Whether it be in the office or on the airplane headed to our next program, we’re always talking about the issues and trends that are shaping the way we learn as well as what interests each of us on the team. This year, we thought we’d share these insights through a weekly series. To round out the year, we’re including some recent stand outs below. Here’s to launching 2026!
Just don’t call it AGI: At the tail end of a year in which AI has gone from an alluring buzzword to a business staple, some industry leaders are starting to be a little more careful with language. The term “Artificial General Intelligence,” once synonymous with the idea of AI, may now mean any number of things to consumers who now have real world experience with AI models and related products. Reported in the Verge, companies are employing terms like “useful general intelligence” (Amazon) and “Approachable Intelligence” (Microsoft) as a way to differentiate and recontextualize their products. If anything, a good, old fashioned rebrand confirms what we all already know; these products are here to stay and will continue to shape business operations and decisions, no matter what they’re called.
Big things do come in small packages… in space: This year, two scrappy space startups pulled a cosmic coup. Using autonomous software, they successfully rendezvoused with another spacecraft using just a single camera and software. Eliminating expensive, complex sensor systems made it an order of magnitude cheaper than existing solutions. The collaboration isn’t just a ‘gee whiz’ nerd story but marks a significant shift toward more accessible in-space transportation and satellite servicing, opening new possibilities for the commercial space industry. The steps may be small, but the implications are large.
3D printed watches are just cool, and with absolutely no experience in the industry, we think we should print all gadgets like this: Apple has unlocked a new level in manufacturing innovation. Every Apple Watch Ultra 3 and titanium Series 11 case is now crafted using advanced 3D printing with 100% recycled aerospace-grade titanium powder—a first at this scale. This breakthrough cuts raw material use by 50%, saving more than 400 metric tons of titanium in the first year alone. Reminding us innovation is as much about the end result as how we get there.
Remember, look, then leap: Finally, the Wall Street Journal shared a video this week about an experiment in which staff let Anthropic’s Claude AI control their vending machine. The results were predictably humorous, with the AI ‘stocking’ (the humans had to do all the manual labor) the machine with a diverse array of products including a live fish, PlayStation and a few bottles of wine. In the end, that was the point. Releasing these models a bit unprepared in a controlled, semi real-world context allows programmers to stress test them and find appropriate restrictions.