Midjourney's medical scanner, a Patriot missile's two-year supply chain, and why Ford had to rehire 350 engineers it let automated systems replace

This month, manufacturing headlines ran the gamut. Midjourney, the AI image generator, has entered the scanner business. Jon and Alex unpack the Midjourney Scanner, a full-body ultrasound device the company is positioning as a wellness habit rather than a diagnostic tool, and why the medical community is wary of preemptive scanning. Dexcom traces a sensor theft back to an unauthorized distributor, and the Wall Street Journal explains why a Patriot missile takes two years and 400 suppliers to build.

They also cover stalled subsea cable projects across the Gulf, Snap's $2,195 Specs glasses, a New York Times guide to buying used electronics, and China's bet on humanoid robots to offset a shrinking workforce. The episode closes on Ford, which just hit number one in JD Power's quality rankings after rehiring 350 engineers it had automated away.

Links from the discussion:

Midjourney Enters Medical Imaging: https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/952011/midjourney-medical-ai-ultrasound-scan

Dexcom Uncovers Theft of Scrapped Product, Notifies Potentially Impacted Users: https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/dexcom-uncovers-theft-scrapped-product-notifies-potentially-impacted-users

Why Does It Take Years to Get a Patriot Missile From Factory to Front Line: https://www.wsj.com/world/why-does-it-take-years-to-get-a-patriot-missile-from-factory-to-front-line-3e5874c5

Stalled subsea cable projects threaten Middle East digital ambitions: https://www.ft.com/content/5e6ce736-3a48-406a-933a-ed215370bd16

Snap unveils $2,195 Specs AR glasses, Spiegel bets on post smartphone: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/16/snap-unveils-2195-specs-ar-glasses-spiegel-bets-on-post-smartphone.html

The Do's and Don'ts of Buying Used Tech Gadgets: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/technology/personaltech/used-tech-refurbished.html

Robot nation: China's bid to beat its demographic decline: https://www.ft.com/content/c8731833-10ca-4a12-bfe4-8ebb2584ec68

Ford had to hire back former engineers to fix mistakes made by its automated systems: https://www.theverge.com/transportation/956316/ford-quality-jd-power-ranking-ai-automated-mistakes