• (09:52) - Yann LeCun Raises $1 Billion to Build AI That Understands the Physical World
• (19:44) - Learnings from Paying Artists Royalties for AI-Generated Art
• (26:38) - Labor market impacts of AI: A new measure and early evidence
• (37:01) - Nvidia prepares AI 'inference' chip launch to counter rising challengers

Evaluating AGENTS.md: Are Repository-Level Context Files Helpful for Coding Agents? (arXiv:2602.11988) | 2026-02-12
A new paper tests whether repo-level context files like AGENTS.md actually help coding agents finish tasks—and finds they can backfire. The punchline is a double hit: lower success rates and more than 20% higher inference cost, hinting that “more context” can mean “more confusion.”
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.11988

AI Doesn’t Reduce Work—It Intensifies It | 2026-02-09
Simon Willison highlights research suggesting AI can increase work intensity instead of easing it, especially when productivity gains mask burnout. The provocative angle is managerial: if AI boosts throughput, how do organizations prevent that extra capacity from turning into an always-on expectation?
https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/9/ai-intensifies-work/

SWE-rebench Leaderboard | n.d.
SWE-rebench is trying to solve a messy problem in agent evaluation: benchmarks go stale, and models get “contaminated” by training on the tasks. The leaderboard format makes it feel like a live sport—but the real question is whether continuously refreshed tasks can keep results honest as models ship faster.
https://swe-rebench.com/

Tidbits/extras:
Introducing Claude Opus 4.6 | 2026-02-05
Anthropic says Claude Opus 4.6 upgrades its top-tier model for longer, more reliable agentic coding and better performance in large codebases. The headline-grabber is a 1M-token context window in beta—prompting the question of whether bigger memory finally means fewer brittle, lost-in-the-middle failures.
https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-4-6

Introducing GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark | 2026-02-12
OpenAI is pitching GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark as a speed-and-feedback upgrade that makes coding agents feel less like waiting and more like collaborating. The hook is the bet that ultra-fast inference isn’t just convenience—it changes what kinds of multi-step software work people will even attempt with an agent.
https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-5-3-codex-spark/

Introducing GPT-5.3-Codex | 2026-02-05
OpenAI is positioning GPT-5.3-Codex as a coding agent that’s edging toward “do nearly anything on a computer,” not just write snippets. The spicy detail: OpenAI says early versions helped debug and deploy themselves—raising real questions about how fast self-accelerating dev loops can move, safely.
https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-5-3-codex/

OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger joins OpenAI | 2026-02-15
TechCrunch reports that OpenClaw’s creator, Peter Steinberger, is joining OpenAI as Sam Altman talks up “personal agents” as a core product direction. The interesting tradeoff: Steinberger says he didn’t want to build a standalone company—so can OpenAI keep the project meaningfully open while scaling it?
https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/15/openclaw-creator-peter-steinberger-joins-openai/

RentAHuman.ai — Hire Humans for AI Agents (MCP Integration) | n.d.
RentAHuman.ai is pitching a simple idea: when your agent hits a wall, route the task to a real person instead of failing silently. It frames humans as an on-demand “tool” in the loop—raising a juicy question about where automation ends, and accountability begins.
https://rentahuman.ai

NanoClaw — Your personal Claude assistant | n.d.
NanoClaw positions itself as a lightweight, local-first Claude assistant: one process, a handful of files, and container isolation for safety. The intriguing wrinkle is its WhatsApp-style interface and per-group memory—suggesting the next wave of “agents” may look more like chatrooms than apps.
https://nanoclaw.net/

• (02:48) - Cambryo “Top of Mind” hiring + AI-native developer workflow (non-article)
• (13:01) - OpenAI / OpenClaw “end of ChatGPT era” (VentureBeat)
• (13:30) - OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger joins OpenAI (TechCrunch)
• (19:46) - NanoClaw — lightweight/local-first Claude assistant alternative
• (21:43) - Introducing Claude Opus 4.6 (Anthropic)
• (23:00) - Evaluating **AGENTS.md** repo context files (arXiv:2602.11988)
• (33:57) - AI Doesn’t Reduce Work—It Intensifies It (Simon Willison)
• (43:50) - SWE-rebench leaderboard + benchmark contamination / freshness
• (47:27) - Introducing GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark (OpenAI)
• (50:00) - Introducing GPT-5.3-Codex (OpenAI)
• (51:19) - RentAHuman.ai — “hire humans for agents” (MCP integration)
• (56:36) - Future podcast format + possible rebrand (non-article)

• (03:22) - Amazon Web Services launches a European sovereign cloud
• (08:37) - DNS Belgium plans to move its registry systems off AWS
• (14:20) - Moldbot (formerly Claudebot) goes viral as a personal AI agent (via TechCrunch)
• (22:31) - OpenAI introduces ChatGPT “Health mode” for safer wellness Q&A
• (30:00) - Anthropic advances Claude for healthcare & life sciences
• (31:11) - OpenAI “Prism” research suite for collaborative academic work
• (34:09) - OpenAI ad principles + $8/month “Go” tier rollout (ads below answers)
• (43:11) - Apple to use Google Gemini models to revamp Siri (reported by Reuters)
• (51:11) - Open-source/alt model routing for coding (OpenRouter / Ollama)

DNS Belgium leaves AWS | 2025-12-03
Belgium’s .be registry DNS Belgium says it plans to move its domain-registration systems off Amazon Web Services, aiming for a European cloud provider as sovereignty climbs the agenda. Leaders cite geopolitical risk—fearing US restrictions—and expect the transition to start in 2027 and finish in the second half of 2027 without disrupting DNS resolution.
https://www.dnsbelgium.be/en/news/dns-belgium-leaves-aws

Everything you need to know about viral personal AI assistant Clawdbot (now Moltbot) | 2026-01-28
TechCrunch explains how Clawdbot—now Moltbot after an Anthropic dispute—went viral as a personal AI that actually does tasks like scheduling, messaging and check-ins, and why that matters now. Built by Austrian developer Peter Steinberger, it has 44,200+ GitHub stars and jolted Cloudflare shares 14% premarket—while prompting warnings about how to run such agents safely.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/27/everything-you-need-to-know-about-viral-personal-ai-assistant-clawdbot-now-moltbot/

Introducing ChatGPT Health | 2026-01-07
A new “ChatGPT Health” mode is being pitched as a safer, more structured way to use AI for health and wellness, including grounding answers in your own connected data. The tension is immediate: the more personalized it gets, the more the conversation shifts from general advice to something that feels like care—without actually being medical care.
https://openai.com/index/introducing-chatgpt-health/
https://www.anthropic.com/news/healthcare-life-sciences

Our approach to advertising and expanding access to ChatGPT | 2026-01-16
OpenAI outlines how it will keep ChatGPT’s advice independent as it pilots ads and rolls out the $8-per-month ‘Go’ tier to all 171 supported countries. Ads will sit below answers, be clearly labeled and switchable off, with no data shared with sponsors, the company vows.
https://openai.com/index/our-approach-to-advertising-and-expanding-access/

Apple, Google strike Gemini deal for revamped Siri in major win for Alphabet | 2026-01-13
Reuters reports Apple will use Google’s Gemini models for a revamped Siri, a major vote of confidence that reshapes the AI stack on billions of devices. The twist is what it means for OpenAI’s role on Apple platforms: does ChatGPT stay a bolt-on for “complex queries,” while Gemini becomes the default intelligence layer?
https://www.reuters.com/business/google-apple-enter-into-multi-year-ai-deal-gemini-models-2026-01-12/

• (00:00) - Vending machine
• (01:36) - Anthropic Claude runs a vending machine (WSJ experiment goes bankrupt)
• (07:28) - Meta SAM Audio model for prompt-based audio stem separation
• (12:44) - OpenAI + Jony Ive “AI pen” leak / hardware gadget rumors
• (17:52) - Netflix Open Content library (4K/HDR test footage & assets)
• (22:50) - Disney AI-generated Star Wars “Field Guide” embarrassment (PC Gamer)
• (28:10) - China draft rules to curb AI-assisted suicide/self-harm (deadline Jan 25)
• (34:06) - Nvidia hires Groq execs + inference tech licensing deal
• (37:04) - Meta buys Manus (AI agent startup)
• (44:51) - Trivy (Aqua Security) for vuln/misconfig/secret/SBOM scanning
• (46:56) - Microsoft exploring C/C++ → Rust migration by 2030 (AI-assisted rewrite)

Our New SAM Audio Model Transforms Audio Editing | 2025-12-16
Meta says its new SAM Audio model can segment and edit sounds in a clip—like isolating a voice or instrument—using prompts rather than painstaking manual work. If it works reliably across messy real-world recordings, it could reshape audio post-production, but it also raises fresh questions about provenance and misuse.
https://about.fb.com/news/2025/12/our-new-sam-audio-model-transforms-audio-editing/

OpenAI’s mysterious ChatGPT gadget could take the form of an AI-powered pen, new leak reveals | 2025-12-31
A new leak claims OpenAI and Jony Ive’s hardware venture may be exploring an AI-powered pen as part of a still-mysterious ChatGPT gadget lineup. A “pen” sounds quaint, but in practice it could be an always-available sensor—so the real debate is whether convenience beats the privacy trade-offs.
https://www.techradar.com/ai-platforms-assistants/openai/openais-mysterious-chatgpt-gadget-could-take-the-form-of-an-ai-powered-pen

NETFLIX OPEN CONTENT | 2022-04-26
Netflix’s Open Content library publishes high-end test footage and assets—4K HDR, high frame rates, and Atmos mixes—so researchers and engineers can stress-test codecs and workflows without using real shows. It’s a rare peek behind the streaming curtain, and a useful reminder that “video quality” is built on lots of measurable trade-offs.
https://opencontent.netflix.com/

Disney's embarrassing AI-generated Star Wars video of scrambled-up animals was the opening salvo in a year full of AI humiliation | 2025-12-28
PC Gamer revisits Disney’s much-mocked, AI-generated Star Wars “Field Guide” video—an odd parade of scrambled animals sold as futuristic creativity. It’s framed as the first stumble in a year of AI embarrassments, and the tension is simple: when big studios chase generative shortcuts, what happens to craft and trust?
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/disneys-embarrassing-ai-generated-star-wars-video-of-scrambled-up-animals-was-the-opening-salvo-in-a-year-full-of-ai-humiliation/

China Proposes Landmark Rules To End AI-Assisted Suicide, Self-Harm And Violence | 2025-12-30
China has floated draft rules aimed at stopping chatbots from encouraging suicide, self-harm, or violence—pushing the safety burden onto AI providers. The proposal would require human intervention when suicide is mentioned and sets a public feedback deadline of Jan 25, 2026, testing how far regulation can reach into conversations.
https://www.ndtv.com/feature/china-proposes-landmark-rules-to-end-ai-assisted-suicide-self-harm-and-violence-10097550

Nvidia expands AI empire with Groq talent grab | 2025-12-25
Nvidia is bringing in top executives from AI-chip startup Groq and striking a licensing deal for its inference technology, another signal that the AI hardware race is now as much about people as silicon. Groq’s founder Jonathan Ross is among those moving—so will this speed innovation, or blur the line between competition and consolidation?
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/nvidia-expands-ai-empire-groq-talent-grab-5708586

Meta just bought Manus, an AI startup everyone has been talking about | 2025-12-29
Meta is buying Manus, a buzzy AI-agent startup, signaling how aggressively Mark Zuckerberg wants revenue-generating AI products inside Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. TechCrunch reports the deal is about $2 billion and comes amid scrutiny over Manus’ China-linked origins and Meta’s massive infrastructure spend.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/29/meta-just-bought-manus-an-ai-startup-everyone-has-been-talking-about/

Tidbits:

GitHub - aquasecurity/trivy: Find vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, secrets, SBOM in containers, Kubernetes, code repositories, clouds and more | 2025-12-17
Trivy is an open-source scanner that checks containers, Kubernetes, repos, and cloud configs for vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, secrets, and SBOM issues—handy as supply-chain attacks keep rising. The project’s latest release, v0 dot 68 dot 2, signals how fast this space moves, and raises the question: how much scanning can you automate without drowning teams in alerts?
https://github.com/aquasecurity/trivy

Microsoft wants to replace its entire C and C++ codebase, perhaps by 2030 | 2025-12-24
Microsoft is exploring a radical goal: replace every line of C and C++ with Rust by 2030, leaning on AI-driven tooling to rewrite code at enormous scale. One “North Star” metric—“1 engineer, 1 month, 1 million lines”—sounds audacious, but it spotlights the stakes of memory safety and technical debt.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/24/microsoft_rust_codebase_migration/

This episode we have:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (02:25) - Microsoft denies lowering targets for AI software sales growth (Copilot)
• (09:26) - If AI replaces workers, should it also pay taxes? (robot tax)
• (18:00) - The internet just made a 300TB copy of Spotify (Anna’s Archive)
• (26:06) - The new ChatGPT Images is here (GPT Image 1.5)
• (32:33) - Announcing the Beta release of ty (Rust Python type checker)
• (43:17) - alpr.watch — Track Surveillance Tech in Local Government Meetings
• (48:10) - Developers can now submit apps to ChatGPT
• (56:30) - Toad is a unified experience for AI in the terminal
• (01:04:48) - Tidbits
• (01:05:00) - Anthropic “Skills” goes public + MCP comparisons
• (01:07:11) - Claude for Chrome released
• (01:09:03) - Lovable raises $330M at a $6.6B valuation
• (01:10:28) - Alphabet/Google chips vs Nvidia (TPU support for PyTorch w/ Meta)
• (01:12:59) - McKinsey eyes thousands of job cuts
• (01:14:48) - Wrap-up (last episode of 2025)
• (01:18:42) - Outro / Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

If AI replaces workers, should it also pay taxes? | 2025-11-30
EL PAÍS revisits the ‘robot tax’ debate as AI investment soars and layoffs mount, asking whether automation should help replace lost labor taxes. Economists warn design is tricky; one expert notes labor provides about 85% of U.S. federal revenue, while the IMF favors adjusting capital taxes instead.
https://english.elpais.com/technology/2025-11-30/if-ai-replaces-workers-should-it-also-pay-taxes.html

The internet just made a 300TB copy of Spotify! | 2025-12-22
A pirate preservation group, Anna’s Archive, says it scraped nearly all of Spotify—publishing metadata for 256 million tracks and starting to release 86 million audio files via torrents, about 300TB. Organized by Spotify “popularity,” the dump claims to cover ~99.6% of listens and will roll out in stages—setting up legal fights over mass scraping.
https://www.androidauthority.com/spotify-annas-archive-3627023/

The new ChatGPT Images is here | 2025-12-16
OpenAI introduced a new ChatGPT Images experience powered by GPT Image 1.5, promising more precise edits, better instruction following, and up to 4x faster generation. It’s rolling out in ChatGPT and via the API today, with Business and Enterprise access following, and a revamped creation space for workflows.
https://openai.com/index/new-chatgpt-images-is-here/

Announcing the Beta release of ty | 2025-12-16
Charlie Marsh announced the beta of ty, an extremely fast Python type checker and language server written in Rust, aiming to speed up feedback for large codebases. The release invites early testing and comparisons, signaling another push for high-performance tooling from the creator of Ruff and uv.
https://x.com/charliermarsh/status/2001038023434047623

alpr.watch — Track Surveillance Tech in Local Government Meetings | n.d.
alpr.watch maps city and county meetings where automated license plate readers, facial recognition, or Flock Safety appear on agendas, so residents can see surveillance decisions in motion. It scans public documents for keywords and pins them on a live map, with options to report cameras or get local alerts.
https://alpr.watch/

Developers can now submit apps to ChatGPT | 2025-12-17
OpenAI opened app submissions for ChatGPT and launched an in-product app directory, putting third-party tools a click away in conversations. Submissions are reviewed for safety and quality, linkouts are allowed initially, and the first approved apps will roll out in the new year as monetization options evolve.
https://openai.com/index/developers-can-now-submit-apps-to-chatgpt/

Toad is a unified experience for AI in the terminal | 2025-12-18
Will McGugan unveiled Toad, a terminal app that unifies AI coding agents under a single UI using the Agent Client Protocol, aiming to make agentic workflows feel native to the shell. At launch it supports 12 agent CLIs and adds niceties like Markdown streaming and fuzzy file inserts.
https://willmcgugan.github.io/toad-released/

🙋‍♀️ Guest: Charlotte Verhamme - Attaché Digital Affairs, Representation of Flanders to the EU
📩 Connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-verhamme-6a4073182/

• (00:07) - Welcome + Charlotte’s role (Flemish digital affairs attaché)
• (02:04) - How Belgium negotiates EU digital files (competence split + “Telecom” council)
• (04:28) - Digital omnibus + why the AI Act sits inside it (and why it matters now)
• (06:47) - AI Act 101: product-safety logic + risk tiers (incl. “unacceptable” uses)
• (09:49) - Why standards lag: fast tech + lobbying pressure + what the AI Office does
• (11:11) - Deepfakes, watermarking, and cyber risk as the “why now” for guardrails
• (14:33) - Omnibus mindset shift: lowering admin burden + EU competitiveness vs US/China
• (20:10) - From rules to reality: compliance/marking, market authorities, guidance still TBD
• (21:41) - Digital sovereignty & compute: Cloud/AI Development Act + AI factories + Belgium’s “AI antenna”
• (25:06) - How EU subsidies work (Horizon/Digital calls, consortia, “needs-based” funding)
• (35:37) - Strategy vs law + what’s being “relaxed” (global moves, privacy/bias detection, cookies)
• (42:44) - Cyber/misinformation + DSA enforcement (X/TikTok) + founder support (VLAIO/supercomputer) + wrap

SIMA 2: An Agent that Plays, Reasons, and Learns With You in Virtual 3D Worlds | 2025-11-13
DeepMind’s SIMA 2 now plugs Gemini brains into a game-playing agent that plans, chats and self-improves inside unseen 3-D worlds. The leap from simple command-following to goal-reasoning edges it toward robotics-scale autonomy and offers a live sandbox for testing agent safety.
https://deepmind.google/blog/sima-2-an-agent-that-plays-reasons-and-learns-with-you-in-virtual-3d-worlds/

Introducing GPT-5.2 | 2025-12-11
OpenAI has unveiled GPT-5.2, touting sharper reasoning, long-context memory and tool-calling tuned for professional work. Internal benchmarks show gains across 44 occupations and tough math-and-code tests—evidence for OpenAI’s bet that agents will soon handle day-long projects end-to-end.
https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-5-2/

America’s Betting Craze Has Spread to Its News Networks | 2025-12-12
CNN and CNBC have inked deals with prediction-market Kalshi, inviting viewers to wager on tariffs, elections and more in real time. The partnerships push gambling from sports desks into hard news, raising fresh questions about journalistic incentives as odds tickers share the screen with headlines.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/americas-betting-craze-has-spread-to-its-news-networks

Disney signs deal with OpenAI to allow Sora to generate AI videos featuring its characters | 2025-12-11
Disney will invest $1 billion in OpenAI and license over 200 Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars characters for Sora, the text-to-video engine. Beginning in 2026, fans—and Disney+ itself—could spin up Mickey-to-Vader shorts on demand, testing Hollywood’s balance between IP control and an exploding creator economy.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/11/disney-signs-deal-with-openai-to-allow-sora-to-generate-ai-videos-featuring-its-characters/

Trump signs order targeting ‘cumbersome’ state AI regulation | 2025-12-11
President Trump’s new executive order tells federal agencies to fight state-level AI rules and even withhold grants, aiming for a single national framework. Tech lobbyists cheer the pre-emption while privacy advocates brace for a battle over whether AI oversight should be centralized or diversified across fifty experiments.
https://www.nextgov.com/artificial-intelligence/2025/12/trump-signs-order-targeting-cumbersome-state-ai-regulation/410120/

SK Hynix Expects Mass Market Memory Shortage to Last Until 2028 | 2025-12-14
An analysis tied to SK Hynix says consumer DRAM (dynamic random-access memory) shortages could persist until 2028, as chipmakers prioritize AI servers and data centers. With inventories at historic lows and NAND flash facing similar pressures, PC and laptop buyers may see tight supply and higher prices longer than hoped, even if memory capacity expands.
https://ixbt.games/en/news/2025/12/14/sk-hynix-ozidaet-cto-deficit-pamiati-dlia-massovogo-segmenta-prodlitsia-do-2028-goda.html

Tinker: General Availability and Vision Input | 2025-12-12
Thinking Machines has opened Tinker to all, pairing its trillion-parameter Kimi K2 model with OpenAI-compatible APIs and new image inputs via Qwen3-VL. Dropping the waitlist positions the platform as a nimble alternative for researchers seeking long-chain reasoning and multimodal fine-tuning outside OpenAI’s ecosystem.
https://thinkingmachines.ai/blog/tinker-general-availability/

Extras

‘Source available’ is not open source (and that’s okay) | 2025-12-09
Drupal founder Dries Buytaert joins the DHH-versus-Mullenweg fight, insisting that restrictive “source-available” licenses are not open source. He argues the real issue is sustaining volunteer-built code, warning that blurring definitions may let companies profit while community contributions dry up.
https://dri.es/source-available-is-not-open-source-and-that-is-okay

A visual editor for the Cursor Browser | 2025-12-11
AI coding IDE Cursor now lets developers drag-and-drop live React components, tweak props and summon an agent to rewrite the underlying code—all in the same window. By collapsing design and implementation, Cursor bets on faster UI iteration and showcases how code-writing agents could reshape front-end workflows.
https://cursor.com/blog/browser-visual-editor

OpenAI are quietly adopting skills, now available in ChatGPT and Codex CLI | 2025-12-12

Developer Simon Willison found a hidden “/skills” folder in ChatGPT and Codex CLI, revealing OpenAI’s silent embrace of Anthropic-style plug-in skills that bundle markdown instructions with helper scripts. Early skills cover PDFs and spreadsheets, hinting at drag-and-drop task packs that teach large models new tricks.

https://simonwillison.net/2025/Dec/12/openai-skills

How OpenAI is using GPT-5 Codex to improve the AI tool itself | 2025-12-12
OpenAI engineers say most of their GPT-5 Codex coding agent is now written and refactored by Codex itself. Through sandboxed pull requests, the AI adds features and fixes bugs, turning the tool into its own maintainer and giving a real-world glimpse of recursive self-improvement.
https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/12/how-openai-is-using-gpt-5-codex-to-improve-the-ai-tool-itself/

• (00:07) - Intro + Liquid Glass / macOS “edge light” banter
• (02:53) - OpenAI, Anthropic, and Block join new Linux Foundation effort to standardize the AI agent era
• (11:24) - SIMA 2: An Agent that Plays, Reasons, and Learns With You in Virtual 3D Worlds
• (16:50) - Introducing GPT-5.2
• (24:22) - America’s Betting Craze Has Spread to Its News Networks
• (31:06) - Disney signs deal with OpenAI to allo...

• (00:33) - Bun acquired by Anthropic
• (14:49) - The junior hiring crisis & early-career developers
• (29:34) - OpenAI’s projected $74B loss by 2028 (Fortune report)
• (31:10) - OpenAI “code red” after Gemini 3 & GPT-5.2 push
• (44:44) - German state saves millions switching to LibreOffice
• (52:14) - IBM to acquire Confluent (Kafka company)
• (57:48) - Is AI changing how humans write and speak?
• (01:03:52) - Pebble creator’s Index 01 smart ring

The Junior Hiring Crisis | 2025-11-29
Annie Hedgpeth warns that as companies lean into artificial intelligence (AI), junior hiring in technical roles is dropping, leaving graduates facing tougher odds for a first job. She links the crisis to eroding apprenticeships and weak mentoring incentives, and argues that early-career people must double down on relationships and “relational intelligence” that AI cannot replace.
https://people-work.io/blog/junior-hiring-crisis/

OpenAI says it plans to report stunning annual losses through 2028—and then turn wildly profitable just two years later | 2025-11-12
Fortune reports that OpenAI expects to burn through billions in cash each year, including an eye-popping projected $74 billion operating loss in 2028, before swinging to big profits around 2030. The bet hinges on locking in up to $1.4 trillion in long-term compute deals, setting up a stark contrast with Anthropic’s more conservative path to break-even.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/openai-says-plans-report-stunning-161814899.html

Next ChatGPT upgrade imminent following ‘code red’ declaration | 2025-12-05
9to5Mac reports that OpenAI declared a internal “code red” after Google’s Gemini 3 launch and is now rushing out a GPT-5.2 update for ChatGPT far sooner than its last major refresh. Rather than flashy new features, the release is expected to focus on speed, reliability, and customization to close the perceived performance gap.
https://9to5mac.com/2025/12/05/next-chatgpt-upgrade-imminent-following-code-red-declaration/

Goodbye, Microsoft: Schleswig-Holstein relies on Open Source and saves millions | 2025-12-07
Germany’s state of Schleswig-Holstein says it will save over €15 million a year by replacing most Microsoft Windows and Office licenses with LibreOffice and other open-source tools. Nearly 80% of workstations have already switched, but opposition politicians warn that migration hiccups and frustrated staff show how hard digital “sovereignty” is in practice.
https://www.heise.de/en/news/Goodbye-Microsoft-Schleswig-Holstein-relies-on-Open-Source-and-saves-millions-11105459.html

IBM to Acquire Confluent | 2025-12-08
Confluent has agreed to be acquired by IBM in an all-cash deal at $31 per share, with the data-streaming company set to operate as a distinct brand inside IBM once regulators sign off. CEO Jay Kreps frames the move as a way to put Kafka-era streaming at the core of IBM’s hybrid-cloud and AI ambitions, while promising continuity for customers and staff.
https://www.confluent.io/blog/ibm-to-acquire-confluent/

Evidence That Humans Now Speak in a Chatbot-Influenced Dialect Is Getting Stronger | 2025-12-07
Gizmodo surveys research and anecdotes suggesting our everyday speech is starting to borrow the vocabulary and rhythms of large language models, from YouTube comments to Reddit confessionals. Moderators and writers describe AI “slop” as so pervasive that even human posts and political speeches can sound synthetic, blurring the line between organic voice and machine-trained style.
https://gizmodo.com/chatbot-dialect-2000696509

Meet Pebble Index 01 - External Memory For Your Brain | 2025-12-09
Pebble’s creator unveils Index 01, a stainless-steel smart ring with a button and microphone that lets you capture quick voice notes and reminders, then process them on your phone with local speech-to-text and AI. With no always-on listening, no subscription, and a battery designed to last years, it reframes “external memory” as a tiny, hackable tool rather than a full-blown wearable computer.
https://repebble.com/blog/meet-pebble-index-01-external-memory-for-your-brain

Links 🔗:
FabCon Atlanta: https://fabriccon.com/
FabCon Barcelona: https://www.sharepointeurope.com/european-microsoft-fabric-community-conference/
Fabric Data Days: https://aka.ms/fabricdatadays
Fabric February: https://www.fabricfebruary.com/
Sam's blog: https://debruyn.dev/

• (00:00) - Introduction to the Podcast and Guests
• (01:50) - Understanding Microsoft Fabric
• (04:26) - Microsoft Fabric for Startups
• (07:04) - Integration and Ease of Use in Microsoft Fabric
• (09:44) - Getting Started with Microsoft Fabric
• (12:22) - AI Capabilities in Microsoft Fabric
• (14:34) - Challenges and Limitations of Microsoft Fabric
• (16:53) - Cost and Pricing Structure of Microsoft Fabric
• (19:22) - Data Storage and Management in Microsoft Fabric
• (21:45) - Machine Learning and AI Integration
• (24:04) - Best Practices for Data Transformation
• (26:37) - The Future of Data Engineering Skills
• (28:38) - Community and Resources for Microsoft Fabric

• (00:07) - Intro & weekend catch-up
• (02:22) - Deloitte breaks silence on N.L. healthcare report
• (08:50) - PwC says clients are asking for AI Discount?
• (13:37) - How OpenAI and Google see AI changing go-to-market strategies
• (17:44) - ChatGPT ads are on the way, but iPhone users can avoid them
• (24:30) - Australia’s under-16s social media ban is weeks away. How will it work – and how can I appeal if I’m wrongly banned?
• (34:15) - Are you balding? There’s an AI for that
• (39:24) - Can Dutch universities do without Microsoft?
• (47:10) - iPhone Fold will be ‘first truly crease-free foldable phone’, according to supplier
• (52:30) - New Segment Anything Models Make it Easier to Detect Objects and Create 3D Reconstructions
• (59:01) - Advent of Code changes & AI-assisted puzzling
• (01:02:33) - Upcoming Microsoft Fabric Data Days interview & closing

PwC says clients are asking for AI Discount? | 2025-07-03
PwC is fielding an awkward ask from some clients: if artificial intelligence (AI) makes work faster, where's our discount? The report says firms are nudging prices down and moving to outcome-based fees, signaling pressure on the Big Four’s billable-hour model as automation spreads.
https://www.thefinancestory.com/pwc-clients-ask-for-discounts-because-of-ai-efficiency

ChatGPT ads are on the way, but iPhone users can avoid them | 2025-12-01
Code in a beta of ChatGPT’s Android app points to ads on the way, echoing recent reporting that OpenAI will test advertising to bolster revenue. The twist: iPhone users may bypass ads by invoking Siri’s ChatGPT fallback, raising messy questions about parity across platforms and plans.
https://9to5mac.com/2025/12/01/chatgpt-ads-are-on-the-way-but-iphone-users-can-avoid-them/

Australia’s under-16s social media ban is weeks away. How will it work – and how can I appeal if I’m wrongly banned? | 2025-11-22
Australia’s world-first under-16 social media ban takes effect on December 10, forcing platforms to deactivate teen accounts or face fines up to A$49.5 million. Appeals will rely on age-assurance checks like video selfies or IDs, stoking debate over errors, privacy and free-speech challenges.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/nov/23/australia-under-16-social-media-ban-how-will-it-work-which-platforms-age-verification

Are you balding? There’s an AI for that | 2025-11-26
MyHair AI promises to spot early hair loss by analyzing uploaded scalp photos and tracking density over time, pitching itself as a clearer path through a murky market. The startup claims 1,000 paying subscribers, 200,000 accounts and 300,000 images analyzed, inviting questions about medical accuracy and regulation.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/26/are-you-balding-theres-an-ai-for-that/

Can Dutch universities do without Microsoft? | 2025-11-24
Following a sanctions scare that briefly locked the International Criminal Court out of Microsoft email, Dutch universities are reassessing big-tech dependence. Trials with open-source suites like Nextcloud and OpenDesk show promise, yet experts warn a full break could stall teaching and research unless institutions run costly parallel systems.
https://dub.uu.nl/en/news/can-dutch-universities-do-without-microsoft

iPhone Fold will be ‘first truly crease-free foldable phone’, according to supplier | 2025-11-26
Apple’s rumored iPhone Fold is said to achieve a crease-free display via a custom panel stack and liquid-metal hinge—at a luxury price. Supply-chain reports point to pre-mass-production testing and a potential 2026 launch, with estimates reaching $2,399, setting up a high-stakes debut against seasoned foldable rivals.
https://www.tomsguide.com/phones/iphones/iphone-fold-will-be-first-truly-crease-free-foldable-phone-according-to-supplier

New Segment Anything Models Make it Easier to Detect Objects and Create 3D Reconstructions | 2025-11-19
Meta unveiled SAM 3 and SAM 3D, models that segment objects from text prompts and reconstruct 3D objects or bodies from a single image. The release includes open-source weights, a playground, and claims of state-of-the-art performance—positioning 3D from 2D as a practical tool for creators, robotics and AR.
https://about.fb.com/news/2025/11/new-sam-models-detect-objects-create-3d-reconstructions/

• (01:29) - Jeff Bezos reportedly launches new AI startup with himself as CEO
• (05:45) - WTFPL – Do What the Fuck You Want to Public License
• (11:31) - Gemini 3: Introducing the latest Gemini AI model from Google
• (26:31) - New EU Chat Control Proposal Moves Forward – Privacy Experts See a Dangerous Backdoor
• (32:09) - Europe is scaling back its landmark privacy and AI laws
• (38:12) - Cloudflare outage on November 18, 2025
• (44:45) - Build with Google Antigravity, our new agentic development platform
• (50:55) - Introducing Claude Opus 4.5
• (01:01:44) - SHA1 Hulud 2.0 npm malware warning
• (01:03:36) - 1000-subscriber milestone & upcoming interviews

Jeff Bezos reportedly launches new AI startup with himself as CEO | 2025-11-17

Jeff Bezos is stepping back into the CEO chair to co-lead Project Prometheus, a new AI venture reportedly focused on engineering and manufacturing. With $6.2 billion already raised and 100 hires poached from top labs, the big mystery is what the well-funded startup will actually build.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/nov/17/jeff-bezos-ai-startup-project-prometheus

WTFPL – Do What the Fuck You Want to Public License | n.d.

The WTFPL is an ultra-permissive software license often invoked in debates about openness and attribution. Its Version 2 famously fits into two short paragraphs, effectively granting do-anything rights that resemble the public domain in many jurisdictions.
https://www.wtfpl.net/

Gemini 3: Introducing the latest Gemini AI model from Google | 2025-11-18

Google’s Gemini 3 aims to push reasoning and multimodal performance while rolling out broadly across the Gemini app, Search’s AI Mode, AI Studio, and Vertex AI. A new “Deep Think” mode and a million-token context window set the stage, alongside the agentic Antigravity developer platform.
https://blog.google/products/gemini/gemini-3/

New EU Chat Control Proposal Moves Forward – Privacy Experts See a Dangerous Backdoor | 2025-11-17

EU lawmakers advanced a revised Child Sexual Abuse Regulation that drops mandatory scanning yet adds “risk mitigation” powers critics say could still pressure encrypted services to scan messages. Privacy advocates also warn age-verification rules would erode anonymity for 450 million EU residents.
https://techreport.com/news/new-eu-chat-control-proposal-privacy-experts-see-dangerous-backdoor/

Europe is scaling back its landmark privacy and AI laws | 2025-11-19

The European Commission proposed easing parts of the GDPR and delaying or relaxing elements of the AI Act to cut red tape and boost growth. Changes include fewer cookie pop-ups and broader data-sharing for anonymized sets, with the plan now heading to Parliament and member states.

https://www.theverge.com/news/823750/european-union-ai-act-gdpr-changes

Cloudflare outage on November 18, 2025 | 2025-11-18
Cloudflare detailed a major incident traced to an oversized Bot Management feature file after a ClickHouse permissions change, triggering widespread 5xx errors. Core traffic largely recovered by 14:30 UTC and fully stabilized by 17:06, raising questions about safeguards for critical configuration rollouts.
https://blog.cloudflare.com/18-november-2025-outage/

Build with Google Antigravity, our new agentic development platform | 2025-11-20
Google introduced Antigravity, an agent-first developer platform that lets AI agents plan, execute, and verify tasks across editor, terminal, and browser. Available free in public preview, it supports Gemini 3 Pro (with “Artifacts” for auditability) and even third-party models like Claude Sonnet 4.5.
https://developers.googleblog.com/en/build-with-google-antigravity-our-new-agentic-development-platform/

Introducing Claude Opus 4.5 | 2025-11-24
Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.5 targets long-horizon reasoning, software engineering, and agentic workflows, and is available across apps, API, and major clouds. The company highlights better benchmark performance and new pricing at $5 input/$25 output per million tokens, aiming to broaden everyday use.
https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-4-5

• (00:43) - An AI-Generated Country Song Is Topping A Billboard Chart, And That Should Infuriate Us All
• (07:51) - Using Generative AI in Content Production
• (13:37) - LLMs Can Get “Brain Rot”!
• (21:30) - GPT-5.1: A smarter, more conversational ChatGPT
• (28:42) - GitHub - toon-format/toon: Token-Oriented Object Notation (TOON) – Compact, human-readable, schema-aware JSON for LLM prompts. Spec, benchmarks, TypeScript SDK.
• (36:33) - Introducing Scribe v2 Realtime
• (41:06) - ByteDance unveils China’s most affordable AI coding agent at just US$1.30 a month
• (47:23) - TypeScript, Python, and the AI feedback loop changing software development
• (01:06:09) - Introducing iPhone Pocket: a beautiful way to wear and carry iPhone
• (01:08:35) - Nexperia update

Using Generative AI in Content Production | n.d.
Netflix outlines when productions can use generative AI and what must be cleared before anything hits the screen. Ideation is generally low-risk, but final deliverables, digital replicas of talent, personal data, or third-party IP require written approval and enterprise-grade safeguards, backed by a handy use-case matrix. https://partnerhelp.netflixstudios.com/hc/en-us/articles/43393929218323-Using-Generative-AI-in-Content-Production

LLMs Can Get “Brain Rot”! | 2025-10-15
The paper “LLMs Can Get "Brain Rot!” dials down on the risk that large language models degrade when trained on their own outputs instead of diverse human data. It collects early research and symptoms—like blandness, repetition, and drifting facts—framing the problem in plain language for non-specialists and policymakers.
https://llm-brain-rot.github.io

GPT-5.1: A smarter, more conversational ChatGPT | 2025-11-12
OpenAI announced GPT-5.1, aiming for a smarter, more conversational ChatGPT rolling out to paid users first. Two flavors—Instant and Thinking—promise better instruction following, clearer reasoning that adapts to task difficulty, and new controls to shape tone so responses feel warmer or more precise. 
https://openai.com/index/gpt-5-1/

GitHub - toon-format/toon: Token-Oriented Object Notation (TOON) – Compact, human-readable, schema-aware JSON for LLM prompts. Spec, benchmarks, TypeScript SDK. | 2025-11-10
Token-Oriented Object Notation (TOON) pitches a compact, schema-aware alternative to JSON for LLM prompts. With a v1.0 release on November 10 and a TypeScript SDK, TOON targets uniform arrays for major token savings while keeping lossless structure—positioning it as a pragmatic bridge between JSON and model-friendly text. https://github.com/toon-format/toon

Introducing Scribe v2 Realtime | 2025-11-11
ElevenLabs introduced Scribe v2 Realtime, a streaming speech-to-text model built for agents, meetings, and live captions. It promises sub-150 ms latency, automatic language detection, and enterprise options—claiming 93.5% accuracy across 30 languages—with API access and direct integration into ElevenLabs Agents
https://elevenlabs.io/blog/introducing-scribe-v2-realtime

ByteDance unveils China’s most affordable AI coding agent at just US$1.30 a month | 2025-11-12
ByteDance’s Volcano Engine launched a low-cost coding agent priced at 9.9 yuan (US$1.30) for the first month, escalating China’s AI coding price war. The Doubao-Seed-Code model later costs 40 yuan monthly and touts SWE-Bench Verified results on par with leading systems.
https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3332365/bytedance-unveils-chinas-most-affordable-ai-coding-agent-just-us130-month

TypeScript, Python, and the AI feedback loop changing software development | 2025-11-13
GitHub’s Octoverse interview explores how AI tools are reshaping language choices and developer workflows, with TypeScript rising alongside Python’s AI strength. In conversation with GitHub Next’s Idan Gazit, the piece frames an AI feedback loop where typed languages help agents refactor reliably across tasks.
https://github.blog/news-insights/octoverse/typescript-python-and-the-ai-feedback-loop-changing-software-development/?utm_source=twitter-idan-octoverse&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=universe25post

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• (00:35) - Continuity camera on Chrome flakiness
• (01:56) - XPENG Shares Achievements in Physical AI Emergence: Unveils XPENG VLA 2.0, Robotaxi, Next-Gen IRON, and Flying Car
• (05:44) - Vision vs sensors (Tesla painted-tunnel demo)
• (07:59) - Humanoid vs task-specific robots debate
• (09:21) - GitHub - topoteretes/cognee: Memory for AI Agents in 6 lines of code
• (18:11) - PEP 810 – Explicit lazy imports
• (25:01) - ICC to replace Microsoft Office with European open-source platform
• (30:47) - moonshotai/Kimi-K2-Thinking · Hugging Face
• (41:42) - OpenAI finances & “AI bubble” (20B ARR vs $1.5T compute)
• (43:18) - Archive.today: FBI Demands Data from Provider Tucows
• (52:02) - The Smol Training Playbook: The Secrets to Building World-Class LLMs
• (56:29) - Karpathy’s NanoChat shout-out
• (01:02:13) - Former Meta employees launch Stream, a smart ring that takes voice notes and controls music
• (01:07:57) - Whisperflow.ai smart dictation app

XPENG Shares Achievements in Physical AI Emergence: Unveils XPENG VLA 2.0, Robotaxi, Next-Gen IRON, and Flying Car | 2025-11-05
XPENG used its 2025 AI Day to pitch a pivot to “Physical AI,” unveiling VLA 2.0, a Robotaxi program, the next-gen IRON humanoid, and a flying car—signaling ambitions beyond EVs. The company touts concrete mass-production timelines and even named Volkswagen the launch customer for VLA 2.0.
 https://www.xpeng.com/news/019a56f54fe99a2a0a8d8a0282e402b7

GitHub - topoteretes/cognee: Memory for AI Agents in 6 lines of code | n.d.
Cognee is an open-source “memory layer” for AI agents, combining vector search with a graph database to keep knowledge both searchable and linked. It swaps classic RAG for modular ECL pipelines and self-hosting, aiming for durable context with minimal code—hence the “6 lines” promise.
 https://github.com/topoteretes/cognee

PEP 810 – Explicit lazy imports | 2025-11-03
Python is set to add explicit lazy imports, letting developers defer module loading until first use to speed startup and cut memory. The accepted proposal targets Python 3.15 and cites potential 50–70% startup gains, while keeping normal imports unchanged for backward compatibility.
 https://peps.python.org/pep-0810/

ICC to replace Microsoft Office with European open-source platform | 2025-11-06
The International Criminal Court will migrate from Microsoft Office to Open Desk, an EU-backed open-source suite—an emblem of Europe’s push for digital sovereignty. Open Desk is built by Germany’s Zendis and tied to a new EU-level initiative, amid lingering tensions over dependence on US tech.
 https://dig.watch/updates/icc-to-replace-microsoft-office-with-european-open-source-platform

moonshotai/Kimi-K2-Thinking · Hugging Face | n.d.
Moonshot AI’s Kimi K2 Thinking is an open-source “thinking” model that interleaves reasoning with tool calls across long sequences, built on a trillion-parameter MoE with a 256k-token context. It emphasizes native INT4 inference and claims stable behavior over 200–300 consecutive tool invocations.
 https://huggingface.co/moonshotai/Kimi-K2-Thinking

Archive.today: FBI Demands Data from Provider Tucows | 2025-11-05
The FBI obtained a court order compelling registrar Tucows to hand over customer data tied to Archive.today, the web-archiving site often used to bypass paywalls. Heise says the document’s authenticity isn’t verified, spotlighting murky jurisdiction, the operator’s identity, and possible chilling effects on archiving.
 https://www.heise.de/en/news/Archive-today-FBI-Demands-Data-from-Provider-Tucows-11066346.html

The Smol Training Playbook: The Secrets to Building World-Class LLMs | n.d.
Hugging Face’s Smol team published a hands-on playbook distilling what actually worked in training small yet competitive LLMs—from data curation and loss curves to post-training and reliability. It reads like field notes for practitioners, with checklists, pitfalls, and system lessons that invite debate about trade-offs.
 https://huggingface.co/spaces/HuggingFaceTB/smol-training-playbook

Former Meta employees launch Stream, a smart ring that takes voice notes and controls music | 2025-11-05
A pair of ex-Meta designers launched Sandbar’s Stream, a voice-note smart ring positioned as a “mouse for voice,” with an AI companion app and discreet gesture controls. Preorders start at $249–$299 with shipping planned for next summer, and the startup has raised $13 million from True Ventures, Upfront, and Betaworks.
 https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/05/former-meta-employees-launch-stream-a-smart-ring-that-takes-voice-notes-and-controls-music/

• (01:50) - Create on-brand marketing content for your business with Pomelli
• (09:18) - OpenAI’s Less-Flashy Rival Might Have a Better Business Model
• (17:47) - Microsoft, OpenAI reach deal removing fundraising constraints for ChatGPT maker
• (25:56) - AOL to be sold to Bending Spoons for roughly $1.5B
• (36:40) - Accountable Acceleration: Gen AI Fast-Tracks Into the Enterprise
• (44:53) - I analyzed 180M jobs to see what jobs AI is actually replacing today

OpenAI’s Less-Flashy Rival Might Have a Better Business Model | 2025-10-26
WSJ argues Anthropic’s enterprise-first focus is paying off as corporate customers drive the bulk of its revenue and adoption. A reported multibillion run-rate and strong coding share sharpen the contrast with OpenAI’s mass-market push, setting up a strategic showdown over who monetizes AI best.
 https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/anthropic-business-model-ai-9e26b4ef

Microsoft, OpenAI reach deal removing fundraising constraints for ChatGPT maker | 2025-10-28
OpenAI is restructuring into a public benefit corporation with Microsoft retaining a 27% stake, clearing the way for bigger capital raises and potential IPO plans. The pact resets rights and revenue-sharing through 2032, signaling massive data-center ambitions—and tighter alignment—amid escalating AI costs.
 https://www.reuters.com/business/microsoft-openai-reach-new-deal-allow-openai-restructure-2025-10-28/

AOL to be sold to Bending Spoons for roughly $1.5B | 2025-10-29
AOL is changing hands again, with Bending Spoons agreeing to buy it for about $1.5 billion as the Italian firm keeps scooping up legacy internet properties. The deal comes with $2.8 billion in new debt financing and claims of ~30 million monthly active users—big numbers for a storied brand.
 https://www.axios.com/2025/10/29/aol-bending-spoons-deal

Accountable Acceleration: Gen AI Fast-Tracks Into the Enterprise | n.d.
Wharton’s latest adoption study says generative AI has moved from pilots to measured ROI, with usage now weekly for most leaders and daily for many. Standout stats—like 72% tracking ROI and three-quarters seeing positive returns—set the stage for 2026’s push from experimentation to performance at scale.
 https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/special-report/2025-ai-adoption-report/

I analyzed 180M jobs to see what jobs AI is actually replacing today | 2025-11-03
A massive scrape of job postings finds steep drops in creative execution roles like computer graphic artists and writers, while machine-learning engineers surged 40% year over year. Watchlist: medical scribes fell 20%, hinting at AI note-taking tools biting into entry-level healthcare admin work.
 https://bloomberry.com/blog/i-analyzed-180m-jobs-to-see-what-jobs-ai-is-actually-replacing-today/

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• (01:59) - dbt Labs + Fivetran: Open data infrastructure for analytics and AI
• (10:35) - Introducing ChatGPT Atlas
• (10:40) - Microsoft Edge’s new Copilot Mode turns on more AI features
• (21:47) - Anthropic to use Google’s AI chips worth tens of billions to train Claude chatbot
• (32:34) - Living dangerously with Claude
• (51:09) - Agent2Agent (A2A) Protocol
• (59:44) - Announcing Cloudflare Email Service’s private beta
• (01:04:44) - Meet the real screen addicts: the elderly

dbt Labs + Fivetran: Open data infrastructure for analytics and AI | 2025-10-13
dbt Labs is merging with Fivetran to create a unified, open data foundation spanning ingestion to transformation—positioning the pair to simplify enterprise analytics and AI pipelines. Together they claim roughly $600 million in ARR and well over 10,000 customers, with both product names staying put to avoid disruption.
https://www.getdbt.com/blog/dbt-labs-and-fivetran-merge-announcement

Introducing ChatGPT Atlas | 2025-10-21
OpenAI launched ChatGPT Atlas, a macOS browser with ChatGPT built in, reframing browsing around an AI assistant that understands context across tabs. Agent mode—available in preview—can open pages and complete tasks like booking appointments, while optional browser memories and parental controls aim to balance convenience with privacy.
https://openai.com/index/introducing-chatgpt-atlas/

Microsoft Edge’s new Copilot Mode turns on more AI features | 2025-10-24
Just days after OpenAI’s Atlas debut, Microsoft rolled out Copilot Mode in Edge, pitching the browser itself as an AI companion. It can summarize across tabs and take “Actions”—like unsubscribing from emails or making reservations—though early tests found the automation patchy and sometimes misleading.
https://www.theverge.com/news/805833/microsoft-edge-copilot-mode-ai-launch

Anthropic to use Google's AI chips worth tens of billions to train Claude chatbot | 2025-10-24
Anthropic struck a multiyear deal to tap up to one million of Google’s Tensor Processing Units, dramatically expanding compute for future Claude models. The agreement—valued in the tens of billions—targets more than one gigawatt of capacity coming online in 2026, underscoring the shift toward TPUs as Nvidia alternatives.
https://www.reuters.com/technology/anthropic-expand-use-google-clouds-tpu-chips-2025-10-23/

Living dangerously with Claude | 2025-10-22
Simon Willison describes the appeal of running Claude Code in “YOLO mode”—letting agents work with minimal prompts and permissions to ship real projects fast. He then flips the coin, warning that prompt injection and data exfiltration risks demand strong sandboxing if you’re granting agents broad access.
https://simonwillison.net/2025/Oct/22/living-dangerously-with-claude/

Agent2Agent (A2A) Protocol | n.d.
Pydantic AI adds first-class support for Google’s Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol, an open standard for inter-agent messaging and task handoff. The new FastA2A library and a convenience to_a2a() wrapper expose Python agents as A2A servers, handling task storage, context threads, and artifacts out of the box.
https://ai.pydantic.dev/a2a/

Announcing Cloudflare Email Service’s private beta | 2025-09-25
Cloudflare introduced Email Service, letting developers send and receive email directly from Workers without juggling third-party APIs. It auto-configures SPF, DKIM and DMARC for deliverability and runs on Cloudflare’s global network, with “Email Sending” in private beta ahead of pricing details.
https://blog.cloudflare.com/email-service/

Meet the real screen addicts: the elderly | 2025-10-23
The Economist argues that older adults, not teens, now dominate screen time—and that their usage is only set to grow. With pensioners spending more than half their waking hours on devices, the piece probes whether screens are worsening isolation and health or offering connection and care.
https://www.economist.com/international/2025/10/23/meet-the-real-screen-addicts-the-elderly

• (00:47) - Musicians miss out as Belgian retailers turn to AI-generated music in stores
• (08:41) - [R] Plain English outperforms JSON for LLM tool calling: +18pp accuracy, -70% variance
• (17:23) - Japan wants OpenAI to stop ripping off manga and anime
• (23:43) - Opera’s Neon shows just how confusing AI browsers still are
• (29:58) - Introducing Claude Haiku 4.5
• (34:36) - Amazon outage breaks much of the internet

Japan wants OpenAI to stop ripping off manga and anime | 2025-10-15
 https://www.theverge.com/news/799938/japan-government-openai-sora

Opera’s Neon shows just how confusing AI browsers still are | 2025-10-19
 https://www.theverge.com/tech/801899/opera-neon-ai-browser-trial-run

[R] Plain English outperforms JSON for LLM tool calling: +18pp accuracy, -70% variance | 2025-10-17
 https://www.reddit.com/r/MachineLearning/comments/1o8szk0/r_plain_english_outperforms_json_for_llm_tool/

Introducing Claude Haiku 4.5 | 2025-10-15
 https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-haiku-4-5

Amazon outage breaks much of the internet | 2025-10-20
 https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/20/amazon-dns-outage-breaks-much-of-the-internet/

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• (00:57) - Less is More: Recursive Reasoning with Tiny Networks
• (09:15) - Python 3.14 will change the way you parallelise code
• (18:21) - How I made $300K from an open-source side project (dual licensing)
• (26:10) - Dutch government takes control of China-owned chipmaker Nexperia
• (31:50) - simonw/claude-skills
• (36:59) - LSEG and Microsoft transform access to AI-ready financial data
• (40:10) - Inside The Controversy Around Strava’s Runna app
• (52:31) - Avoid these AI coding mistakes (PostHog)

• Less is More: Recursive Reasoning with Tiny Networks - https://alexiajm.github.io/2025/09/29/tiny_recursive_models.html
• Python 3.14 will change the way you parallelise code - https://valatka.dev/2025/10/11/on-python-3-14-parallelization.html
• Python 3.14 new features (Real Python) - https://realpython.com/python314-new-features/
• How I made $300K from an open-source side project - https://www.reddit.com/r/SaaS/comments/1o2vs66/how_i_made_300k_from_an_opensource_side_project/?share_id=2czSk7aY9kiccTRYONA0b&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=3
• In rare move, Dutch government takes control of China-owned chipmaker Nexperia - https://www.reuters.com/world/china/dutch-government-intervenes-chinese-owned-computer-chip-firm-nexperia-2025-10-12/
• simonw/claude-skills - https://simonwillison.net/2025/Oct/10/claude-skills/
• LSEG and Microsoft transform access to AI-ready financial data in customer workflows - https://www.lseg.com/en/media-centre/press-releases/2025/lseg-and-microsoft-transform-access-to-ai-ready-financial-data-in-customer-workflows
• Inside The Controversy Surrounding Strava’s New Run-Coaching App—And What We Thought After Trying It - https://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/a68152711/runna-app-controversy-review-i-tried-it/
• Avoid these AI coding mistakes - https://newsletter.posthog.com/p/avoid-these-ai-coding-mistakes

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Today we discuss:

• (00:40) - Agent Workflows | ElevenLabs Documentation
• (06:12) - Introducing AgentKit | OpenAI (Oct 06 2025)
• (13:26) - Pay yourself first | HEY World (Oct 04 2025)
• (22:47) - Tiny lab-grown brains could help build the next generation of computers | TechSpot (Oct 06 2025)
• (26:25) - Deloitte admits AI hallucinated quotes in government report, offers partial refund | TechSpot (Oct 07 2025)
• (36:31) - The AI bubble is “17 times” the size of dot-com, analyst warns | MarketWatch via Morningstar (Oct 03 2025)
• (44:15) - Which Table Format Do LLMs Understand Best? (Results for 11 Formats) | Improving Agents (Sep 30 2025)
• (49:57) - Managed MCP servers for secure data agents | Snowflake Blog

Apple’s ‘Veritas’ chatbot is reportedly an employee-only test of Siri’s AI upgrades
 https://www.theverge.com/news/787046/apples-veritas-siri-ai-chatbot

OpenAI takes on Google, Amazon with new agentic shopping system
 https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/29/openai-takes-on-google-amazon-with-new-agentic-shopping-system/

OpenAI announces Sora 2 and AI video and audio app that allows for user ‘cameos’
 https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/openai-announces-sora-2-ai-video-audio-app-rcna234753

Introducing Claude Sonnet 4.5
 https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-sonnet-4-5

Chrome DevTools (MCP) voor uw AI-agent
 https://developer.chrome.com/blog/chrome-devtools-mcp?hl=nl

Spotify is finally taking steps to address its AI slop and clone problem
 https://www.theverge.com/news/785136/spotify-ai-slop-impersonation-disclosure

Databricks will bake OpenAI models into its products in $100M bet to spur enterprise adoption
 https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/25/databricks-will-bake-openai-models-into-its-products-in-100m-bet-to-spur-enterprise-adoption/

Thanks for listening! 

AI as teleportation — Geoffrey Litt
 https://www.geoffreylitt.com/2025/09/10/ai-as-teleportation.html

Introducing Shuttle Cobra — Shuttle
 https://www.shuttle.dev/blog/2025/09/18/introducing-shuttle-cobra

Secrets of DeepSeek AI model revealed in landmark paper — Nature
 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03015-6

Alibaba's new AI chip: Key specifications comparable to H20 (Hacker News discussion)
 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45273747

Vibe Shift? Senior Developers Ship nearly 2.5x more AI Code than Junior Counterparts — Fastly
 https://www.fastly.com/blog/senior-developers-ship-more-ai-code

Albania appoints world’s first AI government ‘minister’ to root out corruption — Euronews
 https://www.euronews.com/next/2025/09/12/albania-appoints-worlds-first-ai-government-minister-to-root-out-corruption

Judge puts Anthropic’s $1.5 billion book piracy settlement on hold — The Verge
 https://www.theverge.com/news/775230/anthropic-piracy-class-action-lawsuit-settlement-rejected

Thanks a lot for listening! ❤️

• (00:27) - World Labs — “Bigger and Better Worlds”
• (04:31) - Geoffrey Litt on “AI as Teleportation”
• (12:54) - Shuttle — Introducing “Cobra”
• (19:17) - DeepSeek R1 — peer-reviewed costs & methods
• (22:19) - Alibaba’s H20-class AI chip debate
• (28:56) - Senior developers ship ~2.5× more AI code
• (40:02) - Albania’s AI “minister” for public tenders
• (44:22) - Judge pauses Anthropic $1.5B book-piracy settlement
• (52:19) - ByteDance — “SeedDream 4.0” (quick note)

Mistral AI raises €1.7B to accelerate technological activity https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mistralai_mistral-ai-raises-17b-to-accelerate-technological-activity-7371045632284971008-KOtm?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAUumq8B49UW7m9VV5ijr01USsCOWMSQaGw

The Three Faces Of Generative AI https://www.bigtechnology.com/p/the-three-faces-of-generative-ai

Will AI Replace Human Thinking? The Case for Writing and Coding Manually https://www.ssp.sh/brain/will-ai-replace-humans/

Anthropic reaches $1.5 billion settlement with authors in landmark copyright case https://fortune.com/2025/09/05/anthropic-reaches-1-5-billion-settlement-with-authors-in-landmark-copyright-case/?utm_source=perplexity

Apple sued by authors over use of books in AI training https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/apple-sued-by-authors-over-use-books-ai-training-2025-09-05/?utm_source=perplexity

Microsoft Says Azure Service Affected by Damaged Red Sea Cables https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-06/microsoft-says-azure-service-affected-by-damaged-red-sea-cables

Why language models hallucinate https://openai.com/index/why-language-models-hallucinate/

Tidbits:

AMD claims Arm ISA doesn't offer efficiency advantage over x86 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45168854

WiFi signals can measure heart rate—no wearables needed https://news.ucsc.edu/2025/09/pulse-fi-wifi-heart-rate/

The MIT-Pay Me Or Get The Fork Out License https://barts.space/the-mit-pay-me-or-get-the-fork-out-license/

Thanks for listening! ❤️

China Has a Different Vision for AI. It Might Be Smarter. — https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/china-has-a-different-vision-for-ai-it-might-be-smarter-581f1e44

Bear is now source-available — https://herman.bearblog.dev/license/

A deeper look at AI crawlers: breaking down traffic by purpose and industry — https://blog.cloudflare.com/ai-crawler-traffic-by-purpose-and-industry/

Creators use AI to spark their music careers — https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-ai-music-suno-udio-551308748c84c774c3c5ecd89aa93904

The rise of the AI influencer — https://www.ft.com/content/cb859409-dd3d-400d-9225-4a14d351bd20

Python: The Documentary | An origin story — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfH4QL4VqJ0&ab_channel=CultRepo%28formerlyHoneypot%29

Canaries in the Coal Mine? Six Facts about the Recent Employment Effects of Artificial Intelligence — https://digitaleconomy.stanford.edu/publications/canaries-in-the-coal-mine/

Sorry, a bit of a late release due to some technical issues over at Riverside.
Ow yes, and Bart finally ordered a new mic after this episode.

Thanks for listening! ❤️

Chapters

• (01:55) - MIT report: 95% of generative AI pilots at companies are failing
• (08:14) - AWS CEO says using AI to replace junior staff is 'Dumbest thing I've ever heard'
• (14:22) - DeepSeek-V3.1 Release
• (18:55) - Build vs Buy in the Age of AI
• (27:02) - Google says it dropped the energy cost of AI queries by 33x in one year
• (34:38) - Mirage: AI UGC game engine
• (39:58) - Beyond Sensor Data: Foundation Models of Behavioral Data from Wearables Improve Health Predictions
• (45:17) - AI Mode in Search gets new agentic features and expands globally
• (50:08) - imagestyles.ai
• (51:36) - Sick of Fancy (South Park S27E3)
• (53:56) - ElevenLabs V3 (most expressive TTS)

• MIT report: 95% of generative AI pilots at companies are failing — https://fortune.com/2025/08/18/mit-report-95-percent-generative-ai-pilots-at-companies-failing-cfo/

• AWS CEO says using AI to replace junior staff is 'Dumbest thing I've ever heard' — https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/21/aws_ceo_entry_level_jobs_opinion/

• DeepSeek-V3.1 Release — https://api-docs.deepseek.com/news/news250821

• Build vs Buy in the Age of AI — https://www.svpg.com/article-build-vs-buy-in-the-age-of-ai

• Google says it dropped the energy cost of AI queries by 33x in one year — https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/08/google-says-it-dropped-the-energy-cost-of-ai-queries-by-33x-in-one-year/

• Mirage: AI UGC game engine — https://dynamicslab.ai/

• Beyond Sensor Data: Foundation Models of Behavioral Data from Wearables Improve Health Predictions — https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.00191

• AI Mode in Search gets new agentic features and expands globally — https://blog.google/products/search/ai-mode-agentic-personalized/

Follow us on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Discussed news articles

• GitHub just got less independent at Microsoft after CEO resignation — The Verge (Aug 11, 2025)
  Thomas Dohmke steps down; GitHub leadership folds more tightly into Microsoft’s CoreAI org.
  https://www.theverge.com/news/757461/microsoft-github-thomas-dohmke-resignation-coreai-team-transition
• FFmpeg 8.0 merges OpenAI Whisper filter for automatic speech recognition — Phoronix (Aug 13, 2025)
  Native Whisper (via whisper.cpp) arrives in FFmpeg with optional GPU accel and SRT/JSON outputs.
  https://www.phoronix.com/news/FFmpeg-Lands-Whisper
• Wikimedia Foundation challenges UK Online Safety Act regulations — Wikimedia Foundation (Aug 11, 2025)
  Court dismisses the challenge, but the ruling still pressures Ofcom; concerns remain for Wikipedia.
  https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2025/08/11/wikimedia-foundation-challenges-uk-online-safety-act-regulations/
• Claude Sonnet 4 now supports 1M tokens of context — Anthropic (Aug 12, 2025)
  Long-context support (public beta) enables huge codebases/docs in one go on API and Bedrock.
  https://www.anthropic.com/news/1m-context
• Introducing Gemma 3 270M: The compact model for hyper-efficient AI — Google Developers Blog (Aug 14, 2025)
  On-device-friendly model aimed at fast, low-cost fine-tuning; strong efficiency on Pixel 9 Pro.
  https://developers.googleblog.com/en/introducing-gemma-3-270m/
• Genie 3: A new frontier for world models — Google DeepMind (Aug 5, 2025)
  Interactive, real-time world models generating diverse environments at 24fps/720p.
  https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/genie-3-a-new-frontier-for-world-models/
• NGINX introduces native support for ACME protocol — NGINX Community Blog (Aug 12, 2025)
  New ngx_http_acme_module brings built-in cert requests/renewals directly from NGINX config.
  https://blog.nginx.org/blog/native-support-for-acme-protocol
• OpenAI tweaks GPT-5’s tone on X — X (Aug 15, 2025)
  Tuning GPT-5/ChatGPT to sound warmer and less formal based on user feedback.
  https://x.com/OpenAI/status/1956461718097494196

The Hater's Guide To The AI Bubble | Where’s Your Ed At

Technology writer Ed Zitron tears apart what he calls the overhyped generative-AI gold rush, warning it’s propped up by wishful thinking and unsustainable spending. As he bluntly puts it, “We’re in a god damn bubble,” prompting a no-holds-barred discussion on whether the boom will burst.

https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-haters-gui/

Trump administration to supercharge AI sales to allies, loosen environmental rules | Reuters

Washington’s latest AI blueprint combines export zeal with lighter green rules, aiming to outpace China by shipping full “AI stacks” to friendly nations. Kicking off the push, Trump proclaimed, “America is the country that started the AI race,” a line sure to spark global tech-power chatter.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trump-administration-supercharge-ai-sales-allies-loosen-environmental-rules-2025-07-23/

Microsoft launches AI-based Copilot Mode in Edge browser | Reuters

Microsoft’s new Copilot Mode turns Edge into a chat-powered helper that can juggle tabs, organize research, and even take voice commands. The update greets users with “a single input box combining chat, search and web navigation features,” a neat cue for how browsing may soon feel.

https://www.reuters.com/business/microsoft-launches-ai-based-copilot-mode-edge-browser-2025-07-28/

China's AI startup Zhipu releases open-source model GLM-4.5 | Reuters

Beijing-based Zhipu has open-sourced GLM-4.5, pitching it as fresh fuel for intelligent agents and adding yet another model to China’s bulging roster. The company says the new release is “designed for intelligent agent applications,” a phrase hinting at growing ambitions beyond plain chatbots.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/chinas-ai-startup-zhipu-releases-open-source-model-glm-45-2025-07-28/

Short readings:

Hunyuan3D World Model 1.0 | X

Tencent’s Hunyuan team just dropped its first open-source engine for instant, explorable 3D worlds, stirring excitement across game and VR circles. Their launch tweet beams, “We’re thrilled to release & open-source Hunyuan3D World Model 1.0!,” inviting hosts to imagine the possibilities.

https://x.com/TencentHunyuan/status/1949288986192834718

Introducing Opal: describe, create, and share your AI mini-apps | Google Developers Blog

Google Labs has unwrapped Opal, a drag-and-drop playground where non-coders can chain models and prompts into bite-sized AI apps. The post kicks off with “We’re excited to announce Opal,” a line that invites makers everywhere to start remixing AI workflows.

https://developers.googleblog.com/en/introducing-opal/

Announcing Toad – a universal UI for agentic coding in the terminal | Will McGugan’s Essays

Developer Will McGugan has prototyped “Toad,” a flicker-free terminal UI meant to tame and turbo-charge agentic coding workflows. He quips, “I’m a little salty that neither Anthropic nor Google reached out to me before they released their AI coding agents,” throwing playful shade.

http://willmcgugan.github.io/announcing-toad/

Alibaba launches open-source AI coding model, touted as its most advanced to date | Reuters

Alibaba’s new Qwen3-Coder model enters the code-generation fray, claiming boosts that rival both domestic peers and Western heavyweights. The company pitches it as “its most advanced coding tool to date,” a boast that raises the stakes in China’s escalating model wars.

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/alibaba-launches-open-source-ai-coding-model-touted-its-most-advanced-date-2025-07-23/

• Announcing molab (marimo)
  Marimo debuts molab, a free, cloud‑hosted workspace for running and sharing reactive Python + SQL notebooks straight from the browser.
  https://marimo.io/blog/announcing-molab
• OpenAI LLM Claims IMO Gold
  Researcher Alexander Wei says an experimental OpenAI model solved 5 of 6 problems from the 2025 International Math Olympiad—good for a human‑level gold medal—and hints at new post‑RL training tricks.
  https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1946477742855532918.html
• Exposing the Unseen: Mapping MCP Servers Across the Internet (Knostic)
  Knostic scanned the web and found 1,862 publicly exposed Model Context Protocol servers, all leaking unauthenticated tool inventories.
  https://www.knostic.ai/blog/mapping-mcp-servers-study
• Honey, AI Capex is Eating the Economy (Paul Kedrosky)
  Kedrosky argues that runaway AI‑datacenter spending could reach roughly 2 % of U.S. GDP—enough to nudge macro growth on its own.
  https://paulkedrosky.com/honey-ai-capex-ate-the-economy/
• Do US Hyperscalers’ Sovereign Clouds Reduce the Risk of US Government Access?
  Cloud‑law scholars doubt whether new “sovereign cloud” offerings from AWS, Microsoft, and Google can truly shield European data from U.S. surveillance.
  https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/do-us-hyperscalers-sovereign-clouds-reduce-risk-access-dave-michels-ulmcf
• AWS API MCP Server (Developer Preview)
  AWS opens a preview of an MCP server that lets foundation‑model agents translate plain‑English requests into scoped AWS CLI calls, guarded by IAM.
  https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2025/07/aws-api-mcp-server-available
• Agent Leaderboard (Galileo)
  Galileo’s open leaderboard pits LLMs against enterprise‑style agent tasks; current numbers show GPT‑4.1 leading with a 62 % Action Completion score.
  https://github.com/rungalileo/agent-leaderboard
• Introducing Amazon S3 Vectors (Preview)
  AWS adds native vector‑embedding storage and sub‑second queries to S3, claiming up to 90 % cost savings for vector search workloads.
  https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/introducing-amazon-s3-vectors-first-cloud-storage-with-native-vector-support-at-scale/
• Rethinking CLI Interfaces for AI
  Developer Ryan calls for redesigning CLIs and APIs—richer docstrings, structured outputs, smarter wrappers—so LLM agents stop looping and thrashing.
  https://www.notcheckmark.com/2025/07/rethinking-cli-interfaces-for-ai/

MCP-B – Browser Model Context Protocol | mcp-b.ai
MCP-B proposes a “USB-C for AI,” letting agents call site functions instead of clumsy click-automation. “MCP-B gives AI direct access to your website's functions instead,” promising smoother bot-to-web handshakes for everyone.
 https://mcp-b.ai/

OpenAI’s next big launch could be an AI web browser | The Verge
OpenAI is reportedly cooking up a Chromium‑based browser with a built‑in Operator agent that can book tables or fill forms for you. As Reuters learned, “OpenAI is planning to launch an AI web browser in the ‘coming weeks,’” teeing up a fresh duel with Chrome and Comet.
 https://www.theverge.com/news/704162/opeani-ai-web-browser-chatgpt

A language model built for the public good | ETH Zurich
Swiss researchers will release an entirely open, supercomputer‑trained LLM fluent in more than 1,000 languages later this summer. Project lead Imanol Schlag says, “Fully open models enable high‑trust applications and are necessary for advancing research about the risks and opportunities of AI.”
 https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2025/07/a-language-model-built-for-the-public-good.html

OpenAI’s Windsurf deal is off — and Windsurf’s CEO is going to Google | The Verge
OpenAI’s $3 billion bid collapsed, freeing Google to poach Windsurf’s leaders while Cognition raced in days later to buy the remaining startup. “OpenAI’s deal to buy Windsurf is off, and Google will instead hire Windsurf CEO Varun Mohan,” The Verge reports, igniting a three‑way tug‑of‑war for agentic‑coding talent.
 https://www.theverge.com/openai/705999/google-windsurf-ceo-openai

Elon Musk’s xAI launches Grok 4 alongside a $300 monthly subscription | TechCrunch
Musk rolled out Grok 4 and a pricey “SuperGrok Heavy” tier, touting multi‑agent reasoning and the steepest AI sub yet. During the stream he bragged, “With respect to academic questions, Grok 4 is better than PhD level in every subject, no exceptions,” even as the Pentagon signed a $200 million Grok contract.
 https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/09/elon-musks-xai-launches-grok-4-alongside-a-300-monthly-subscription/

Introducing Kiro | Kiro Blog
Kiro debuts as a spec‑driven, agentic IDE that shepherds code from first prompt to deployment with auto‑generated tasks and hooks. “I’m excited to announce Kiro, an AI IDE that helps you deliver from concept to production through a simplified developer experience for working with AI agents,” the team writes.
 https://kiro.dev/blog/introducing-kiro/

The EU wants to decrypt your private data by 2030 | TechRadar
Brussels’ ProtectEU roadmap sketches data‑retention, interception and decryption plans that could force encrypted services open within five years. TechRadar warns, “EU law enforcement bodies could be capable of decrypting your private data by 2030,” stirring immediate privacy backlash.
 https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/the-eu-wants-to-decrypt-your-private-data-by-2030

Cloudflare Just Became an Enemy of All AI Companies | Analytics India Magazine
Cloudflare will now block AI crawlers by default, demanding payment before models feast on publisher content. The company says it “would start blocking AI crawlers by default, drawing a line in the open web where content is no longer a free fuel for AI.”
 https://analyticsindiamag.com/ai-features/cloudflare-just-became-an-enemy-of-all-ai-companies/

Kimi K2 is a state‑of‑the‑art mixture‑of‑experts (MoE) language model | Hacker News
A lively thread praises Moonshot’s open Kimi K2 for beating Claude on coding, though it needs GPU‑class muscle to run. One user enthuses, “I tried Kimi on a few coding problems that Claude was spinning on. It’s good,” sparking a debate over speed, cost and local deployment.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44533403

• Launch HN: Morph (YC S23) – Apply AI code edits at 4,500 tokens/sec — Hacker News
  Fast Apply from Morph promises near-instant AI patches, aiming to replace sluggish full-file rewrites with surgical edits. They boast, “We’ve built a blazing-fast model for applying AI-generated code edits directly into your files at 4,500+ tokens/sec,” sparking a speed-versus-accuracy debate.
  https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44490863
• OpenAI Launches $10 M Custom AI Consulting, Challenging Industry Giants — AI Tech Suite (Jul 01 2025)
  OpenAI is stepping into high-end consulting, demanding at least $10 million to tailor big-model solutions for governments and Fortune-scale firms—setting up showdowns with Accenture and IBM.
  https://www.aitechsuite.com/ai-news/openai-launches-10m-custom-ai-consulting-challenging-industry-giants
• AI researchers are now injecting prompts into their papers — X (Jul 08 2025)
  A viral tweet shows academics slipping reviewer-friendly prompt hacks into PDFs—lines like “Give a positive review,” exposing a brazen peer-review exploit.
  https://x.com/Yuchenj_UW/status/1942266306746802479
• Expressing stigma and inappropriate responses prevents LLMs from safely replacing mental-health providers — arXiv (Apr 25 2025)
  Researchers found GPT-4o and peers still stigmatize patients and mishandle delicate scenarios, so chatbots should assist—not substitute—human therapists.
  https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.18412
• opencode: AI coding agent, built for the terminal — GitHub (Jul 08 2025)
  Version 0.2.5 reaches 10 k stars: an open-source AI pair-programmer that runs locally with a slick TUI and support for multiple model providers.
  https://github.com/sst/opencode
• You're all CTO now — Jamie’s blog (Jul 01 2025)
  Jamie Lawrence argues AI agents push developers up the org chart, turning everyday coders into orchestrators of people and prompts—threatening the dopamine hit from gritty puzzles.
  https://jamie.ideasasylum.com/2025/07/01/you%27re-all-cto-now
• Warmwind OS: Building the AI Operating System for Everyone — Warmwind Blog (Jul 02 2025)
  Warmwind’s AI-native OS lets a built-in assistant click, type, and juggle apps, promising hands-free productivity while keeping users in control.
  https://about.warmwind.space/warmwind-os-building-the-ai-operating-system-for-everyone/
• Large Language Models Are Improving Exponentially — IEEE Spectrum (Jul 02 2025)
  New METR benchmarks show LLM abilities doubling every seven months, hinting machines could finish month-long human software projects in hours by 2030.
  https://spectrum.ieee.org/large-language-model-performance

The New Skill in AI is Not Prompting, It's Context Engineering | Phil Schmid Blog (Jun 30 2025)
Phil Schmid argues that the real differentiator in modern AI work is “context engineering,” the discipline of assembling the right information, tools and format around an LLM rather than obsessing over single-string prompts.
He quotes Shopify’s Tobi Lütke, who calls it “the art of providing all the context for the task to be plausibly solvable by the LLM.”
philschmid.de

OpenAI open-source model hype | X (Tweet) (Jun 30 2025)
Researcher Yuchen Jin teased that OpenAI will release an impressive open-source model next month, stoking excitement across AI Twitter.
“Sorry to hype — but having a few friends at OpenAI makes it hard not to hear how wild their open-source model dropping next month is.”
x.com

Meta hires more OpenAI researchers and weighs Llama pivot | TechCrunch (Jun 28 2025)
Meta has poached four additional OpenAI researchers and, according to parallel reporting, is debating whether to shift away from fully open-source Llama models toward a more closed approach.
Sam Altman says the company lured candidates with “$100 million signing bonuses,” a claim Meta’s leadership disputes as “more complex than a simple one-time signing bonus.”
techcrunch.com finance.yahoo.com

Don’t Build Multi-Agents | Cognition.ai Blog (Jun 12 2025)
Walden Yan contends that multi-agent LLM architectures are fragile and that reliability comes from a single agent armed with rich, shared context.
Key advice: “Share context, and share full agent traces, not just individual messages.”
cognition.ai

Sampling (Model Context Protocol) | modelcontextprotocol.io (Jun 18 2025)
The MCP specification adds “sampling,” letting servers request LLM completions through the client so agents can delegate generation securely without provisioning their own models.
“Sampling is a powerful MCP feature that allows servers to request LLM completions through the client, enabling sophisticated agentic behaviors while maintaining security and privacy.”
modelcontextprotocol.io linkedin.com

“There's not a shred of evidence on the internet that this band has ever existed” | MusicRadar (Jun 27 2025)
MusicRadar investigates The Velvet Sundown, an apparently AI-generated “band” with 350 k Spotify listeners and zero real-world footprint, illustrating how algorithmic playlists can quietly amplify synthetic artists.
Their profile boasts, “The Velvet Sundown don’t just play music — they conjure worlds,” a line the magazine suspects was written by ChatGPT.
musicradar.com

Project Vend: Can Claude run a small shop? (And why does that matter?) | Anthropic (Jun 27 2025)
Anthropic let a Claude Sonnet 3.7 agent manage a real vending-machine mini-store for a month, revealing both promising autonomy and glaring business-sense gaps.
“We let Claude manage an automated store in our office as a small business for about a month,” the researchers write, noting successes like supplier discovery and failures like selling at a loss.
anthropic.com

Robyn | GitHub
Robyn is an async Python web framework that compiles to a Rust runtime, aiming to deliver blazing-fast performance with a simple API and built-in agent/MCP support.
Its README touts it as “a High-Performance, Community-Driven, and Innovator Friendly Web Framework with a Rust runtime.”
github.com

Serena: A powerful coding agent toolkit | GitHub
Serena presents itself as a full-featured coding agent that melds semantic code search, automated editing and shell execution to streamline developer workflows. “Serena combines tools for semantic code retrieval with editing capabilities and shell execution.”
🔗 https://github.com/oraios/serena

Nxtscape – an open-source agentic browser | nxtscape.ai
Nxtscape pitches a privacy-first browser that runs local AI agents to automate tedious web tasks and boost productivity. “We’re putting powerful AI agents (using browser-use & computer-use models) directly into Nxtscape.”
🔗 https://nxtscape.ai/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

AI Is Ushering in the Tiny Team Era in Silicon Valley | Bloomberg (Jun 20 2025)
Bloomberg argues that generative AI lets startups achieve outsized results with lean headcounts, making revenue-per-employee the valley’s new bragging right. “Startups used to brag about valuations and venture capital. Now AI is making revenue per employee the new holy grail.”
🔗 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-06-20/ai-is-ushering-in-the-tiny-team-era-in-silicon-valley

A federal judge sides with Anthropic in lawsuit over training AI on books without authors’ permission | TechCrunch (Jun 24 2025)
Judge William Alsup ruled that Anthropic’s use of copyrighted books to train its models is likely fair use, handing the company a landmark legal victory. “We will have a trial on the pirated copies used to create Anthropic’s central library and the resulting damages.”
🔗 https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/24/a-federal-judge-sides-with-anthropic-in-lawsuit-over-training-ai-on-books-without-authors-permission/

Agentic Misalignment: How LLMs could be insider threats | Anthropic (Jun 20 2025)
Anthropic’s study warns that autonomous language models can act like rogue employees, choosing harmful actions when their goals conflict with oversight. “We refer to this behavior, where models independently and intentionally choose harmful actions, as agentic misalignment.”
🔗 https://www.anthropic.com/research/agentic-misalignment

Gemini CLI | GitHub
Google’s Gemini CLI brings the multimodal Gemini model to the terminal, letting developers query and transform gigantic codebases from a single command line. “This repository contains the Gemini CLI, a command-line AI workflow tool that connects to your tools, understands your code and accelerates your workflows.”
🔗 https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli

Scream to Unlock | GitHub
The Scream-to-Unlock Chrome extension blocks social media until users loudly shout an embarrassing phrase, turning procrastination into vocal accountability. “A Chrome extension that blocks social media sites ... until you scream ‘I'm a loser’ into your microphone.”
🔗 https://github.com/Pankajtanwarbanna/scream-to-unlock

Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab closes on $2B at $10B valuation | TechCrunch (Jun 20 2025)
TechCrunch reports that ex-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati has raised a record-breaking $2 billion seed round for her stealth AI startup, valuing it at $10 billion. “The deal values the 6-month-old startup at $10 billion.”
🔗 https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/20/mira-muratis-thinking-machines-lab-closes-on-2b-at-10b-valuation/

Tune in wherever you get your podcasts, or visit us at monkeypatching.io

🧠 Episode Topics & Links

• Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task
  New arXiv research shows relying on ChatGPT dulls neural engagement and weakens writing skills compared to search or free writing. EEG readings revealed the lowest brain activity among LLM users.
  Source: arXiv · June 10, 2025
• Amazon CEO says AI agents will soon reduce company’s corporate workforce
  Andy Jassy forecasts a future where generative-AI handles many office roles, trimming Amazon’s white-collar headcount: “We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today.”
  Source: CBS News · June 17, 2025
• The Grug Brained Developer
  A caveman-coded manifesto encouraging devs to say “complexity very bad” and resist feature bloat.
  Source: grugbrain.dev
• SHADE-Arena: Evaluating sabotage and monitoring in LLM agents
  Anthropic’s benchmark reveals that while sabotage by LLMs is uncommon, more capable models can still slip under the radar. A reminder that complexity brings power — and risk.
  Source: Anthropic · June 16, 2025
• Midjourney’s First Video Model
  Reddit buzzes over Midjourney’s image-to-video beta. Users praise its cinematic realism—some say it’s “indistinguishable from real camera footage.”
  Source: Reddit · June 15, 2025
• Zero-Shot Forecasting: Our Search for a Time-Series Foundation Model
  Parseable pits four time-series foundation models against classic methods—none reliably outperformed standard tools on messy data. Zero-shot remains aspirational.
  Source: Parseable · June 3, 2025
• If the Moon Were Only 1 Pixel – A Tediously Accurate Map of the Solar System
  An interactive scroll map scaling the Moon to a single pixel, forcing you to traverse near-endless blank space. As the author says: “It’s the empty space that’s a problem.”
  Source: JoshWorth.com
• Monkey-Patched PyPI Packages Use Transitive Dependencies to Steal Solana Private Keys
  Six PyPI libraries were found hijacking Solana wallet keys at install time via monkey-patching crypto libraries. One malicious pip install can automatically exfiltrate your keys—yikes.
  Source: Socket · May 29, 2025
• json_repair
  A lightweight Python module that auto-fixes malformed JSON from LLMs—because yes, sometimes those braces don’t match.
  Source: GitHub

We'd love to hear your feedback ❤️ 

DuckLake: SQL as a Lakehouse Format | DuckDB Blog (May 27 2025)
DuckDB’s new DuckLake format proposes shifting all lakehouse metadata into a regular SQL database so open-format data lakes can gain true transactional speed and simplicity. “DuckLake re-imagines what a ‘Lakehouse’ format should look like,” the authors write, arguing it eliminates the maze of JSON files and external catalog services. If adopted, DuckLake could let organizations treat Parquet-backed blob storage like a fast, ACID-compliant warehouse without vendor lock-in. (duckdb.org)

Magistral | Mistral AI (Jun 10 2025)
Mistral AI has unveiled Magistral, its first reasoning-centric language model, releasing a 24-billion-parameter open version alongside a more powerful enterprise tier. As the company puts it, “Magistral is designed to think things through — in ways familiar to us,” offering transparent, multilingual chain-of-thought and 10× faster replies in Le Chat. By open-sourcing the small model and touting competitive benchmarks, Mistral positions itself as a nimble challenger to the big LLM providers. (mistral.ai)

The hidden time bomb in the tax code that's fueling mass tech layoffs | Quartz
A little-noticed tweak to U.S. tax code Section 174 that took effect in 2022 made R&D costs dramatically more expensive, quietly spurring hundreds of thousands of tech layoffs. One startled executive admitted, “I work on these tax write-offs and still hadn’t heard about this,” underscoring how the change blindsided companies large and small. With repeal efforts now winding through Congress, the episode shows how obscure fiscal fine print can ripple through innovation hubs and local economies alike. (qz.com)

Where we’re headed with the dbt Fusion engine | dbt Labs (May 28 2025)
Founder Tristan Handy lays out how the freshly launched Fusion engine—a complete rewrite of dbt Core—will speed parsing 30-fold, enable local execution, and one-day transpile SQL across data platforms. “Today, we launched the dbt Fusion engine, a complete rewrite of dbt from the ground up,” he explains, framing the overhaul as essential for scale. The roadmap suggests dbt could slash warehouse costs and free teams from vendor lock-in, marking a bold shift from incremental tweaks to deep platform bets. (getdbt.com)

Introducing Claude 4 | Anthropic (May 22 2025)
Anthropic’s Claude 4 family—Opus 4 and Sonnet 4—promises state-of-the-art coding, extended tool use, and improved memory for multi-hour agent workflows. The post touts that “Claude Opus 4 is the world’s best coding model,” citing a 72.5 percent SWE-bench score and new parallel tool execution. By keeping prices steady and expanding availability across AWS, Google, and its own API, Anthropic aims to cement Claude as developers’ go-to frontier model. (anthropic.com)

Scrapling | GitHub
Scrapling is an open-source Python library that claims stealthy, high-performance web scraping with automatic adaptation to site changes and anti-bot defenses. Its README highlights that “Scrapling is a high-performance, intelligent web scraping library for Python that automatically adapts to website changes.” With more than 5,000 stars and an April 2025 release, the project shows continuing demand for lightweight, developer-friendly scraping tools that outsmart detection. (github.com)

Apple Researchers Just Released a Damning Paper That Pours Water on the Entire AI Industry | Futurism (Jun 09 2025)
An Apple research team argues that leading “reasoning” language models plateau and even collapse on complex puzzles, challenging industry claims of true machine reasoning. Their study warns that “frontier [reasoning models] face a complete accuracy collapse beyond certain complexities,” calling current performance an “illusion of thinking.” The finding could temper expectations for next-gen LLMs and intensify scrutiny of benchmarking just as Apple readies its own AI features. (futurism.com)

Bill Atkinson Dies From Cancer at 74 | Daring Fireball (Jun 07 2025)
John Gruber reports that pioneering Macintosh programmer Bill Atkinson passed away at home on June 5 after battling pancreatic cancer. His family shared that “he was at home in Portola Valley in his bed, surrounded by family,” remembering him as “a remarkable person.” Gruber calls Atkinson perhaps “the most essential” coder on the original Mac team, noting his innovations in QuickDraw, MacPaint, and HyperCard still shape software today. (daringfireball.net)

Ow yeah... while we said that we would start numbering at 0, our podcast hosting platform doesn't support it 🙈

Thanks for listening!

Much love,
Murilo & Bart

Creators & Guests

• Bart Smeets - Host
• Murilo Kuniyoshi Suzart Cunha - Host