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The $50K Designer Baby 👶💰

Every parent wants their child to succeed. But in Silicon Valley, that instinct is being pushed to extremes.

As reported by Zusha Elinson in The Wall Street Journal, some wealthy parents are now spending tens of thousands of dollars to select embryos based on predicted IQ.

Here’s how it works:

• With IVF, doctors create multiple embryos at once. Companies like Nucleus Genomics and Herasight then offer genetic testing on each one.

• For a fee (that can reach $50,000 per embryo) parents can receive reports showing not just health risks, but even forecasts of their child’s future intelligence.

• Some families take those results, plug them into spreadsheets, and compare them like an investment portfolio before choosing which embryo to implant.

Why it matters: In the tech world, according to Elinson, intelligence is seen as the ultimate advantage. Figures like Tsvi Benson-Tilsen of the Berkeley Genomics Project argue that humanity needs smarter minds to tackle global challenges like climate change or even the threat of superintelligent AI.

Others are motivated by legacy, status, and the idea of passing on elite intellectual credentials.

But this trend is also setting off alarm bells. Bioethicists warn that normalizing embryo screening for IQ could open the door to a genetic caste system; one where wealthy families engineer small advantages for their children, while everyone else is left further behind.

The Creepy-Cute Rise of AI Plushies

For generations, stuffed toys and plushies have been children’s quiet companions - something soft to hug, whisper to, or drag around by the arm. Today, the global market for them is worth $12.65 billion.

Now, toy companies are trying to make them far more interactive.

Startups like Curio are selling plushies with hidden Wi-Fi voice boxes linked to AI chatbots. Instead of handing a toddler a tablet, the pitch goes, you can give them a teddy that talks back.

For $99, a fuzzy cube named Grem or a rocket ship called Grok will answer questions, tell stories, and encourage play. Even Mattel is moving in, announcing plans with OpenAI to launch AI-powered Barbie and Hot Wheels.

For parents, it sounds tempting: less screen time, more “interactive” play.

But these toys carry real responsibility. Kids don’t hold back; they ask about everything, even the confusing and the dangerous. Now it’s a chatbot deciding what to say. Are we really ready to hand childhood’s hardest questions over to an algorithm?

Are You Ready for the Robot Olympics?

At the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, robots lined up for track races, soccer matches, and even a boxing showdown.

Among the most successful competitors was Unitree Robotics, a robotics company often called China’s answer to Tesla in the humanoid race. Unitree’s H1 robot won the 1,500-meter run in 6 minutes 35 seconds, even beating typical human running times.

Not everything went smoothly. Several robot racers tripped mid-run, one even lost an arm, and the soccer games looked more like rugby scrums than actual football. Many robots still relied on human operators with joysticks.

Organizers say the events are a way to test how robots handle balance, speed, and quick decision-making in unpredictable settings. Those are the same skills they’ll need to carry out real-world jobs.

Though it's just a fun experiment for now, could robot sports actually be the next big thing in entertainment? What do you think?

📺 Watch this 47-sec video to see how it went.