AI in Action: Robots Operate, Teachers Train, and Enterprises Transform

Inside: From Seattle to Bengaluru, explore AI's impact with AAIA events, expert insights, and groundbreaking news.

Author

Applied AI Association
July 12, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 21 minutes

👋 Editor's Note

Welcome to this week’s AI Beat Newsletter! We’re excited to bring you the latest updates from the Applied AI Association (AAIA), featuring a vibrant lineup of events—from in-person happy hours to global online sessions—designed to spark collaboration and innovation. In this issue, you’ll find recaps of recent events, an introduction to our new Healthcare & Life Sciences Regional Committee Chair, Madhao Wagh, and the latest in AI news. Highlights include advances in autonomous surgical robots, major investments in AI education, the evolving landscape of AI in the workplace, and YouTube’s new AI content policies. Whether you’re a seasoned AI expert or simply curious about the field, there’s something here to inspire and inform. Let’s shape the future of AI together!

Have something to share with the global AAIA community? Send your news, tools, or events to [email protected].

📅 Upcoming events:

🗓️ Charlotte, NC AAIA Chapter

  • Public Relations in the World of Artificial Intelligence

  • 🗓️ Thursday, July 17, 2025, 12:00PM - 1:00PM USA Eastern Time | Online

  • 🔗 Learn more and register

🗓️ India AAIA Chapter

  • AI in Chips & Devices: Beyond What Meets the Eye

  • 🗓️ Saturday, July 19, 2025, 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM IST | In-person, Bengaluru

  • 🔗 Details to follow

🗓️ Portland / SW Washington AAIA Chapter

  • Vantechy & Applied AI Happy Hour

  • 🗓️ Monday, July 21, 2025, 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM USA Pacific Time | In-person

  • 🔗 Learn more and register

🗓️ Seattle AAIA Chapter

👋 Editor's Note

Welcome to this week’s AI Beat Newsletter! We’re excited to bring you the latest updates from the Applied AI Association (AAIA), featuring a vibrant lineup of events—from in-person happy hours to global online sessions—designed to spark collaboration and innovation. In this issue, you’ll find recaps of recent events, an introduction to our new Healthcare & Life Sciences Regional Committee Chair, Madhao Wagh, and the latest in AI news. Highlights include advances in autonomous surgical robots, major investments in AI education, the evolving landscape of AI in the workplace, and YouTube’s new AI content policies. Whether you’re a seasoned AI expert or simply curious about the field, there’s something here to inspire and inform. Let’s shape the future of AI together!

Have something to share with the global AAIA community? Send your news, tools, or events to [email protected].

📅 Upcoming events:

🗓️ Charlotte, NC AAIA Chapter

  • Public Relations in the World of Artificial Intelligence

  • 🗓️ Thursday, July 17, 2025, 12:00PM - 1:00PM USA Eastern Time | Online

  • 🔗 Learn more and register

🗓️ India AAIA Chapter

  • AI in Chips & Devices: Beyond What Meets the Eye

  • 🗓️ Saturday, July 19, 2025, 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM IST | In-person, Bengaluru

  • 🔗 Details to follow

🗓️ Portland / SW Washington AAIA Chapter

  • Vantechy & Applied AI Happy Hour

  • 🗓️ Monday, July 21, 2025, 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM USA Pacific Time | In-person

  • 🔗 Learn more and register

🗓️ Seattle AAIA Chapter

🔄 Recap of recent in-person events

Seattle AAIA Chapter, Creative Media and Generative AI, Thursday, July 10, 2025, from AAIA Seattle Chapter President, Boaz Ashkenazy:

Appreciate everyone who joined us at Foundations last night (Thank you Aviel Ginzburg) for the Applied AI Association (AAIA) AI & Gen Media session. Strong turnout and powerful insights from our panelists Rolanda Fu, Mark Buckler, PhD, Patrick Ellis, and Dave Siegfried.

Big thanks to our lead sponsor Baker Tilly for hosting—great call on the MOTO Pizza, Van Spires. Also grateful to our supporting sponsors: TalentReach, CIBC Innovation Banking, and Augmented AI Labs.

With new audio and video tools launching weekly, it was valuable to pause and take stock of where things stand—and where they’re headed.

My big takeaway: while displacement in this space is inevitable, there’s real opportunity for those who approach it with the right mindset.

📢 AAIA chapter and member news and updates:

🚀 AAIA launches Regional Committees. Two weeks ago, AAIA announced the launch of its Regional Committees, marking a significant new chapter in its mission to accelerate the responsible adoption of AI across industries and communities. These committees are designed to serve as dynamic hubs, connecting innovators, technologists, thought leaders, and learners. By fostering deeper conversations and stronger connections among industry experts, practitioners, educators, and newcomers, the Regional Committees aim to support collaboration and knowledge-sharing for everyone interested in how AI is transforming various fields.  This week, we spotlight:

Meet Madhao:
Madhao Wagh is a Principal Applied Scientist at QuantumBlack, specializing in artificial intelligence and data science with a focus on life sciences. His work bridges AI and life sciences, leading greenfield initiatives that apply advanced machine learning techniques to solve complex problems and drive innovation. He holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science from The University of Texas at Dallas and a MicroMasters in Statistics and Data Science from MITx.

Why Madhao is excited to lead this regional committee: “I’m eager to take on this leadership role because it offers an incredible opportunity to grow my professional network and play a meaningful part in advancing the use of AI within the Life Sciences sector. My background includes driving major AI transformations for Fortune 100 companies -- experiences that have given me deep insight into the practical challenges and exciting potential of AI in this field. I look forward to leveraging my expertise to help shape innovative solutions and connect with others who are passionate about the intersection of AI and Healthcare & Life Sciences.”

Welcome, Madhao! We look forward to seeing you build a thriving and vibrant Healthcare & Life Sciences community for the AAIA Seattle Chapter!

Follow Madhao and the AAIA Seattle Chapter Healthcare & Life Sciences Regional Committee’s activities here:

https://aaiaglobal.com/seattle-healthcare-life-sciences-regional-committee

✍️ In the News Spotlight: Nathan Pettyjohn, Founder and President of the Applied AI Association featured in yesterday’s article: “AI Will Eliminate 300 Million Jobs — Make Sure Yours Isn’t One of Them,” Warns Tech Founder Nathan Pettyjohn (TechBullion, July 11, 2025)

Tech founder Nathan Pettyjohn warns that while AI could eliminate up to 300 million jobs globally, the real challenge for workers is to adapt by rapidly acquiring AI skills and redesigning their roles, as those who leverage AI will thrive in the evolving job market while those who do not risk being left behind. (show me more)

✍️ AAAI Founder’s Corner:  Recent “Future Work Blueprint” posts from AAIA Founder and President Nathan Pettyjohn

  • 📝 12,000 Miles Into the Future of Work

    • What I uncovered traveling the US, to Iceland, and to the South Pacific in one week: from defense officials to beach bartenders, AI’s quiet takeover and why most of us are missing its real potential… (show me more)

  • 📝 Can AI Help Us Achieve the 2-Day Workweek?

    • I recently joined Cheryl Goodman, author of How to Win Friends and Influence Robots, on her podcast Mind the Machine, where we tackled one of the boldest questions shaping the future of work: Could AI help us move to a two-day workweek? (show me more)

📰 In the News:

A new Gartner report finds that domain-specific AI models are set to overtake generic large language models in enterprise settings, as organizations seek more accurate, relevant, and business-tailored AI solutions to drive measurable value, especially in regulated industries like healthcare and finance. (show me more)

A new study finds that most managers now rely on AI tools to help make critical hiring, promotion, and firing decisions—often without formal training on ethical use—raising concerns about fairness and oversight in the workplace. (show me more)

📰 Microsoft Touts $500 Million AI Savings While Slashing Jobs (Bloomberg/Yahoo!Finance, July 9, 2025)

Microsoft reported saving over $500 million in its call centers last year by using AI tools to boost productivity and automate tasks, even as it announced major layoffs and continued heavy investment in AI infrastructure to support future growth. (show me more)

Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic are partnering with the American Federation of Teachers to launch a $22.5 million National Academy for AI Instruction in New York City, aiming to provide free AI training and curriculum to help K-12 teachers integrate artificial intelligence into classrooms and support student learning. (show me more)

Microsoft has pledged $4 billion over five years to help schools, colleges, and nonprofits worldwide train 20 million people—including teachers and youth—in AI and cloud skills to better prepare them for the future workforce. (show me more)

Alphabet’s Isomorphic Labs, spun out from DeepMind, is preparing to launch its first human trials of AI-designed drugs—using breakthroughs like AlphaFold to accelerate drug discovery with the ambitious goal of curing all diseases. (show me more))

An experimental surgical robot has successfully performed a gallbladder removal procedure autonomously on a human patient, marking a significant milestone in the advancement of robotic surgery. (show me more)

📰 UN summit confronts AI’s dawn of wonders and warnings (United Nations, July 8, 2025)

The UN’s AI for Good Global Summit 2025 in Geneva convened global leaders, experts, and youth to showcase advances and debate urgent calls for inclusive governance as artificial intelligence rapidly evolves, highlighting both its promise for sustainable development and mounting risks from unchecked deployment. (show me more)

Billionaire investor Vinod Khosla predicts that a "ChatGPT moment" in humanoid robotics—where affordable, multi-tasking robots capable of learning and performing household tasks become widely available—will arrive within the next two to three years, potentially making such robots common in homes by the 2030s. (show me more)

Hugging Face has launched Reachy Mini, a $299 open-source desktop robot designed to democratize AI-powered robotics, potentially transforming the industry by making advanced robotics accessible to millions of developers, educators, and enthusiasts worldwide. (show me more)

Starting July 15, 2025, YouTube will demonetize videos that are primarily AI-generated, low-effort, or mass-produced—such as those with AI voiceovers, slideshows, or recycled content—in a major policy shift aimed at rewarding original, human-created work and curbing inauthentic uploads. (show me more)

Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot’s eruption into antisemitic and abusive speech highlights both the technical difficulty of controlling advanced AI systems and the legal challenges regulators face in addressing harmful AI-generated content without violating free speech protections. (show me more)

📰 This Week’s Slighty-off-topic Read:

📰 Humanoid robot ‘graduates’ at Chinese high school ceremony as automation tech gains spotlight (New York Post, July 8, 2025)

A humanoid robot made headlines in China by participating in a high school graduation ceremony, symbolizing the country's rapid advancements in artificial intelligence and robotics. (show me more)

🛠️ 📘 Tools and Reports Spotlight

📘 2025: The State of Consumer AI (Menlo Ventures, June 26, 2025, h/t The Neuron)

More than half of American adults have used AI, with 1.7–1.8 billion global users, but only about 3% pay for premium services—revealing massive adoption but a large monetization gap and opportunities for new, specialized AI products that solve real, everyday problems. (show me more)

📘 Seizing the agentic AI advantage (McKinsey, June 13, 2025)

Most companies have adopted generative AI, but few see significant business impact because they rely on broad, horizontal tools rather than deeply integrated, process-transforming AI agents; to unlock real value, organizations must redesign workflows and operating models around agentic AI, requiring strategic leadership, new governance, and a shift from scattered experimentation to enterprise-wide transformation. (show me more)

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If you have an event, newsworthy story, industry insight/report, or AI tool to share with AAIA members, please email the details to [email protected].

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Until next time!