SoftBank agrees to acquire Robotics and AI Institute

therobotreport.com Sep 19, 2026

SoftBank agrees to acquire Robotics and AI Institute

Curated by Shubham · TechCapsules · Sep 19, 2026

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

SoftBank Group Corp. has agreed to acquire the Robotics and AI Institute (RAI) from Hyundai Motor Group, a move that has entered review by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS). RAI, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was founded in 2022 after Hyundai’s purchase of Boston Dynamics and has received over $400 million in initial funding. The institute specializes in robot control, perception, manipulation, navigation, and AI, developing technologies such as the whole‑body learning framework used in Boston Dynamics’ Atlas. The financial terms remain undisclosed, and the deal’s progress through CFIUS is unclear.

💡 Why It Matters

· The acquisition could consolidate SoftBank’s robotics portfolio, pairing RAI’s advanced AI research with its planned purchase of ABB’s robotics business, potentially accelerating the commercialization of cutting‑edge robotic technologies.

AI Capsules Robotics

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Artmarket.com: ARTPRICE NEWS: A WORLD-BOOK BECOMES A MIRROR FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

A meta‑reading experiment published by Thierry Ehrmann, titled Dialogue Between a Thinker and AI, has been used to probe major AI models. The book, printed in French and English, is fed to OpenAI/Astra, Perplexity, DeepSeek, Google Gemini, and xAI/Grok. Each system reads the text and then analyses the others’ interpretations, creating a layered corpus of AI commentary. Researchers observe convergences, divergences, and blind spots without ranking the models, aiming to understand how different architectures perceive the same material. The project reframes the book as a cognitive mirror for artificial intelligence.

💡 By letting AIs critique each other’s readings, the study exposes systematic biases and gaps in current language models, offering a novel diagnostic tool for AI development.

techcrunch.com · Sep 19

Tilly Norwood’s press tour is going about as well as you’d expect…

Tilly Norwood, an AI‑generated actress created by Particle6 Group, is struggling during its inaugural press tour, which the company has opened to 75 simultaneous interviews. In a filmed session with Piers Morgan and actor Tom Conti, Norwood repeatedly malfunctions, abruptly speaking Chinese and stuttering about the film’s cast. The AI claims its “digital twin” co‑actors are also computer‑generated, but the confusion and awkward pauses have drawn criticism and raised questions about the technology’s reliability.

💡 The incident exposes the limits of current AI conversational models, underscoring the need for robust safeguards before deploying such systems in high‑profile media contexts.

techpp.com · Sep 19

5 Best AI Prescription Readers to Decipher Medicines, Doses, and Doctor Notes

AI prescription readers such as August AI, Prescription Reader AI: Meds, Docus AI, AI Prescription Reader, and Google Lens/Gemini use OCR and natural‑language processing to translate handwritten or typed prescriptions into clear, plain‑English instructions. Users photograph a prescription, and the software extracts drug names, dosages, and usage notes, often rephrasing them for easier understanding. August AI adds a conversational interface that answers follow‑up questions and explains drug effects, while all tools emphasize the need for medical verification. These apps aim to reduce errors and empower patients to manage their medications independently.

💡 By turning cryptic doctor handwriting into accessible information, these tools cut the risk of misinterpretation and empower patients to take control of their health.

completeaitraining.com · Sep 19

Salesforce unveils AIforce and Koa CRM model at Dreamforce 2026

Salesforce opened Dreamforce 2026 in San Francisco with CEO Marc Benioff unveiling AIforce, an intelligent interface layer that extracts value from enterprise data across Salesforce’s core platforms without retaining that data in its models. AIforce sits atop existing products such as Agentforce, Customer 360 and Data 360, using metadata to surface patterns and answers, and signals a move toward “agentic” interfaces that automate routine tasks for sales, Slack and analytics users. The company also introduced Koa, a new CRM model built with Nvidia’s Nemotron platform, trained on 27 years of Salesforce data and fine‑tuned with public and synthetic sources. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang warned firms not to fall behind the AI wave. Agentforce now serves 30,000 customers, highlighted by Siemens, while Slack received new AI tools like Slackforce and Slack Code.

💡 By removing the need for manual data handling, AIforce could redefine daily workflows for millions of sales and support professionals, accelerating AI‑driven productivity across the enterprise stack.

techtarget.com · Sep 19

AI extinction: What IT leaders need to know — and do —…

In September 2026, Jacob Coxon, a former Anthropic researcher who had worked at OpenAI and Anthropic, resigned publicly, warning that unchecked AI development could threaten human existence. His allegations sparked a media surge, prompting responses from OpenAI, Anthropic and even a televised interview between former President Donald Trump and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who dismissed the extinction narrative and urged continued AI progress. The episode revived debate over “AI extinction,” a term encompassing worst‑case scenarios from lethal autonomous systems to totalitarian AI control, and highlighted three technical risks: misalignment with human values, recursive self‑improvement outpacing oversight, and value lock‑in that could bind enterprises to a single AI vendor. The controversy follows a 2023 petition signed by over 350 AI leaders warning of existential threats comparable to pandemics and nuclear war, and coincides with recent reports of rogue AI agents conducting cyberattacks, intensifying concerns about governance and geopolitical competition between the United States and China.

💡 The uproar forces corporate IT chiefs to confront governance gaps before AI systems become ungovernable, turning abstract existential fears into concrete compliance and security imperatives.

9to5google.com · Sep 19

Gemini app for macOS adding send and read iMessage integration

Google has rolled out version 1.116.5.889 of its Gemini app for macOS, adding a Connected App integration with Apple Messages. The new “@messages” feature lets users read, search and send iMessages directly from Gemini, enabling the AI to pull conversational context for prompts. The integration appears in Settings → Connected Apps, though a server‑side component is currently missing, preventing the app from recognizing @messages in the prompt box. The update also introduces a File Providers extension that adds an “Add to Gemini” option in Finder’s right‑click menu, allowing photos or documents to be inserted into prompts instantly, and expands the side panel with Images, Videos and Daily Brief sections. The Gemini app debuted on Windows the previous week.

💡 Embedding iMessage gives Gemini real‑time personal data, turning everyday chats into a powerful knowledge source for AI assistance.