Touchable Holograms, LLMs in Space, & More AI Updates from Amazon

Dr. Ryan Ries here. Just a couple of weeks ago, I told one of my coworkers that I hadn’t really been too excited about many of the news stories coming out around AI.

Well, the universe must’ve heard me… 

Between last week’s half-marathon-running robots and this week’s holograms you can touch, there have been many interesting news articles recently. Let’s get into it.

Gen AI Updates from Microsoft & Amazon

Microsoft and Amazon made major announcements this week, highlighting an important question: Are we witnessing GenAI opening new frontiers of human agency, or are we speeding through the old tech consolidation cycle again?

Microsoft's "Frontier Firm" Vision: Microsoft has boldly declared 2025 as "the year the frontier firm is born" in their latest Work Trend Index. They describe a new corporate species where GenAI teammates empower humans to move faster, think bigger, and shape strategy at every level. Their report emphasizes that "humans remain in charge" — AI will elevate us, not replace us.

Amazon's AI Expansion: Meanwhile, Amazon is framing Alexa+ and their expanding GenAI stack as the next great leap forward. CEO Andy Jassy's latest shareholder letter details how Amazon's "Why" culture — relentlessly asking why services can't be faster, broader, smarter — is now turbocharged by generative AI models.

Both companies are building integrated AI ecosystems from data ingestion to decision-making, and their strategic moves will shape how AI evolves in enterprise settings.

The Radio Host That Wasn’t Real

In an eye-opening development from Australia, an AI-generated radio host named Thy has been broadcasting on Sydney's CADA station for months without listeners noticing.

The voice of Thy was created using ElevenLabs' AI voice technology, modeled after a real employee in the company's financial department. The show, "Workdays with Thy," features a four-hour mix of hip hop, R&B, and pop, reaching an estimated 72,000 listeners — with no disclosure that the host is AI-generated.

This raises important questions about transparency in AI deployment. As Teresa Lim, VP of the Australian Association of Voice Actors noted, "Australian listeners deserve honesty and upfront disclosure instead of a lack of transparency leading them to trust a fake person they think is a real on-air person."

This reminds me of Mission: Generate – the podcast Casey Samulski, our Director of Product Marketing, and I started back in 2023. 

We created the script together for each episode and used wondercraft.ai to clone our voices so we didn’t have to spend time recording and editing each episode. 

The difference is that at the start of each episode, we added a disclaimer that, while the content was created by Casey and I, the voices our listeners were hearing weren’t actually us. 

Transparency is key with this work. 

(Some episodes, where we are interviewing customers or partners, are really us, though!)

Llama Goes to Space

In what might be the highest deployment of AI yet (literally), Meta has partnered with Booz Allen Hamilton to bring Llama to the International Space Station (ISS). They've created a custom version of Llama 3.2 that runs locally on the ISS's onboard computers, which were already equipped with Nvidia GPUs.

What makes this possible is Llama's open-source nature, providing the flexibility needed to fine-tune it for the unique constraints of space computing. The astronauts can now use the multimodal AI to enhance their research, quickly parse technical documentation, and work seamlessly across audio, text, and visuals.

While ISS astronauts do have internet access, the connection can be unreliable. With Llama running locally, they have a dependable AI assistant regardless of their connection to Earth. 

The system is believed to be the first LLM deployed beyond our planet and could pave the way for AI applications in future missions to the Moon and Mars.

Other Cool News I’m Reading About

Did you hear that scientists found a new color outside of human perception?

Scientists have built a device called "Oz" that uses a special laser to stimulate the retina in a way that reportedly reveals a never-before-seen color they've named "olo." 

Test subjects describe it as a "blue-green of unprecedented saturation." While some researchers are disputing whether this truly counts as a "new color," the experiment raises fascinating questions about the limitations of human perception and how technology might expand our sensory experience.

Touchable Holograms Finally Here 

Remember those interactive holograms from sci-fi movies? 

They're becoming reality with FlexiVol, a breakthrough technology that allows users to physically manipulate holographic objects with their bare hands. The system uses a new elastic diffuser technology that creates tactile feedback when users interact with virtual objects. 

This could completely transform how we interact with digital content, from design work to remote collaboration, training, and entertainment.

Until next time,
Ryan

Now, for this week’s AI-generated image and the prompt I used to create it. "Generate an image of a llama floating around in space. The llama is wearing a white space suit which has the Mission logo on the chest. I have attached the Mission logo for your reference."

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