Embodying physical AI simulations

What is the impact of creating a contained environment of physical AI for future realities? Read more in the triggered thoughts. And much more.

Embodying physical AI simulations
Midjourney responding to: objects embodying their physical presence into new intelligent behavior

Hi all!

Thanks for landing here and reading my weekly newsletter. If you're new here, you can find a more extensive bio on targetisnew.com. This newsletter is my personal weekly reflection on the news of the past week, with a lens of understanding the unpredictable futures of human-ai co-performances in a context of full immersive connectedness and the impact on society, organizations, and design. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you want to know more, or more specifically.

What did happen last week?

At the moment that you read this, we (Andrea and I) are finalizing the ThingsCon report RIOT2025 so that it can be printed to be ready for coming Friday, as we will launch at the Salon and unconference (feel invited to join). Something that always takes a little bit more time than calculated. That’s why this newsletter is a bit shorter; the timebox is a bit tighter than usual.

Additionally, I prepared a short pitch for next Thursday on Civic Protocol Economies (see below), while refining the outlines of the design charrette.

What did I notice last week?

With Ascension Day (and Memorial Day in the US) and the week after, all big tech players announced their latest in AI plans and updates, it was a bit quieter on the news, in my opinion—nevertheless, some interesting notions from the news. I will not summarize it here due to the mentioned timebox; please scroll down.

What triggered my thoughts?

Mary Meeker has published a new report again, this time focusing on the impact of AI and the different speed of AI as tech compared to other tech. The AI Daily Brief podcast is making a case on the problems of trying to catch trends in AI when this is going all so fast. Without delving into the differences between trend watching, future forecasting, and understanding hyperbolic trends, such as those enabled by AI, I was prompted by one element that was discussed.

Understanding AI's trajectory requires looking beyond current signals to deeper structural shifts. The most significant isn't happening in chatbots or productivity tools—it's in how AI will integrate into physical reality.

One thing that triggered me in the Mary Meeker report is the comparison of the US and China regarding the adoption of AI in industrial robots. China's adoption rate is multiple times higher than that of the US. This relates to the role of manufacturing in shaping culture. As Tim Cook has explained, it is not easy to move iPhone production to the US. It is not only a cost issue, but also a capabilities difference—industrial engineering is much more embedded in Chinese manufacturing culture.

This suggests that physical AI adoption won't be determined by technology availability alone, but by industrial readiness. China's manufacturing ecosystem has become a natural laboratory for physical AI development.

What would this mean for the broader development of physical AI? Will the learnings from applying AI in the contained environment of industrial production become the breeding ground for physical AI in society? Or can the same be reached by creating a virtual simulation model as Nvidia does for robots?

The role of physical AI in our experience of everyday reality is a topic that I addressed here before, and is also part of the RIOT report article. In this shorter newsletter, I formulate it as a question to address in the coming editions further.

What are the plans for the coming week?

Next to the unconference and Salon on Friday, I will attend the end event of the Transition Scapes project today. And on Thursday I share the project Civic Protocol Economies at Amsterdam InChange knowledge event. I will not attend What Design Can Do for obvious reasons. Sensemakers has a DIY edition.

Oh, and I will check WWDC, of course, next Monday. Curious about the latest delays in AI, new immersive touches in UI of the OS, and hopefully some surprises in leveraging embeddedness. We’ll see…

Overview of the notions

Human-AI partnerships

Hollywood is embracing AI co-production.

The Great Pivot: How Hollywood Studios Are Moving Beyond AI Experimentation
Now in its third year, AI on the Lot in Culver City has seen the industry move from fearful observer to active participant.
AI video just took a startling leap in realism. Are we doomed?
Google’s Veo 3 delivers AI videos of realistic people with sound and music. We put it to the test.

AI as a second opinion, an AI listening to your doctor's appointment.

A new model of DeepSeek R1-0528 challenging o3 and 2.5 pro. And the model name blurriness.

DeepSeek R1-0528 arrives in powerful open source challenge to OpenAI o3 and Google Gemini 2.5 Pro
Additionally, the model’s hallucination rate has been reduced, contributing to more reliable and consistent output.

As soon as vibe coding becomes more popular and systemic, security becomes extra important.

The hottest new vibe coding startup may be a sitting duck for hackers
Lovable is accused of failing to fix security flaws that exposed information about users, a growing vulnerability as vibe coding’s popularity surges.

The changing face of AI to us, human users.

LukeW | The Receding Role of AI Chat
While chat interfaces to AI models aren’t going away anytime soon, the increasing capabilities of AI agents are making the concept of chatting back and forth wi…

AI first should mean Humans first. Tim O’Reilly thinks.

AI First Puts Humans First

Use case.

Generative AI in the Real World: Danielle Belgrave on Generative AI in Pharma and Medicine

Combine with that device?

OpenAI wants ChatGPT to be a ‘super assistant’ for every part of your life
OpenAI wants to be “your interface to the internet.”

Robotic performances

Literally a robot performance happening here.

Flying robot morphs in mid-air to land and roll on wheels
Imagine a robot that can transform between “flying drone” and “wheeled rover” configurations. It could potentially be quite useful, but only if it works in real-world conditions. The ATMO bot was designed to do just that, by performing its transformation in mid-air.

What is the role of synthetic comfort?

These robot cats have glowing eyes and artificial heartbeats – and could help reduce stress in children
Lifesize interactive pets touring libraries in Blue Mountains are also touted as being able to comfort people living with anxiety or dementia

3D printed robots

Robot is 3D-printed upside-down in one piece, then walks out of the printer
While there are many potential uses for soft-bodied robots, the things are still typically only built in small experimental batches. Scottish scientists are out to change that, with a mass-production-capable soft bot that is 3D-printed in a single piece which then walks off of the print bed.

Adapting robots.

Watch Atlas humanoid adapt to changing environment
Boston Dynamics’ Atlas humanoid demos advanced real-time perception and adaptability in chaotic environments in new video.

Survival of the fittest.

Indy Autonomous Challenge coming to California - The Robot Report
The Indy Autonomous Challenge will feature racecars driven by AI developed by university teams at the Laguna Seca in July.

New creatures emerge.

Dragon drone uses thrust vectoring to carry objects
In Japanese mythology, dragons aren’t the fire-breathing, treasure-hoarding monsters you’ll find in Tolkien, Martin, et al. Instead, they’re wise, serpentine creatures who control rain, fly through the clouds, and protect sacred areas.

Immersive connectedness

The OpenAI and Ive collaboration is still discussed last week.

Jony Ive’s OpenAI device gets the Laurene Powell Jobs nod of approval
“Humanity deserves better.“

The Everything App, US edition.

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky wants to build the everything app
The head of Airbnb on the future of travel and what AI will and won’t do.

Fabrics with capabilities.

Smart fabric uses sound to measure touch, pressure, and more
New smart textiles are light, breathable, and inexpensive, and offer great potential for medicine, sports, and everyday life.

E-tattoos. Will it be a thing?

Inverse immersiveness.

snapchat’s AR glasses have lenses that create visuals and sounds of the book you’re reading
the snap spectacles, a pair of AR glasses from snapchat, have lenses that generate the images and sounds of the book the user is reading.

Things you need.

YouTube will let you search for things you see in Shorts
Search for what you see.

We are sheep.

Chaos on German autobahns as Google Maps wrongly says they are closed
Drivers using the navigation app confronted with mass of red dots indicating stop signs

Tech societies

How the EV tech of China is boosting it’s tech rise.

How China’s EV Boom Powers Its Tech Rise
Once an auto underdog, the country’s current dominance of the global electric-vehicle market says a lot about why it brims with confidence in other fields.

How to become a player in AI. With money.

Saudi’s AI company HUMAIN plans $10B venture fund
The firm is also planning to build out data center capacity worth as much as $77 billion, its CEO said.

Innovation is not resulting in bots, it is initiated by them.

How a Five-Person AI Team Is Powering Innovation at The New York Times: In Conversation with Zach Seward
Plus: Join us at New York University for a Live Podcast Recording, June 3!

Ethan Mollick has a nice benchmark for AI maturity and it involves otters.

The recent history of AI in 32 otters
Three years of progress as shown by marine mammals

The cult of consent, or the habit to consent while passing websites, might be harmful when the internet as entity becomes more intense and personal.

The Internet of Consent - Anil Dash
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.

In the end it is all about building empires. Again.

OpenAI: The power and the pride
Two new books attempt to tell the story of Sam Altman’s OpenAI, its ambitions, and its growing empire.

Energy efficiency and AI. On time?

AI could consume more power than Bitcoin by the end of 2025
“It shouldn’t be this ridiculously hard” to track AI’s energy consumption.

The hype is real, and comparable for sure.

The Age of Twitter is finally ending. Can Substack take its place?
Some thoughts on the future of the media.

Zoom out. The state of GenAI

The State of GenAI
The Awkward Adolescence

AI monopolies

AI Monopolies Are Coming. Now’s the Time to Stop Them. | TechPolicy.Press
To protect innovation and competition in AI, Jack Corrigan argues the US must curb Big Tech’s dominance through strong antitrust action, starting with Google.

Ethical AI principles overview.

On Ethical AI Principles
Commentary on Stephen’s Web ~ On Ethical AI Principles by Stephen Downes. Online learning, e-learning, new media, connectivism, MOOCs, personal learning environments, new literacy, and more

Hope it will work out well.

Young people sue Donald Trump over climate change
If they’re successful, they’ll stop executive orders boosting fossil fuels.
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