WHAT’S INSIDE:

• Electric Aviation, Pixel 10, Bing Video, T-Mobile Fiber, Nothing Phone (3)

• Feature: Perplexity AI Travel Tool Rewrites The Rules

• Latest food and dining and food technology news

• Arts and culture news, intersection of tech and entertainment

• The latest sports news and sports tech

• Futurism, the latest in future concepts and cutting edge deep tech

• Latest news in wellness and wellbeing tech, biotech, medtech and more

TOP CONSUMER TECH NEWS

Electric Aviation Takes Off — BETA Technologies completed its first passenger flight of the ALIA CTOL electric aircraft, landing at JFK Airport. Commercial operations are planned soon.

Google's Pixel 10 Launch — The highly anticipated Pixel 10 is set to launch on August 13th with cutting-edge features and innovations from Google.

Bing's Free Video Creator — Microsoft's new tool powered by OpenAI's Sora, lets users craft five-second videos for free using prompts, with videos stored for 90 days.

T-Mobile Fiber— Launches its fiber home internet on June 5, initially reaching 500k customers. Plans range from 500 Mbps to 2 Gbps, starting at $60/month, with unlimited data and a five-year price guarantee.

Nothing Phone (3) — Nothing will reveal its highly anticipated Phone (3) on July 1. May feature a redesigned lighting array, replacing the previous Glyph interface.

Venmo Debit — A new debit card includes benefits like tap-to-pay, 15% cash back at select retailers, and automatic transfer options to enhance its fintech services.

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FEATURE ARTICLE 

Perplexity AI Travel Tool Rewrites The Rules

Tech innovation is rewriting the rules of global tourism. The global travel and tourism sector contributed $11.7T to GDP in 2024, and is expected to exceed that figure in 2025 to set a new record, despite a shaky economy. To understand this phenomenon, it's necessary to look at how AI is reshaping the sector in mobility and smart tourism.

The Algorithm Is the Agent

Smart planning tools now shape the entire trip, not just the booking. Travel planning is increasingly becoming structured by intelligent systems that learn and adapt. On platforms like Trip.com, travelers are no longer fed static lists—they receive adaptive suggestions based on browsing behavior, historical patterns, weather, regional events, and even time-of-day engagement. Travel agents have been replaced by AI Agents – engines trained on millions of real decisions. These tools handle everything from flight tracking to refund automation. The traveler remains the decision-maker, but they now operate with a powerful layer of silent assistance, tuned to increase satisfaction and reduce decision fatigue.

Frictionless Mobility 

Mobility is merging into one seamless experience. Mobility innovation is in the midst of a systems overhaul. Countries investing in rail, like China, are showing how efficient intercity movement can drive tourism growth without relying on aviation. High-speed corridors are enabling multi-city trips in a single day. Meanwhile, Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) platforms stitch together rideshare, e-scooters, subways, and trains into a single itinerary with universal payment. This reduces travel anxiety around transfers, local infrastructure, and language barriers. The goal is to eliminate the friction between the travel steps entirely.

Beyond that, Hypersonic flight now promises to cut travel times across continents to mere hours in the near future. SpaceX and Boom Supersonic are making significant strides with Mach 5+ speeds, and could revolutionize long-distance travel. Even orbital transit is gaining serious attention. Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic and others are exploring suborbital and orbital travel, offering the possibility of reaching any destination on Earth in under an hour. 

Smart Cities 

Urban destinations are becoming responsive, adaptive, and more tourist-aware. Smart cities like Seoul or Vienna add infrastructure that responds to real-time demand. Dynamic translation displays, biometric check-in systems, and AI-powered crowd routing are changing how people interact with space. Museums use sensors to balance foot traffic; parks adjust lighting and pathfinding based on peak hours. Even mid-sized destinations are experimenting with context-aware guides and AR-enhanced historic districts. In such cities visitors feel embedded, not peripheral. This is tourism as system design.

However this transition isn’t scaling evenly. The WTTC states Saudi Arabia and the UAE are accelerating fast, pouring capital into next-gen airports and AI-native infrastructure. NEOM, Saudi Arabia's $500B megacity project, offers tourists a glimpse into the future with its cutting-edge experiences exploring ancient civilizations through immersive AI-driven VR and AR heritage tours. Guests interact with robotic avatars, and witness stunning holograms throughout the city. The crown jewel is The Line — a 170-kilometer linear city featuring ultra-high-speed transportation, luxury eco-resorts, and carbon-neutral infrastructure, making it a must-visit destination for those seeking a glimpse of tomorrow's world of travel mobility.

The U.S. recovery remains patchy—slowed by regulatory lag, overburdened public systems, and underinvestment in digital upgrades. Travelers are already adjusting their plans based on efficiency, infrastructure, and digital access. AI World Models and Spatial AI technology capital is piling in to catch up fast here.
Imagine Google Maps powered by Gemini and 3D world models of real time maps, translation, online personal assistant agents, and you get a bit of an idea at the scale of transition truly coming down the Moore's law pipeline over the coming decade.

The Value-Driven Voyager

Economic pressure is pushing smarter travel. Another factor is that rising costs and harder times are reshaping priorities and travelers are expecting more from every tool and every dollar. We are increasingly turning to apps that track dynamic pricing, flag surge fares, and suggest off-peak routes. AI-driven filters on platforms like Google Travel and Hopper help users compare value across hundreds of options in seconds. These tools are being embraced across luxury and budget tiers by those who want control and strategic insight. A more calculated, deliberate, and value-optimized approach  is the future of travel.

The Future of Travel

Tourism is fast becoming a networked, tech-mediated flow where planning, movement, interaction, and reflection are increasingly automated, yet paradoxically increasing wanting smooth, fast, and intelligent travel with genuine immersive experiences. The U.S. and other countries will need to undergo a rapid modernization to capture a share of this trend. 

FOOD + DRINK

AI-Powered FDA — The FDA introduces Elsa, an AI tool to boost employee efficiency and streamline clinical protocol reviews, enhancing operations while protecting sensitive data.

Dolly’s Got Beef — Dolly Parton's new Southern-style frozen meals, featuring Chicken & Dumplings and Beef Pot Roast, are celebrated for their hearty flavors.

Tariff Turmoil — President Trump plans a 50% tariff on aluminum and steel from June 4, potentially raising food packaging costs and consumer prices.

Protein Bar Boost — David secured $75M in a Series A round to enhance manufacturing and diversify products. It acquired supplier Epogee to ensure ingredient availability for its high-protein, zero-sugar bars.

Health Industry Challenges — The MAHA Commission report has sparked mixed reactions in the natural products industry. Jeff Grogg of JPG Resources discusses potential strategies for future.

ARTS + CULTURE

Banksy Unveils New Mural —Banksy revealed a new mural in Marseille featuring a lighthouse, signaling a shift in his artistic focus with mixed public reactions.

“Artificial” — Amazon MGM Studios is reportedly creating a film based on OpenAI’s 2023 board drama and the firing and counter coup of CEO Sam Altman.

AMC Networks & Runway — AMC and AI video startup Runway will integrate generative AI into AMC marketing and production aiming to transform content creation and streamline promotional workflows in media and entertainment.

Hollywood’s Stealth AI Use — Generative AI is increasingly used by Hollywood studios like Asteria Film pioneering ethical AI practices to counteract artist and union concerns. Unions are negotiating terms to protect artists' rights.

Licensing Music to AI Firms — Major music companies are negotiating with AI firms Udio and Suno to create compensation frameworks, potentially resolving copyright lawsuits and opening new revenue streams.

Netflix Tudum — Netflix announced the final season of "Stranger Things" in three parts and Guillermo del Toro's "Frankenstein" adaptation at the Tudum event, featuring performances by stars like Lady Gaga.

National Recording Registry — The NRR added the Windows 95 startup chime and 24 other audio works for their historical and cultural significance.

'TikTok for Artists — TikTok introduced the new artists platform to aid musicians in connecting with fans and promoting music, a shift towards music discovery.

AI Video Ad Platform — WndrCo co-led a $15.5M Series A for Creatify, enhancing AI-driven video ad generation for social sites like TikTok and Instagram.

SPORTS DESK

Pacing Themselves — NBA Playoffs have seen a record 10 comebacks from 15 points down, with the Indiana Pacers achieving five of these, including a 15-point comeback to win Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the OKC Thunder this week.

Djokovic’s Record — Novak Djokovic secured his 19th French Open quarter-final with a straight-sets win over Cameron Norrie,

Honda Drives Team USA — Honda becomes the official auto partner of Team USA for the LA28 Games, following Toyota's exit. This partnership aims to boost organizers' $2.5 billion corporate revenue goal.

F1 Academy Docuseries — Netflix explores the F1 Academy, an all-women racing series launched in 2023, spotlighting drivers and business strategies.

Shai's Supermax — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could secure a historic supermax contract, potentially earning over $80M per season. Experts predict the first $100M NBA player by the 2032-33 season.

PepsiCo x F1 — PepsiCo enters a global partnership with Formula 1 until 2030, aiming to boost fan engagement. Sting Energy and Gatorade will feature in races.

FUTURISM

Approaching Singularity — Dr. Alan Thompson forecasts that by mid-2025, we might see the early phases of the Singularity due to breakthroughs in LLMs across global laboratories.

Marine Fungus Fights Plastic — A newly-isolated marine fungus shows promise in degrading polypropylene faster than existing methods, suggesting a biological approach to plastic waste.

Human Brain Interface Milestone — Paradromics achieves a breakthrough by implanting its brain-computer interface in a human at the University of Michigan.

Laser Sail Revolution — A breakthrough in laser sail technology using photonic crystal and neural topology optimization slashes costs from $200B to $25 million, allowing spacecraft to reach one-fifth the speed of light.

Brain-Powered Biocomputing — Cortical Labs unveils the CL1, the first biocomputer combining human brain cells with silicon chips. Priced at $35,000.

Unlocking Longevity — Studies show blood stem cells become clonally dominant after age 50, raising disease risk. The Hand2 gene in axolotls aids limb regeneration offering longevity and disease prevention potential.

WELLBEING TECH

Spinal Cord Repair Breakthrough — XellSmart's regenerative cell therapy for spinal cord injuries gets Phase I trial approval, utilizing allogeneic induced pluripotent stem cells. Aims to restore function for over 15M affected globally.

Nvidia's AI Medtech Leap — Nvidia collaborates with top medtech firms to embed AI in medical devices, boosting imaging and robotics.

Color-Powered Synapse — Japanese researchers develop a self-powered artificial synapse capable of distinguishing colors with high resolution mimicking human vision.

Neurosteroid Breakthrough — Neurosteroids may revolutionize treatment for treatment-resistant depression, modulating neurotransmitter systems and enhancing neuroplasticity.

Teen Innovator Detects Heart Disease — 14-year-old Siddarth Nandyala created Circadian AI, an app diagnosing heart diseases with 96% accuracy. It offers early, non-invasive screening in underserved areas.

AI-Powered FDA — The FDA introduces Elsa, an AI tool to boost employee efficiency and streamline clinical protocol reviews, enhancing operations while protecting sensitive data.