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Wed. 05/22 – Humane Already To The Deadpool? May 22, 2024

Show notes

All the AI announcements from Microsoft Build. I know it’s only been a minute, but is Humane already circling the Deadpool? They’re supposedly shopping themselves, but at a valuation that seems… shall we say, on brand for them? Don’t forget Alexa needs an AI upgrade. And the efforts to peek inside the black box that is the Large Language Model.

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Tue. 05/21 – Now You’ve Pissed Off Scar-Jo May 21, 2024

Show notes

There are only 2 stories today, but they’re big ones. First, at an event yesterday, Microsoft showed off what they want the PC to look like in the AI era. Plus, this Recall app is super interesting. Then, look, it’s the Scarlett Johansson/OpenAI thing. It’s gotten weird. And more importantly, it’s continuing to highlight how OpenAI itself is… weird.

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The new, faster Surface Pro is Microsoft’s all-purpose AI PC (The Verge)
Microsoft announces an Arm-powered Surface Laptop (The Verge)
Microsoft unveils Copilot+ PCs with generative AI capabilities baked in (Engadget)
Recall is Microsoft’s key to unlocking the future of PCs (The Verge)
Scarlett Johansson says she was 'shocked, angered' when she heard OpenAI's voice that sounded like her (NBCNews)
Midler v. Ford Motor Co. (Wikipedia)

Mon. 05/20 – That GPT Voice Is NOT Scar-Jo May 20, 2024

Show notes

No, that ChatGPT voice is not Scarlett Johansson, stop asking. In fact, that voice is going away. What does it mean if OpenAI’s entire superalignment team has gone away? Is Apple News+ the partner publishers have been waiting for? And if you want to be a digital nomad, you’ve got a lot of options these days.

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To access The Washington Post for just 50 cents per week, head to WashingtonPost.com/ride

Links:

OpenAI to Pull Johansson Soundalike Sky’s Voice From ChatGPT (Bloomberg)
What We Lose When ChatGPT Sounds Like Scarlett Johansson (NYTimes)
Apple Needs to Evolve to Compete in the Artificial Intelligence Era (Bloomberg)
OpenAI’s Long-Term AI Risk Team Has Disbanded (Wired)
As clicks dry up for news sites, could Apple’s news app be a lifeline? (Semafor)
Countries wooing corporate digital nomads hope to make them stay (FT)

Fri. 05/17 – Reddit Embraces Its AI Role May 17, 2024

Show notes

As telegraphed for the last year, Reddit is going all in on being an all you can eat buffet for AI companies. Will new batteries give iPhones longer battery life like I want, or will they just make the phones thinner? A subtle but important improvement to ChatGPT and in the Longreads, a deep dive into what happened at Cruise.

Links:

OpenAI strikes deal to bring Reddit content to ChatGPT (Reuters)
OpenAI strikes Reddit deal to train its AI on your posts (The Verge)
Grand Theft Auto VI is launching in fall 2025 (The Verge)
iPhone 16 Pro Max to get new battery that could last longer (AppleInsider)
ChatGPT now lets you import files directly from Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive (VentureBeat)
Twitter is officially X.com now (The Verge)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

In a single night, self-driving startup Cruise went from sizzling startup to cautionary tale. Here’s what really happened—and how GM is scrambling to save its $10B bet (Fortune)
How cuddly robots could change dementia care (MIT Technology Review)
Where Did All The Stocks Go? (Sherwood)

Thu. 05/16 – Instagram Founder To Anthropic May 16, 2024

Show notes

Some AI companies want to go after web search. But by hiring an Instagram founder, is Anthropic going in a social or app direction? Will AI kill the carbon neutral ambitions of the major tech players? Will tech companies now have to onshore EMPLOYEES from China? And Netflix with ads? Definitely working.

Links:

EU launches probe into Meta over social media addiction in children (Financial Times)
Instagram’s co-founder is Anthropic’s new chief product officer (The Verge)
Android will be able to detect if your phone has been snatched (The Verge)
Microsoft’s AI Push Imperils Climate Goal as Carbon Emissions Jump 30% (Bloomberg)
Microsoft Asks Hundreds of China-Based AI Staff to Consider Relocating Amid U.S.-China Tensions (WSJ)
Stability AI, Facing Cash Crunch, Discusses Sale (The Information)
Netflix ad-supported tier has 40 million monthly users, nearly double previous count (CNBC)

Wed. 05/15 – Google’s I/O Announces. May 15, 2024

Show notes

All the announces from Google’s massive I/O event yesterday, including, yes, generative AI summaries are fully coming to Google Search. Plus, the camera-based AI system they teased that looks really cool. Ilya Sutskever officially leaves OpenAI. And is crypto the only place left where you can raise a billion-dollar seed round?

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Links:

Google rolls out AI Overviews in US with more countries coming soon (SearchEngineLand)
Can Google Give A.I. Answers Without Breaking the Web? (NYTimes)
Google's Project Astra uses your phone's camera and AI to find noise makers, misplaced items and more. (Engadget)
OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever says he will leave the startup (CNBC)
TikTok creators sue U.S. government over potential ban (Washington Post)
Humanity Protocol Becomes Crypto’s New Digital Identity Unicorn (Bloomberg)

Tue. 05/14 – GPT-4o May 14, 2024

Show notes

OpenAI unveils GPT-4o which makes Siri look like the technical cul-de-sac it very much is. But what does it mean that this was NOT GPT-5? What does it mean for the gaming industry that the PS5 might be underperforming? More streaming bundles. And the 2024 iPad refresh reviews.

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Links:

OpenAI debuts GPT-4o ‘omni’ model now powering ChatGPT (TechCrunch)
OpenAI debuts new model with enhanced real-time voice abilities (Axios)
Tom Warren's PS5 sales Tweet
Comcast to Launch Peacock, Netflix and Apple TV+ Bundle at a ‘Vastly Reduced Price’ (Variety)
The new Apple iPad Air is great — but it’s not the one to get (The Verge)
Apple iPad Pro (2024) review: the best kind of overkill (The Verge)

Mon. 05/13 – The Solar Storm Is Real (Ask Farmers) May 13, 2024

Show notes

Well, looks like my worries about solar weather being a threat to technology wasn’t just in my head. Ask farmers. Squarespace to go private. Raspberry Pi to go public? Waymo is setting some impressive records. And the new type of deal Apple and the other streamers want to offer Hollywood.

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Links:

Solar Storm Knocks Out Farmers' Tractor GPS Systems During Peak Planting Season (404Media)
Website-design firm Squarespace to go private in $6.9 billion deal with Permira (Reuters)
British tech firm Raspberry Pi lines up £500m float (The Times)
Microsoft set to face EU competition charges over Teams software (Financial Times)
Google’s Waymo Crosses 50,000 Paid Driverless Rides Per Week (The Information)
Apple Nears Deal With OpenAI to Put ChatGPT on iPhone (Bloomberg)
Apple, Netflix Amazon Want to Change How They Pay Hollywood Stars (Bloomberg)

Fri. 05/10 – Apple Apologizes For The “Crush” Ad May 10, 2024

Show notes

Well that was fast. Apple apologized for the “Crush” Ad, saying they missed the mark on that one. Microsoft is launching a mobile game app store. Elevenlabs is getting into the music generating game. And of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.

Links:

Apple apologizes for iPad ‘Crush’ ad that ‘missed the mark’ (The Verge)
Apple doesn’t understand why you use technology (The Verge)
Microsoft Plans Mobile-Game Store, Vying With Apple, Google (Bloomberg)
Apple to Power AI Tools With In-House Server Chips This Year (Bloomberg)
ElevenLabs previews music-generating AI model (VentureBeat)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

Tim Cook Can’t Run Apple Forever. Who’s Next? (Bloomberg)
World’s Biggest Construction Project Gets a Reality Check (WSJ)

Thu. 05/09 – The Weird Apple Ad Backlash May 09, 2024

Show notes

AlphaFold 3 is a new AI model to predict interactions and structures of proteins, the better to cure diseases and create medicine with. More cuts in Microsoft gaming. The community backlash erupting over at Stack Overflow. And that really weirdly tone deaf Apple commercial that has everyone so upset.

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