Fri. 09/27 – Sam Altman Declines To Go “Founder Mode”

Founder Mode? Not for me, says Sam Altman, but we will see. A few new gadgets from Samsung. Maybe ARM should buy Intel. Are AI startups hitting revenue traction faster than SaaS startups did? And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:Sam Altman tells OpenAI staff there’s no plan for him to receive a ‘giant equity stake’ in company (CNBC)Samsung Galaxy S24 FE goes official starting at $649 – is it still a ‘Fan Edition?’ (9to5Google)Arm Is Rebuffed by Intel After Inquiring About Buying Product Unit (Bloomberg)Exponential growth brews 1 million AI models on Hugging Face (ArsTechnica)AI start-ups generate money faster than past hyped tech companies (FT)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:McDonald’s touchscreen kiosks were feared as job killers. Instead, something surprising happened (CNN)Apple Rolls Back Its Big Plans to Release Movies in Theaters (Bloomberg)The 27-Year-Old Economic Adviser for Gen Z (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There’s only two stories really. If you can believe it, more executive departures at OpenAI, as it looks like they’re serious about going for profit. And yes, Meta announced a new Quest headset, but the real headlines are the Orion smartglasses, which you can’t actually buy. What? I’ll explain.Sponsors:Thorne.fit/ridehomeLinks:OpenAI considering restructuring to for-profit, CTO Mira Murati and two top research execs depart (CNBC)Exclusive: OpenAI to remove non-profit control and give Sam Altman equity (Reuters)Meta’s cheaper Quest 3S might just be an upgrade (The Verge)A Few Brief Thoughts on Meta Connect 2024 (Daring Fireball)Meta pitches VR to mobile developers with new support for Android apps on Quest (TechCrunch)Meta’s big tease (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Caroline Ellison benefits from being cooperative. Has your company unknowingly hired remote workers from North Korea? What is going on with this WordPress back and forth? Why OpenAI has to let people look at their training data. And why is everyone upset at Marquess Brownlee?Sponsors:Hims.com/rideLinks:Caroline Ellison sentenced to two years in prison for her role in FTX scandal (Axios)Dozens of Fortune 100 companies have unwittingly hired North Korean IT workers, according to report (The Record)The DOJ sues Visa for locking out rival payment platforms (The Verge)Automattic sends WP Engine its own cease-and-desist over WordPress trademark infringement (TechCrunch)OpenAI Training Data to Be Inspected in Authors’ Copyright Cases (The Hollywood Reporter)Marques Brownlee says ‘I hear you’ after fans criticize his new wallpaper app (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sam Altman has a manifesto. Kinda. Telegram is beginning to walk things back a bit. Cloudflare wants to help you block the AI bots. New streaming device from Roku. And I guess TikTok can’t win at everything.Sponsors:Lumen.me/rideLinks:The Intelligence Age (Sam Altman)Sam Altman catapults past founder mode into ‘god mode’ with latest AI post (TechCrunch)OpenAI CEO: We may have AI superintelligence in “a few thousand days” (ArsTechnica)Some Kaspersky customers receive surprise forced-update to new antivirus software (TechCrunch)Telegram CEO Durov Says App to Provide More Data to Governments (Bloomberg)New Cloudflare Tools Let Sites Detect and Block AI Bots for Free (Wired)The new Roku Ultra is faster, has better Wi-Fi, and comes with a backlit remote (The Verge)Spotify’s AI playlist builder is now available in the US (The Verge)TikTok to Shut Down its Music Streaming Business in November (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Qualcomm as a white knight to save Intel? A huge bitcoin heist gets busted for the usual reasons. What if the US bans imports of all cars from China? And why can’t US car makers keep up when it comes, simply, to software?Sponsors:Timeline.com/rideLinks:Qualcomm Approached Intel About a Takeover in Recent Days (WSJ)Intel Gets Multibillion-Dollar Apollo Offer as Qualcomm Circles (Bloomberg)Chip Giants TSMC and Samsung Discuss Building Middle Eastern Megafactories (WSJ)Suspects behind $230 million cryptocurrency theft arrested in Miami (BleepingComputer)US proposes banning Chinese software and components in vehicles (FT)Israel’s Pager Attacks Have Changed the World (NYTimes)Toyota and VW fall further behind in the software race (FT)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You might want to hold off on updating to macOS 15 Sequoia. What, exactly, is Europe trying to get Apple to do? The AI energy crunch means they’re turning Three Mile Island back on. Could AI usage mean we use up all our 5G capacity? And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:1password.com/rideQualiaLife.com/ride and code rideLinks:Apple’s new macOS Sequoia update is breaking some cybersecurity tools (TechCrunch)EU to tell Apple how to do interoperability, DMA style (TechCrunch)Microsoft AI Needs So Much Power It's Restarting Site of US Nuclear Meltdown (Bloomberg)AI is stressing networks out - Nvidia thinks AI can help (Fierce Network)Huawei 'super fans' fuming as left empty handed by $2,800 phone launch (Reuters)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:American Vulcan - Palmer Luckey (TabletMag)The Death of the Minivan (The Atlantic)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Looks like they finally got around to suing that Palworld game. Google volunteered to break up some of its businesses but the EU said no. AI is coming to YouTube in a big way. A new social media platform that is ENTIRELY AI. And Amazon wants to get into the Shark Tank business.Sponsors:LinkedIn.com/rideLinks:Nintendo and Pokémon are suing Palworld maker Pocketpair (The Verge)Exclusive: Google offered to sell part of ad tech business, not enough for EU publishers (Reuters)YouTube will use AI to generate ideas, titles, and even full videos (The Verge)Apple Gets EU Warning to Open Up iPhone Operating System (Bloomberg)Musk's satellites 'blocking' view of the universe (BBC)SocialAI offers a Twitter-like diary where AI bots respond to your posts (TechCrunch)Amazon’s New ‘Shark Tank’-Style Show Gives Winners Top Billing in Its Store (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Messages between Android and iOS are about to be encrypted. A new XR headset from HTC and new Spectacles from Snap. A big movie studio has signed up to use AI. Neuralink has implants for blindness. And why I’m kinda NOT gonna do a review roundup of the new iPhones.Sponsors:Ramp.com/techmemeLinks:RCS texts on the iPhone aren’t encrypted now, but that could change (The Verge)Here’s how green bubbles are getting upgraded in iOS (The Verge)HTC Vive's Focus Vision is a $999 stab at high-end VR and mixed reality (Engadget)Snap’s new Spectacles inch closer to compelling AR (The Verge)Instagram, Facing Pressure Over Child Safety Online, Unveils Sweeping Changes (NYTimes)Lionsgate, Studio Behind ‘John Wick,’ Signs Deal With AI Startup Runway (WSJ)Musk's Neuralink gets FDA's breakthrough device tag for 'Blindsight' implant (Reuters)Apple iPhone 16 Pro review: small camera update, big difference (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Intel announces a bunch of ways its hoping to turn its business around sooner rather than later. Is OpenAI about to have its chat bots query you? The whole TikTok divestment case is coming to a head right now. And speaking of turn arounds, darn if Netflix didn’t pull ITS turnaround off perfectly. Hollywood, not so much.Sponsors:Shopify.com/rideLinks:Intel stock jumps on plan to turn foundry business into subsidiary and allow for outside funding (CNBC)Intel to Make Custom AI Chip for Amazon, Delay German Plant (Bloomberg)EssilorLuxottica extends smart glasses partnership with Meta (Reuters)OpenAI Says It's Fixed Issue Where ChatGPT Appeared to Be Messaging Users Unprompted (Futurism)TikTok is about to get its day in court (The Verge)Judges Show Some Skepticism of TikTok’s Fight Against Potential U.S. Ban (NYTimes)How Netflix won the streaming wars (FT)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A bunch of Apple stories today. FDA approval for sleep apnea detection for the watch. Signs of poor pre-order sales for the phone. And a quick review of the new Airpods. Also, how did Intel lose out on making the chips for the next gen Playstation. And are dating apps responsible for income inequality?Sponsors:ArcticWolf.com/registerLinks:Apple Watch sleep apnea detection gets FDA approval (TechCrunch)iPhone 16 first weekend pre-order analysis: estimated total sales of about 37 million units; Pro series demand lower than expected (Ming-Chi Kuo)France picks Sejourne as nominee for EU Commission after Breton clash (Reuters)Slack now lets users add AI agents from Asana, Cohere, Adobe, Workday and more (VentureBeat)Exclusive: How Intel lost the Sony PlayStation business (Reuters)Apple AirPods 4 review: defying expectations (The Verge)Online Dating Caused a Rise in US Income Inequality, Research Paper Shows (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.