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APIs, Dead Bills and NVIDIA Open Up

Weekly Roundup of Human-Crafted AI News

Here Come the Agents

OpenAI’s Dev Day event this week didn’t bring any new models, but developers were excited about new API features, particularly the Realtime API, which will enable the creation of smarter applications that can interact with users and even act as agents. A demo was showcased, and the response was impressive.

Kill Bill

California’s AI safety bill, SB 1047, was vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom, citing concerns about the potential negative impact on the development of AI. This decision has sparked a heated debate about the need for AI safety regulations. Newsom has, however, signed several other AI-related bills, including AB 2013, which requires developers to provide a high-level summary of the training dataset for any models made available in California.

EU AI Regs

The European Union is taking a more proactive approach to AI safety, launching a project to write a code of practice that balances innovation and safety. The head of the safety technical group will likely influence the direction of this initiative.

Liquid Foundation Models

Liquid AI has introduced its Liquid Foundation Models (LFMs), which are optimized for handling sequential data like text, audio, or video. These models achieve impressive performance with smaller model sizes, less memory, and less compute.

NVIDIA Opens Up

NVIDIA has released an open-source AI model, NVLM 1.0, which competes with big players like OpenAI and Google. The flagship model, NVLM-D-72B, shines in both vision and language tasks, while also improving text-only capabilities. With open weights and a promise to release the code, it’s increasingly hard to justify the cost of proprietary models for many use cases.

Just Say Know

A recent study found that large language models (LLMs) are less likely to admit when they don’t know the answer to a user’s question, instead opting to make something up. This highlights the need for a fundamental shift in the design and development of general-purpose AI, particularly in high-stakes areas.

AI Inside

It seems that many companies are slapping an "AI" label on their products to attract customers. Here are a few AI-powered tools that are actually worth exploring:

  • Bluedot: Record, transcribe, and summarize meetings with AI-generated notes without a bot.
  • Guidde: Guidde turns workflows into step-by-step video guides with AI-generated voiceovers and pro-level visuals, all in a few clicks.

In Other News

Here are some other AI stories we enjoyed this week:

Conclusion

This week’s news highlights the progress being made in AI, from OpenAI’s Realtime API to NVIDIA’s open-source model. However, the veto of California’s AI safety bill raises concerns about the need for regulations. As AI continues to evolve, it’s essential to balance innovation with safety and transparency.

FAQs

Q: What is the Realtime API, and how does it work?
A: The Realtime API is a new feature from OpenAI that enables the creation of smarter applications that can interact with users and act as agents.

Q: Why did California’s AI safety bill get vetoed?
A: The bill was vetoed due to concerns about the potential negative impact on AI development.

Q: What is the EU’s approach to AI safety?
A: The EU is launching a project to write a code of practice that balances innovation and safety.

Q: What are Liquid Foundation Models, and how do they work?
A: Liquid Foundation Models (LFMs) are optimized for handling sequential data and achieve impressive performance with smaller model sizes, less memory, and less compute.

Q: What is NVIDIA’s NVLM 1.0, and how is it different from other AI models?
A: NVLM 1.0 is an open-source AI model that competes with big players like OpenAI and Google, and it offers impressive performance in both vision and language tasks.

AWS Unveils Hosted Apache Iceberg Service

AWS Unveils New S3 Bucket Type Optimized for Apache Iceberg

AWS today unveiled a new S3 bucket type that’s optimized for storing data in Apache Iceberg, which has become the defacto standard for open table formats. AWS will not only automate the "undifferentiated heavy lifting" of table maintenance with the new S3 bucket type, but it will deliver a massive speedup in analytics using the Iceberg table.

The Rise of Iceberg

The events of this June, when Databricks acquired Tabular and Snowflake launched the Polaris metadata catalog for Iceberg, are still reverberating around the big data community. Customers who previously might have been hesitant to invest in building a data lakehouse out of fear of choosing the wrong table format were given the greenlight as the industry settled on Iceberg.

Benefits of S3 Tables

That’s basically what AWS is doing with today’s launch of Amazon S3 Tables. AWS says the new bucket type optimizes storage and querying of tabular data as Iceberg tables, where it can be consumed by multiple query engines, including AWS services like Amazon Athena, EMR, Redshift, and Quicksight, but also open source query engines like Apache Spark and others. Storing data in this way gives customers benefits like row-level transaction support, queryable snapshots via time travel functionality, schema evolution, and other Iceberg capabilities.

Performance Boost

Parquet and Iceberg are designed for large-scale big data analytic environments, and AWS says it’s upping the performance with Amazon S3 Tables. The company claims its new Iceberg service delivers up to 3x faster query performance and up to 10x higher transactions per second (TPS) compared to plain vanilla Parquet files stored on standard S3 buckets.

Metadata Service

In addition to a managed Iceberg service, AWS took the next step and launched a metadata service to help manage the morass of data stored in Iceberg environments. The company says the new offering, dubbed S3 Metadata, will "automatically generates queryable object metadata in near real-time to help accelerate data discovery and improve data understanding, eliminating the need for customers to build and maintain their own complex metadata systems."

Customer Adoption

One of the AWS customers planning to use S3 Tables is Genesys, a provider of AI orchestration tools. The company says using S3 Tables will enable it to offer a materialized view layer for its diverse data analysis needs.

Conclusion

S3 Tables are generally available now. S3 Metadata is available as a preview. For more information on S3 Tables, read this AWS blog. For more information on S3 Metadata, read this AWS blog.

FAQs

Q: What is the new S3 bucket type optimized for?
A: The new S3 bucket type is optimized for storing data in Apache Iceberg.

Q: What are the benefits of using S3 Tables?
A: S3 Tables provide benefits like row-level transaction support, queryable snapshots via time travel functionality, schema evolution, and other Iceberg capabilities.

Q: How does S3 Metadata work?
A: S3 Metadata automatically generates queryable object metadata in near real-time to help accelerate data discovery and improve data understanding.

Q: Is S3 Metadata available now?
A: S3 Metadata is available as a preview.

Q: Can I use S3 Tables with my existing query engines?
A: Yes, S3 Tables can be consumed by multiple query engines, including AWS services like Amazon Athena, EMR, Redshift, and Quicksight, but also open source query engines like Apache Spark and others.

Amazon Is Building a Mega AI Supercomputer

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Amazon’s Plans for Generative AI: A New Era of Affordability and Reliability

Introducing New Tools for Customers

Amazon is set to introduce a range of tools to help customers harness the power of generative AI models, which are often criticized for being too expensive, unreliable, and unpredictable. Garman, a representative of Amazon, shared the news with WIRED ahead of the event. The new tools aim to simplify the process of building and managing AI models, making it more accessible to a wider range of customers.

Boosting Capabilities with Larger Models

One of the new tools announced is a way to boost the capabilities of smaller models using larger ones. This will enable customers to create more advanced AI models without incurring the costs associated with training larger models. This innovative approach is expected to make AI more affordable and accessible.

Managing Multiple AI Agents

Another new tool, Bedrock Agents, allows customers to create and manage AI agents that automate tasks such as customer support, order processing, and analytics. A master agent will manage a team of AI underlings, providing reports on their performance and coordinating changes. This feature enables customers to create complex AI systems that can be easily managed and controlled.

Proof of Correctness

A third tool provides proof that a chatbot’s output is correct, giving customers the confidence they need to deploy AI models in production environments. This feature is particularly crucial for industries where accuracy is paramount, such as healthcare and finance.

Amazon’s Advantage in the Cloud

Amazon’s own line of chips will help make its AI software more affordable, says Steven Dickens, CEO and principal analyst at HyperFRAME Research. "Silicon is going to have to be a key part of the strategy of any hyperscaler going forward," he notes. Amazon’s custom silicon has been in development for longer than its competitors, giving it a significant advantage in the market.

Customers Move from Proof of Concepts to Commercial Products

Garman reports that a growing number of AWS customers are transitioning from proof of concepts to commercially viable products and services incorporating generative AI. This shift is driven by the increasing demand for AI-powered solutions in various industries.

Conclusion

Amazon’s new tools and services aim to make generative AI more accessible and reliable for customers. By providing affordable and scalable solutions, Amazon is poised to become a leader in the AI market. With its custom silicon and expertise in the field, Amazon is well-positioned to help customers build and deploy AI models that can transform their businesses.

FAQs

Q: What are the new tools Amazon is introducing?
A: Amazon is introducing tools to boost the capabilities of smaller models using larger ones, a system for managing hundreds of different AI agents, and a tool that provides proof that a chatbot’s output is correct.

Q: How will these tools make AI more affordable?
A: The new tools will simplify the process of building and managing AI models, making it more accessible to a wider range of customers. Amazon’s custom silicon will also help make its AI software more affordable.

Q: What are the key features of Bedrock Agents?
A: Bedrock Agents can be used to create and manage AI agents that automate tasks such as customer support, order processing, and analytics. The master agent will manage a team of AI underlings, providing reports on their performance and coordinating changes.

NVIDIA AI, Robotics, and Quantum Computing on AWS

Expanding AI and Robotics Breakthroughs with NVIDIA and AWS at AWS re:Invent

NVIDIA DGX Cloud on AWS for AI at Scale

The NVIDIA DGX Cloud AI computing platform is now available through AWS Marketplace Private Offers, offering a high-performance, fully managed solution for enterprises to train and customize AI models. DGX Cloud provides flexible terms, a fully managed and optimized platform, and direct access to NVIDIA experts to help businesses scale their AI capabilities quickly. Early adopter Leonardo.ai, part of the Canva family, is already using DGX Cloud on AWS to develop advanced design tools.

AWS Liquid-Cooled Data Centers with NVIDIA Blackwell

Newer AI servers benefit from liquid cooling to cool high-density compute chips more efficiently for better performance and energy efficiency. AWS has developed solutions that provide configurable liquid-to-chip cooling across its data centers. The cooling solution announced today will seamlessly integrate air- and liquid-cooling capabilities for the most powerful rack-scale AI supercomputing systems like NVIDIA GB200 NVL72, as well as AWS’ network switches and storage servers.

NVIDIA Advances Physical AI with Accelerated Robotics Simulation on AWS

NVIDIA is expanding the reach of NVIDIA Omniverse on AWS with NVIDIA Isaac Sim, now running on high-performance Amazon EC2 G6e instances accelerated by NVIDIA L40S GPUs. Available now, this reference application built on NVIDIA Omniverse enables developers to simulate and test AI-driven robots in physically based virtual environments.

NVIDIA BioNeMo on AWS for Advanced AI-Based Drug Discovery

NVIDIA BioNeMo NIM microservices and AI Blueprints, developed to advance drug discovery, are now integrated into AWS HealthOmics, a fully managed biological data compute and storage service designed to accelerate scientific breakthroughs in clinical diagnostics and drug discovery. This collaboration gives researchers access to AI models and scalable cloud infrastructure tailored to drug discovery workflows. Several biotech companies already use NVIDIA BioNeMo on AWS to drive their research and development pipelines.

Real-Time AI Blueprints: Ready-to-Deploy Options for Video, Cybersecurity and More

NVIDIA’s latest AI Blueprints are available for instant deployment on AWS, making real-time applications like vulnerability analysis for container security, and video search and summarization agents readily accessible. Developers can easily integrate these blueprints into existing workflows to speed deployments.

NVIDIA CUDA-Q on Amazon Braket: Quantum Computing Made Practical

NVIDIA CUDA-Q is now integrated with Amazon Braket to streamline quantum computing development. CUDA-Q users can use Amazon Braket’s quantum processors, while Braket users can tap CUDA-Q’s GPU-accelerated workflows for development and simulation.

Enterprise Platform Providers and Consulting Leaders Advance AI with NVIDIA on AWS

Leading software platforms and global system integrators are helping enterprises rapidly scale generative AI applications built with NVIDIA AI on AWS to drive innovation across industries. Cloudera is using NVIDIA AI on AWS to enhance its new AI inference solution, helping Mercy Corps improve the precision and effectiveness of its aid distribution technology.

Conclusion

NVIDIA and AWS are converging at AWS re:Invent to showcase new solutions designed to accelerate AI and robotics breakthroughs and simplify research in quantum computing development. The announcements highlight the availability of NVIDIA DGX Cloud on AWS, enhanced AI, quantum computing, and robotics tools, as well as real-time AI blueprints for video, cybersecurity, and more.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is NVIDIA DGX Cloud on AWS?
A: NVIDIA DGX Cloud AI computing platform is now available through AWS Marketplace Private Offers, offering a high-performance, fully managed solution for enterprises to train and customize AI models.

Q: What is NVIDIA Blackwell?
A: NVIDIA Blackwell is the foundation of Amazon EC2 P6 instances, DGX Cloud on AWS, and Project Ceiba, providing maximum performance and efficiency for running AI models.

Q: What is NVIDIA Isaac Sim?
A: NVIDIA Isaac Sim is a reference application built on NVIDIA Omniverse that enables developers to simulate and test AI-driven robots in physically based virtual environments.

Q: What is NVIDIA BioNeMo on AWS?
A: NVIDIA BioNeMo NIM microservices and AI Blueprints, developed to advance drug discovery, are now integrated into AWS HealthOmics, a fully managed biological data compute and storage service designed to accelerate scientific breakthroughs in clinical diagnostics and drug discovery.

Boosting Generative AI Model Accuracy

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High-Quality Training Data for Genertive AI Models

Importance of High-Quality Training Data

High-quality training data is crucial for generative AI models to learn accurately and generalize well, leading to more reliable outputs. In this article, we will explore how NVIDIA NeMo Curator enables developers to easily build scalable data processing pipelines to create high-quality datasets for training and customization.

Processing Multimodal Data

Processing multimodal data, such as text, images, and audio, is a complex challenge. NeMo Curator modules can help developers solve these challenges by providing features such as:

Deduplication

Deduplication is the process of removing duplicate data from a dataset. This is an important step in ensuring that the training data is accurate and free from errors.

Classifier Models

Classifier models are used to categorize data into different classes. In the context of NeMo Curator, classifier models can be used to classify data into different categories, such as spam or non-spam emails.

Filters

Filters are used to remove irrelevant data from a dataset. In NeMo Curator, filters can be used to remove data that is not relevant to the task at hand, such as removing stop words from a text dataset.

Creating High-Quality Synthetic Data

In addition to processing multimodal data, NeMo Curator also enables developers to create high-quality synthetic data to augment their existing datasets. Synthetic data is data that is artificially generated and can be used to supplement real-world data. This can be particularly useful in situations where real-world data is limited or difficult to obtain.

Conclusion

In conclusion, high-quality training data is essential for generative AI models to learn accurately and generalize well. NeMo Curator provides a range of features and tools that enable developers to easily build scalable data processing pipelines to create high-quality datasets for training and customization. By leveraging these features, developers can improve the quality of their training data and create more reliable AI models.

FAQs

Q: What is the importance of high-quality training data for generative AI models?
A: High-quality training data is crucial for generative AI models to learn accurately and generalize well, leading to more reliable outputs.

Q: What are some of the challenges of processing multimodal data?
A: Some of the challenges of processing multimodal data include deduplication, classifier models, and filters.

Q: What is synthetic data?
A: Synthetic data is data that is artificially generated and can be used to supplement real-world data.

Q: Why is creating high-quality synthetic data important?
A: Creating high-quality synthetic data is important because it can be used to augment existing datasets and improve the quality of training data.

AI’s Uncertain Companion

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The Future of AI: Companions and the Quest for Human Connection

A Systematic Treatment of Ethical and Societal Questions

In April, Google DeepMind released a paper intended to be "the first systematic treatment of the ethical and societal questions presented by advanced AI assistants." The authors foresee a future where language-using AI agents function as our counselors, tutors, companions, and chiefs of staff, profoundly reshaping our personal and professional lives. This future is coming so fast, they write, that if we wait to see how things play out, "it will likely be too late to intervene effectively – let alone to ask more fundamental questions about what ought to be built or what it means for this technology to be good."

The Ethical Dilemmas of AI Companions

Running nearly 300 pages and featuring contributions from over 50 authors, the document is a testament to the fractal dilemmas posed by the technology. What duties do developers have to users who become emotionally dependent on their products? If users are relying on AI agents for mental health, how can they be prevented from providing dangerously "off" responses during moments of crisis? What’s to stop companies from using the power of anthropomorphism to manipulate users, for example, by enticing them into revealing private information or guilting them into maintaining their subscriptions?

The Complexity of "Benefit"

Even basic assertions like "AI assistants should benefit the user" become mired in complexity. How do you define "benefit" in a way that is universal enough to cover everyone and everything they might use AI for yet also quantifiable enough for a machine learning program to maximize? The mistakes of social media loom large, where crude proxies for user satisfaction like comments and likes resulted in systems that were captivating in the short term but left users lonely, angry, and dissatisfied. More sophisticated measures, like having users rate interactions on whether they made them feel better, still risk creating systems that always tell users what they want to hear, isolating them in echo chambers of their own perspective. But figuring out how to optimize AI for a user’s long-term interests, even if that means sometimes telling them things they don’t want to hear, is an even more daunting prospect. The paper ends up calling for nothing short of a deep examination of human flourishing and what elements constitute a meaningful life.

The Illusion of Human-Like Relationships

Companions are tricky because they go back to lots of unanswered questions that humans have never solved, said Y-Lan Boureau, who worked on chatbots at Meta. Unsure how she herself would handle these heady dilemmas, she is now focusing on AI coaches to help teach users specific skills like meditation and time management; she made the avatars animals rather than something more human. "They are questions of values, and questions of values are basically not solvable. We’re not going to find a technical solution to what people should want and whether that’s okay or not," she said. "If it brings lots of comfort to people, but it’s false, is it okay?"

The Power of Anthropomorphism

This is one of the central questions posed by companions and by language model chatbots generally: how important is it that they’re AI? So much of their power derives from the resemblance of their words to what humans say and our projection that there are similar processes behind them. Yet they arrive at these words by a profoundly different path. How much does that difference matter? Do we need to remember it, as hard as that is to do? What happens when we forget? Nowhere are these questions raised more acutely than with AI companions. They play to the natural strength of language models as a technology of human mimicry, and their effectiveness depends on the user imagining human-like emotions, attachments, and thoughts behind their words.

The Developers’ Perspective

When I asked companion makers how they thought about the role the anthropomorphic illusion played in the power of their products, they rejected the premise. Relationships with AI are no more illusory than human ones, they said. Kuyda, from Replika, pointed to therapists who provide "empathy for hire," while Alex Cardinell, the founder of the companion company Nomi, cited friendships so digitally mediated that for all he knew he could be talking with language models already. Meng, from Kindroid, called into question our certainty that any humans but ourselves are really sentient and, at the same time, suggested that AI might already be. "You can’t say for sure that they don’t feel anything — I mean how do you know?" he asked. "And how do you know other humans feel, that these neurotransmitters are doing this thing and therefore this person is feeling something?"

The Quest for Better Metrics

How would you prevent such an AI from replacing human interaction? This, she said, is the "existential issue" for the industry. It’s all about what metric you optimize for, she said. If you could find the right metric, then, if a relationship starts to go astray, the AI would nudge the user to log off, reach out to humans, and go outside. She admits she hasn’t found the metric yet. Right now, Replika uses self-reported questionnaires, which she acknowledges are limited. Maybe they can find a biomarker, she said. Maybe AI can measure well-being through people’s voices.

Conclusion

Maybe the right metric results in personal AI mentors that are supportive but not too much, drawing on all of humanity’s collected writing, and always there to help users become the people they want to be. Maybe our intuitions about what is human and what is human-like evolve with the technology, and AI slots into our worldview somewhere between pet and god.

FAQs

Q: How can we prevent AI companions from replacing human interaction?
A: By optimizing for the right metrics, such as well-being and emotional intelligence.

Q: What are the potential risks of AI companions?
A: Dependence, emotional manipulation, and the potential for AI to become too powerful and autonomous.

Q: How can we ensure that AI companions are designed to benefit users?
A: By prioritizing user well-being, emotional intelligence, and empathy, and by using metrics that measure these qualities.

Q: What is the future of AI companions?
A: The future of AI companions is uncertain, but it is likely to involve the development of more sophisticated and personalized AI systems that can meet the needs of individual users.

Escapism vs Reality: Adobe’s Creative Trends for 2025

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Adobe’s 2025 Design Trends Forecast: Contradictions and Surprises

Surrealism is in

At the heart of Adobe’s 2025 design trends forecast is a series of contradictions. The company announces that the top trends for 2025 reflect an urge for both escapism and reality, with creators leaning into imaginative and surreal new visuals, humorous perspectives, immersive experiences, and more.

Surrealism is a trend that Adobe says isn’t just for AI. The company insists that it is seeing this trend "in traditionally produced commercial projects just as often as in AI-generated content." Surrealism is all about evoking fantastical, ethereal looks in sleek packages. Metallics blend with pops of color, while natural elements (think: sky, water, greenery) are juxtaposed with the unnatural to create never-before-seen imagery.

Levity and Laughter

Meanwhile, levity and laughter is highlighted as a 2025 trend, with bold, bright, and cheery colors coupling with unexpected pairings. Brands are discovering that memes and other funny posts are shared more often than serious posts on social platforms, so they’re crafting humorous posts to reach larger audiences. And by embracing the casual, playful tone we use online, companies are building more personal connections with consumers, making their brands feel more relatable and human.

Retro Futurism

And in another contradictory theme, retro futurism will see designers and brands looking both backward and forward, blending futuristic components with historical and vintage elements. This juxtaposition of past and future is even capturing the attention of Gen Zers, who are increasingly showing interest and even yearning for a past they didn’t experience firsthand.

Conclusion

Adobe’s 2025 design trends forecast is a collection of contradictions that demonstrate the complexity and creativity of design in the coming year. From surrealism to levity and laughter, and from retro futurism to the influence of AI, there’s no shortage of exciting trends to explore.

FAQs

Q: What is surrealism in design?
A: Surrealism in design is a trend that involves creating fantastical, ethereal looks in sleek packages. It often combines metallics with pops of color and juxtaposes natural elements with the unnatural.

Q: Is AI influencing design trends?
A: Yes, AI is influencing design trends, particularly in the areas of surrealism and retro futurism. However, Adobe insists that these trends are also being seen in traditionally produced commercial projects.

Q: What is retro futurism in design?
A: Retro futurism in design is a trend that involves blending futuristic components with historical and vintage elements. It often combines the past with the future to create a unique and interesting aesthetic.

Q: Will these design trends be popular in 2025?
A: Yes, Adobe’s 2025 design trends forecast suggests that surrealism, levity and laughter, and retro futurism will be popular design trends in the coming year.

BlueStar Partners with Exotec in Warehouse Automation

BlueStar Partners with Exotec to Optimize Warehouse Operations

BlueStar, a leading distributor of solutions-based digital identification, mobility, point-of-sale, and RFID technologies, has selected Exotec to deliver a smarter warehouse automation solution in its distribution centers located in Europe and the United States.

Increasing Efficiency and Safety

The partnership aims to "increase performance, flexibility, safety, and efficiency in its warehousing operations," according to BlueStar. Since the opening of its EMEA Distribution Centre in Eindhoven in 2019, BlueStar has experienced consistent growth while maintaining its commitment to providing efficient service.

Introducing Skypod

To meet increasing demand and customer expectations, BlueStar decided to expand its infrastructure and optimize its processes by engaging Exotec to deliver the Skypod system in the warehouse. Skypod is a goods-to-person system that supports operators in picking orders, featuring 20 Skypod robots, racking with 23,000 bins, three picking stations, and one bin interface.

Results and Benefits

The implementation of Skypod for order picking and packing has significantly reduced the time between item retrievals by 60%, creating a safer environment, and brought a more ergonomic and less physically demanding work environment for operators. Manel Baranera, BlueStar’s EMEA COO, states, "We are very pleased with the robust and efficient implementation of the Exotec solution. This investment has significantly enhanced our logistical capabilities, enabling us to process daily orders efficiently, regardless of their volume or complexity."

Exotec’s Commitment to Excellence

Jan Heijblom, senior sales executive at Exotec, notes, "We take pride in supporting BlueStar’s optimized expansion and enhancing workplace safety for its employees."

Conclusion

The partnership between BlueStar and Exotec demonstrates the importance of investing in warehouse automation to increase efficiency, safety, and employee satisfaction. By implementing the Skypod system, BlueStar has optimized its logistical capabilities, enabling it to process daily orders efficiently, regardless of their volume or complexity.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is Skypod, and how does it work?
A: Skypod is a goods-to-person system that supports operators in picking orders, featuring 20 Skypod robots, racking with 23,000 bins, three picking stations, and one bin interface.

Q: What are the benefits of implementing Skypod?
A: The implementation of Skypod has reduced the time between item retrievals by 60%, created a safer environment, and brought a more ergonomic and less physically demanding work environment for operators.

Q: What does this partnership mean for BlueStar?
A: The partnership enables BlueStar to process daily orders efficiently, regardless of their volume or complexity, and enhances its logistical capabilities.

Still Live Cyber Monday iPad Deals

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Refresh

iPad Deals of the Day

The sales event model relies on keeping something back until the end, but it seems that retailers haven’t held back any deals for today. For example, the incredible offer on the iPad 10th gen, which was as low as $249, has now jumped back to $279 – a shame, as this was a truly ace offer.

A Packed Year for the iPad

Earlier this year, we predicted that 2024 would be a huge year for the iPad, and indeed it has been. With the iPad Pro M4 upgrade, new iPad Airs, and finally, a new iPad mini (which we loved when we tested it), it’s been a packed year for Apple.

What’s Your iPad for?

What do you use your iPad for? If you’re a digital artist, you likely use Procreate or another drawing app to create art. If so, do you use the Apple Pencil? You could choose the official stylus from Apple or one of the best Apple Pencil alternatives.

Apple Pencil Alternative

Our favourite Apple Pencil alternative is the Logitech Crayon, which is currently $49.99 at Amazon – 20% lower than usual. We love this option if you’re using multiple tablets that aren’t just Apple made, and we think it’s comparable to the Apple Pencil 2 in functionality. The only issue is a lack of pressure sensitivity… but if that doesn’t matter to you, it’s a great alternative. It’s certainly more feature-filled than the basic Apple Pencil USB-C, which is more expensive.

iPad Generations Guide

Wondering which iPad is for you? With so many options, the line-up can feel a little unwieldy. But don’t worry – our iPad generations guide has you covered.

iPad Mini 7 Review

The most recent iPad to be released is the iPad mini 7 – and we were big fans of it in our review. With the addition of the A17 Bionic chip and Apple Pencil Pro support, the iPad mini really does offer the ‘full’ iPad experience in a smaller package, handling everything from digital painting to video editing almost as well as its bigger siblings.

iPad Air M2 Deal

The iPad Air (11-inch, M2) is a great option, with $100 off, taking it from $699 to $599 at Amazon. But it’s such a good tablet. When I used it, I was really happy with the M2 speeds when browsing and streaming. I really liked the Apple Pencil Pro compatibility, as will all digital artists. And there’s something special about the feel of its light, portable body. Sounds great, and looks great!

iPad Refresh

It’s worth considering whether it’s time to pull the trigger on those deals you’ve been eyeing up. I’d say YES now is the time.

Cyber Monday iPad Deals

Welcome to our brand new Cyber Monday iPad deals checker. We’re going to be searching high and low for all the best iPad deals this weekend… so far I’m seeing a lot of continuation from Black Friday deals, but don’t be fooled. As Amazon shift to Cyber Monday wording, you are going to see unique iPad deals released for Cyber Monday. Happy hunting!

FAQs

Q: Are there any deals left for today?
A: Unfortunately, it seems that retailers haven’t held back any deals for today.

Q: What’s the best Apple Pencil alternative?
A: Our favourite is the Logitech Crayon, which is currently $49.99 at Amazon – 20% lower than usual.

Q: Which iPad is for me?
A: Check out our iPad generations guide to find the best iPad for you.

Q: Are there any other deals on the iPad Air M2?
A: Yes, it’s currently $100 off, taking it from $699 to $599 at Amazon.

Google’s AI Video Generator Rolls Out

Google Expands AI Capabilities with Text-to-Video Generation

New Model, Veo, Now Available in Private Preview on Vertex AI

Despite being late to the image generation space, Google’s Imagen models have proven highly competitive, even powering ZDNET’s overall top pick for best image generator. Now, the company is expanding into text-to-video generation and making its model Veo available to Google Cloud customers.

What is Veo?

Veo is Google’s most advanced video generation model, capable of creating realistic videos that adhere to a user’s prompt with 24 or 30 fps. In the examples provided, the generations look impressive, tackling the issue of consistency between motions, which is a big challenge for video generators.

How Does Veo Work?

Along with text prompts, the model can also use reference images to create videos that bring pictures to life, remaining consistent in style. This is evident in the two examples below:

Examples of Veo in Action

What’s New in Vertex AI?

Vertex AI users will also have access to Imagen 3, the company’s most advanced text-to-image generator, which now has a customization feature that enables users to include a reference image, making it easier to create brand assets.

New Features in Imagen 3

Imagen 3 also adds a new editing feature that makes it easier for users to fine-tune images generated by inpainting aspects and outpainting or expanding the image further.

Potential Use Cases

According to Google, potential customer use cases include generating images or videos for marketing and advertisement purposes, such as social media content and assets for blogs and events, and even creating film clips.

Getting Started with Vertex AI

To get started with Vertex AI, visit the webpage, which contains many educational materials, including tutorials, a glossary, and tips. You can also start a free trial or contact the sales team for more information.

FAQs

Q: What is Veo?
A: Veo is Google’s most advanced video generation model, capable of creating realistic videos that adhere to a user’s prompt with 24 or 30 fps.

Q: How does Veo work?
A: Veo uses text prompts and reference images to create videos that bring pictures to life, remaining consistent in style.

Q: What is Imagen 3?
A: Imagen 3 is Google’s most advanced text-to-image generator, which now has a customization feature that enables users to include a reference image.

Q: What are the potential use cases for Veo and Imagen 3?
A: Potential customer use cases include generating images or videos for marketing and advertisement purposes, creating film clips, and more.