TechFirst with John Koetsier

The future could be much healthier for both farmers and everyone who eats, thanks to farm robots that kill weeds with lasers. In this episode of TechFirst, we chat with Paul Mikesell, CEO of Carbon Robotics, to discuss groundbreaking advancements in agricultural technology.

Paul shares updates since our last conversation in 2021, including the launch of LaserWeeder G2 and Carbon's autonomous tractor technology: AutoTractor....

Can robots reduce herbicide and fertilizer use on farms by up to 90%?

Probably yes.

In this episode of TechFirst we chat with Verdant Robotics' CEO Gabe Sibley about SharpShooter, the company's state-of-the-art farm tech that precisely targets herbicide and fertilizer application, massively reducing chemical use.

That's huge for the environment.

It's also huge for farmer's pocketbooks ... because her...

Will your next browser be AI-enabled? AI-first? Perhaps even an AI agent?

In this episode of TechFirst, John Koetsier sits down with Henrik Lexow, Senior Product Leader at Opera, to explore Opera Neon, a big step toward agentic browsers that think, act, and create alongside you.

(And buy stuff you want, simply hard problems, and do some of your work for you.)

Opera’s new browser integrates real AI agents capable of executi...

Can nuclear waste solve the energy crisis caused by AI data centers? Maybe. And maybe much more, including providing rare elements we need like rhodium, palladium, ruthenium, krypto-85, Americium-241, and more.

Amazingly:

- 96% of nuclear fuel’s energy is left after it's "used"

- Recycling can reduce 10,000-year waste storage needs to just 300 years

- Curio’s new process avoids toxic nitric acid and extracts valua...

Neura Robotics officially launched shed 4NE-1 this week. It's the leading European humanoid robot and it's the most powerful humanoid robot in existence right, as far as I'm aware, able to life 100kg or 220 pounds.

Neura also released a plan to build 5 million robots by 2030, a new home service robot named MiPA, a new 'Omnisensor' technology platform for integrating input from multiple types of sensors, and a...

AI is big these days. Massive. More parameters, more memory, more capability. But what if the future is in tiny AI. Neural networks as small at 8 kilobytes on tiny chips, embedded in everything?

Think smart shoes.

Smart doors.

Smart ... everything

In this episode of TechFirst, host John Koetsier discusses the future of smart devices with Yubei Chen, co-founder of AIzip.

The conversation explores how small-scale AI can revol...

IBM has just unveiled its boldest quantum computing roadmap yet: Starling, the first large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer—coming in 2029. Capable of running 20,000X more operations than today’s quantum machines, Starling could unlock breakthroughs in chemistry, materials science, and optimization.

According to IBM, this is not just a pie-in-the-sky roadmap: they actually have the ability to make Starling happen.

In th...

How will we scale humanoid robot product to hundreds of thousands and millions of units?

In this TechFirst we do a deep dive with Apptronik CEO Jeff Cardenas. We chat about Apptronik's Apollo, his recent $400M+ funding round, the partnership with manufacturing giant Jabil, and much more.

We also talk about innovations in AI that have accelerated robot learning and dexterous manipulation, the challenge of scaling manufact...

Would you want a personal AI that acts as your twin mind? I've always dreamed of never forgetting anything. And instantly and effortlessly remembering anything I need, right away. Now, an AI-driven app called TwinMind might help me do something similar.

In this episode of TechFirst we chat with Daniel George, the CEO of TwinMind. This innovative AI app aims to become your second brain, capturing and processing your life even...

Microsoft just announced a massive quantum computer breakthrough that uses an entirely new state of matter. The new quantum computer uses topological superconductors to create stable qubits with low error rates.

Topological superconductors enable stable qubits by utilizing Majorana zero modes to protect quantum information from decoherence.

The result: Microsoft should have a fault-tolerant usable quantum computer this decad...

What humanoid robots is Europe working on? There are maybe 100 humanoid robot companies on the planet, and 16 major ones, but none in Europe according to Peter Diamandis' recent report.

That might just have changed.

Neura Robotics out of Germany is working on the third generation of its 4NE-1 robot and CEO David Reger says in June they'll be releasing it. And it should be the best humanoid robot on the planet, he say...

It feels like we're at a tipping point right now in humanoid robotics. Models are getting released faster and faster, more and more capable than ever. Robots are actually taking paying gigs in warehouses and factories, and there's accelerating innovation. Author, engineer, doctor, investor, and entrepreneur Peter Diamandis just released a major report on the entire industry, and together we dive into what's happening a...

Most of the time when we're talking about humanoid robots, we're talking about laborers ... workers who will fill our factories and fields. What about friends? Companions? Or more? In this episode of TechFirst, host John Koetsier chats with Andrew Kiguel, CEO of Realbotix, and Aria, his hyper-realistic AI-integrated robot. We talk about the development, capabilities, and future applications of robots designed for companionship a...

Predicting Space Weather with AI & Satellites: A TechFirst Exclusive

In this episode of TechFirst, host John Koetsier chats with Alex Pospeckov, CEO of Mission Space, about the critical role of space weather forecasting. Learn how advanced AI and a planned constellation of 24 satellites will predict space weather and protect billions of dollars of assets.

Discover the implications for aerospace companies, power plants, satel...

Could you love an AI? What does love with "digital humans?" look like? Is this the future of relationships? In this TechFirst, we chat with Artem Rodichev, CEO of Ex-human and former head of AI at Replika. We dive into the concept of forming relationships with AI companions and the future of love and friendship in a world integrating advanced artificial intelligence. The discussion covers Rachev's new startup, issues of loneline...

Is AGI just a really dumb idea?

Is the concept essentially meaningless?

And are we entirely barking up the wrong tree?

In this episode of TechFirst, host John Koetsier interviews Neil Lawrence, the DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge and senior Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute about his latest book 'The Atomic Human: What Makes Us Unique in the Age of AI.'

Lawrence explores th...

How will AI change games? How is AI changing games? In this TechFirst we chat with Morgan McGuire, Roblox's Chief Scientist and a former Nvidia research scientist. He tells host John Koetsier how AI is not only enhancing game creation through generative AI but also revolutionizing multiplayer game safety with advanced AI moderation systems. We chat about the explosive growth of Roblox and share insights into how AI is shapin...

Is an AI system smart when it can do what a human can do? Or … when it can do things humans can’t do? For years we’ve had the Turing Test … measuring AI’s ability to mimic being human. But is that really the right benchmark? In this TechFirst, host John Koetsier chats with a computer scientist who has been working in AI for more than a decade. He’s currently VP strategy at Intuition Robotics, which makes an AI-powered robotic car...

A whimsically-named quantum company named Alice & Bob actually has a quantum chip in the Google Cloud marketplace. Its "cat qbits" solve a massive issue that affects all other quantum chips. And it might just make quantum computing actually matter In this episode of TechFirst, host John Koetsier explores the fascinating paradox of building a quantum computer with Théau Peronnin, CEO and co-founder of Alice and Bob. ...