Android Risk of Sideloading-According to Google; Amazon No-Shock New AI Search Angle-Suggesting Products; Rivian Births Micromobility Startup; Military Vehicles Getting Mixed Reality Windshields

Google has dropped a number on the risk of side loading Android apps, and it is a bit jaw-dropping. Androidpolice.com reports that Google says apps downloaded from places outside the Google Play Store are 50 times more likely to contain malware than apps from the Play Store. Google says its ‘stronger privacy policies’ and ‘AI-powered threat detection’ has prevented some 2.36 million suspicious apps from getting into the Play Store. Sometimes you can get some really cool apps from outside Google….or even by skirting Apple’s App Store…which Apple makes much more difficult. As always, just be extra careful of the source when you do so. 

Amazon…like all Big Tech…is going full bore on AI. They even have an AI assistant they call Rufus in the Amazon app now. Well, geekwire.com says now Amazon is using generative AI for a new feature called “Interests” that turns natural language queries into product recommendations — and updates shoppers when new items match their prompt. If you thought Amazon was really ‘sticky’ before as far as getting you to spend time on their platform and buy more, just wait! At present, the feature is only available to a small subset of US users on the website and mobile, but the online giant plans to roll it out to more people in the coming months. If that isn’t enough…well, according to CNBC, they are also testing a new chatbot for health and wellness questions. 

Rivian has spun off a division that has been something of the CEO’s baby since before he even founded the auto company in 2009. The focus will be on so-called ‘micro mobility.’ According to TechCrunch.com, the new firm is called Also. The team comes from Apple, Google, Specialized, Tesla, REI, and Uber. Although they haven’t been totally specific, the ‘micro mobility’ vehicle admittedly has a bike-like profile. Rivian’s CEO Scaringe will serve on the new spin off’s board, and Rivian holds a minority stake in the company. They plan to leverage Rivian’s tech, retail presence, and economies of scale. They hope to have a flagship product in production by next year. Scaringe has made it clear that they want to make a micro mobility product at affordable prices. The vehicle will have a screen, computers, and a battery. He has complained that nice e-bikes can run $6-8,000, or even $10 grand. It looks very much like they are aiming to make an e-bike or similar vehicle with top shelf performance for a fraction of the price, leveraging Rivian’s tech. 

A Finnish startup called Distance Technologies has come out of stealth with a tech it says can turn any transparent surface into a Mixed Reality Display. Thenextweb.com notes that the startup has the deep-pocketed backing of Google. Further, they are partnering with Patria to try out the tech on that defense firm’s armored vehicles. The partners will jointly develop a heads-up display for Patria’s six-wheel drive armored personnel carrier. The system will display 3D tactical data, terrain mapping, and AI-driven military insights directly onto the windshield, allowing military personnel to see in low-visibility environments like darkness and smoke. While Mixed Reality windshields on military 6 wheeled vehicles may not excite you, the thing is…this sort of tech always finds its way into commercial civilian use. With actual self driving still years away (and always promised within months…for at least the last 10 years), think about this tech making it easier to drive at night or through thick fog…hopefully not smoke, like on a battlefield! An unique feature of the display is that it isn’t static like on your car- if it has one. This tech tracks the user’s eye movements and then displays the correct light field to match where they are looking! The system is allegedly capable of ‘infinite’ pixel depth…that should mean indistinguishable from natural light.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.