AI is getting physical at CES 2026

Hello readers,

Welcome to the AI For All newsletter! Today, we’re talking AI trends from CES 2026, how AI simultaneously aids and thwarts forgers, and more!

AI in Action: Getting physical at CES 2026

AI has been cropping up at CES for years — but in 2026, it’s taking on a more visceral presence in Las Vegas: moving, seeing, feeling, and in some cases, even purring.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang kicked things off with the debut of Alpamayo, a new family of AI models designed to accelerate autonomous vehicle training through tightly integrated simulation and real-world data loops. It’s headed to Mercedes-Benz cars later this year, and it’s part of Nvidia’s broader push to bring AI into physical systems — from robotaxis to humanoid factory workers.

LG, Hyundai, and Samsung all showed off robots and home assistants promising to help with tasks like laundry, assembly-line work, and food prep. Even Motorola threw its hat into the ring with a pendant-style AI wearable named Qira — a minimal device that quietly identifies objects, summarizes info, and launches apps in the background.

Not everything was focused on productivity. Social robots made a strong showing too, from desk companions with Pixar-like eyes to fluffy, cellular-connected robopets designed for emotional support. These devices often had vague claims about their AI internals, but the trend was clear: AI is being marketed less as a tool, and more as a presence — something to live with, not just use.

Whether any of this breaks into the mainstream is still up for debate. But CES 2026 made one thing obvious: AI is trying to climb out of your browser and into your living room.

🔥 Rapid Fire

• Analysis: how the AI bubble bursts in 2026

• Commentary: AI is accelerating a new financial crisis

• AI promised a revolution but companies are still waiting

• CoreWeave’s fall from market grace highlights AI bubble fears

• China asks tech firms to halt orders for NVIDIA’s H200 chips

• Instacart ends AI pricing tool that inflated costs for shoppers

• Microsoft resorts to paying companies to use Copilot

• How Oregon’s data center boom is supercharging a water crisis

• Mark Zuckerberg is already blowing up relationship with new head of AI

• Dell executive says consumers are ‘not buying based on AI’

• News organizations win fight to access 20 million ChatGPT logs

• California lawmaker proposes a four-year ban on AI chatbots in kids’ toys

📖 What We’re Reading

AI‑Driven Fraud Detection: How to Spot Fake Documents in 2026