OpenAI‘s latest endeavor, Shap-E, is a model that allows you to generate 3D objects from text, not unlike how Dall-E can create 2D images.
According to OpenAI, Shap-E is “a conditional generative model for 3D assets. Unlike recent work on 3D generative models which produce a single output representation, Shap-E directly generates the parameters of implicit functions that can be rendered as both textured meshes and neural radiance fields.”
The company’s GitHub posting goes on to explain how Shap-E is trained on a combination of mapping 3D assets and a conditional diffusion model.
However, this free-to-run program is a little more challenging to install and set up than the company’s ever-popular ChatGPT, as was explored by Tom’s Hardware.
You can download the Shap-E model on GitHub at no charge and access it on Microsoft Paint 3D. It also works when converted into an STL file, which allows the renders you create to be brought to life via 3D printers.
While this basic knowledge of the Shap-E model might seem simple enough, some tech savviness might be required to get the model installed and running.
The publication’s editor-in-chief, Avram Piltch, tested out Shap-E, which he claims took him eight hours to wrap his mind around. He added that OpenAI offers little by way of instructions outside of explaining that you should use a Python pip command for installation.
Once installed, Piltch says he was able to test prompts with color-animated GIF files and monochrome PLY files, with the animated GIFs being favorable, he noted.
Some prompts included a shark, a Minecraft creeper, and “an airplane that looks like a banana,” all of which had varying levels of quality depending on their file type. Piltch also used the model’s function, which lets users upload a 2D image for conversion into a 3D object.
The editor noted that those attempting to install Shap-E and render 3D objects should keep in mind that the model requires a lot of system resources from a PC.
In particular, Shap-E is compatible only with Nvidia GPUs and requires high-performance CPUs to render in a matter of minutes as opposed to hours.
Did you think hitting delete on your AI chatbot conversation actually makes it disappear? Georgia Tech researchers just proved that's not entirely true. They have built a forensic tool called ORISA that can dig deleted conversations from your phone and even rebuild them into a working chatbot session you can keep talking to.
How can ORISA bring deleted AI conversations back?
Touchscreen laptops have been around for years. You can get them in all sizes and shapes. Just not from Apple. For years, the Cupertino giant has treated the idea of a touchscreen MacBook the way I treat a meeting that could have been an email: with open contempt. However, Wednesday looks like the day the company could finally change its mind.
The latest Apple invite puts the “Pro and Tell” showcase in Los Angeles at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) on October 28, 2026. Instead of a regular live-streamed keynote, it is an invitation-only, hands-on event for a handful of press and creators (similar to what the company did for the MacBook Neo earlier this year).
Two residents of Chicago have filed a lawsuit in the US over claims that robots run by Coco Robotics and Serve Robotics captured their facial and hand measurements without consent, bringing renewed attention to the food delivery robots. The cases raise a troubling question: If a robot delivers food to your door, can it also be gathering sensitive information about you?
According to a report by The Associated Press, the proposed class-action lawsuits were filed in Cook County on Oct. 9 and allege violations of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act. The complaints claim that the robots’ cameras and LiDAR sensors captured information on customers’ faces and hands as they approached the machines to pick up their orders. Both have denied the allegations.