or 2 ounces nearly the weight of a tennis ball. People with pacemakers should consult their doctors about potential magnetic interference, Chowdrie says. A clip sold separately makes it possible to attach the pin to thicker clothing or bag straps,

and a lighterweight magnet included with the device works for silky outfits or workout gear. The AI pin's most distinctive features reside in the curved top of the device, which houses an ultra-wide camera, light and depth detectors, and a laser projector. Humane realized when testing that, without that, curve, a camera resting on people's chest, would mostly be pointing to the sky. Everyone's built differently and the optics need to be actually angled downward to account for the different shapes, Chaudhry says. The pin is controlled by taps, hand gestures, and voice commands. A double tap with two fingers on the touchpad on the front of the device snaps photos.

The same double tap and then holding that spot records video, but video capability won't launch until a software update in early 2024. Tapping the pin and then moving a palm into its field of view activates its laser, which projects images and text onto a user's hand at a wavelength that produces a bluish-green tinge. A 720P resolution system humane calls a laser ink display. Tilting the hand navigates between displayed options and a swatting gesture swipes to a different menu. Users click on an option by tapping their thumb and index finger together and close their hand briefly to return to a home screen. Joudre says controlling the projection is limited to one hand to keep it quick and to prevent the other hand from getting in the way of the projector.

The voice assistant, which Humane names AI Mike, draws on multiple large language models, including from ChatGPT developer OpenAI. Users tap and hold the pin to talk to AI Mike and can ask similar questions to those handled by generative AI chatbots or voice assistants like Alexa and Siri, such as queries about current or historical events, request for help with language translations, and to order up poems. One demonstration wired saw involved asking AI mic to, quote, play songs written but not performed by Prince. It correctly queued up, nothing compares to you by Senade O'Connor, an experience powered by the streaming service title, which requires paid subscriptions. Humane expects to add navigation and shopping

capabilities over time and also to open up the device to developers to build apps, Bonjourno says. Chowdy says, while the PIN supports Bluetooth headphones, its built-in speakers are designed to create a bubble of sound around the user that provides an intimate experience when turned down low. People in the office use it, and we can't really tell, he says. A voice call demonstrated to wire between Kostienda and Bongiorno's phone sounded clear on his pin. From early next year, the PIN's camera will power an AI calorie counting feature. A humane staffer showed us how the pin could track the amount of proteins someone consumed throughout the day by capturing bowls of almonds and potentially other food they ate.

The PIN comes with a phone number and also supports international roaming G.P. yes, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Depending on how people end up using the device, Humane could charge additional fees for capacity, Chowdry says. Some services, such as unlimited web searches through AI mic and unlimited media storage on Microsoft's cloud, are free.

Chowdry wouldn't say how long the PIN's battery lasts, but it ships with two of them, and he encourages users to keep the spare around in the provided portable charging case for all-day power. The PIN also ships with a proprietary wireless charging pad and an accompanying USBC charging brick and cable, end quote. So the second link in the show notes today is to the launch video itself, which weirdly is only on Vimeo. You kind of have to watch it to get a sense of what I just described.

Lots of snark, by the way, around the demo itself. My favorite is from Tom Garrow, who tweeted, quote, this whole vibe is incredible. A product launch done with the stern procedural tone of your parents putting on their most serious face to explain how this is your last chance. Your mother and I want you to know that we both still love you very much. And just because we're going to be living in different houses, we're never going to stop loving you, end quote. What I hadn't put together until watching this video, though, is that this is the com badge from Star Trek. They did it again. One of the last sort of tech ideas from Star Trek is here. You know, we first got the communicator when we got flip phones, then we got the pads, when we got iPads. What's left from Star Trek?

well, that communications badge. When they tap that little Starfleet emblem on their chest to talk to each other or interface with the computer, watch the video because this is literally that. And of course, the key there is having that Star Trek computer. But isn't that the promise of AI, a computer you just talk to and it does everything you ask without you having to do literally anything else? For the first time ever, a commercial plant here in the U.S. has become operational to do one thing. Suck carbon out of the atmosphere, quoting the New York Times. The startup that built the facility, Aeroom Carbon Technologies, calls it the first commercial plant in the United States to use direct air capture, which involves vacuuming greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Another plant is operating in Iceland, and some scientists say the technique could be crucial for fighting climate change.

Airloom will take the carbon dioxide it pulls from the air and have the gas sealed permanently in concrete where it can't heat the planet. To earn revenue, the company is selling carbon removal credits to companies paying a premium to offset their own emissions. Microsoft has already signed a deal with heirloom to remove 315,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The company's first facility in Tracy, California, which opens Thursday, is fairly small. The plant can absorb a maximum of 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year, equal to the exhaust from about 200 cars. But heirloom hopes to expand quickly. We want to get to millions of tons per year. said Shashank Shomala, the company's chief executive. That means copying and pasting the basic design

over and over, end quote. The idea of using technology to suck carbon dioxide from the sky has gone from science fiction to big business. Hundreds of startups have emerged. The Biden administration in August awarded $1.2 billion to help several companies, including heirloom, build larger direct air capture plants in Texas and Louisiana. Companies like Airbus and J.P. Morgan Chase are spending millions to buy carbon removal credits in order to fulfill corporate climate pledges. Critics point out that many artificial methods of removing carbon dioxide from the air are wildly expensive in the range of $600 per ton or higher, and some fear they could distract from efforts to reduce emissions. Environmentalists are wary of oil companies investing in the technology,

fearing it could be used to prolong the life of fossil fuels. Others say it's essential to try. Nations have delayed cutting greenhouse gas emissions for so long, scientists say that it is almost impossible to keep global warming at relatively tolerable levels, unless countries both cut emissions sharply and also remove billions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by mid-century, far more than can be achieved by simply planting trees. Airloom's technology hinges on a simple bit of chemistry. Limestone, one of the most abundant rocks on the planet, forms when calcium oxide binds with carbon dioxide. In nature, that process takes years. Airloom simply speeds it up. at the California plant workers heat limestone to 1,750 degrees Fahrenheit in a kiln powered by

renewable electricity. Carbon dioxide is released from the limestone and pumped into a storage tank. The leftover calcium oxide, which looks like flour, is then doused with water and spread onto large trays, which are carried by robots onto tower-high racks and exposed to open air. Over three days, the white powder absorbs carbon dioxide and turns it into limestone again. Then it's back to the kiln and the cycle repeats. The carbon dioxide still needs to be dealt with, though. In California, Airloom works with Carbon Cure, a company that mixes the gas into concrete, where it mineralizes and can no longer escape into the air. In future projects,

heirloom also plans to dump carbon dioxide into underground storage wells, burying it. Airloom won't disclose the exact cost, but experts estimate that direct air capture currently costs around $600 to $1,000 per ton of carbon dioxide, making it by far the most expensive way to curb emissions, even after new federal tax credits worth up to $100, $180 per ton. Airloom has set a long-term target of $100 per ton and aims to get there in part through economics of scale and mass-produced components. For its next plant, planned in Louisiana, heirloom will use a more efficient kiln and a denser layout to save on land costs, end quote. Time for the weekend, long-read suggestions. First up from his personal blog,

Bill Gates says AI is about to completely change how you use computers. Now, Bill Gates is somewhat notoriously hit and miss on his powers of tech prognostication. But given the humane release this week and what we were saying earlier in the show about the Star Trek computer, I thought this was worth quoting. Quote, to do any task on a computer, you have to tell your device which app to use. You can use Microsoft Word and Google Docs to draft a business proposal, but they can't help you send an email, share a selfie, analyze data, schedule a party, or buy movie tickets. And even the best sites have an incomplete understanding of your work, personal life interests, and relationships, and a limited ability to use this information to do things for you. That's the kind of thing

that is only possible today with another human being like a close friend or personal assistant. In the next five years, this will change completely. You won't have to use different apps for different tasks. You'll simply tell your device in everyday language what you want to do. And depending on how much information you choose to share with it, the software will be able to respond personally because it will have a rich understanding of your life. In the near future, anyone who's online will be able to have a personal assistant powered by artificial intelligence that's far beyond today's technology. This type of software, something that responds to natural language and can accomplish many different tasks based on its knowledge of the user, is called an agent.

Agents are not only going to change how everyone interacts with computers, they're also going to upend the software industry, bringing about the biggest revolution in computing since we went from typing commands to tapping icons, end quote. Then Bloomberg Business Week has a really deep dive look at Neurrelink, after its recent FDA trial approval. Huge media coverage, they say, compared to rivals and worries over hype have focused all eyes on NeurLink. But the tech is exciting and potentially miraculous. Quote, although some competitors have beaten Neurlink to human trials, the company's raw technology is closest to being a general-purpose computer in the brain. The implant has more than a thousand electrodes for gathering brain data compared to 16 or so in rival

devices. The Neurrelink hardware is a nesting doll of processing, communications, and charging systems, including a battery and signal amplification. Competitors, meanwhile, must still connect their implants via wires to bulky pacemaker-sized batteries and amplifier units that are often surgically implanted in a patient's chest. Neurrelink's battery lasts a few hours and can be recharged wirelessly in a couple of hours via a custom baseball cap. Neurlink has received an outpouring of interest from thousands of prospective patients, and the agency recently gave it the green light to perform additional implant trials in 2024 without a year-long evaluation period. The company estimates that each implant surgery will run about $10,500, including exams, parts and labor, and that it will charge

insurers about $40,000. It forecasts annual revenue as high as $100 million within five years. Neurlink says it plans to perform 11 surgeries in 2024, 27 in 2025, 75, 79 in 2026. Then things really ramp up, going from 499 surgeries in 2027 to 22,204 by 2030, according to documents provided to investors. Before that, September 22 meeting ended, Musk stressed speed on an entirely different level, like the world is coming to an end. The reason the staff needed to work dramatically faster, he said, was to make sure hybrid human implant brains stayed competitive with a theoretical artificial superintelligence that might otherwise wipe out humanity. We need to get there before the AI takes over, he said. We want to get there with a maniacal sense of urgency, maniacal, end quote.

And finally, the Washington Post takes us inside a sort of OnlyFans empire, which is based out of where else, Florida. Quote, Adams's employees call their headquarters in Central Florida the farm. But last year, with OnlyFans money, the 10 acres of pasture land once held a grove of pecan trees. Its only cash crop now is attention. and Adams's business out-earns most American farms. The company brings in roughly $10 million annually in revenue, and many of her two dozen workers get paid more than the average farmer. Her total corporate payroll exceeds $1 million a year. People don't understand the scale of the opportunity. I mean, really, you can make your own world, says Adams 30, as she walked the grounds in jean shorts and a tank top.

This is our business. This is our life. In the American creator economy, no platform is quite as direct or effective as only fans. Since launching in 2016, the subscription site known primarily for its explicit videos has become one of the most methodical cash-rich and least-known layers of the online influencer industry, touching every social platform and, for some creators, unlocking a once-unimaginable level of wealth. More than 3 million creators now post around the world on OnlyFans, which has 230 million subscribing fans, a global audience two-thirds the size of the United States itself, a company filing in August said. and with help from a pandemic that isolated people at home, fans total payouts to creators, soared last year to $5.5 billion, more than every online influencer in the United States earned from advertisers that year,

according to an analysis into the creator economy of the spring by Goldman Sachs Research, end quote. One bonus episode for you this weekend. It's the first portfolio profile episode with a company from the Ride Home AI Fund. The AI Fund, by the way, is still raising, so if this company sounds good, you check us out at righthomefund.com. Talk to you on Monday.