Happy Wednesday!

In Today’s Email:

• Meet Phoenix 👋 

• Sam Altman testifies 👨‍⚖️

• AI in healthcare 🏥

Meet Phoenix 👋 

AI robots are heating up.

Sanctuary AI, a Vancouver-based robotics startup, recently revealed their newest humanoid robot, called Phoenix. The robot is designed to be “general purpose” for the workplace, completing front and back-end activities such as packing merchandise, labeling, cleaning, and more.

Phoenix stands at 5’7 and weighs 155 lbs. The bipedal robot can move at three miles per hour and can lift up to 55 pounds. The system also boasts complex hands “that rival human hand dexterity and fine manipulation with proprietary haptic technology that mimics the sense of touch.”

“We see a future where general-purpose robots are as ubiquitous as cars, helping people to do work that needs doing, in cases where there simply aren’t enough people to do that work,” says CEO Geordie Rose. “We designed Phoenix to be the most sensor-rich and physically capable humanoid ever built and to enable Carbon’s rapidly growing intelligence to perform the broadest set of work tasks possible.”

Sam Altman testifies 👨‍⚖️

Sam Altman and lawmakers agree new AI systems must be regulated.

On Tuesday, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, testified before members of the Senate to talk about AI technology. Sam suggested to lawmakers that more regulation is needed to counteract AI’s potential harm. This comes weeks after Elon Musk visited Sen. Schumer to discuss AI regulation.

“I think if this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong. And we want to be vocal about that,” Sam said. “We want to work with the government to prevent that from happening.” The tech executive went on to suggest the development of an agency that issues licenses and oversees the development of large-scale AI models, an idea suggested by Gary Marcus, an American psychologist, and frequent AI critic.

The United States has lagged behind others in AI regulation. Lawmakers in the European Union have been leading the regulatory battlefield, most notably with their proposed “AI Act.” Other countries like China have already created AI laws that comply with its censorship laws.

What do you think of AI regulation?

AI in healthcare 🏥

Healthcare continues to be an industry ripe for AI innovation.

Hippocratic AI, an AI startup based in Palo Alto is designing large language models for healthcare settings. They recently raised a $50 million seed rounds from Andreeseen Horowitz and General Catalyst. The name ‘Hippocratic’ comes from the code of ethics doctors take to “do no harm.”

The AI startup is taking a three pronged approach to test their AI in healthcare settings, which includes passing certifications, testing for “bedside manner,” and training with human feedback. Hippocratic AI is planning to release access to different healthcare “roles,” which will be released based on performance and safety.

Munjal Shah, cofounder and CEO of Hippocratic AI said, “We believe one of the biggest risks to the quality of care in America is actually staffing and having enough staffing. We just need to fill that and we need to use technology to help us.“

That’s it for today, we’ll see you back here tomorrow!