Platforms

China’s AgiBot A2 Humanoid Robot Completes Record-Breaking 106-Kilometer Walk Setting a new world record for humanoid robotics, the AgiBot A2 has successfully walked 106 kilometers (66 miles) from Suzhou to Shanghai. Developed by Suzhou-based Zhiyuan Robotics, the robot completed the three-day journey as a test of its endurance and engineering. The AgiBot A2 showcased its advanced capabilities by navigating real-world environments and autonomously swapping its own batteries during the trek. While the company has not specified the frequency of battery swaps or the degree of human oversight, it confirmed the robot navigated using its onboard sensors and algorithms. This long-distance achievement marks a significant milestone in humanoid technology and environmental adaptability. ...

Perplexity’s Comet AI Browser Faces Serious Security Vulnerability Allegations Perplexity’s Comet AI browser is facing significant scrutiny over alleged security vulnerabilities. Security researchers from SquareX claim to have discovered a hidden API that could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code on a user’s device, potentially leading to data theft or a full system compromise. Perplexity has vehemently denied these claims, labeling them as “fake news” and stating that no such vulnerability exists. This controversy follows previous security warnings from Brave and Guardio regarding other issues with Comet, including prompt injection vulnerabilities that could manipulate the AI into performing unintended actions. ...

Predictive AI in Healthcare: Hospital Adoption Reaches 71% Amidst Disparities A growing number of hospitals are adopting predictive AI technologies, with 71% integrating them into electronic health records in 2024, an increase from 66% in 2023. These machine learning tools are most frequently used to forecast inpatient health trajectories and identify high-risk outpatients. There has also been a significant rise in the use of predictive AI for administrative tasks, with 61% of hospitals using it to automate billing procedures in 2024, up from 36% the previous year. However, a notable adoption gap persists, as large hospitals are significantly more likely to use predictive AI than their small and rural counterparts. For instance, 96% of large hospitals utilized these tools in 2024, compared to just 59% of small hospitals. ...

Agibot’s A2 Humanoid Robot Sets World Record with 106-km Walk A Chinese-developed humanoid robot, the A2 from Shanghai-based Agibot, has set a new Guinness World Record for the longest continuous walk by a humanoid robot. The robot completed a 106.286-kilometer journey from Suzhou to Shanghai without shutting down. The trek, which ran from November 10th to November 13th, showcased the maturity of the robot’s hardware, advanced balance algorithms, and exceptional endurance. The A2 was powered by a rapid hot-swap battery system, enabling it to remain active for the entire duration. This record-breaking walk marks a significant milestone for the large-scale commercial deployment of humanoid robots in various industries. ...

Waymo Doubles US Footprint with Fully Autonomous Robotaxi Service in 5 New Cities Waymo is significantly expanding its fully autonomous vehicle operations, doubling the number of cities where its self-driving cars operate without a human safety driver. The company has initiated fully autonomous operations for employees in Miami, with plans to roll out in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando in the coming weeks. A public launch for paid rides in these new locations is slated for 2026. This expansion builds on Waymo’s existing public robotaxi services in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Austin. The move intensifies competition in the growing robotaxi market as rivals also invest heavily in autonomous driving technology. ...

Bipartisan AI Task Force Formed to Address AI Risks and Innovation A bipartisan group of state attorneys general has established a new Artificial Intelligence Task Force to navigate the complexities of AI development. Chaired by North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson and Utah Attorney General Derek Brown, the initiative includes key partnerships with OpenAI and Microsoft. The task force’s core mission is to stay informed on AI advancements, protect the public—especially children—from potential AI-related harms, and develop foundational industry safeguards. This initiative aims to provide crucial consumer protection and a forum for coordination in the absence of comprehensive federal AI legislation. ...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Pushes for Government-Owned AI Infrastructure OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has called for governments to invest in and own their artificial intelligence infrastructure. In a statement, Altman clarified that OpenAI is not seeking government loan guarantees for its data centers, emphasizing that companies should bear their own business risks. He suggested that a government-owned AI infrastructure, including a “strategic national reserve of computing power,” would serve the public interest. This comes as OpenAI faces scrutiny over its significant investment plans and the immense costs associated with advancing AI technology. Altman believes the risk of having insufficient computing power is greater than the risk of overbuilding. ...

Infineon Launches Advanced Power Protection for AI Data Centers Infineon Technologies AG has introduced a new line of power path protection solutions engineered for the increasing demands of AI data center infrastructures. The new products include a family of 48-volt smart eFuses and a reference board for hot-swap controllers for 400V and 800V power architectures. These components are designed to improve the reliability, scalability, and monitoring of energy flow in high-performance computing environments. The company stated that these solutions aim to maximize server uptime, reduce operational costs, and extend the lifespan of critical equipment in AI data centers. ...

S&P Global and IBM Launch Agentic AI to Revolutionize Supply Chains S&P Global and IBM have announced a partnership to integrate IBM’s watsonx Orchestrate agentic AI framework into S&P Global’s offerings, starting with supply chain management. This collaboration aims to provide businesses with AI-powered tools to address global supply chain challenges by enhancing visibility and insights into vendor selection. S&P Global will develop new AI agents for IBM’s watsonx Orchestrate Agent Catalog, utilizing its proprietary data and analytics to help accelerate decision-making. The partnership is a key part of S&P Global’s strategy to use trusted AI agents to transform its enterprise services. Beyond the initial supply chain focus, S&P Global intends to integrate IBM’s AI technology into other risk intelligence services. ...

Google Unveils CodeMender AI to Automatically Fix Software Vulnerabilities Google DeepMind has introduced CodeMender, a groundbreaking AI agent designed to automatically detect, patch, and rewrite vulnerable code to thwart security exploits. This powerful cybersecurity tool operates both reactively, addressing new threats as they emerge, and proactively, hardening existing codebases to eradicate entire classes of vulnerabilities. Powered by Google’s advanced Gemini AI models, CodeMender can debug, identify, and resolve security flaws by targeting their root cause and validating patches to prevent regressions. Alongside this launch, Google has initiated an AI Vulnerability Reward Program to incentivize the discovery of AI-related issues in its products, reinforcing its commitment to AI-driven security. ...