China’s tech giants splash out on AI despite US restrictions: Capital spending doubles as Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu buy processors and infrastructure behind the training of large language models. FT
The world’s call center capital is gripped by AI fever — and fear: The experiences of staff in the Philippines’ outsourcing industry are a preview of the challenges and choices coming soon to white-collar workers around the globe. Bloomberg
Elon Musk backs California bill to regulate AI: By backing the legislation, the bombastic tech billionaire breaks with some of Silicon Valley’s most powerful players. Politico
Why Texas Republicans are souring on crypto: Playing the state’s energy market has become more profitable than mining bitcoin. Economist
Is that voice real or AI? This startup says it can tell: Bloomberg reports Pindrop Security works with banks to identify spam calls — it’s coming to social media next.
AP: Police officers are starting to use AI chatbots to write crime reports. Will they hold up in court?
Amazon aims to launch delayed AI Alexa subscription in October: WP reports the revamp of the voice assistant, which documents say will include a daily AI-generated news summary, would come just weeks before the US presidential election.
What all parents can learn from the troubled AI in Los Angeles schools: An education expert says schools fail to ask essential questions about AI for children: Does it work? And is it better than other alternatives? WP
AI doomers had their big moment: Did they waste it? Ross Andersen
The AI guys are driving themselves mad John Herrman
How would we even know if AI went rogue? An early warning system could help fix the dangerous information gap between Big Tech and the US. Vox
When AI’s outpost is a threat to AI itself: As AI-generated data becomes harder to detect, it’s increasingly likely to be ingested by future AI, leading to worse results. TheUpshot
'It looks like cat food': The grey goop dreamed up by artificial intelligence BBC
Nvidia rally mints millionaires too busy to bask in new wealth: Many of the chipmaker’s employees have grown rich but still face a stress-filled work life. Bloomberg
Chip challengers try to break Nvidia’s grip on AI market: FT reports companies such as Cerebras, d-Matrix and Groq are focusing on cheaper, more specialised products.
Hungry for clean energy, Facebook looks to a new type of geothermal: As electricity demand from data centers soars, Meta and Google are looking at a novel solution: harnessing clean heat far below Earth’s surface. NYT
Will AI ruin the planet or save the planet? It’s a notorious energy hog. But artificial intelligence can also foster innovation and discovery, and it could speed the global transition to cleaner power. NYT
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
