The Obtain: A long life influencer’s new faith, and humanoid robots’ shortcomings

Bryan Johnson is on a mission to not die. The 47-year-old multimillionaire has already utilized his slogan “Don’t Die” to occasions, merchandise, and a Netflix documentary. Now he’s founding a Don’t Die faith.

Johnson, who famously spends tens of millions of {dollars} on scans, checks, dietary supplements, and a way of life routine designed to sluggish or reverse the growing older course of, has loved in depth media protection, and an enormous social media following. For many individuals, he has change into the face of the longevity area.

I sat down with Johnson at an occasion for individuals considering longevity in Berkeley, California, in late April to listen to extra about the important thing concern underpinning his Don’t Die mission: guaranteeing AI is aligned with preserving human existence. Learn the complete story.

—Jessica Hamzelou

Why the humanoid workforce is operating late

Final week I watched Daniela Rus, one of many world’s high consultants on AI-powered robots, tackle a packed room at a Boston robotics expo. Rus spent a portion of her discuss busting the notion that enormous fleets of humanoids are already making themselves helpful in manufacturing and warehouses around the globe. 

That may come as a shock. For years AI has made it quicker to coach robots, and buyers have responded feverishly. Determine AI, a startup that goals to construct general-purpose humanoid robots for each properties and trade, is a $1.5 billion funding spherical, and there are industrial experiments with humanoids at Amazon and auto producers. Financial institution of America predicts wider adoption of those robots across the nook, with a billion humanoids at work by 2050.

However Rus and lots of others I spoke with on the expo counsel that this hype simply doesn’t add up. Learn the complete story.

—James O’Donnell