Welcome to edition #10 of The Upgrade. The Upgrade is a weekly column where I deep-dive into one topic and curate ideas, progress and curiosities than interest me.
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In this edition:
Dropping wattage: India electric car surge is hitting some resistance; As incentives dwindle, other limitations will get exposed more readily
In the ‘Future is weird’: A ChatGPTy bi-cycle, robot press conference assuring humanity from destruction and could you smell what the Metaverse is cooking?
Character.ai has gotten millions gladly chatting with AI chat bot. Goodbye mom?
In Other news: New installment of “Tom Cruise invalidating the meaning of the word impossible” is out and tomato, not crypto is the asset you should have put your money in.
Electric Dreams
EV surge hits reality resistance
By any measure, EV growth in India has been sudden and rapid. EV sales in India have grown by more than 750%! EV sales crossed a million units in 2022 (a new record!). It seemed to be on track to beat that in 2023 - 0.7 million units sold in first half.
Still baby steps. For comparison, in 2022, China sold 6.89 million EV units. It accounted for more than half of global EV sale.
Most EVs sold in India are light vehicles (two and three wheelers). Even so, EVs still constitute only 2% of light vehicle sales.
Lots of opportunity, right? Yes, but things may not be all rosy in India’s EV land.
Click to read on the full story (I have pulled it out separately so as to keep the email reasonably long in your inbox).
A Quote
“With great power comes great electricity bill.”
-Unknown
The ‘Future is weird’ News…
🚴🏼♂️ Cycle of progress: In the new edition of solving problems that don’t exist, an electric bicycle company called Utopia(🙄) has integrated ChatGPT into their e-bikes. Now your questions on the meaning of life needn’t wait until you’ve done your cycling even.
🥽 Metaverse can now stink, literally too: Researches in the city university of Hong Kong have come up with a new device that can stick to your upper lip and produce odors. And they’re called OGs (Odor generators). Turns out, you are no longer safe from those farting uncles even in the Metaverse.
🤖 Robots hold conference: If you thought that the UN was a weird place and had doubts about the capability of those representatives, here’s some more non-reassuring news for you. 9 humanoid robots participated in a press conference in Geneva called “AI for Good”. Some of these robots replied to journalists and assured us that they will not steal jobs or kill humans. We’re all good folks.
Check this out…
🤖 Chatbots have become cool again?
The popularity of bots imitating humans is getting a little scary. If you weren’t aware, Character.ai, allows users to create their own custom bots that can imitate anyone / anything. You could be chatting with Billie Eilish right now instead of reading this newsletter.
How popular is it? Character.ai gets 200 million monthly visitors. Its users have created 16 million different bots. The app has been downloaded more than 5 million times. Mario (that Nintendo character, yes) has received 36 million messages from users.
“I joke that we’re not going to replace Google. We’re going to replace your mom,” says the co-founder.
So how do you go about replacing your mom? Go to Character.ai, search for your favorite character (celebrities, movie characters) or shows, pick the one you like and start chatting. If none of these are to your liking, hit the create button and start making your own character.
Just know that there are some real concerns like privacy (that pesky thing), false identities (don’t fall for someone pretending to be something) and misinformation from your favorite character is still misinformation.
Wish you a happy journey into dystopia!
In Other News…
Mission Possible: New Tom Cruise mission that’s going to “cost him dearly” and “harder than anything he’s ever done before” has released in theaters. And its doing well so far. And talk of an upward curve. It’s kind of amazing how, for a sequel, MI keeps delivering better and better.
🌊 Color of water: Our oceans are changing colors, apparently. Turns out, oceans near the tropics are getting greener. You better make that trip to the sparkling blue seaside you saw on Instagram before the heat turns it green. Unless, of course, the new Vision Pro can overlay a blue ocean for us.
🍅 Tomato, not crypto: If you invested Rs 100,000 in tomatoes a month back, they’ll be worth more than Rs. 300,000 now. Earlier this week, they cost more than Rs 100 per kg thanks to flooding and excess rainfall in some states. The government’s run out of ideas it looks like because they have a…wait for it….Tomato Grand Challenge Hackathon to solicit ideas from public.
Picture of the Week
No, that’s not a Barbie promotional ship but a render of the world’s largest cruise ship ever.
‘Icon of the Sea’ will debut this January and will feature 20 decks, 7 swimming pools and 8 “neighborhoods,” and also have the largest water theme park in the seas. Oh, and in other news, CDC reported that there’s been more than a dozen outbreaks of highly infectious norovirus in cruises this year. Totally unrelated. #justsaying.
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