Tue. 07/08 – Zuck Poaches AI Talent From Apple

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.