

The AI/XR Podcast June 11th, 2025. AWE *LIVE* 245th episode
In this special live edition of the AI/XR Podcast from Augmented World Expo (AWE) 2025, hosts Charlie Fink and Ted Schilowitz are joined by returning guests from Zapper, co-founders Connell Gauld (CTO) and Casper Thykier (CEO) and Auki Labs' CEO Nils Phil, to explore how AI and spatial computing are merging in real-world environments. The conversation spotlights Zapper’s Mattercraft platform and its use of “accessible QR codes” to enable spatial navigation and real-time AR experiences without downloading an app. Nils introduces the idea of “collaborative machine perception” as a necessary condition for robots to navigate and work in the physical world—what he calls the “great reversal,” where AI exits the digital and enters the real. Later, XR Guild co-founder Avi Bar-Zeev joins to discuss ethics in XR, the need for community mentorship, and the importance of preserving the creator ecosystem in the age of AI scraping. The conversation closes with personal reflections on past projects like Aladdin’s Magic Carpet Ride, Google Earth, and HoloLens.
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.