Weekly#638

  • What Sam Altman Told OpenAI About the Secret Device He’s Making With Jony Ive (WSJ)
  • AI Can’t Compete With Humans When It Comes to Reading the Room…People pick up on physical cues that artificial intelligence models miss (WSJ)
  • Apple Plans Glasses for 2026 as Part of AI Push, Nixes Watch With Camera
  • Microsoft says its Aurora AI can accurately predict air quality, typhoons, and more
  • The Economic and Workforce Impacts of Open Source AI
  • 100 things announced at I/O, Google I/O 2025 recap
  • Mozilla is shutting down Pocket
  • America’s Leading Alien Hunters Depend on AI to Speed Their Search
  • Google has a big AI advantage: it already knows everything about you
  • Paint, Snipping Tool, and Notepad updates with new features begin rolling out to Windows Insiders
  • Wisk Aero and NASA sign five-year partnership to advance sustainable autonomous flights

Weekly#637

  • OpenAI launches Codex, an AI coding agent, in ChatGPT
  • Klarna CEO: We’re Giving AI More Customer Service Work, Not Less.”…“Our agent, that we launched about a year ago, is still dealing with about 1.3 million errands per month,” Siemiatkowski told me, “which is the equivalent of what previously was done by about 800 people on a monthly basis…”
  • Vibe-coding startup Windsurf launches in-house AI models
  • An AI start-up behind a chatbot that replicates an investment banker has raised $50mn
  • According to the last poll by Ofcom, four out of five 13-17 year olds in the UK are using generative AI
  • FBI: US officials targeted in voice deepfake attacks since April
  • Netflix will show generative AI ads midway through streams in 2026
  • Meta Is Delaying the Rollout of Its Flagship AI Model
  • “…If you have an agent that really knows you, because it has kept this memory of conversations, it makes the whole service more sticky, so that once you’ve signed on to using [one product] you will never go to another one,” said Pattie Maes, a professor at MIT’s media lab and specialist in human interaction with AI…”
  • Apple’s new CarPlay Ultra is ready, but only in Aston Martins for now
  • “…Your Tesla has better AI than any US aircraft.Your Roomba has better autonomy than most of the Pentagon’s weapons systems. And your Snapchat filters,they rely on better computer vision than our most advanced military sensors…”
  • AlphaEvolve: A Gemini-powered coding agent for designing advanced algorithms
  • Netflix ad tier now has 94 million monthly active users

Weekly#636

  • “…Apple Inc. is “actively looking at” revamping the Safari web browser on its devices to focus on AI-powered search engines, a seismic shift for the industry hastened by the potential end of a longtime partnership with Google…”
  • In 2020, Apple’s share of App Store commissions was approximately $4.76 billion, growing to over $10.1 billion by 2024
  • OpenAI names Instacart leader Fidji Simo as new CEO of Applications
  • RSAC 2025: Why the AI agent era means more demand for CISOs
  • 37signals is completing its on-prem move, deleting its AWS account to save millions
  • ‘AI is already eating its own’: Prompt engineering is quickly going extinct
  • Linux kernel is leaving 486 CPUs behind, only 18 years after the last one made
  • Alibaba’s ‘ZeroSearch’ lets AI learn to google itself — slashing training costs by 88 percent
  • Apple is planning smart glasses with and without AR
  • Figma’s big AI update takes on Adobe, WordPress, and Canva
  • Ontario modular reactor to be first in “Western world,” GE predicts
  • Apple’s Eddy Cue: ‘You may not need an iPhone 10 years from now
  • Uber Autonomous Vehicles (AV) approximately 100 vehicles are now busier than over 99% of all drivers in Austin in terms of completed trips per day.
  • Don’t need much sleep? Mutation linked to thriving with little rest

Weekly#635

  • Apple reports Q2 revenue up 5% YoY to $95.4B, vs. $94.6B est., Q2 revenue from Services, which includes the App Store, Apple TV+, and Apple Music, up 12% YoY to $26.65B
  • Apple updates App Store Guidelines to allow links to external payments
  • Apple says Trump import tariffs will increase its costs by $900 million this quarter
  • Amazon CEO says 100,000 users now have Alexa+
  • Uber Launches Product for Seniors, With Rival Lyft Following Suit
  • NASA’s SPHEREx Space Telescope Begins Capturing Entire Sky
  • “…Mark Zuckerberg and Meta are pitching a vision of AI chatbots as an extension of your friend network and a potential solution to the “loneliness epidemic…”
  • An Interview with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg About AI and the Evolution of Social Media
  • Google funding electrician training as AI power crunch intensifies…will bring more than 100,000 sorely needed electricians into the trade to meet the demands of an AI-driven surge in data centers and power generation
  • “Microsoft…after 10 consecutive quarters of increased spending for artificial intelligence, the company has tapped on the brakes, according to financial results released Wednesday…”
  • Microsoft CEO says up to 30% of the company’s code was written by AI
  • Trust, attitudes and use of artificial intelligence KPMG
  • Large Language Models, Small Labor Market Effects
  • Visa and Mastercard unveil AI-powered shopping

Quarter Results AI Summary

Company (Ticker)Revenue (Value, YoY Growth %)Key Segment GrowthKey Notes
Apple (AAPL)$95.4B, +5%Services +12%Strong quarter with record Services revenue and significant capital returns ($100B buyback, dividend hike). However, results overshadowed by $900M projected Q3 tariff impact and strategic supply chain shift, moving significant iPhone/iPad production to India/Vietnam.
Amazon (AMZN)$155.7B, +9%AWS +17%, Ads +18%Beat Q1 estimates driven by strong Ad growth and steady AWS, though AWS growth rate slowed. Issued cautious Q2 operating income guidance below consensus, explicitly citing potential tariff risks as a headwind.
Microsoft (MSFT)$70.1B, +13% Azure +33% (+35% cc)Delivered a very strong quarter, beating estimates significantly, fueled by accelerating Azure growth (+33%/35%cc) driven by AI demand outpacing supply. AI business surpassed $13B run rate; reaffirmed massive $80B FY25 infrastructure investment plan.
Alphabet (GOOGL)$90.2B, +12% Cloud +28%Reported strong Q1 results beating estimates, driven by resilient Search/YouTube Ads and robust Cloud growth (+28%) fueled by AI. Announced first-ever dividend and $70B buyback, signaling maturity while continuing huge AI infrastructure investments (~$75B CapEx in 2025).
Meta Platforms (META)$42.3B, +16%Ads: Impressions +5%, Price +10%Beat Q1 estimates with strong revenue/EPS growth and raised FY25 CapEx guidance ($64-72B) for AI infrastructure. Faces significant EU regulatory risks impacting its ad model and a major copyright lawsuit over AI training data.