Beginners in AI

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Welcome to this week's edition of Beginners in AI, where we explore the latest trends, tools, and news in the world of AI and the tech that surrounds it. Like all editions, this is human curated and published with the intention of making AI news and technology more accessible to everyone.

This week’s Top Story looks at Meta’s smart glasses and how they hint at a post-smartphone future. In the round-up, we cover Microsoft’s new AI agents in Teams, Apple’s health-focused watch update, James Cameron’s take on mixed reality, Notion’s latest automation push, and Mirage’s natural-language video editor. In our Robotics Spotlight, we look at Figure’s massive new funding round for humanoid robots.

AI TOP STORY
Goodbye Phones? Meta’s Glasses Hint at the Next Platform 

What Happened

Meta has revealed a new generation of Ray-Ban smart glasses that use AI to describe what the wearer sees. A built-in camera captures the view, and an onboard assistant speaks back details in real time — from reading signs to identifying landmarks. The company says the glasses are a step toward blending everyday life with AI helpers, while keeping the device stylish enough to wear in public.

What It Means

Visual input isn’t new — phones already do it with their cameras — but putting it into glasses changes the scale. Suddenly, infinite amounts of data can stream from your eyes to Meta’s servers as you move through daily life: commuting, reading texts, working, or sitting at dinner with family. As Meta told the BBC, “This is about giving people information in the moment without needing to reach for a phone.” The form factor reveals the company’s bigger vision: AI as a constant companion and second brain, with Meta’s systems acting as the go-between.

What to Take Away

If AI can whisper answers about the world around us, what happens to the way we learn and notice things? Today’s tools still fumble — they may mislabel a sign or confuse an object — but they hint at a future where computers fade into the background of our senses. Some observers point out that Apple’s Air iPhone already uses minimal components that could slip neatly into its own version of smart glasses. Meanwhile, OpenAI is rumored to be exploring hardware with Jony Ive — the celebrated designer of the original iPhone. And when Mark Zuckerberg describes these glasses as a way to avoid reaching for a phone, it signals where the biggest tech firms are steering us: away from smartphones and into a world of always-on, always-attached wearables.

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LAST WEEK IN AI AND TECH

Copilot in Command — Microsoft Expands AI Agents in Teams

Microsoft is bringing AI agents into Teams, giving office chatrooms bots that can take actions, track tasks, and follow conversations without constant prompts. These agents can schedule meetings, pull documents, or keep tabs on projects. One Microsoft executive said, “We’re moving from assistants to actual teammates.” The rollout shows how the company wants Teams to feel less like a chat app and more like a hub for automated work.

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Watch This — Apple Uses AI to Spot Blood Pressure Trends

Apple has tapped AI to power a new blood pressure notification feature in the Apple Watch. Instead of giving exact readings, the system looks for shifts over time and warns users if something seems off. Apple explained, “It’s about giving people useful trends without requiring medical-grade calibration.” The move puts the watch deeper into health monitoring, just as rivals explore similar biometric tools.

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Avatar Advice — James Cameron Weighs in on Mixed Reality

Director James Cameron sat down with Meta’s Andrew Bosworth to talk about AI, headsets, and where storytelling meets mixed reality. Cameron admitted he’s cautious about AI but sees new mediums as natural progress, saying, “We’ve always used technology to extend our imagination.” Their chat highlights how Hollywood voices are joining tech leaders to frame the future of immersive worlds.

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Notion in Motion — Agents Take on Data and Tasks

Notion has introduced new AI agents designed to analyze data and automate everyday work. The feature means you can ask an agent to pull insights from a spreadsheet, summarize projects, or even handle repetitive tasks. As the company described it, “Agents let teams scale themselves by offloading the boring parts.” It’s another step in the race to make productivity tools double as digital coworkers.

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Cut and Paste — Mirage Makes Video Editing Simple as Typing

Startup Mirage says editing video should be as easy as working in a doc. Its new tool lets users type changes — like “cut this scene” or “brighten the lighting” — and the AI applies them instantly. The company claims, “We’re turning editing into writing.” It’s a glimpse at how creative tools are being rebuilt around natural language instead of complex software panels.

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TECH TERMS TO KNOW

Cloud Processing is running heavy computations on remote servers instead of local devices.

Example: Meta’s glasses send data to its servers before answering your question.

TOOL SPOTLIGHT (non-sponsored)

Mirage (formerly known as Captions) is an AI company focused on creating tools that use artificial intelligence to generate, edit, and transform short-form videos—perfect for platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. The company stands out for its ability to produce fully AI-generated videos that include custom actors, natural-looking speech, and expressive facial movements, all based on simple text or audio prompts. Users can also upload a selfie to create an AI "twin" for personalized videos.

Why Mirage Might Be Fun to Try

• Instant Video Creation: Mirage lets anyone make high-quality, social-ready videos just by typing a prompt, without any filming or traditional editing.

• AI-Generated Actors: Users can create an AI version of themselves or entirely new personas, choosing outfits, backgrounds, and more with ease, unlocking huge creative flexibility.

• Chat-Based Editing: The editing process is conversational—describe changes in plain language (like adding music or changing style), and Mirage’s AI does the work.

• Automatic Captions & Subtitles: The platform automatically generates accurate captions in multiple languages, making it easy to boost accessibility and engagement.

• No Rights Hassles: Mirage produces its own AI actors and visuals, so there are no worries about licensing, talent contracts, or stock assets.

• Great for Marketers & Creators: The model is optimized for short-form ads, memes, and influencer-style content—anyone can rapidly generate, customize, and test different video variations.

ROBOTICS AND AI

Robotics Spotlight — Figure Raises Big Backing for Humanoid Bots

Humanoid robot maker Figure has secured a massive Series C round, drawing investments from names like Microsoft, OpenAI, and Nvidia. The funding is aimed at speeding up development of general-purpose robots that could work in warehouses, factories, or even service roles. CEO Brett Adcock said, “We’re building machines that can take on tasks people don’t want to do, at scale.” With big tech money behind it, Figure is positioning its robots as a new class of workers that could stand alongside humans in daily life.

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TRY THIS PROMPT (copy and paste into ChatGPT, Grok, Perplexity, Gemini, or Notion)

Role:

You are EditPlanner, a project manager who turns raw creative ideas into structured production checklists.

Prompt:

"I’ll paste in my video script or project outline. Turn it into a downloadable Excel sheet with columns for: Scene Number, Description, Timing (in minutes/seconds), Required Edits, and Status. Color-code the sheet so completed edits show in green, pending ones in yellow, and overdue tasks in red. Add a summary at the bottom showing the total number of scenes, how many are done, and the percentage complete. Keep the format clean, simple, and ready to use."

Tip: You can apply the same structure to podcasts, presentations, or even lesson plans — any project that needs clear steps and progress tracking.

DID YOU KNOW?

Blood pressure sensors in wearables go back to 2001, when researchers at Georgia Tech made a wrist device long before Apple and Fitbit picked it up. The prototype used light sensors to track changes in blood flow, a method that later evolved into today’s optical heart-rate and blood pressure monitors.

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-James

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