New and Noteworthy for June 2025

AGI, Humanoid Robots, and a Trillion-Dollar AI City

Executive Summary

June 2025 has witnessed a significant acceleration in artificial intelligence (AI) development and deployment, characterized by massive strategic investments, intense competition for talent, and a broadening application of AI across various sectors. Meta has emerged as a central figure, initiating a major restructuring with the creation of Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL), aiming for artificial general intelligence (AGI) and "personal superintelligence for everyone". This ambition is supported by substantial financial commitments, including a multi-billion dollar investment in Scale AI, and an aggressive talent acquisition strategy that has unsettled competitors like OpenAI. Complementing this AGI push, Meta is also pivoting its wearable technology with new AI-powered Oakley glasses and automating its advertising processes through AI.

Beyond Meta, other major players are making critical advancements. Anthropic has garnered attention for a landmark "fair use" ruling on copyright for AI training data, although it faces separate litigation for storing pirated materials. Anthropic has also reinforced its commitment to responsible AI through the appointment of a national security expert to its Long-Term Benefit Trust and the introduction of "Claude Gov" models for secure government and defense applications. Infrastructure remains a crucial theme, exemplified by the partnership between Crusoe Energy and Redwood Materials, which has launched Crusoe Spark, an off-grid, mobile AI data center powered by solar and repurposed EV batteries, representing the largest microgrid in North America.

Innovation extends to new domains such as genomics, with Google DeepMind's AlphaGenome tool for understanding genetic variations, and robotics, with 1X Technologies introducing a "world model" for training humanoid robots like NEO in simulated environments to create a versatile artificial labor force. The legal landscape for generative AI is rapidly evolving, as highlighted by Disney and Universal's landmark copyright infringement lawsuit against Midjourney, accusing it of generating unauthorized character images. Finally, grand visions for AI-driven ecosystems are being conceptualized, notably SoftBank's proposed trillion-dollar "AI city" in Arizona, Project Crystal City, aiming to be a hub for AI and robotics manufacturing. These developments collectively underscore a dynamic and highly competitive AI industry, grappling with immense technical, ethical, and legal challenges while rapidly transforming various aspects of technology, economy, and society.