🤖 The $499/month AI home robot

Also: Jerome Powell says the AI hiring apocalypse is real

Author

Evolving AI
November 03, 2025

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Welcome, AI enthusiasts

California-based AI and robotics company 1X is now accepting pre-orders for its humanoid robot NEO, which was designed to automate everyday chores and to offer personalized assistance. It is available to buy at $20,000, but it will also be available as a subscription service of $499 a month.

Let’s dive in!

In today’s insights:

  • The $20,000 or $499/month AI home robot

  • Jerome Powell says the AI hiring apocalypse is real

  • Universal Music Group will let you reimagine (some of) its music

Read time: 4 minutes

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

Evolving AI: A $20K humanoid robot called NEO is now available for pre-order. It can do basic household tasks and will learn more by watching inside your home.

Key Points:

  • 1X NEO can open doors, fetch objects, and turn lights on/off.

  • Complex tasks require human teleoperators who see through its camera.

  • Buyers must allow remote access to help train the robot's AI system.

Details:

California robotics company 1X has opened pre-orders for NEO, a humanoid robot designed to help around the house. Starting next year, it will be able to handle simple tasks on its own, like flipping light switches and retrieving objects. But to go beyond that, it needs human help… literally. Teleoperators will control the robot remotely, watching through its camera to teach it new skills. Buyers must agree to this setup and will have some privacy tools, like blur filters and no-go zones. The robot ships in 2026 for $20,000 or $499/month through a subscription.

Why It Matters:

The arrival of the NEO robot from 1X shows home robots aren’t some far-off dream anymore. They’re starting to show up, even if they still need human operators in the background. With a $20,000 price tag or a $499 monthly subscription, it’s not about mass adoption yet. It’s about testing the waters for a future where robots don’t just clean your floors but learn how to live in your space.

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Evolving AI: Fed Chair Jerome Powell says U.S. job creation has nearly flatlined, and AI might be a big reason why.

Key Points:

  • Powell says once you strip out statistical noise, job growth is “pretty close to zero.”

  • CEOs are openly citing AI when announcing hiring freezes and layoffs.

  • Nearly 40,000 job cuts this year have been linked directly to AI or automation.

Details:

Despite low unemployment and steady consumer spending, Powell said the labor market is quietly stalling. He pointed to a slowdown in hiring that’s being masked by inflated payroll data and said many companies are freezing headcount as they shift to AI systems. Amazon, Paramount, and others are cutting thousands of jobs, with many citing AI as the reason. At the same time, capital spending is rising fast, mostly for AI-related infrastructure like data centers. Powell said this growing gap between productivity and employment is reshaping the economy and making it harder for the Fed to set interest rates.

Why It Matters:

Right now you’re seeing the same firms spending big on AI while hiring almost nothing new. The tech sector is especially strained, with young workers losing ground while firms automate routine work. If your job involves repeatable tasks, you need to ask yourself whether you might be next in line for an AI upgrade push.

Source: Udio

Evolving AI: Universal Music Group is ending its lawsuit against AI-music startup Udio and partnering with them to build a new platform where fans can remix songs with permission from the original artists.

Key Points:

  • Universal teams up with Udio after suing them last year over AI-generated tracks.

  • The platform will let users interact with official songs using AI if artists opt in.

  • It will be a closed system where remixes stay inside and new revenue goes to artists.

Details:

UMG and Udio are planning a 2026 launch for a platform that lets fans rework music by remixing, combining styles, or generating new tracks using real artists’ voices. Only songs from artists who choose to take part will be available. The content will stay within the platform and can’t be downloaded or posted elsewhere. Universal says this setup protects original songs from competition while creating new income streams. Udio’s current service will stay online but track downloads are being phased out. Artists who opt in will have full control over how their work is used and will be paid. They’ll also get data on how fans are using their voice or style in ways they may not expect. Some questions remain, including how rights are handled across collaborations and what training data will be used.

Why It Matters:

This move received a lot of backlash online. Fans feel the same thing they were doing for fun is now being repackaged as a paid feature. When users remixed songs, they got threatened with takedowns. But when labels do it, it’s branded as progress. Many see it as a clear case of the industry taking back control now that there’s money to be made.

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