😸 Amazon's putting AI glasses on delivery drivers

PLUS: Meta cuts 600 jobs, Reddit sues Perplexity

Welcome, humans.

Whenever we use Perplexity and toggle on the “Social” sources filter, my results always flood with Reddit links. It's like Perplexity can't get enough of Reddit content.

Turns out, Reddit noticed this too. They just sued Perplexity for scraping its data to train AI models, which feels a bit like getting mad at someone for photocopying your homework after you've already sold copies to half the class.

Here's the deal: Reddit licensed its content to Google and OpenAI (cha-ching!), but Perplexity allegedly worked with third-party scrapers to grab Reddit data without permission. After Reddit sent a cease-and-desist letter, Perplexity apparently increased citations to Reddit forty-fold.

Fun fact: This is Reddit's second AI lawsuit this year. They sued Anthropic back in June. I wonder if Reddit's legal team sources their case strategies from ChatGPT... or from r/legaladvice

Here’s what happened in AI today:

Amazon and Alibaba both launched AI-powered smart glasses this week.
Meta laid off 600 employees from its "bloated" AI unit.
AI researchers are working 80-100 hour weeks to win the tech arms race.
Reddit sued Perplexity for scraping data to train AI systems.

AI Glasses Are Having a Moment (And They Actually Work This Time)

Okay, so Meta launched its new AR glasses a few weeks ago (we haven't forgotten about those tech glitches during the live demo, don't worry…). And now suddenly, Amazon and Alibaba are both jumping into the smart glasses game? What is this, 2025's hottest accessory trend?

Turns out, AI-powered glasses might actually be useful this time around and these companies are betting big on wearables as the next frontier after smartphones.

Amazon's play: Glasses for delivery drivers. On Wednesday, Amazon announced it's developing AI-powered smart glasses specifically for its delivery drivers. The glasses are designed to be completely hands-free, eliminating the need for drivers to constantly glance between their phone, packages, and surroundings.

Here's what they do:

Scan packages automatically when drivers look at them.
Provide turn-by-turn walking directions (especially helpful in apartment complexes).
Capture proof of delivery without needing a phone.
Detect hazards directly in the driver's line of sight.
Support prescription and transition lenses.

The glasses pair with a controller worn in the delivery vest that contains a swappable battery and an emergency button. Amazon's currently trialing them with drivers in North America before a wider rollout.

Future upgrades will include real-time defect detection (alerting drivers if they drop packages at wrong addresses), pet detection in yards, and automatic adjustments for low light conditions.

Alibaba's play: Consumer AI glasses. Not to be outdone, Alibaba announced pricing for its Quark AI Glasses on Thursday, starting at $660 with pre-orders opening Oct. 24 and shipments beginning in December.

These glasses are powered by Alibaba's Qwen large language model and support:

Hands-free calling.
Music streaming.
Real-time language translation.
Integration with Alibaba's new AI Chat Assistant.

Alibaba also launched AI Chat Assistant, a new chatbot mode within its Quark app that competes directly with ChatGPT and other conversational AI tools.

Why this matters: Tech companies are betting that wearables—specifically glasses—will be the next major computing platform alongside smartphones. Amazon's focusing on enterprise use cases (making deliveries more efficient), while Alibaba and Meta are targeting consumers.

The difference this time? These aren't clunky Google Glass knockoffs. They're powered by advanced AI models that can actually see, understand, and respond to the world around you in real-time.

Plus, Amazon also quietly unveiled a robotic arm called “Blue Jay” and an AI warehouse tool called “Eluna” on the same day. They're really going all-in on AI-powered logistics.

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Around the Horn

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Meta cut 600 jobs from its AI unit while protecting top-tier hires at TBD Labs, cementing Alexandr Wang's leadership after Zuckerberg's $14.3B Scale AI investment.
Alibaba launched a free AI chatbot in its Quark app using Qwen3 models to compete with ByteDance's 150 million users in China's AI market.
Top AI researchers at OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, and Microsoft are working 80-100 hour weeks in what several compared to wartime conditions.
A BBC-led study across 18 countries found AI assistants misrepresent news content 45% of the time, with Gemini performing worst at 76% error rate.

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