Periodic Labs, Thor AI, and AI-Driven Materials Discovery

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Intro

On October 1, The Daily AI Show opened news day with a packed lineup. The team covered model releases, AI science breakthroughs, social apps, regulation, and the latest in quantum computing.

Key Points Discussed

• Anthropic releases Claude Sonnet 4.5, positioned as its most capable and aligned model to date, with strong coding and computer-use improvements.

• OpenAI and DeepMind researchers launch Periodic Labs with $300M in backing from Bezos, Schmidt, Andreessen, and others, building “self-driving labs” to accelerate materials discovery like superconductors.

• Los Alamos National Lab unveils Thor AI, a framework solving a 100-year-old physics modeling challenge, cutting supercomputer work from thousands of hours to seconds.

• Amazon updates Alexa with “Alexa Plus” across new devices and expands AWS partnerships with sports leagues for AI-driven insights.

• The Nothing Phone 3 debuts with on-device AI that lets users generate their own apps and widgets by prompt.

• X.ai introduces “Grokpedia,” an AI-powered competitor to Wikipedia, raising concerns about accuracy and bias.

• Corwin lands $14.2B in infrastructure deals with Meta and $6.5B with OpenAI, deepening ties to hyperscalers.

• OpenAI rolls out Sora 2, with TikTok-style social app features and more physics-faithful video generation. Early impressions highlight improved realism but lingering flaws.

• AI actress Tilly Norwood signs with an agency, sparking debate over synthetic influencers competing with human talent.

• Quantum computing updates: University of South Wales hits a key error-correction benchmark using existing silicon fabs, while Caltech sets a record with 6,100 neutral atom qubits.

• California passes SB 53, the first US frontier model transparency law, requiring big labs to disclose safety frameworks and report incidents.

Timestamps & Topics

00:00:00 📰 News day kickoff and headlines

00:01:49 🤥 Deepfake scandals: Musk, Swift, Johansson, Schumer

00:03:40 📱 Nothing Phone 3 launches with on-device AI app generation

00:06:15 📚 X.ai announces Grokpedia as Wikipedia competitor

00:07:56 💰 Corwin lands $14.2B Meta deal and $6.5B with OpenAI

00:09:23 🗣️ Amazon unveils Alexa Plus, AWS partners with NBA

00:12:04 🔬 Periodic Labs launches with $300M to build AI scientists

00:14:17 ⚡ Los Alamos’ Thor AI solves configurational integrals in physics

00:17:34 🤖 Robots handling repetitive lab work in self-driving labs

00:18:59 🏠 Amazon demos edge AI on Ring devices for community use

00:23:43 🛠️ Lovable and Bolt updates streamline backend integration

00:29:47 🔑 Authentication, multi-user access, and Claude Sonnet 4.5 inside Lovable

00:33:26 🧑‍🔬 Quantum computing milestones: South Wales and Caltech

00:39:08 🎭 AI actress Tilly Norwood signs with agency

00:45:30 🎥 Sora 2 launches TikTok-style app with cameos

00:47:59 🏞️ Sora 2 physics fidelity and creative tests

00:57:22 💻 Web version and API for Sora teased

01:07:23 ⚖️ California passes SB 53, first frontier model transparency law

01:10:18 🌺 Wrap-up, Slack invite, and show previews

Hashtags

#AInews #ClaudeSonnet45 #Sora2 #PeriodicLabs #ThorAI #QuantumComputing #AlexaPlus #NothingPhone3 #Grokpedia #AIActress #SB53 #DailyAIShow

The Daily AI Show Co-Hosts:

Andy Halliday, Beth Lyons, Brian Maucere, Eran Malloch, Jyunmi Hatcher, and Karl Yeh