Technology
China vs SpaceX in race for space AI data centers
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If your phone heats up while running AI, imagine what happens inside a massive data center. Now imagine moving that data center into orbit.
That is exactly what China and Elon Musk are planning. It is a serious race to build space-based AI data centers powered by sunlight in space.
At stake? The future of artificial intelligence, energy dominance and who controls the next layer of digital infrastructure.
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China and Elon Musk are racing to build solar-powered AI data centers in orbit, aiming to ease Earth’s growing energy strain. (Paul Hennesy/Anadolu via Getty Images)
China’s plan: Gigawatt-class space computing
China’s main space contractor, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, outlined a five-year plan to build what it calls “gigawatt-class space digital-intelligence infrastructure,” according to reporting cited by CCTV. While that phrase may sound bureaucratic. It is not.
Gigawatt-class means massive energy output. Think industrial scale. These proposed orbital hubs would integrate cloud, edge and device-level computing. In simple terms, data collected on Earth could be processed in space instead of inside giant warehouses in Arizona or Inner Mongolia.
The vision goes even further. A December policy document describes an industrial-scale “Space Cloud” by 2030. The goal is deep integration of computing power, storage and transmission bandwidth, all powered by solar energy in orbit. China also signaled that space-based solar power tied to AI computing will be a core pillar of its upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan. It’s all part of its national strategy.
Elon Musk says the lowest-cost AI will be in space
Meanwhile, Elon Musk is making a similar bet. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Musk said SpaceX plans to launch solar-powered AI data center satellites within two to three years. He argued that space is the “lowest-cost place to put AI” and predicted that it will be true within a few years. Why? Solar power in orbit can generate far more energy than panels on the ground. Musk said orbital solar generation can produce roughly five times more power because there are no clouds and no night cycles in the same way as on Earth. SpaceX reportedly expects to use funds from a planned $25 billion IPO to help develop these orbital AI systems.
This makes sense when you consider that AI is devouring electricity. Training and running large models requires enormous computing clusters. Power grids are straining in places like Texas and Northern Virginia. So the thinking is simple. If Earth runs short on clean energy for AI, move the servers closer to the sun.
The real bottleneck: Reusable rockets
There is only one problem. Getting hardware into space is expensive. SpaceX solved part of that with its Falcon 9 reusable rocket. Reusability dramatically lowers launch costs. It also enabled SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network to dominate low Earth orbit.
China, on the other hand, has not yet completed a fully successful reusable rocket program capable of repeated, reliable flights. That is a major bottleneck. Without reusability, the cost of launching and maintaining space-based AI infrastructure remains high.
Still, China achieved a record 93 space launches last year, according to official announcements. Its commercial space startups are maturing quickly. And Beijing has made it clear it wants to become a “world-leading space power” by 2045. In other words, this is a long game.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE HELPS FUEL NEW ENERGY SOURCES
Beijing plans a “gigawatt-class” space computing network as part of its long-term strategy for digital and space dominance. (Gabriel V. Cardenas/AFP via Getty Images)
It is not just about data centers
China’s five-year plan also includes suborbital space tourism and the gradual development of orbital tourism. That signals a broader push to commercialize space in a way similar to civil aviation.
At the same time, both the U.S. and China see strategic and military advantages in dominating orbit. China recently inaugurated its first School of Interstellar Navigation within the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The goal is to move from near-Earth orbit to deep space exploration. State media described the next 10 to 20 years as a window for leapfrog development in interstellar navigation.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is racing to return astronauts to the moon for the first time since the Apollo era. The competition is heating up on multiple fronts. AI infrastructure in space is just one piece of a much larger chessboard.
Why this matters to you
You might be thinking, “Great. Billionaires and governments are fighting over satellites. Why should I care?” Here is why. AI is becoming embedded in everything. Search results. Customer service. Medical imaging. Financial systems. Smart homes. All of that runs on computing power. And that computing power runs on energy. If the cheapest and most abundant energy for AI ends up being in orbit, the balance of tech power could shift dramatically. Countries that control space-based AI infrastructure could gain economic leverage, military advantages and technological dominance. This is the next layer of the cloud. Not in a warehouse. Not in a desert. But circling above your head.
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CHINA QUIETLY BUILDS WORLDWIDE SPACE NETWORK, ALARMING US OVER FUTURE MILITARY POWER
Musk says space will soon be the lowest-cost place to power artificial intelligence, citing constant solar energy in orbit. (Aubrey Gemignani/NASA via Getty Images)
Kurt’s key takeaways
For decades, space was about flags and footprints. Today, the focus is shifting toward servers and solar arrays as governments and private companies rethink where the world’s most powerful computers should operate. China is pursuing a “Space Cloud,” while Elon Musk argues that AI belongs in orbit. Both are racing toward a future where advanced computing systems are powered by uninterrupted sunlight above Earth. That shift sounds bold and carries real risk. However, if AI continues to accelerate and energy demand keeps climbing, moving computing infrastructure into space may start to look less radical and more inevitable.
If the infrastructure powering AI moves into orbit, who should control it? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.
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Technology
The best Memorial Day sales you can shop this weekend
To give you more options, we’ve also included a selection of deals from retailers that aren’t necessarily running their own Memorial Day sales but are still offering limited-time deals in the run-up to May 25th.
Savings are savings, after all.
TVs and streaming devices
Miscellaneous Verge favorites
Update, May 24th: Updated to reflect current pricing and availability.
Technology
Humanoid robots work nonstop in package test
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Figure AI says three of its humanoid robots crossed more than 24 hours of continuous autonomous operation after a test that was supposed to last only eight hours kept running.
The California-based robotics startup says its Helix-02 artificial intelligence-powered robots sorted small packages around the clock without human control. The robots became part of a livestream that viewers followed closely. They even picked up names along the way: Bob, Frank and Gary.
Once people started calling them that online, Figure AI added visible name tags.
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AUTONOMOUS ROBOT WITH MUSCLES, SMARTS AND ZERO SICK DAYS
Figure AI says its humanoid robots sorted small packages for more than 24 hours without human control during a livestreamed test. (Figure AI)
Figure AI robots sort packages nonstop
The task sounds simple. Pick up a small package. Find the barcode. Place the package on a conveyor belt with the barcode facing down. Then do it again. Warehouse work often depends on steady movement, quick decisions and the ability to keep going when small problems pop up. Figure AI says the robots sorted more than 28,000 packages during the operation. The company also says they worked at speeds close to human workers. According to CEO Brett Adcock, the original goal was an eight-hour run. After the robots made it through without a reported failure, the company kept the test going.
Helix-02 powers the package-sorting robots
Figure AI says the robots ran on Helix-02, its in-house AI system. The company describes it as a neural network that combines vision, touch sensing, body awareness and movement control. Humanoid robots need to do more than move an arm. They have to balance, grip packages, adjust their posture and respond when an object lands in an awkward spot. The company says the robots used onboard cameras and AI reasoning to detect barcodes and sort packages. Figure AI also stressed that people were not remotely steering the robots. Adcock said every action came directly from Helix-02.
WAREHOUSE ROBOT USES AI TO PLAY REAL-LIFE TETRIS TO HANDLE MORE THAN EVER BEFORE
The robots used Helix-02 to detect barcodes, pick up packages and place them on a conveyor belt with the barcode facing down. (Figure AI)
Livestream gives robots human names
The livestream gave people a front-row seat to something they do not usually see: humanoid robots grinding through a warehouse task in real time. Viewers watched the robots keep sorting packages as the test moved far beyond the original eight-hour goal. Then came the nicknames. Bob, Frank and Gary started to sound less like machines and more like the guys working the late shift. Figure AI leaned into it by adding visible name tags after viewers started using the names online. That small human touch made the demo easier to follow. It also made the bigger question harder to ignore: If robots can keep working through long shifts, what happens to the people who do this work today?
Robot reset feature could reduce downtime
One of Figure AI’s biggest claims involves recovery. The company says Helix-02 can trigger an automatic reset when a robot gets stuck or faces a situation outside its expected behavior. That may sound like a small detail, but it could become a huge factor in real workplaces. A robot that needs help every few minutes quickly becomes a burden. A robot that can pause, reset and resume work starts to look much more useful. Figure AI also says a robot can leave the work floor for maintenance if a software or hardware issue appears. Another robot can then take over, so the operation keeps moving.
Viewers nicknamed the robots Bob, Frank and Gary as they watched the package-sorting test continue beyond its original eight-hour goal. (Figure AI)
Warehouse automation race heats up
Figure AI has plenty of competition. Tesla, Agility Robotics and Apptronik are also working on humanoid robots for warehouses, factories and logistics operations. Figure AI has already tested its robots at BMW manufacturing facilities in South Carolina. That gives a clue about where this technology may show up first. These robots will likely appear in controlled industrial spaces before they become part of everyday home life.
Package sorting gives people a clear way to understand the technology. If a robot can handle a repetitive job for long stretches, companies will start asking where else robots can help.
Robot package sorting still faces real tests
The next challenge will be proving this works beyond one livestreamed task. A package-sorting run can show endurance, but businesses will want more proof. They will want to know how often the robots fail, how much maintenance they need and whether they can handle messy conditions without slowing down the whole operation. They will also want independent evidence, not only company claims, from a public demo. Warehouse floors can get chaotic. Packages arrive in different shapes. Labels can appear in odd places. Belts can jam. People may walk through the area. A robot that handles one livestreamed task still has to prove it can handle the messier version of the job.
What humanoid robots mean for you
For you, this may feel far away from your daily life. Most people will not buy a humanoid robot anytime soon. Plenty of questions also remain about cost, safety, reliability and real-world performance. Still, the impact could show up in familiar places. Faster package handling could affect delivery times. Warehouses may change how they staff overnight shifts. Companies may also use robots to fill repetitive roles that are hard to staff or physically demanding.
At the same time, this raises real concerns about jobs. A robot that can work for hours without a break sounds impressive in a demo. For workers, it may sound like another sign that automation keeps moving deeper into everyday labor. That does not mean every warehouse job vanishes. Real workplaces are messy. Packages vary. Equipment fails. People still solve problems that demos rarely show. However, Figure AI’s test suggests humanoid robots are moving from short clips toward longer workplace trials.
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Kurt’s key takeaways
Figure AI’s 24-hour package-sorting run shows where warehouse automation may be heading next. The robots still need to prove they can handle real-world conditions at a price companies can justify. Even so, the demo suggests humanoid robots are moving beyond flashy hype videos. What stands out here may be how ordinary the work looks. These robots are not doing backflips or waving to a crowd. They are picking up packages, reading barcodes and placing items on a conveyor belt over and over again. That kind of boring work can be exactly where automation starts to feel real. If companies can make these robots reliable, safe and affordable, the warehouse floor could look very different in the years ahead.
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Would you feel comfortable knowing your next package was sorted by a humanoid robot, or does that make you wonder what job automation will target next? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.
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Technology
Record Club is trying to be Letterboxd for music nerds
There isn’t really a solid equivalent to Goodreads or Letterboxd for music lovers, but Record Club is aiming to change that. Yes, we have Rate Your Music, but its interface is crowded, and it feels more geared towards longer-form reviews than cataloging your listening habits and connecting with other fans. Record Club is clean and modern, with a streamlined interface that’s quite similar to Letterboxd.
The basic features you’d expect from such a site are all there. You can rate and review records or mark them as listened to. You can also see what your friends are listening to and see what albums are trending with other users. There’s a spot on your profile to list your five favorite albums, plus five records you have in heavy rotation. You can also create custom lists (ranked or unranked) and share them — handy for tracking your top albums of the year, or putting together genre-specific crash courses. You can also add records to your queue, so you can keep track of albums you want to listen to, but haven’t gotten around to yet. (I’ll probably be making extensive use of that.)
You can follow your favorite artists as well as entire record labels. That makes it easy to stay on top of new artists on labels like 4AD, AD 93, Fire Talk, and Warp. Record Club pulls all of its data from the open-source music encyclopedia MusicBrainz. If you sign up, give me a follow, and see what I’m spinning on repeat this week.
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