Techmeme Ride Home

New York is suing Zelle. Another IPO pop has me raising my eyebrows. Maybe Perplexity really was serious, at least about getting a browser. Does Apple want to make basically that Pixar lamp? And AI has so broken the hiring process that some companies are resorting again to in-person interviews. Links: New York sues Zelle, says security lapses led to $1 billion consumer fraud losses (Reuters) Crypto Firm Bullish Soars 84% in Debut After $1.1 Billion IPO (Bloomberg) Before Wild Chrome Bid, Perplexity Had Been Hunting for Browsers (The Information) Apple Plots Expansion Into AI Robots, Home Security and Smart Displays (Bloomberg) AI Is Forcing the Return of the In-Person Job Interview (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Perplexity offers to acquire Chrome, but how serious are they? Fine, says OpenAI, have your GPT-4o back. Are AI companions the next breakout AI business beyond coding help? And is GM getting back in the self-driving car business for real this time? Links: Perplexity Makes Longshot $34.5 Billion Offer for Chrome (WSJ) OpenAI brings GPT-4o back as a default for all paying ChatGPT users, Altman promises ‘plenty of notice' if it leaves again (VentureBeat) OpenAI rolls out Gmail, Calendar, and Contacts integration in ChatGPT (BleepingComputer) UK porn site traffic plunges as age verification rules take effect (Financial Times) AI companion apps on track to pull in $120M in 2025 (TechCrunch) GM Plans Renewed Driverless-Car Push After Cruise Debacle (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elon says he might take legal action against Apple, but it's probably his beef with Sam Altman rearing its head once again. A long piece looking at how Jenson won in China, though also, HAS he won WITH China… yet? And is the race to the bottom in AI pricing happening already? Links: Musk says xAI to take legal action against Apple over App Store rankings (Reuters) Tech giants Apple and Google lose landmark court case as federal judge rules they engaged in anti-competitive conduct (ABC) China Urges Firms to Avoid Nvidia H20 Chips After Trump Resumes Sales (Bloomberg) With Billions at Risk, Nvidia CEO Buys His Way Out of the Trade Battle (WSJ) Anthropic offers Claude chatbot to US lawmakers for $1 (FT) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nvidia and AMD are paying the US government 15% of revenue to sell AI chips to China. Remember how with GPT-5, they took away the old models? Well, the old models are back. Some critical analysis of the whole GPT-5 moment. And you know what is finally never coming back? AOL dialup internet. Links: Nvidia and AMD to pay 15% of China chip sale revenues to US government (FT) Trump Bid for Cut of Chip Revenue Risks ‘Dangerous World' (Bloomberg) Intel CEO Singled Out by Trump to Visit White House on Monday (WSJ) OpenAI Faces Backlash for Retiring Older Models With GPT-5 Launch (PCMag) GPT-5: Overdue, overhyped and underwhelming. And that's not the worst of it. (Gary Marcus) A BEST CASE SCENARIO FOR AI? (David Sacks) AOL discontinues its dial-up internet, and we're just surprised they even offered it in 2025 (PCGamer) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I spoke with the great Paul Kedrosky to discuss the significant impact of AI capital expenditure (CapEx) on the economy, exploring how it contributes to GDP growth and the implications of this spending. Qw delve into the rapid growth of AI-related investments, the short lifespan of data centers, and the potential risks associated with this economic phenomenon. 00:00 The Impact of AI Capital Expenditure on the Economy 09:34 The Dynamics of Data Center Investments 19:39 Debt Financing and Its Implications 30:09 Potential Risks and Future Outlook for AI Investments Articles mentioned on this episode: Paul Kedrosky: Honey AI Capex Ate The Economy Chris Mims in the WSJ Noah Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tracking the fallout and implications from GPT-5's rollout yesterday. Why is Google's AI chatbot filled with self-loathing and recrimination? Are President Trump's comments just the latest worry for the CEO of Intel? Are those AI coding companies actually making any money? And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: GPT-5: Key characteristics, pricing and model card (Simon Willison) GPT-5 Hands-On: Welcome to the Stone Age (Latent Space) Google says it's working on a fix for Gemini's self-loathing 'I am a failure' comments (Business Insider) Intel's Chief Holds Firm After Trump Demands His Resignation (NYTimes) High costs and thin margins threatening AI coding startups (TechCrunch) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: AI Is Coming for the Consultants. Inside McKinsey, ‘This Is Existential.' (WSJ) SEO Is Dead. Say Hello to GEO. (NYMag) Is Perrier as pure as it claims? The bottled water scandal gripping France (BBC) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All the news around the big unveiling of GPT-5. President Trump calls on the CEO of Intel to “resign immediately.” Also, the threat of 100% tariffs on chips and semiconductors. But Apple gets a pass because they're committing to building more in the US. Links: GPT-5 is being released to all ChatGPT users (The Verge) OpenAI Unveils GPT-5, Its Latest and Most Powerful Model, After Two-Year Wait (WSJ) OpenAI's GPT-5 is here (TechCrunch) Trump Urges ‘Conflicted' Intel CEO Tan to Resign Immediately (Bloomberg) Trump Eyes 100% Chips Tariff, Exempting Firms That Invest in US (Bloomberg) Apple Announces $100 Billion US Investment Ahead of Trump Event (Bloomberg) Could AI Datacenter Spending Blow Up The Economy? With Paul Kedrosky (YouTube) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Disney is making big streaming moves with the new ESPN app and a revamp to Hulu. Then, it's all basically AI announces. OpenAI's new open-weight models. Grok's new spiciness is already generating nudity. A new AI model to identify malicious software autonomously. And Nvidia wants you to know: no back-doors! Links: ESPN flagship streaming service to launch Aug. 21 (CNBC) Hulu App to Be Phased Out as Disney Is ‘Fully Integrating' Service Into Disney+ (Variety) OpenAI Just Released Its First Open-Weight Models Since GPT-2 (Wired) Anthropic's powerful Opus 4.1 model is here - how to access it (and why you'll want to) (ZDNet) Qwen-Image is a powerful, open source new AI image generator with support for embedded text in English & Chinese (VentureBeat) Grok's ‘spicy' video setting instantly made me Taylor Swift nude deepfakes (The Verge) Microsoft's new AI reverse-engineers malware autonomously, marking a shift in cybersecurity (GeekWire) Nvidia defiant over backdoors and kill switches in GPUs as U.S. mulls tracking requirements — calls them 'permanent flaws' that are 'a gift to hackers' (Tom's Hardware) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TSMC has fired employees for allegedly attempting to pilfer information on their 2nm tech. Figma could have raised more money in its IPO but chose not to. Creating entire video game worlds with just a text prompt. And exactly how big Patreon has grown in the creator economy. 00:32 TSMC Spygate 02:50 Cloudflare V. Perplexity 04:52 Figma Followup 07:35 Music AI 09:53 New Google Models 14:58 Patreon Numbers Links: TSMC says employees tried to steal trade secrets on iPhone 18 chip process (9to5Mac) Cloudflare says Perplexity's AI bots are ‘stealth crawling' blocked sites (The Verge) Figma's Pursuit of Long-Term Backers Kept IPO Price in Check (Bloomberg) Voice Startup ElevenLabs Launches AI Music Service (WSJ) Google's new AI model creates video game worlds in real time (The Verge) Google's Kaggle to host AI chess tournament to evaluate leading AI models' reasoning skills (Silicon Angle) Exclusive: Patreon crosses $10 billion creator payment milestone (Axios) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robotaxies are coming to Europe. Apple wants Answers. Literally. The AI researcher who turned down a billion and a half dollars. How the vibe seems to have definitively shifted in Silicon Valley. And will rollable laptop screens become mainstream? 00:33 Robotaxis In Europe 02:12 Apple Wants Answers 03:57 Lina Khan 05:54 Billion Dollar Turn-Down 07:54 AI Trading Bots 10:25 The Silicon Valley Boom Is Back 14:23 A Rollable Laptop Links: Lyft Partners With Baidu on Robotaxis in European Expansion (Bloomberg) Apple's New ‘Answers' Team Eyes ChatGPT-Like Product in AI Push (Bloomberg) Lina Khan points to Figma IPO as vindication of M&A scrutiny (TechCrunch) Thanks for Your $1 Billion Job Offer, Mark Zuckerberg. I'm Gonna Pass. (WSJ) ‘Dumb' AI Bots Collude to Rig Markets, Wharton Research Finds (Bloomberg) Silicon Valley Is in Its ‘Hard Tech' Era (NYTimes) Lenovo's rollable laptop is the coolest computer I've used all year (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, it looks like Tech IPO's might be back on the menu because Figma's first day pop was like the good old days. Anthropic seems to be getting traction, OpenAI raises again. Earnings from Apple and Amazon, and of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Chapters: 00:33 Figma IPO 04:57 Anthropic And Open AI Numbers 08:45 New Deep Think Model 11:08 Tech Earnings Omnibus 14:35 Longreads Links: Figma more than triples in NYSE debut after selling shares at $33 (CNBC) Anthropic Revenue Pace Nears $5 Billion in Run-Up to Mega Round (The Information) Exclusive: OpenAI Secures Another Giant Funding Deal (NYTimes) Google rolls out Gemini Deep Think AI, a reasoning model that tests multiple ideas in parallel (TechCrunch) Reddit wants to be a search engine now (The Verge) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The first commercial space station is nearly here. And it could change space forever (BBC Science Focus) A Deadly Fungus Killed 10 Scientists Working in a Tomb. It Could Be a Breakthrough in Curing Cancer. (Popular Mechanics) What happens once we spot the asteroid that will hit Earth? (FT)

Microsoft and Meta earnings suggest AI is paying off so far, at least for the big guys. Has OpenAI's revenues tripled so far in 2025? Devs are using AI more than ever, but that doesn't mean they trust it. And at the end of the show, as promised, the huge podcast announcement. Links: Microsoft officially tops $4 trillion in market cap, joining Nvidia in exclusive club (CNBC) Investors Cheer an A.I. Spending Bonanza (NYTimes) Meta shares climb 10% on revenue beat, raised forecast (CNBC) Apple, Google, OpenAI to Work With Federal Agencies to Make Health Data Helpful (Bloomberg) OpenAI Hits $12 Billion in Annualized Revenue, Breaks 700 Million ChatGPT Weekly Active Users (The Information) Stack Overflow data reveals the hidden productivity tax of ‘almost right' AI code (VentureBeat) Google DeepMind says its new AI can map the entire planet with unprecedented accuracy (VentureBeat)

Age verification for web users is sweeping the globe. ChatGPT debuts a study mode for students. What, exactly is Zuckerberg trying to achieve by hiring everyone in AI? Maybe Cohere is the real dark horse in the AI model race. And what if the real money in AI video is in training robots? Links: YouTube rolls out age-estimation tech to identify US teens and apply additional protections (TechCrunch) ChatGPT's Study Mode Is Here. It Won't Fix Education's AI Problems (Wired) Apple Loses Fourth AI Researcher in a Month to Meta's Superintelligence Team (Bloomberg) Meta's AI Recruiting Campaign Finds a New Target (Wired) AI Startup Cohere Projects $200 Million Revenue Pace as New Funding Nears (The Information) Runway, Luma Target Sales to Robotics Companies (The Information)

Sony says Tencent has ripped off one of their biggest games. Microsoft wants to get ahead of the whole AI browser thing. Are rate limits coming for AI usage as some people are using AI too much? Waymo is coming to Dallas. And further proof of my thesis that smartglasses are the next big thing in tech hardware.Links:Sony sues Tencent for allegedly ripping off 'Horizon' video games (Reuters)Microsoft revolutionizes Edge as an AI-powered web browser with new experimental 'Copilot Mode' — here's how to enable it right now (Windows Central)Anthropic unveils new rate limits to curb Claude Code power users (TechCrunch)A Second Tea Breach Reveals Users' DMs About Abortions and Cheating (404Media)Waymo, Avis Plan Dallas Robotaxi Launch in Multiyear Deal (Bloomberg)Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses revenue tripled over the year, EssilorLuxottica says (CNBC)Oakley Meta glasses review: A familiar formula with some upgrades (Engadget)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Samsung's foundry business gets a shot in the arm from Tesla. Zuck's hiring spree nabs a Chat GPT creator. Anthropic is raising and leveling up in a big way. And no sooner did the hot new dating app Tea get hot, then it got hacked. Tea was spilt, if you will.Links:Samsung to Make Tesla AI Chips in Multiyear Texas Deal (Bloomberg)Donald Trump freezes export controls to secure trade deal with China (FT)Meta names Shengjia Zhao as chief scientist of AI superintelligence unit (TechCrunch)PayPal to Roll Out ‘Pay With Crypto' Feature for Merchants (Bloomberg)AI start-up Anthropic open to Mideast funds in talks to double valuation to over $150bn (FT)Women are anonymously spilling tea about men in their cities on viral app (NBCNews)Hackers leak 13,000 user photos and IDs from the Tea app, designed as a women's safe space (NBCNews)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Could Intel exit the high-end chip game entirely? Why are public companies loading up on crypto? GPT-5 is probably coming in a matter of weeks. What if it's actually AI jobpocalypse… not now? And in the Longreads, the best explainer of those GLP-1 drugs I've read so far.Links:Intel beats on revenue, slashes foundry investments as CEO says ‘no more blank checks' (CNBC)Google is testing a vibe-coding app called Opal (TechCrunch)Companies load up on niche crypto tokens to boost share prices (Financial Times)OpenAI prepares to launch GPT-5 in August (The Verge)Is AI killing graduate jobs? (FT)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:First Look: macOS Tahoe Public Beta (SixColors)If GLP-1 Drugs Are Good For Everything, Should We All Be on Them? (Derek Thompson)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The White House has rolled out its big AI Action Plan. Google reported earnings but really wanted you to know about consumer adoption of its AI. A new Kindle Colorsoft. TMobile's Starlink service is available to anyone, and the Switch 2 is now the fastest selling console in history.Links:Trump Signs AI Orders, Vows US Will Win Race Over New Technology (Bloomberg)Donald Trump blocks AI groups with ‘ideological bias' from government work (FT)Google's AI Overviews have 2B monthly users, AI Mode 100M in the US and India (TechCrunch)Google Photos adding free photo-to-video, Remix, and Create tab (9to5Google)Amazon is launching a cheaper color Kindle (The Verge)Starlink-powered ‘T-Satellite' service is now live on T-Mobile (The Verge)The Nintendo Switch 2 Is the Fastest-Selling Gaming Hardware in U.S. History (IGN)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Don't sleep on that SharePoint exploit from earlier this week as it seems to have led to a ton of still active breaches. Apple has a new insurance plan for you. Elon wants even more money for xAI. The Chinese are still churning ahead with their AI models. And three different stories about AI and privacy.Links:Microsoft links Sharepoint ToolShell attacks to Chinese hackers (BleepingComputer)Apple Launches $20-a-Month AppleCare One Plan Covering Up to Three Devices (Bloomberg)Musk Allies to Raise Up to $12 Billion for xAI Chips as Startup Burns Through Cash (WSJ)Qwen3-Coder: Agentic Coding in the World (Simon Willison)Alibaba's new open source Qwen3-235B-A22B-2507 beats Kimi-2 and offers low compute version (VentureBeat)Amazon buys Bee AI wearable that listens to everything you say (The Verge)Proton is launching a privacy-focused AI chatbot (The Verge)OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warns of an AI ‘fraud crisis' (CNN)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Well, just like that, AI's winning the Math Olympiad is commonplace. Is Stargate struggling to get off the ground, or is Sam Altman just going to do Stargate on his own without Masa Son? The AI company who's stated mission was to do AI ethically explains why it needs to get its hands dirty. And even if AI isn't making scientific breakthroughs yet, there are early signs it is shaking things up nonetheless.Links:OpenAI and Google outdo the mathletes, but not each other (TechCrunch)SoftBank and OpenAI's $500 Billion AI Project Struggles to Get Off Ground (WSJ)Oracle to Supply OpenAI With 2 Million AI Chips for Data Centers (Bloomberg)Leaked Memo: Anthropic CEO Says the Company Will Pursue Gulf State Investments After All (Wired)AI Comes Up with Bizarre Physics Experiments. But They Work. (Quanta Magazine)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Serious zero-day has been uncovered that is affecting everybody all around the world. There is a patch tho. Mark Gurman dishes on the foldable iPhone. TSMC joins the Trillion-Dollar-Club. If you're an expert in a given field you too can join the AI goldrush. And did we just take a big step toward AGI, or is this just the latest in the hype-cycle?Sponsors:AGNTCY.ORGLinks:Hackers Exploit Microsoft SharePoint as Firm Works to Patch (Bloomberg)The First Foldable iPhone Will Arrive Next Year in Un-Apple-Like Fashion (Bloomberg)Nvidia's CUDA platform now supports RISC-V — support brings open source instruction set to AI platforms, joining x86 and Arm (Tom's Hardware)TSMC's Taiwan Stock Value Surpasses $1 Trillion Amid AI Frenzy (Bloomberg)AI groups spend to replace low-cost ‘data labellers' with high-paid experts (FT)OpenAI's experimental model achieved gold at the International Math Olympiad (Engadget)OpenAI's gold medal performance on the International Math Olympiad. (Simon Willison's Weblog)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

To find out more about Leap Labs go to Leap-Labs.comThe white paper is here.Blog is here (with case studies).To get in touch with them: hello@leap-labs.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

OpenAI has a new agent that can control your entire computer. You might soon be able to put crypto in your 401k. Why is Apple suing a prominent YouTuber? And in the Weekend Longreads, the one article that has done the most to radicalize me, as an investor, in a long, long time.Links:OpenAI's new ChatGPT Agent can control an entire computer and do tasks for you (The Verge)OpenAI ChatGPT Agent announcement LIVE — all the big news from today's livestream (Tom's Guide)Netflix says it's streamed 95 billion hours in 2025, and a lot of ads too (The Verge)Donald Trump set to open US retirement market to crypto investments (Financial Times)AI start-up Perplexity's valuation tops $18bn months after latest funding round (Financial Times)Apple Sues Jon Prosser Over iOS 26 Leaks (Macrumors)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:4.6 Billion Years On, the Sun Is Having a Moment (The New Yorker)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

TSMC earnings suggest the AI buildout is continuing apace. Stablecoin regulation clears a major hurdle. Is Anthropic doing well growing revenue? Maybe not OpenAI well, but well enough? More signs Microsoft is struggling to sell its own branded AI. And how AI might be about to change how we pay for everything… forever.Links:TSMC Raises 2025 Outlook in a Big Boost for AI Demand Hopes (Bloomberg)US House agrees to consider crypto legislation in big win for the digital asset industry (Reuters)Investors Float Deal Valuing Anthropic at More Than $100 Billion (The Information)Microsoft's Copilot Is Getting Lapped by 900 Million ChatGPT Downloads (Bloomberg)Delta moves toward eliminating set prices in favor of AI that determines how much you personally will pay for a ticket (Fortune)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jensen is feeling his oats after the reprieve on China, spilling lots of tea about where he see the AI industry. OpenAI is going after the office and also the storefront, with interesting new integrations. Why is it so hard to create LLM's in other languages? And a first person account of what its like to work at OpenAI, the culture, the pressure, etc.Links:Nvidia Boss Expects US to Move Fast on First H20 China Licenses (Bloomberg)OpenAI Preps ChatGPT Agents in Challenge to Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint (The Information)OpenAI to take cut of ChatGPT shopping sales in hunt for revenues (Financial Times)Fed up with ChatGPT, Latin America is building its own (Rest Of World)Reflections on OpenAI (Calvin French-Owen)Raiders, Rulers, and Traders: The Horse and the Rise of EmpiresSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Has the US government suddenly allowed Nvidia back in business in China? A segment wherein I make the case the GW's are the new metric that matters to the tech industry, over and above anything else. Windsurf finds a permanent home. And is China already producing the smartglasses Zuck wants to see next?Links:Nvidia, AMD to Resume AI Chip Sales to China in US Reversal (Bloomberg)Apple to Buy Rare Earths From Pentagon-Backed US Producer MP (Bloomberg)Zuckerberg Says Meta Will Build Gigawatt-Size Data Centers (Bloomberg)Meta's New Superintelligence Lab Is Discussing Major A.I. Strategy Changes (NYTimes)Cognition AI Buys Windsurf as A.I. Frenzy Escalates (NYTimes)China's AI glasses market takes shape as Xiaomi's entry inspires early adopters (SCMP)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Google snatched the Windsurf acquisition out from under OpenAI in a big new acquihire. SpaceX is investing in xAI. ChromeOS and Android to merge, but for real this time? Was there a new sort of DeepSeek moment over the weekend? And example number 74 of how YouTube is now the king of video entertainment.Links:Google to Pay $2.4 Billion for Windsurf Staff, IP After Startup Ends OpenAI Talks (The Information)Google Is Said to Pay $2.4 Billion for Windsurf Assets, Talent (Bloomberg)An OpenAI Acquisition Turns Into a Google 'Hackqusition'... (Spyglass)Elon Musk's xAI seeks up to $200bn valuation in next fundraising (Financial Times)SpaceX to Invest $2 Billion Into Elon Musk's xAI (WSJ)Google exec: ‘We're going to be combining ChromeOS and Android' (The Verge)'I think you see the future first on Android' – Google's Android leader Sameer Samat (TechRadar)Moonshot AI's Kimi K2 outperforms GPT-4 in key benchmarks — and it's free (VentureBeat)Eight Things We've Learned About Hollywood This Year (Bloomberg)The Streaming Wars Come Down to 2: YouTube vs. Netflix (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mega Omnibus EpisodeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

So, it sure looks like Grok tries to align some of its answers with the views of its maker, Elon Musk, but the question is why… Does AI have to align with political views more generally? New, tangible data suggests you actually might NOT be coding faster due to AI. It might just be in your head. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:Grok: searching X for “from:elonmusk (Israel OR Palestine OR Hamas OR Gaza)” (Simon Willison's Blog)Grok 4 seems to consult Elon Musk to answer controversial questions (TechCrunch)A Republican state attorney general is formally investigating why AI chatbots don't like Donald Trump (The Verge)Study: Apple's newest AI model flags health conditions with up to 92% accuracy (9to5Mac)Not So Fast: AI Coding Tools Can Actually Reduce Productivity (Second Thoughts)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:The Grand Unified Theory of Rogue Waves (Quanta Magazine)This Breakthrough Sponge Could Change How the World Gets Clean Water (SciTechDaily)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Grok 4 is out, plus Grok 4 Voice, Grok 4 Code, a bunch more. Ok we know Zuck wants to catch up on AI, but an insider explains why they think Meta fell behind in the first place. Are AI web browsers the next battlefield in the AI wars. And if your electricity bill goes up substantially, you'll never guess what you can blame.Links:Grok 4 is live — here's what makes it Elon Musk's most advanced AI yet (Tom's Guide)Meta Poached Apple's Pang With Pay Package Over $200 Million (Bloomberg)Zuckerberg's $100 Million AI Job Offers Are Paying Off (Bloomberg)Exclusive: OpenAI to release web browser in challenge to Google Chrome (Reuters)Microsoft Touts $500 Million AI Savings While Slashing Jobs (Bloomberg)America's largest power grid is struggling to meet demand from AI (Reuters)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All the of the headlines from the Galaxy Unpacked event that was mostly about really thin foldable phones. Big changing of the guard at Apple. What happens when you make a bet on a betting market, think you've won, but are then told you're not. And a useful new feature of Gmail.Links:Galaxy Z Fold 7 goes official with drastically thinner design, but a $2,000 price tag (9to5Google)Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 7 has a bigger battery and is still thinner than last year's model (Engadget)Samsung launches the more affordable Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE for $899 (9to5Google)Galaxy Z Fold 7 hands-on: Samsung finally made the foldables we've been asking for (The Verge)Apple COO Jeff Williams to Retire in Major Changing of Guard (Bloomberg)Elon Musk's AI chatbot churns out antisemitic posts days after update (NBCNews)Polymarket Rules 'No' on $237M Controversial Bet Over Zelenskyy's Suit (Decrypt)Gmail's new tab is made for unsubscribing from emails (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How much further behind can Apple get in AI now that Zuck is poaching from them as well? OpenAI has been forced to batten down the hatches, quite literally. A fully licensed AI video model. And back to Apple. They heard your complaints. They're pumping the brakes on Liquid Glass a bit.Sponsors:AGNTCY.ORGLinks:Apple Loses Top AI Models Executive to Meta's Hiring Spree (Bloomberg)OpenAI's Stock Compensation Reflect Steep Costs of Talent Wars (The Information)OpenAI clamps down on security after foreign spying threats (Financial Times)Bluesky can really keep up with the news now that it has activity notifications (The Verge)This New AI Tool Wants to Work With Filmmakers—Not Replace Them (Time)iOS 26 beta 3 dials back Liquid Glass (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Catching you up on the great Zuckerberg AI recruitment drive. Clueing you in to the great datacenter buildout goldrush that is, again, all about AI. TikTok is about to force everybody to use a new version of their app. And are the unicorns coming back?Links:Meta's new hires offer a peek into superintelligence plans (Semafor)Zuck's Eleven (Spyglass)CoreWeave to Buy Core Scientific in $9 Billion Stock Deal (Bloomberg)US industrial groups pivot to data centres amid AI boom (FT)TikTok Building New Version of App Ahead of Expected U.S. Sale (The Information)As Trump pushes Apple to make iPhones in the U.S., Google's brief effort building smartphones in Texas 12 years ago offers critical lessons (Fortune)At least 36 new tech unicorns were minted in 2025 so far (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More layoffs make me more concerned the AI jobpocalypse is coming to tech this summer. In the big Meta v. OpenAI talent battle, who is desperate and who is scared? We reframe the situation a bit. Figma files for an IPO. Chinese AI seems to be gain ground worldwide. And do universities need to fundamentally rethink teaching computer science?Links:Microsoft laying off about 9,000 employees in latest round of cuts (CNBC)Here's What Mark Zuckerberg Is Offering Top AI Talent (Wired)Sam Altman Slams Meta's AI Talent-Poaching Spree: ‘Missionaries Will Beat Mercenaries' (Wired)Figma files for IPO on NYSE, plans to ‘take big swings' with acquisitions (CNBC)China Is Quickly Eroding America's Lead in the Global AI Race (WSJ)How Do You Teach Computer Science in the A.I. Era? (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Meta Superintelligence Labs is official. Cloudflare's tool to help websites fend off AI bots is official. Will Apple throw in the towel and just buy some AI off the shelf? Does Amazon now have more robots than human workers in its warehouses? And my hands-down can't live without you app finds a home.Sponsors:CornbreadHemp.com/ride and code RIDELinks:Zuckerberg Debuts Meta ‘Superintelligence' Group, More Hires (Bloomberg)Cloudflare launches a marketplace that lets websites charge AI bots for scraping (TechCrunch)Apple Weighs Using Anthropic or OpenAI to Power Siri in Major Reversal (Bloomberg)Amazon Is on the Cusp of Using More Robots Than Humans in Its Warehouses (WSJ)Musk's X Hires Entrepreneur Nikita Bier as Head of Product (Bloomberg)Grammarly to acquire email startup Superhuman in AI platform push (Reuters)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Weird beef between Nintendo and Amazon. Is Apple going to make a cheap Macbook with an iPhone chip inside? OpenAI claps back at Meta. The AI avatar startup. And for the first time in a decade, Spotify has changed up the Discover Weekly playlist.Links:Amazon Misses Out on Switch 2 Sales After Nintendo Pulled Products From US Site (Bloomberg)Kuo: Apple to release cheaper MacBook powered by iPhone processor (9to5Mac)‘F1' Revs To $144M Opening Weekend Around The World, Brad Pitt & Apple Original Films Records (Deadline)OpenAI Leadership Responds to Meta Offers: ‘Someone Has Broken Into Our Home' (Wired)AI avatars are here in full force—and they're serving some of the world's biggest companies (Fortune)Spotify revamps its Discover Weekly playlist after 10 years (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mark Zuckerberg's big AI plan seems still to be such a work in progress, he's even considering abandoning Llama. Apple attempts to comply with the EU's DMA. Instagram and TikTok want to follow YouTube to your TV. The infamous Blue Screen of Death is dying. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:In Pursuit of Godlike Technology, Mark Zuckerberg Amps Up the A.I. Race (NYTimes)Meta says it's winning the talent war with OpenAI (The Verge)Apple announces sweeping App Store changes in the EU (9to5Mac)Google launches Doppl, a new app that lets you visualize how an outfit might look on you (TechCrunch)TikTok, Instagram Plot TV Apps Following YouTube's Success (The Information)Windows is getting rid of the Blue Screen of Death after 40 years (The Verge)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:My Couples Retreat With 3 AI Chatbots and the Humans Who Love Them (Wired)AI is ruining houseplant communities online (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The legal rulings on AI are finally coming in. The problem is, they're contradictory, so we're not getting any legal clarity yet. Creative Commons but for AI training data. Is DeepSeek's R2 model being stymied by lack of access to Nvidia chips? And another deep look at the question of: is AI taking jobs at tech companies, right now?Links:Microsoft sued by authors over use of books in AI training (Reuters)Trump Mobile reiterates claims that new phones are 'made in America' (USAToday)Creative Commons debuts CC signals, a framework for an open AI ecosystem (TechCrunch)OpenAI, Microsoft Rift Hinges on How Smart AI Can Get (WSJ)DeepSeek's Progress Stalled by U.S. Export Controls (The Information)Salesforce CEO Says 30% of Internal Work Is Being Handled by AI (Bloomberg)AI Killed My Job: Tech workers (Blood In The Machine)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

AI is transforming job search on both sides of the equation. A first court ruling on using copyrighted books to train AI. New AI releases from Google devs will want to know about. How your kids 3rd grade teacher is using AI. And why did Apple push an ad to everybody?Sponsors:Shopify.com/rideLinks:Employers Are Buried in A.I.-Generated Résumés (NYTimes)CareerBuilder + Monster to Sell Businesses in Bankruptcy (WSJ)Exclusive: Uber and Palantir alums raise $35M to disrupt corporate recruitment with AI (Fortune)Anthropic wins a major fair use victory for AI — but it's still in trouble for stealing books (The Verge)Google unveils Gemini CLI, an open-source AI tool for terminals (TechCrunch)How ChatGPT and other AI tools are changing the teaching profession (AP)iPhone customers upset by Apple Wallet ad pushing ‘F1' movie (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A new Xbox branded Meta Quest. Amazon is expanding same day delivery even more. What does it mean for the AI race if ChatGPT seems to be outcompeting Microsoft's Copilot offerings in the enterprise space? Why is Wall Street leading the way on AI adoption? And what exactly is Mira Murati's big new AI startup going to do, exactly?Sponsors:Venice.ai/techmeme and code: techmemeLinks:After a year of waiting, Microsoft's Meta Quest 3S "Xbox Edition" is here — our hands-on review of this (very) limited edition partnership (Windows Central)Amazon bringing same-day delivery to ‘millions' of rural customers (The Verge)Tesla Robotaxi Incidents Draw Scrutiny From US Safety Agency (Bloomberg)Waymo's robotaxis are now available on the Uber app in Atlanta (The Verge)ChatGPT's Enterprise Success Against Copilot Fuels OpenAI and Microsoft's Rivalry (Bloomberg)Goldman Sachs launches AI assistant firmwide, memo shows (Reuters)Thinking Machines Lab's $2B Seed Round Is Biggest By A Long Shot (Crunchbase News)How Ex-OpenAI CTO Murati's Startup Plans to Compete With OpenAI and Others (The Information)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tesla launches its robotaxi service in Austin. Apple is negotiating desperately to avoid an EU fine coming as soon as this week. Also, why doesn't Apple do some acquihires to get back in the AI game? Maybe Perplexity would be attractive? The Music industry gathers tools to detect AI. And is there a global divide growing when it comes to AI access?Sponsors:1Password.com/rideLinks:Tesla launches robotaxi service in Austin (Financial Times)Jony Ive Deal Removed From OpenAI Site Over Trademark Suit (Bloomberg)Apple locked in last-minute App Store negotiations to avoid Brussels fines (Financial Times)Apple Will Need to Leave Its M&A Comfort Zone to Succeed in AI (Bloomberg)Apple Executives Have Held Internal Talks About Buying AI Startup Perplexity (Bloomberg)The music industry is building the tech to hunt down AI songs (The Verge)The Global A.I. Divide (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Meta has some new smartglasses. How long can the TikTok groundhog day go on? Masa Son wants to create a Shenzhen-like production city here in the US. Are your smart cameras a national security threat to the home front in a war? And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:Factor75.com/rideLinks:Meta announces Oakley smart glasses (The Verge)Meta tried to buy Ilya Sutskever's $32 billion AI startup, but is now planning to hire its CEO (CNBC)Trump extends TikTok ban deadline for a third time, without clear legal basis (AP)Publishers facing existential threat from AI, Cloudflare CEO says (Axios)Masa Son Pitches $1 Trillion US AI Hub to TSMC, Trump Team (Bloomberg)Israeli Officials Warn Iran Is Hijacking Security Cameras to Spy (Bloomberg)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Scientists once hoarded pre-nuclear steel; now we're hoarding pre-AI content (ArsTechnica)Why Everything in the Universe Turns More Complex (QuantaMagazine)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Are we about to see a summer of layoffs in Silicon Valley? Midjourney's new video model. Meta continues its acqu-hire spree with some folks we know. Microsoft has its own nuclear option with OpenAI, while OpenAI is starting to get worried about its models being nuclear dangerous? And what even IS AGI?Sponsors:CornbreadHemp.com/ride and code RIDELinks:Microsoft Planning Thousands More Job Cuts Aimed at Salespeople (Bloomberg)‘Surpassing all my expectations': Midjourney releases first AI video model amid Disney, Universal lawsuit (VentureBeat)Meta in Talks to Hire AI Investors Friedman and Gross, Partially Buy Out Their Venture Fund (The Information)Microsoft prepared to walk away from high-stakes OpenAI talks (FT)OpenAI warns models with higher bioweapons risk are imminent (Axios)Why Big Tech cannot agree on artificial general intelligence (FT)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Remember how that TikTok ban or sale thing has never been resolved? Yeah. Sam Altman describes the money he says Meta is throwing at AI researchers. Is xAI the one with the real money crunch in the AI race? And a review of the first of this new wave of smartglasses.Sponsors:Quince.com/ridehomeLinks:Trump will grant TikTok another 90-day extension in enforcement of sale-or-ban law (CNNBusiness)Sam Altman says Meta tried and failed to poach OpenAI's talent with $100M offers (TechCrunch)Musk's xAI Burns Through $1 Billion a Month as Costs Pile Up (Bloomberg)YouTube to Add Google's Veo 3 to Shorts in Move That Could Turbocharge AI on the Video Platform (The Hollywood Reporter)Amazon expects to cut corporate jobs as it relies more on AI (NBCNews)Xreal's One Pro Are a Stopgap Ahead of True AR Smart Glasses (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Among the many snags to OpenAI shifting to for-profit, the Microsoft snag is still the biggest issue. More Intel job cuts coming. Would you believe a Roblox game involving gardening is maybe bigger than Fortnite? And two big firsts: most people get their news from social media, and streaming is now the king of all TV watching.Sponsors:MackWeldon.com promocode BRIANLinks:OpenAI Seeks New Financial Concessions From Microsoft, a Top Shareholder (The Information)OpenAI and Microsoft Tensions Are Reaching a Boiling Point (WSJ)OpenAI wins $200 million U.S. defense contract (CNBC)Intel will lay off 15% to 20% of its factory workers, memo says (The Oregonian)Amazon Prime Day stretches to four days of deals this year (The Verge)Generation Alpha's FarmVille Is Growing Like Crazy in Roblox (NYTimes)For the first time, social media overtakes TV as Americans' top news source (NiemanLab)It's Official: Streaming Is Now the King of TV (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ads finally come to WhatsApp. Are we about to get a literal Trump phone? More ads on your TV. All ads are about to become AI. And at the end of the show, a bit of an essay from me about Google, AI, and what I think is about to happen to the larger web, literally right now.Sponsors:AGNTCY.ORGQualiaLife.com/ride and code rideLinks:WhatsApp Introduces Ads in Its App (NYTimes)Trump Mobile: President's Company Unveils Wireless Service Delivered via AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, Plans to Launch a U.S.-Made ‘Sleek, Gold' Android Smartphone (Variety)Amazon Ads & Roku Set Landmark Pact Giving Brands Access To 80% Of Connected-TV Households (Deadline)TikTok Pushes Deeper Into AI-Generated Video Ads With New Tools (Bloomberg)Google Search Is Fading. The Whole Internet Is At Risk. (Barron's)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Omnibus Week Of 06/09Sign up for the ad-free feed at tech.supercast.techSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.