1. One thing that helps
Are you ready to have a virtual assistant that is truly virtual? Several companies are promoting AI agents as an efficient way to manage both our digital and real-world lives (e.g. booking our flights and accommodation for a trip). But what is an AI agent?
AI agents are not just chatbots like ChatGPT. They are designed to achieve a specific goal using both conversational and reasoning skills. They must adapt to their environment to perform tasks or solve problems. Think of them as responsive, decision-making entities that can act rationally and deliver the result you need. Google’s Project Mariner is a good example:
AI agents not only follow commands, but also make decisions as they encounter roadblocks. They will apply skills they’ve learned to other tasks, even outside the scope of their previous environment. The scope and scale of what they can do is expanding quickly, but as the next article shows, it may be wise to always keep a human in the loop!
2. One to be wary of
AI agents are becoming very popular and are improving customer service. But here’s a cautionary tale for companies that are in a rush to automate. Anysphere’s software-coding assistant, Cursor, has lost customers when their AI chatbot went rogue.
It all started with a bug that caused customers to be logged out when switching between devices. When customers contacted customer support, "Sam" replied that the logouts were expected behaviour under a new login policy. The problem? There is NO new policy nor anyone called Sam. Customers had been talking to a hallucinating AI all along. Despite numerous apologies, the company lost customers who were upset that they didn't disclose the AI and that the advice given was incorrect.
Customer support is considered the sweet spot for AI agents, but removing humans from the loop should be done with caution. The hallucinations, that anyone who has worked with AI knows well, may not only lose you customers but could also land the company in legal trouble. After all, AI makes mistakes and when they do, you are ultimately responsible.
3 One to amaze
Defy gravity by driving a car upside-down!
McMurtry Automotive has revealed the Spéirling, a car that can stick to the road like a gecko - no matter which way it is facing. This car boasts insane speed and handling and can corner at three times the force of gravity! And of course, you can drive upside down with Spéirling’s Downforce-on-Demand that produces 2,000kg of downforce even when stationary! See this demonstration:
The secret to these feats is a fan system installed on the undercarriage that can spin up to 23,000 rpm. This produces enough downforce to keep the car stuck to the platform even at a standstill. Did I mention that this is an electric car?
This is just a prototype with bigger plans for future releases. For around one million Euros, you can get your very own. Just be quick, as there are only one hundred being produced. Stuck in traffic? Just drive through the tunnel’s roof!