Bitcoin Halving 2024 and Retired Robots

Well hello there and welcome to this week’s metalabs newsletter! Here are some of the best & most interesting ideas in the world of tech for non-techies that I’ve been looking at that I think you’d find interesting.

- Bitcoin Halving Happened
- Marques Brownlee vs Humane AI Pin
- Boston Dynamics retired a robot but showed off a new one

Bitcoin Halving - What is it & why does it matter?

I’m not going to try to explain Bitcoin to you but the basic idea is that every 4 years the rewards in Bitcoin get slashed in half. In the past, this has led to an increase in price due to the continued rise in demand for Bitcoin.

If this makes no sense let’s try to explain what this means by using pizza. Why pizza? Well, it’s delicious and I’m a bit hungry, but probably more interestingly is that. The first-ever Bitcoin purchase was made for two pizzas in 2010.

Now famously known as 'Bitcoin Pizza Day'. This day is celebrated on May 22 every year to commemorate the event that marked the first real-world transaction using Bitcoin.

So if you want to learn a bit more about halving & enjoy pizza let’s make this deliciously simple.

Bitcoin Halving explained in terms of pizza 

Imagine Bitcoin is a giant pizza that gets cut into smaller and smaller slices over time. Every so often, a magical pizza cutter comes along and slices all the existing Bitcoin slices in half. This magical pizza cutter is called the "Bitcoin Halving" event.

Why does this happen? 

Well, the Bitcoin pizza is designed to have only a limited number of slices, specifically 21 million. As more and more slices are made, the Bitcoin pizza needs to make sure it doesn't run out of slices too quickly. So, every time the magical pizza cutter comes, it makes each Bitcoin slice more valuable because there are fewer slices to go around.

This magical pizza cutter visits about every four years, or every 210,000 slices (or blocks), whichever comes first. The last time it was scheduled to visit was on April 20, 2024. When the Bitcoin slices were halved from 6.25 slices per block to 3.125 slices per block.

So, what does this mean for Bitcoin pizza lovers? 

Well, it's like a big pizza party where everyone gets excited about the slices becoming more valuable. At the pizza party this is where each slice is becoming smaller yet there are still people who are hungry. This only creates more pizza demand for a smaller amount.

Ultimately, the Bitcoin halving is a way to control inflation and extend the longevity of bitcoins by regulating how quickly they are mined. It makes sure that the Bitcoin "pizza party" can continue for many years, making each slice—each bitcoin—potentially more valuable as they become rarer.

Marques Brownlee vs Humane AI Pin

Marques Brownlee is one of the biggest tech YouTubers. He recently reviewed the Humane AI Pin on April 14th, 2024, and described it as "the worst product I've ever reviewed."

Even though he mentioned some positives like the ease of saving quick voice notes and first-person video capabilities, he found the AI Pin "bad at almost everything it does" due to its slow responses, incorrect answers, poor image and video quality, and a dim projector that makes it difficult to see content on your hand when outdoors.

What is the Humane AI Pin?

It’s a wearable personal assistant device that was designed to analyse a person's surroundings and provide information in real-time. The device, priced at $699 plus a $24 monthly subscription, has faced significant criticism for its performance and user experience. The device is a part of Humane, Inc., which has raised more than $230 million in funding before the product launch.

Brownlee's review sparked a debate on social media, with some people criticising his review as potentially harmful to the device's success, while others defended his right to provide an honest and critical assessment of the product's capabilities.

What was most interesting about this whole debate?

A demonstration of the power of influencers on companies

I haven’t personally tried to use Hamane AI Pin so I can’t make any specific comments on the opinions shared. But what interested me about this whole situation was the public backlash that happened around it.

On one side you had people who were criticising the review by Marques Brownlee because he has so much sway on public opinion in regard to tech news and advice. On the other side you had people who were praising him for ‘telling the truth’ with his honest opinion.

For me this shows the growing influence that individuals have over big companies with deep pockets. People follow ‘influencers’ because they want to hear their honest thoughts and opinions.

Marques Brownlee has earned the trust over years of providing his thoughts on 100s of products that he can say his opinion whether it’s good or bad. (Brownlee was even in one of the Promo videos for the latest Apple events)

Companies are starting to really see the power and impact of influencers like him with millions of followers but even smaller accounts. This is why products get shipped for review to YouTubers all the time. Regardless if you share the opinion that he is right or wrong to be able to negatively impact a company so much - this power of influencers isn’t going away any time soon.

I don’t think anyone would be complaining if he gave a glowing review that gave them 1,000s or new orders that they didn’t have to pay for.

Boston Dynamics Retiring Robots & Unveiling the Future

Boston Dynamics released a video unveiling their next generation humanoid robot—a "fully electric Atlas robot designed for real-world applications."

The Boston Dynamics Atlas robot is a bipedal humanoid robot that has been developed with funding and oversight from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

It was initially designed for search and rescue tasks and was first unveiled to the public in July 2013. The robot has been well-known for its ability to perform a wide range of tasks, including lifting and manoeuvring heavy, irregular objects, and even performing dance routines.

In April 2024, the hydraulic version of Atlas was retired, and Boston Dynamics announced a fully electric version designed for real-world applications. This new version is equipped with whole-body mobility and bimanual manipulation capabilities. The electric Atlas is intended to be stronger, more dexterous, and more agile than its predecessor, with a focus on tackling dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks.

The development of Atlas has been a significant step forward in robotics, showcasing Boston Dynamics' commitment to creating robots that can operate effectively in a variety of environments. The electric Atlas represents a new era in robotics, with the potential for further advancements in the field.

What gets me excited that I think you should know about?

The developments in robotics are super exciting to follow along to. Sure it might seem a bit trivial to see a piece of metal awkwardly stand up and walk away, but these advancements we’re seeing lately are coming in pretty fast.

With robotics companies partnering up with Ai (check out this wild video of a Figure 01 & OpenAi)

So what, we can all organise our own dishes right?

It’s not just the tasks they are showing off it’s the fact they this is all hardware, software and manufacturing that has created these new machines.

It’s like we’re watching the Wright brothers creating plane prototypes. We would look at the planes and think that these are clunky devices that have no relevance to our world. “There’s no way I’d get in one of those and be in the air”

But they were showcasing what was possible with a new invention and piece of technology. What seemed impossible for most people to imagine themselves being a part of, has become a normal part of life — hello £50 Ryanair to Alicante, Spain.

What does all of this have to do with robots?

I think we’re seeing the clunky prototypes that might seem silly or redundant now but will become normal everyday devices in the near future.

I’d take a guess businesses will adopt robotics faster first as it will increase productivity and efficiency. Then will come the high-end luxury market before eventually there will be more affordable options for most homes.

Just like it is with manufacturing cars. Prototypes are easy, but manufacturing at a mass scale is more difficult and costly so it might be a while before all the kinks are ironed out and the cost of production & materials are reduced.

That’s it for this week folks. In the next newsletter, I’d like to do a deep dive into Newsletters and why I think they are great for businesses & individuals who sell products online. I’ve got a case study of how 1 company grew to 250,000 subscribers in 10 months and then got acquired.