Meet Rhem

This link leads to one of the most interesting things I’ve seen in AI recently.

What’s cookin’? Rhem is a new tabletop AI robot built to help older adults live more independently while keeping their families informed. It can track health readings like blood pressure, heart rate, and blood oxygen, notice changes in conversation or daily routines, set reminders, and notify family when something seems off. It can also browse websites and make phone calls to refill prescriptions, book appointments, order groceries, fill out forms, or handle other everyday tasks. Families can follow updates through an app, while an optional camera-free sensor can detect possible falls.

🤔 Hunter’s take: In-home devices like Alexa have been around for a while, but the real breakthrough here is agency. Rhem isn’t just answering questions; it can act on them. If this works reliably, AI could help people remain independent longer without requiring family members to constantly step in and manage every small task.

What’s cookin’? McDonald’s is facing a federal lawsuit claiming its AI-powered pricing system helps franchisees coordinate prices in ways that could violate antitrust law. The tool analyzes store sales, location, competitor prices, and other data to recommend what restaurants should charge for menu items. The lawsuit argues that because franchisees can compete with one another, feeding nonpublic sales data into the same pricing system could reduce real price competition. McDonald’s disputes that, saying franchisees still set their own prices and the tool only provides recommendations.

🤔 Hunter’s take: This is a really important AI case because the issue isn’t whether AI literally presses the “raise prices” button. It’s whether one shared algorithm can quietly push thousands of supposedly independent businesses toward similar decisions. That could become a huge question far beyond burgers, especially as more industries start using the same AI tools to decide what customers should pay.

Here’s your chance to get a straightforward answer, from an expert in the field.

Hi — I’m Hunter, a PhD candidate whose work has appeared in major academic journals and popular tech outlets. I founded FryAI to make staying ahead of AI clear, accessible, and fun.