Although the CES doesn’t start until tomorrow, we’re back in Vegas for the event, and several exhibitors have already shown their new items at numerous press conferences and media events. In addition to more news from TV manufacturers, gaming laptop manufacturers, smart home firms, and other companies, we are starting to see some of the early automotive news that typically headlines CES today. Here is a summary of the top news from Day 1 of CES 2023 in case you haven’t caught up yet.

Since last night
But first, even though we covered the most of yesterday’s launches in a different video, more things were announced last night after we had finished filming that. For instance, Withings demonstrated the $500 pee-scanning U-Scan toilet computer.

It’s a 90mm block that you install inside your toilet bowl as a deodorizer and employs a microfluidic device that functions like a litmus test to identify the components in your pee. Although Withings is developing a consumer-focused version that will evaluate your nutrition and hydration levels and forecast your ovulation and period cycles, you will need to decide the precise tests you wish to run in your module. Prior to launching in the US, it is still awaiting regulatory approval from the European Union.

We also witnessed the Fufuly pulsing cushion by Yukai Engineering, which was less… gross news. Although a vibrating cushion may sound like something out of an anime, the concept is that cuddling something that might simulate real-life pulsation may have calming effects. Another thing that could calm anxiety? watching a video of adorable birds! Additionally, Bird Buddy unveiled a brand-new intelligent feeder with a built-in camera so you can watch your feathered friends while they build nests. The most recent version, which is intended for hummingbirds, uses AI to recognize the different breeds that are in the area and, in conjunction with a motion sensor, determines when they are ready for a feast.

Speaking of nibbles, there was a ton of food-related technology news last night, like as the $1,000 stand mixer from GE Profile that has a digital scale and voice controls. We also observed OneThird’s freshness scanners, which determine the freshness of produce using near-infrared lasers and secret algorithms. Even the shelf life of an avocado can be determined instantly, preventing food waste!

We also witnessed the Wisear neural earbuds that let you control playback by clenching your jaw, the blood pressure monitor that hooks onto your finger from Valencell, and Loreal’s robotic lipstick applicator for people with limited hand or arm mobility. Smart speakers, smart pressure cookers, smart VR gloves, smart lights, and more were available.

Let’s move on to the recent news. Prior to the onslaught that is set to happen tomorrow, there was only a little trickle of auto news. Volkswagen debuted the ID.7 EV sedan, tempting us with only the name and a rough body form. BMW, meanwhile, revealed the I Vision Dee, or “Digital Emotional Experience,” to provide additional information about its futuristic I Vision concept vehicle development. It’s a simplified design with a heads-up display that spans the entire front windshield. Many of the Dee’s characteristics are anticipated to be incorporated into production vehicles starting in 2025, notably BMW’s new NEUE KLASSE (new class) EV platform. BMW’s Mixed Reality slider will also be available on the Dee to regulate how much digital stuff is shown on the display.

TVs
The premium 2023 TVs from Samsung were also not unveiled until the evening, with this year’s models emphasizing on MiniLED and 8K technologies. Additionally, it added more sizes to its selection and unveiled new soundbars with Dolby Atmos capability at all price points. While this was going on, competitor LG unveiled a 97-inch M3 TV that can wirelessly receive 4K 120Hz content, allowing you to deal with fewer connections in your living room and… more soundbars. Leave it to LG and Samsung to essentially duplicate each other’s actions.

Hisense, a competitor with comparatively smaller TVs, today announced its 85-inch UX Mini LED TV, which has more than 5,000 local dimming zones and a maximum brightness of 2,500 nits. Startup Displace, meanwhile, demonstrated a brand-new 55-inch wireless OLED TV that can be attached to any surface via vacuum suction, doing away entirely with the requirement for a wall mount or stand. You can even live without a power cord thanks to its four inbuilt batteries. Essentially, this is a fully functional, portable TV.

Laptops

We also noticed more HP, MSI, and ASUS laptops. A laptop with glasses-free 3D, a sizable Zenbook Pro 16X with lots of space for thermal dissipation, and a Zenbook 14X with a ceramic build are all products of ASUS. Both of the latter Zenbooks include OLED displays. In the meantime, HP unveiled a new line of Dragonfly Pro laptops that are designed to simplify the purchasing process for customers by removing the majority of configuration options. The Windows version exclusively uses an AMD CPU and has a column of hotkeys on the right of the keyboard that provide shortcuts to camera settings, a control center, and 24/7 tech support, whilst the Dragonfly Pro Chromebook has an RGB keyboard and Android-like Material You theming capabilities. The last of these buttons can be programmed to open a particular program, file, or website.

The first of some audio news is now being presented to us, starting with JBL. The business presented its array of five soundbar models for 2023, all of which will support Dolby Atmos. New true wireless earbuds with a “smart” casing including a 1.45-inch touchscreen and controls for volume, playback, ANC, and EQ presets were also introduced. Nearly simultaneously, HP unveiled the Poly Voyager earphones, which are comparable to the JBL in terms of controls and have a touchscreen on the carrying case. However, the Voyager also features a Broadcast mode that enables you to connect the case to an older device with a headphone port (like while you’re on an airline) via the provided 3.5mm to USB-C connection, so you can view movies during a flight without having to bring along a second set of headphones.

Not only today but also the remainder of the week will see a ton more CES news. I was unable to tell you about Citizen’s latest wristwatch or Samsung’s new, more affordable Galaxy A14 smartphone. Keep checking back for updates on all CES 2023 news.

When Sony’s next VR headset launches in February 2023, the PSVR classics Moss and Moss: Book II will have native PSVR2 editions, but the catch for current owners is that they’ll have to pay full price to play them. There isn’t even a paid upgrade route, Polyarc has confirmed to Push Square, and neither title will be eligible for free PSVR to PSVR2 upgrades.

Due to a 10% PS Store discount, Moss will instead be available for $17.99, while its sequel will cost $26.99. This price is expected to expire soon. As an alternative, you can get them both together for $34.99.

Lincoln Davis, director of communications for Polyarc, provided the following explanation as to why the company chose this course of action: “For PSVR2 owners who previously bought the PSVR versions of the games, cross-buying is not configured for those titles. The appropriate implementation of new platforms for works like Moss and Moss: Book II requires a lot of time and money. And in this instance, the majority of that work was devoted to fine-tuning both games to offer gamers improved experiences that take advantage of the new hardware technology.”

According to the creator, the PSVR2 versions are configured to benefit from all the features the Sony headset boasts of, including haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, eye tracking, and a larger field of view. Additionally, it will utilize a 4K resolution at 90 frames per second with enhanced lighting and texture.

Although they claim to utilise the same features and provide a free PSVR to PSVR2 upgrade, games like After the Fall and No Man’s Sky will. It puts PSVR2 buyers in the frustrating position of having to pay for some titles all over again while receiving free access to others that promise the same exact improvements. If you want to purchase the updated version of a game you already own, Polyarc isn’t even going the Sony route and offering a $10 upgrade path. Instead, individuals who purchase the smartphone on launch day must pay full price.

Here’s an amazing example of what AI can achieve right now: In the age-old bargaining and treachery game Diplomacy, Cicero, the most recent AI from Meta, can defeat human players. It performed well while playing online at webDiplomacy.net, scoring “more than double the average of human players,” placing it “in the top 10% of participants who played more than one game.” It can determine which players need to be convinced to do what, then communicate with them using impressive and potent natural language.

No “taking over the globe” joke from me. I won’t.

In a simplified version of World War One, participants in the board game diplomacy compete for control of Europe. You move a few of your soldiers across the board each turn, but more crucially, you form alliances. You convince Geoff that you need to work together to defeat Margret’s Germany, agree to send his forces into Berlin, then covertly switch your allegiance to Margaret because she has agreed to assist you in advancing into Paris. As Meta writes in her research blog post, diplomacy is “a game about people rather than pieces.”

Smart manoeuvring obviously helps, and that’s a tactical area where sophisticated AI’s abilities unquestionably surpass those of humans. Meta will, of course, downplay this. Nevertheless, in order to win the game, you must persuade other players to support you, and Ciceros persuasive abilities are unmatched.

More details may be found in Meta’s blog post and the team’s study paper, but research scientist Mike Lewis’s twitter thread contains the most impressive information.

Each game, it sends and receives hundreds of messages, which must be precisely grounded in the game state, dialogue history, and its plans. We developed methods for filtering erroneous messages, letting the agent to pass for human in 40 games. Guess which player is AI here… 4/5 pic.twitter.com/8IMuepL7yf

— Mike Lewis (@ml_perception) November 22, 2022

It’s pretty interesting how deeply Meta’s blog post delves into what makes Cicero tick. Cicero makes predictions and tries to follow them rather than solely improving through supervised learning, where an AI trains on “labeled data such as a database of human players’ actions in previous games”:

“Citerative runs an iterative planning algorithm that balances dialogue consistency with rationality. The agent first predicts everyone’s policy for the current turn based on the dialogue it has shared with other players, and also predicts what other players think the agent’s policy will be. It then runs a planning algorithm we developed called piKL, which iteratively improves these predictions by trying to choose new policies that have higher expected value given the other players’ predicted policies, while also trying to keep the new predictions close to the original policy predictions.”

Lewis elaborates on that in another tweet, claiming that while Cicero is “designed to never intentionally backstab,” “sometimes it changes its mind…”

According to Meta, one potential use for an AI like Cicero is to develop videogame NPCs that converse realistically and comprehend your motivations. Maybe we’ll actually get to communicate with the monsters.