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- Retail’s Vision AI moment is here. Now comes the hard part.
Retail’s Vision AI moment is here. Now comes the hard part.
And our top AI story of the week
AI For All
January 16, 2026
In partnership with
Hello readers,
Welcome to the AI For All newsletter! Today, we’re talking about the fork in the road for Vision AI, the future of smart cities, and more!
A Strategic Crossroad
At NRF 2026, IoT For All’s on-the-ground reporting found one thing unmistakably clear: Vision AI is no longer a fringe technology or pilot-only experiment in retail. It’s moving into broad adoption — and like early IoT, the real question now is how it’s packaged, positioned, and deployed at scale.
Two models are emerging. Some vendors are pushing horizontal platforms — flexible, configurable, and pitched as broadly applicable. But in practice, this approach puts the burden on retailers to map features to business value. In contrast, vertical-first solutions are gaining traction by focusing on specific retail segments like grocery or big-box, offering faster ROI and clearer alignment with retail operations.
The hardware story is splitting, too. While some still push proprietary cameras, others are going hardware-agnostic — a strategy that fits better with retailers’ existing infrastructure and tighter budgets. Software-led models mean faster pilots, lower costs, and fewer integration hurdles.
The bottom line: the Vision AI winners will be those who prioritize clarity, speed to value, and operational relevance — not just technical capability.
🔥 Rapid Fire
Financial expert thinks OpenAI is on the verge of running out of money
OpenAI makes yet another billion-dollar deal it can’t afford to pay
Oracle sued by bondholders over losses tied to AI buildout
AI data centers cause RAM shortage, memory prices skyrocket
NVIDIA stock falls as China restricts imports of H200 chips
TSMC reports increased profits from manufacturing chips for NVIDIA, AMD
MIT scientists’ chip stacking experiment could reduce AI energy usage
AI can’t touch these skilled trade jobs. If only enough humans would fill them.
Productivity gains from AI are lost to rework and low-quality outputs per Workday
Report: the risks of AI in schools outweigh any benefits
X finally implements changes to Grok after image generation controversy
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📖 What We’re Reading
If you want smart cities to become smarter, you need smart utilities. No matter how advanced a city is, without proper utility management, it cannot function; the foundation of every city lies in its utilities, including energy, water, gas, and waste management.
So what are smart utilities? Smart utilities are equipped with sensors, AI integration, and digital platforms to monitor and optimize the essential resources such as energy, water, gas, and waste. If you want smart cities to become sustainable, efficient, and livable, you need smart utilities.