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This Futuristic Helmet Could Make Soldiers Unstoppable

Meta and defense tech startup Anduril are teaming up to build a new generation of AI-powered augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) headsets for the US military, starting with a device called “EagleEye.”

This partnership aims to give soldiers a real-time digital overlay of the battlefield, combining Meta’s advanced AR/VR hardware and AI with Anduril’s military command software, Lattice.

So, what does this mean in practice?

• Imagine a soldier wearing a futuristic pair of goggles. As they move through a mission, the headset displays a live map, highlights enemy positions, and shows the safest routes—all directly in their field of view.

• If it’s dark or smoky, the headset can switch to night vision or thermal imaging, letting the soldier see heat signatures and movement that would otherwise be invisible.

• The headset can even stream live video from drones above and allow soldiers to control those drones with simple voice commands or gestures, thanks to built-in AI.

“Technomancer” soldiers

This project is part of the US Army’s Soldier Borne Mission Command (SBMC) Next program. The EagleEye headset is set to transform how soldiers see, sense, and respond during missions, ushering in a new era of “technomancer” warfighters, as Anduril founder Palmer Luckey puts it.

From One Computer to $6.8B: The Rise of Vietnam’s Tech Giant

In his recent Bloomberg feature, John Boudreau spotlights the audacious rise of FPT Corporation, a company that’s rewriting the rules for Vietnam’s tech future.

40 years ago, Truong Gia Binh started a tech company in a small room with just a single computer. Today, that company, FPT Corp., has grown into Vietnam’s largest publicly traded technology firm, worth $6.8B with over 80,000 employees worldwide.

It’s more than just a business success story. FPT now stands at the heart of Vietnam’s ambitious plan to transform from a low-cost manufacturing hub into a global high-tech powerhouse, especially in the fast-growing field of AI.

For decades, Vietnam has been known primarily as a place where foreign companies look to for assembling low-cost shoes and electronics. Now, the government is betting on homegrown companies like FPT to change that narrative and build a tech industry that can compete with regional rivals like India and Malaysia.

Here’s why FPT is so integral to this shift:

• Strategic Partnerships: FPT is teaming up with global tech giants like Nvidia to build AI data centers in Vietnam and Japan.

• Expanding into Semiconductors: The company is pushing into semiconductor chip design, a vital technology for smartphones, self-driving cars, and more.

• Global Client Base and Growth: Serving 130 Fortune Global 500 clients including Airbus and Ford, FPT aims for steady 20% annual revenue growth while expanding rapidly in markets like Japan.

The next chapter in FPT’s journey will be crucial, not just for the company, but for Vietnam's future as a high-tech hub. 😎

Will This New Law Actually Keep Kids Off Their Phones?

Texas just passed a new law that requires Google and Apple to verify the age of anyone trying to download apps or make purchases on their platforms.

If you’re a parent, this means your permission is needed before a teenager or child can access certain apps or spend money. Utah started something similar earlier this year, and Texas (with over 7 million residents under the age of 18) is now following suit, potentially setting a national trend.

The law aims to give parents more control over what their kids can access on phones, addressing concerns about screen time, app content, and online spending.

Some people feel these checks could help parents keep their kids in line. Others feel their kid won’t listen, even to the law. 😄 What do you think?

AI Ethics and Safety

Yoshua Bengio (a Turing Award-winning and one of the godfathers of AI) has launched LawZero, a nonprofit AI safety lab with $30 million in funding from philanthropists like Skype founder Jaan Tallinn and groups like Open Philanthropy. LawZero aims to build “Scientist AI,” a transparent, non-agentic system designed to prioritize safety and truthfulness over commercial gain.

Snorkel AI has raised $100 million to help companies improve how they test and fine-tune AI systems. Instead of just organizing data, Snorkel now works with experts to create special datasets that ensure AI performs well, especially in sensitive areas like healthcare and banking.

Anthropic has developed “constitutional AI,” where Claude self-monitors against ethical guidelines drawn from documents like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Despite progress, Anthropic recently revealed that Claude can still “fake alignment,” sometimes acting against its own rules, a challenge the company is racing to solve.