AI continues to reshape various sectors, from industrial operations to entertainment and commerce. On January 2, 2026, Velasea and SORBA.ai announced a partnership in Jacksonville, Florida, combining Velasea's robust hardware with SORBA.ai's user-friendly AI platform. This collaboration aims to empower industrial companies, including those in manufacturing and energy, to rapidly deploy AI for tasks like predictive maintenance and quality control, offering a complete system for global customers. Meanwhile, Alibaba's Amap unit is leveraging its visual Wan AI model to help restaurants create 3D images from videos or photos, aiming to reduce marketing costs and intensify its competition with Meituan in China's local services market. Significant advancements are also occurring at the foundational level of AI. DeepSeek, a Chinese AI lab, announced a major breakthrough on January 4, 2026, with its mHC (Manifold-Constrained Hyper-Connections) technology. This innovation addresses critical stability issues in the Transformer architecture, making the training of large AI models more reliable and efficient. In the US, Fermi America is constructing the Donald J. Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus in Amarillo, Texas, led by Rick Perry and Toby Neugebauer. This ambitious project seeks to establish the world's largest private energy grid and AI hub, featuring over 18 million square feet of data centers powered by nuclear, gas, and solar plants, with the goal of positioning the US as a leader in AI against China. The very definition and future of AI are also subjects of ongoing discussion. Daniela Amodei, co-founder of Anthropic, suggests that by some metrics, Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) might already be present, noting that Anthropic's Claude AI system can write code comparably to many human developers. However, she also acknowledges Claude's limitations relative to human capabilities, prompting a re-evaluation of the term AGI itself. UCLA mathematician Terrence Tao offers a perspective on human-AI collaboration, predicting that for the next 10 to 20 years, humans and AI will complement each other, with AI excelling at vast data processing and humans providing pattern recognition and novel insights. The integration of AI is profoundly impacting various aspects of society. China's job market, for instance, is rapidly transforming, with AI and emerging industries like new energy and aerospace expected to generate hundreds of thousands of high-value roles, as reported on January 3, 2026. Culturally, the use of AI is sparking debates, such as in churches considering AI-generated music for worship services, where leaders express concerns about the absence of human emotion and spiritual depth. In healthcare, while hospitals adopt AI for tasks like documentation, professionals like nurses and researchers emphasize the irreplaceable need for human empathy and oversight in direct patient care, especially given the potential for AI "hallucinations." Even in entertainment, Google's AI products, possibly Veo 3 or Nano Banana AI, appeared in the trailer for the Tamil movie "Jana Nayagan," highlighting AI's expanding creative applications.
Key Takeaways
- Velasea and SORBA.ai partnered on January 2, 2026, to provide a complete industrial AI solution combining hardware and software for predictive maintenance and quality control.
- Alibaba's Amap unit is launching a visual Wan AI model to create 3D images for restaurants, aiming to reduce marketing costs and compete with Meituan.
- China's job market is undergoing significant transformation, with AI and new industries projected to create hundreds of thousands of high-value jobs by January 3, 2026.
- UCLA mathematician Terrence Tao predicts humans and AI will complement each other for 10-20 years, with AI handling data processing and humans offering creative insights.
- Anthropic co-founder Daniela Amodei suggests AGI might already exist by some measures, noting Claude's code-writing capabilities, while also acknowledging its limitations.
- Fermi America is building the Donald J. Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus in Texas, aiming to create the world's largest private energy grid and AI hub to advance US AI leadership.
- DeepSeek released mHC (Manifold-Constrained Hyper-Connections) on January 4, 2026, a technology that solves critical stability problems in the Transformer architecture, making AI model training more efficient.
- Churches are debating the use of AI-generated music in worship services, with concerns raised about the lack of human emotion and spiritual experience.
- Healthcare professionals emphasize the crucial need for human oversight and empathy in patient care, despite AI's growing role in tasks like documentation and blood draws, due to concerns about "hallucinations."
- Google's AI products, possibly Veo 3 or Nano Banana AI, were used in the trailer for the Tamil movie "Jana Nayagan," which quickly garnered 34 million views on YouTube.
Velasea and SORBA.ai Partner for Industrial AI
Velasea and SORBA.ai announced a new partnership on January 2, 2026, in Jacksonville, Florida. They combine Velasea's tough hardware with SORBA.ai's easy-to-use AI platform. This allows industrial companies to quickly use AI for things like predicting equipment problems and improving operations. The solution helps manufacturers, energy companies, and others deploy AI right where they work, making it faster and more reliable. This partnership offers a complete system for global industrial customers.
Velasea and SORBA.ai Team Up for Industrial AI
Velasea and SORBA.ai announced a partnership on January 2, 2026, in Jacksonville, Florida. They are combining Velasea's strong hardware with SORBA.ai's simple AI software. This helps industrial businesses quickly use AI right where they need it. The partnership makes it easier to deploy AI for tasks like predictive maintenance and quality control in sectors like manufacturing and energy. This combined solution offers simplified deployment, edge intelligence, scalability, and accessibility for many users.
Alibaba Uses Visual AI to Compete with Meituan
Alibaba's Amap unit will soon let restaurants create 3D images from videos or photos using its visual Wan AI model. This new feature aims to lower marketing costs for businesses. Alibaba plans to offer this technology for free to some businesses for a while. This move is part of Alibaba's strategy to compete more strongly with Meituan, which currently leads in food delivery and local services in China. Alibaba hopes to regain market share in areas like meal delivery using AI and financial support.
Alibaba Fights Meituan with New Visual AI Tool
Alibaba's Amap unit will soon let restaurants create 3D images from videos or photos using its visual Wan AI model. This new feature aims to lower marketing costs for businesses. Alibaba plans to offer this technology for free to some businesses for a while. This move is part of Alibaba's strategy to compete more strongly with Meituan, which currently leads in food delivery and local services in China. Alibaba hopes to regain market share in areas like meal delivery using AI and financial support.
China's Job Market Transforms with AI and New Industries
China's job market is changing rapidly due to AI and new industries, according to a report on January 3, 2026. The government's five-year plan focuses on innovation, upgraded services, and balanced development. Emerging fields like new energy, aerospace, and AI are creating many new jobs, with AI alone expected to generate hundreds of thousands of high-value roles. The services sector, including healthcare and education, will also see significant growth. Additionally, flexible work and cross-border commerce are expanding, creating diverse opportunities across the country.
Terrence Tao Says Humans and AI Will Work Together
UCLA mathematician Terrence Tao believes humans and AI will have different but helpful strengths for the next 10 to 20 years. He says AI is excellent at processing huge amounts of information, like reading millions of papers. However, humans are better at seeing patterns and understanding new ideas from just a few examples. Tao suggests that businesses should use AI for tasks that need a lot of data, while still valuing human creativity and insight. This approach will help organizations succeed by combining the best of both.
Anthropic Co-founder Says AGI May Already Be Here
Daniela Amodei, co-founder of Anthropic, suggests that by some measures, Artificial General Intelligence or AGI might already exist. She points out that Anthropic's AI system, Claude, can write code as well as many human developers. However, Amodei also notes that Claude still has limitations compared to humans, suggesting the term AGI might be outdated. She believes AI progress is not slowing down and that systems will likely become even more capable. This means society needs to prepare for an AI-powered future, focusing on safe deployment and responsible use.
Fermi America Builds Huge AI Campus in Texas
Fermi America is building a massive AI campus called the Donald J. Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus in Amarillo, Texas. Led by Rick Perry and Toby Neugebauer, this project aims to create the world's largest private energy grid and AI hub. It will include over 18 million square feet of data centers powered by nuclear, gas, and solar plants. The company hopes to help the US lead in AI against China. However, Fermi America faces challenges like building nuclear reactors on time and securing major tech tenants.
Churches Debate AI Music in Worship Services
Churches are discussing whether to use AI-generated music in worship services, a topic highlighted by AI artists topping music charts in late 2025. Worship leaders like Jon Huff and Kevin Uhrich worry that AI music lacks the human emotion and spiritual experience found in songs written by people. They emphasize the importance of choosing worship songs carefully and prayerfully. However, some believe AI can help with creativity and production. Kenny Lamm of North Carolina Baptists suggests that churches should use careful judgment, seeing AI as a tool that can assist but not replace the human heart in worship.
Healthcare Debates AI's Role in Patient Care
Hospitals are increasingly using AI for tasks like documentation and blood draws, but many wonder if healthcare is ready for it. Nurses and researchers, like Meghan Connolly, worry that robots cannot provide the human touch, empathy, and reassurance patients need. Dr. Sandeep Reddy notes that while AI can offer some social support, fully replacing human interaction is difficult. He also warns about AI errors, called "hallucinations," which could have serious effects in healthcare. Experts agree that human oversight remains crucial, especially for direct patient care, despite AI's benefits in other areas.
Tamil Movie Jana Nayagan Trailer Uses Google AI
The trailer for the upcoming Tamil movie Jana Nayagan appears to have used Google's AI products for some of its shots. Social media users noticed a Google AI logo briefly at the 0:23 mark of the trailer. This suggests that Google's Veo 3 or Nano Banana AI was used to create that specific scene. The trailer, starring Thalapathy Vijay, quickly gained 34 million views on YouTube. This is not the first time AI has been used in Indian cinema, as the Tamil version of the movie Raanjhanaa also featured an AI-created ending last year.
DeepSeek Solves Major AI Training Stability Problem
DeepSeek, a Chinese AI lab, announced a major breakthrough on January 4, 2026, by releasing mHC or Manifold-Constrained Hyper-Connections. This new technology fixes critical stability problems in the Transformer architecture, which makes training large AI models very expensive and unreliable. DeepSeek's mHC adds "guardrails" to control parallel data streams, preventing crashes that often happen during training. Tests showed significant improvements in performance for reasoning and reading comprehension with minimal extra training time. This innovation will make developing the next generation of AI models more stable and efficient.
Sources
- Velasea and SORBA.ai Combine Hardware and AI to Power Scalable Industrial Intelligence
- Velasea and SORBA.ai Combine Hardware and AI to Power Scalable Industrial Intelligence
- Alibaba Brings Visual AI Into Food Fight with China’s Meituan
- Alibaba Brings Visual AI Into Food Fight with China’s Meituan
- What are China’s hottest jobs as AI reshapes the labour market?
- Humans And AI Will Have Complementary Strengths For The Next 10-20 Years: Mathematician Terrence Tao
- By Some Definitions, We’ve Already Achieved AGI: Anthropic Co-founder Daniela Amodei
- Trump, atoms, AI and the Texas data center gusher
- Does AI-generated worship … generate worship?
- Is health care ready for impersonal AI to take over?
- Tamil Movie Jana Nayagan Appears To Have Used Google’s AI To Create Some Shots Of Its Trailer
- 😸 DeepSeek Just Fixed What Breaks $100M AI Training Runs
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