🦿First Ever Humanoid "Olympics"

Physical AI competitions are here.

The first-ever Humanoid Robot Games were just held in Beijing. Over 500 bots sprinted, stumbled, and even lost heads mid-race, turning an Olympic arena into live R&D for embodied AI.

ByteDance released Agent TARS Beta. It’s an open-source agent that can use your computer like a human by seeing your screen, clicking apps, typing commands, and running full workflows automatically.

Google showcased the latest Gemini Drops with 10 new features, including Storybook Mode, deeper reasoning, and stronger privacy controls. And ElevenLabs launched the AI Student Pack, giving students $1,500 in free credits and discounts across 16 AI tools.

”The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do."

^{– B.F. Skinner, Behavioral Psychologist}

📈 5 Must-Know AI Tools

Icon – The AI Admaker. Create scroll-stopping image and video ads, edit with built-in AI tools, and launch campaigns in minutes.

Adam – Your AI 3D modeler. Create 3D models from text or images, then export for games, prototypes, or 3D printing.

AGI – The benchmark for AI web agents. Build and test bots that can browse, shop, and transact across a simulated Internet.

Qwen – The AI powerhouse from Alibaba Cloud. Chat, reason, parse docs, images, video, code, and more .

Grok – The unfiltered AI from Elon Musk. Real-time search, quick replies, and content generation, wired straight into X and Tesla.

Humanoids

Beijing Hosted the First-Ever Humanoid Robot Games

Beijing just staged the world’s first Humanoid Robot Games — a three-day “Robot Olympics” where teams from 16 countries put humanoids through martial arts, football, and track races. The spectacle was equal parts slapstick and science: robots sprinted, stumbled, and in one case even lost a head mid-race. Clumsy as it was, the event turned an Olympic stadium into a live testing ground for embodied AI and a sign that humanoids are stepping out of the lab and into the public spotlight.

⚡ Fast Facts

• 280 teams from 16 countries; a mix of universities and robotics firms

• 500+ robots across sports + household tasks

• Venue: Beijing’s National Speed Skating Oval (2022 Winter Olympics site)

• Tickets: ¥128–580 ($18–80), with thousands of spectators

• Dates: Aug 15–17, 2025

🏆 Standout Moments

• Football pileups and sprint wipeouts, followed by bots self-righting to applause

• A 1,500m runner’s head flew off mid-race

• Unitree’s H1 clocked 6:34.40 to win gold in the 1,500m

• Chore bots crawled: one took 17 minutes to clear 9 pieces of trash

💡 Why It Matters

These Games weren’t just entertainment, but they were public R&D on a national scale. Every stumble, recovery, and failed chore produces data on locomotion, coordination, and manipulation that labs can’t replicate. And China is backing the chaos with real money: ¥10B city-level robotics funds and a ¥1 trillion ($138B) national AI investment plan.

The strategy is clear: use spectacle to accelerate embodied AI, dominate supply chains, and prepare robots to fill gaps in factories, warehouses, and hospitals. The slapstick moments aren’t failures — they’re the raw footage of tomorrow’s reliable humanoids.

ALPHA DROP

(Where we spotlight one powerful tool or feature to help you stay ahead.)

Agent TARS: An AI Butler for Your Computer

ByteDance (the company behind TikTok) has released Agent TARS Beta, an open-source AI agent framework that can act like a digital assistant for your computer. Instead of just chatting, it can see your screen, click buttons, type commands, open files, and browse websites — all driven by language + vision models. It’s free, open source, and can run locally.

⚙️ What It Does

• Control Apps and GUIs — TARS combines text + vision so it can read what’s on screen and interact with software like a human would.

• Desktop Automation (UI-TARS) — Automate tasks on your own machine: open files, copy data, sort folders, or click through apps.

• Browser + Terminal Agents — Automate repetitive website actions or command-line workflows.

• Memory Layers — Keeps track of what it’s doing with short-term and long-term memory, so it won’t lose context in long tasks.

• Event Log + Replay — Every step is recorded, so you can debug or re-run workflows.

• Works with Multiple Models — Plug in OpenAI’s GPT-4o, Anthropic’s Claude 3.7, or ByteDance’s own Doubao/Seed models.

💻 What You Can Use It For

• Automate Repetitive Work → Filling forms, updating spreadsheets, renaming or moving files.

• Testing & QA → Run through software GUIs automatically, capture logs, and replay failures.

• Web Research & Scraping → Click through sites, gather info, and save it without manual copy-paste.

• Developer Workflows → Automate builds, repo tasks, or chained command-line jobs.

• Productivity Boosts → Launch apps, batch-process documents or media, schedule routine tasks.

• Build Custom Agents → Extend TARS to create your own automation bots that combine text + vision — e.g. a bot that logs into a site, reads the dashboard, and downloads reports for you.

Agent TARS shows where agents are headed: from chat to real computer control. Unlike closed systems, it’s open-source, customizable, and local-friendly. With stronger vision support and full replay/debug tools, it stands out as one of the most practical frameworks for anyone building or using automation agents today.

👉 Try Agent TARS Beta → agent-tars.com
👉 UI-TARS Desktop (GitHub) → github.com/bytedance/UI-TARS-desktop

Google

Google’s Gemini Just Leveled Up

Google just showcased its August Gemini Drop, rolling out 10 new features that make the assistant smarter, more private, and way more useful.

📈 What’s New

• Study Smarter – Auto-generate quizzes, flashcards, and guides from your notes, or use Guided Learning to break down tough topics.

• Free Pro for Students – Eligible college students get 1 year of Gemini 2.5 Pro, Deep Research, unlimited quizzes, audio recaps, and 2TB storage.

• Storybook Mode – Turn memories, jokes, or lessons into illustrated AI storybooks.

• Deep Think Doubled – Ultra subscribers now get 10 advanced reasoning queries per day (up from 5) for math, coding, and complex problems.

• Personal Context – Gemini now remembers your preferences across chats (you control the toggle).

• Temporary Chats – Start incognito convos that never save or affect future responses.

• Privacy Controls – New options to manage how uploads (audio, video, docs) are used for AI training.

• Android Fix – Swipe up to open the full Gemini app instantly.

Gemini is moving beyond “just a chatbot.” With this Drop, it’s becoming a study partner, reasoning engine, creative tool, and private AI assistant—all in one app. For students, this could be a game-changer heading into the school year. For everyone else, it’s a sign that Gemini is pushing hard to rival (and maybe surpass) ChatGPT.

📚 Get the complete Gemini Drops breakdown → gemini.google/gemini-drops

ElevenLabs

Students Just Got $1,500 in Free AI Tools

ElevenLabs just launched the AI Student Pack, a back-to-school bundle offering over $1,500 in free credits and discounts across 16 AI tools—from voice generation and note-taking to coding, productivity, and creative apps. Students can unlock it with a verified school email.

The pack includes three free months of ElevenLabs Creator ($55), one year of ElevenReader Plus ($96), six months of Granola ($85), Notion Plus free for students ($120), $60 in V0 credits, plus steep discounts on HeyGen, Superhuman, Bolt, Headspace, and more.

By lowering costs, ElevenLabs is making AI access more attainable for students—helping them build projects, automate workflows, and experiment with tools they might not otherwise afford.

👉 Claim your free and discounted AI tools → aistudentpack.com

🔥 Must-Read Free AI Resources

Want to level up fast? Here are some of the best free resources we've found:

Guides:

• Build AI Agents (OpenAI Practical Guide)
  A step-by-step playbook on designing and deploying AI agents for real-world use. Read the Guide →

• OpenAI Cookbook
  Your go-to resource for code examples, integrations, and best practices when working with OpenAI models. Browse the Cookbook →

• Google’s Prompt Engineering Whitepaper
  Master the art of crafting powerful prompts, from fundamentals to advanced techniques. View the Whitepaper →

• AI in Enterprise (OpenAI Guide)
  See how industry leaders are scaling AI to boost efficiency, drive innovation, and deliver real business impact. Read the Guide →

Courses:

• Harvard's AI Courses
  Learn the foundations of AI, machine learning, and more — from one of the top universities. Explore Courses →

• Google Cloud’s AI Training
  Learn AI, machine learning, and LLMs from Google’s experts. Earn badges, build real skills, and learn at your own pace. Start Learning →

• OpenAI’s AI Academy
  Learn how to use AI from the source. OpenAI Academy offers free lessons on prompt engineering, large language models, and more — with no signup required. Join the Academy →

• Microsoft’s AI & Tech Courses
  Learn AI, machine learning, and cloud tools with step-by-step training from Microsoft. Browse Courses →

• NVIDIA’s AI Courses
  Access expert-led courses on AI, deep learning, and accelerated computing. Explore the platform →

⚡ Quick Reads

AI & TECH JOBS

🚀 AI Jobs Worth Jumping On

• Business Operations @ Fractional AI – Wear every hat in a fast-moving AI startup. From scaling ops to special projects, this is BizOps with front-row impact.

• AI Product Manager @ Air Apps – Shape AI features across a suite of 40+ apps. Own the roadmap, ship AI-powered experiences, and drive massive reach.

• AI Evals Engineer @ DocketAI – Build the pipelines that keep LLMs reliable. Golden sets, evals, traceability, and trust — this role is all about quality at scale.

• AI Prompt Engineer @ Grid – Craft and optimize prompts for a finance-focused AI agent. Hands-on, experimental, and part-time on-site in Seattle.

Free Resources to Increase Productivity

Boost your productivity with our free, downloadable resources—no sign-up required! Whether you're new to AI or ready to level up, we’ve got you covered.

What’s Inside: 
📄 AI Starter Kit
📄 Prompt Starter Kit 
📄 5 Practical Automation Workflows 

👇 Download everything in one click:
🔗 AI Innovations Hub – Free Downloadable Bundle

Explore Our AI Tools Directory

Looking for the best AI tools? Our Free AI Tools Directory is your ultimate resource for discovering top-notch AI solutions. We've done the heavy lifting by curating only the best tools, so you can focus on what matters most—getting things done.

We’re not here to hype AI — we’re here to help you actually use it, understand it, and learn as it evolves. Whether you’re testing a new tool, trying to automate something tedious, or just trying to keep up with what’s happening, we hope this newsletter gave you something genuinely worth your scroll.

We’ll be back soon with more ways to explore, build, and stay ahead in the AI world.

Until then, follow us on Instagram for the latest scoops and real-time updates.

Catch you in the next one,

— AI Innovations Hub