😺 Self-driving SHOWDOWN

PLUS: Axe-wielding robot CANNOT be real...

Welcome, humans.

This is fake, right? I mean, it’s GOTTA be fake… right?!‍‍

AXE Dance! That's professionalism!

Also: why is it holding axes…?!

Here’s the deal: we know for a fact this company, EngineAI is real, and that its robot can do a backflip and run like a human—and now, MAYBE, dance with axes…(!!!).

IDK about y’all, but we need some space to process this.

For that, please enjoy yarn cat.

Here’s what you need to know about AI today:

Former NASA engineer proved LiDAR outperforms Tesla's cameras.
Gemini 2.0 Flash is being used to remove image watermarks.
Baidu launched new Ernie models claiming R1 and GPT-4.5 performance.
Figure launched a facility to produce 12,000 robots annually.

Advertise in The Neuron here.

This WILD self driving test shows why you might want to think twice before trusting Tesla’s autopilot…

Can You Fool A Self Driving Car?

A YouTuber just performed the first-ever Tesla-versus-Looney-Tunes-physics test, and the results were, uh, not great for camera-based self-driving (like Tesla).

In his latest video, Former NASA engineer Mark Rober conducted a head-to-head showdown between LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and Tesla’s camera-based autonomous driving systems.

First: WTF is LiDAR? In short, a system that uses lasers to create real-time 3D maps—it fires ~640K laser pulses per second, then measures how long it takes those pulses to bounce back. Waymo, for example, relies on LiDAR for its largely successful self-driving cars.

That contrasts with Tesla’s reliance solely on cameras—a simpler, cheaper approach Elon Musk argues should be sufficient since humans drive with vision alone.

Rober tested each system to see if it could detect a child and stop in time before hitting it in a series of increasingly extreme conditions.

The results? LiDAR dominated with a 6-0 score…

Here’s how each round went, per Claude.

The most jaw-dropping moment was the finale, where Rober—showing some serious dedication—accelerated his Tesla toward a cartoon-style wall painted to look like the open road (think Wile E. Coyote).

LiDAR easily recognized the painted wall as a solid object, but the Tesla's cameras completely bought the illusion and failed to slow down. Instead, it blasted straight through at 40mph without even tapping the brakes.

The clip of Rober's "Holy..." face as his Tesla smashed through the painted tunnel might be worth the watch alone…

Why it matters: As autonomous driving becomes more mainstream, the industry is debating which technology stack offers the best balance of safety, cost, and reliability.

Interestingly, companies like Waabi (backed by NVIDIA) are tackling this problem from a different angle. Instead of picking sides in the sensor debate, they're using genAI to create ultra-realistic simulations that can test autonomous systems against countless edge cases like Rober's cartoon tunnel (with a benchmark to back it up).

Waabi recently partnered with Volvo to develop self-driving trucks using this simulation-first approach. Their system is sensor-agnostic, allowing them to combine the cost benefits of cameras with LiDAR's superior performance in challenging conditions. If any of Elon’s ppl are reading this, y’all should take some notes.

Our take: While camera systems will keep improving, Rober's test proves we're not yet at the point where they can match LiDAR's reliability in all conditions. The safest approach might be a hybrid system combining multiple sensor types—all extensively tested in simulation against every possible weird scenario—cartoon physics included.

Fun fact from the video: Rober initially used the same portable LiDAR technology to create the first-ever accurate 3D map of Disneyland's Space Mountain ride by sneaking the device onto the attraction—fulfilling his 30-year dream.

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Prompt Tip of the Day

Need to understand a complex document fast? Try these two prompts:

1. Fact Finder Prompt

Copy and paste this prompt alongside your document in ChatGPT / Claude.
Works with text pasted directly or uploaded documents.
Gives you a skimmable bullet point summary.

2. Fact Checker Prompt

Use this prompt for verifying specific facts from your summary.
Copy and paste the prompt alongside the fact you want to check.
Once it gives you the quoted text from the source doc, use Control/Command + F to search for it in the original document to verify accuracy.
FYI: This will only work with “facts” shared in your current conversation window.

Treats To Try.

Fluently helps you speak English confidently on work calls by analyzing your speech and creating personalized improvement plans.
Gemini now lets you personalize your AI assistant by connecting it to your search history, saved preferences, and past conversations.
BrowserAgent lets you create and run AI workflows directly in your browser with unlimited executions at a fixed cost.
Illustrations.app generates custom vector illustrations in seconds.
OpenJobs AI helps you chat your way to find jobs that match your skillset with direct links for where to apply.
Skarbe automates your sales workflow without the hassle of a traditional CRM.
Naoma analyzes your sales conversations to identify what makes top performers successful and helps you replicate those patterns across your team.
Interlify helps you connect ChatGPT or Claude with your company’s own data and services without needing to write complicated code.
GrammarPaw fixes your writing with one keyboard shortcut directly from your Mac's menu bar (it’s like RayCast, which is also awesome if you haven’t tried it).
As AI lowers the cost of developing software, we may get more goofy stuff like this Googly Eyes app that quite literally, is just a pair of fun Googly Eyes.

See our top 51 AI Tools for Business here!

Around the Horn.

CoreWeave (AI cloud provider) plans to IPO later this month at a $35B valuation—that’s despite the market turbulence that delayed other AI IPOs from Genesys, Databricks, and Cerebras.
Gemini 2.0 Flash’s image editing capabilities are now being used to remove watermarks from images.
Baidu (China’s Google) released Ernie X1 and Ernie 4.5 AI models, claiming comparable performance to R1 and GPT-4.5 at dramatically lower prices.
OpenAI and Elon Musk agreed to fast-track the dispute over OpenAI’s non-profit transition—the trial will now take place in December.
Human nurses are pushing back against AI nurses like those offered by Hippocratic AI, Qventus, and Xoltar to protect their jobs and patients (they say the AI can sometimes generate false alarms or give dangerous advice).
Apple’s AI Siri team called the delay an “ugly” situation, and doesn’t plan to release the feature this year unless it can solve the fact that it doesn’t work up to 33% of the time.
AI robot startup Figure announced BotQ, a new facility to produce up to 12K of its humanoid robot units a year at scale—with robots helping build more robots.

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