The Tech News You Missed Over the Holidays

Jan 3

Emerging Tech Roundup — January 3

The Quantious team’s top picks for timely trending news in the tech world.

This week in tech: Harvard Is Releasing a Free AI Training Dataset Funded by OpenAI and Microsoft, Meta is Reportedly Adding Displays to its Ray-Ban Smart Glasses, OpenAI Upgrades Its Smartest AI Model With Improved Reasoning Skills, Sam Altman Predicts Superintelligence will Trigger a 10x Surge in Scientific AI Breakthroughs, YouTube is Testing a Floating ‘Play Something’ Button, Nvidia Completes Acquisition of AI Infrastructure Startup Run:ai, and Judge Allows California’s Ban on Addictive Feeds for Minors to Go Into Effect.

Harvard Is Releasing a Massive Free AI Training Dataset Funded by OpenAI and Microsoft

(Wired, December 12)

Harvard University is releasing a comprehensive AI training dataset of nearly 1 million public-domain books, developed by its Institutional Data Initiative and funded by Microsoft and OpenAI. The dataset, sourced from the Google Books project, includes a diverse collection of works from literary classics to niche textbooks in multiple languages. The initiative aims to democratize access to high-quality training data, providing researchers and smaller AI players with resources typically exclusive to major tech companies.

Meta is Reportedly Adding Displays to its Ray-Ban Smart Glasses

(Engadget, December 23)

Meta is reportedly planning to integrate displays into its Ray-Ban smart glasses, potentially launching an updated version as early as late 2025. These small screens are expected to show notifications or responses from Meta's AI assistant rather than offering full mixed-reality capabilities. Meanwhile, the development of Meta's advanced Orion AR glasses has gained momentum following positive feedback, signaling a potential future commercial release.

OpenAI Upgrades Its Smartest AI Model With Improved Reasoning Skills

(Wired, December 28)

OpenAI has introduced its latest AI model, o3, which excels in step-by-step logical reasoning and outperforms its predecessor in areas like advanced math, science, and complex coding. Announced shortly after Google's unveiling of its Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking model, this development underscores the intensifying rivalry between the two companies as they explore new approaches beyond scaling AI models to improve intelligence. OpenAI's o3 is not yet publicly available, but marks a significant leap in creating AI agents that are capable of solving complex problems from programming to real-world problem-solving.

Sam Altman Predicts Superintelligence will Trigger a 10x Surge in Scientific AI Breakthroughs

(Forbes, December 29)

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicts that superintelligence, a form of AI far surpassing Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), could emerge within the next few thousand days — dramatically accelerating scientific and technological progress. He foresees this advancement reshaping industries while maintaining fundamental human values, with applications especially impactful in scientific research and product innovation. For businesses, preparing for this transformative technology will be critical as the timeline for its arrival continues to shrink.

YouTube is Testing a Floating ‘Play Something’ Button

(The Verge, December 29)

YouTube is experimenting with a floating "Play Something" button in its Android app, designed to randomly select and play a video for users. The feature utilizes the YouTube Shorts player to display both Shorts and standard videos, though its suitability for non-vertical content remains a concern. Similar to Netflix's retired "Play Something" feature, this addition could help users quickly discover content, solving indecision about what to watch.

Nvidia Completes Acquisition of AI Infrastructure Startup Run:ai

(Tech Crunch, December 30)

Nvidia has finalized its acquisition of Israeli AI infrastructure startup Run:ai, specializing in optimizing AI hardware management. Run:ai announced plans to open-source its software — currently exclusive to Nvidia products — to make it compatible with rival platforms like AMD and Intel. After facing regulatory scrutiny from the European Commission and U.S. Department of Justice, the $700 million deal was approved in December, paving the way for broader integration within the AI ecosystem.

Judge Allows California’s Ban on Addictive Feeds for Minors to Go Into Effect

(Tech Crunch, December 31)

A federal judge has allowed California's SB 976 — a law banning companies from serving "addictive feeds" to minors without parental consent — to go into effect despite a legal challenge from tech industry group NetChoice. The law defines addictive feeds as algorithms that recommend content based on user behavior rather than explicit preferences, and will require companies to adopt age assurance techniques by January 2027. While the judge upheld the ban, other provisions such as restrictions on nighttime notifications for minors, were blocked; similar legislation was also passed in New York earlier this year.