AI @ Noon | December 12

China AI military use spurs latest US chip export controls, analysts say: Nikkei reports lessons from Ukraine and Israel show rapid escalation in speed and scale of combat.

ElevenLabs’ AI voice generation ‘very likely’ used in a Russian influence operation: TC reports one recent campaign was “very likely” helped by commercial AI voice generation products, including tech publicly released by the hot startup ElevenLabs, according to a recent report from Massachusetts-based threat intelligence company Recorded Future.

+ The report describes a Russian-tied campaign designed to undermine Europe’s support for Ukraine, dubbed “Operation Undercut,” that prominently used AI-generated voiceovers on fake or misleading “news” videos.

AI weapons and the dangerous illusion of human control: America must let autonomous systems operate more freely in war. Sebastian Elbaum + Jonathan Panter

FTC: President-elect Donald Trump tapped Federal Trade Commissioner Andrew Ferguson to lead the consumer protection and antitrust agency. Trump also selected Mark Meador, a former aide to Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) to be confirmed as the third Republican on the FTC.

The criminal’s ‘go-to cryptocurrency’ has a new friend in the White House: Howard Lutnick has defended the stablecoin company which has been used by gangs and US adversaries. FT

How tech's right-wing elite made 'debanking' claims into a political rallying point: Highly influential figures in tech, including Elon Musk and Marc Andreessen, allege the cryptocurrency industry is a victim of banking discrimination. NBC News

New: Launch of ETO AGORA ( Emerging Technology Observatory - AI Governance and Regulatory Archive): A living collection of AI-relevant laws, regulations, standards, and other governance documents from the United States and worldwide. Updated regularly, AGORA includes summaries, document text, thematic tags, and filters to help you quickly discover and analyze key developments in AI governance. Access here.

AI thinks differently than people do. Here’s why that matters. Generative AI isn’t the strategic oracle many say it is. Like any other form of AI, it is a mirror that reflects patterns, trends, and decisions of the past. It cannot reliably break new ground or generate truly novel solutions given that it relies on pre-existing data and learned probabilities. Teppo Felin + Matthias Holweg

Microsoft’s Mustafa Suleyman hires ex-DeepMind staff for AI health unit: FT reports the rival companies are racing to create lucrative applications from cutting-edge technology.

What do the gods of generative AI have in store for 2025? OpenAI and Google have unveiled their next generation of products. Economist

Adobe fell in extended trading after giving a disappointing annual sales outlook, underscoring anxieties that the creative software company may lose business to emerging artificial intelligence-based startups.

Google introduced Gemini 2.0, which the company says is twice as fast as its predecessor and more powerful than the larger "pro" version of Gemini 1.5.

Google launched Gemini 2.0, its new AI model for practically everything: The Verge reports Gemini 2.0 can generate images and audio, is faster and cheaper to run, and is meant to make AI agents possible.

Google unveils AI agent that can use websites on its own: The experimental tool can browse spreadsheets, shopping sites and other services, before taking action on behalf of the computer user. NYT

Google rolls out faster Gemini AI model to power agents: Company expects AI assistants will follow its users around the web. Bloomberg

Google races to bring AI-powered ‘agents’ to consumers: FT reports the tech group unveils Gemini upgrades as it battles Apple and OpenAI in making practical AI assistants for the masses.

Google’s new AI projects aren’t ready for the masses yet. Good! Google DeepMind is showing off an AI assistant that sees and a Chrome extension that can browse the web on its own. They’re for testing purposes only—and that makes sense. FC

The GPT era is already ending The Atlantic

Their job is to push computers toward AI doom: It’s largely up to companies to determine whether their AI is capable of superhuman harm. At Anthropic, the Frontier Red Team looks for the danger zone. WSJ

Character dot ai is being sued for encouraging kids to self-harm: FC reports the lawsuit alleges that Character dot AI “poses a clear and present danger to American youth.”

Get ready for ‘long thinking,’ AI’s next leap forward: A new generation of AI models will take its time to reason, providing more reliable answers to increasingly complex questions. Steven Rosenbush

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | December 11

From TikTok to Nvidia, the tech war is getting uglier: ByteDance's current dilemma is a taste of what's to come as more firms will get pinched from both the US and Chinese sides. Catherine Thorbecke

China launches antitrust investigation into Nvidia: Nikkei reports Beijing alleges the chipmaker also violated terms of Mellanox acquisition approval.

'The Paris AI summit will act against the risks and for the benefits of AI': Anne Bouverot is tasked by the Elysée Palace with organizing an AI summit in February, bringing together companies, NGOs, and 100 heads of state. Le Monde

US aim to lead on AI threatened by land shortage: Power-hungry high-tech industries are driving demand for sites with ready access to the power grid. FT

+ In a 2024 survey by the Site Selector's Guild, nearly two-thirds of the people involved in securing US industrial sites cited their scarcity as the top factor impeding new projects. 

+ President-elect Donald Trump said his administration would help expedite permits for any person or company that invested at least $1 billion in the US.

Who is David Sacks, Trump’s pick for AI and crypto czar? The tech investor made his money through early bets on Uber and other startups. He built his reputation as a conservative provocateur. WSJ

The PayPal Mafia is taking over America’s government: America’s right-wing tech bros are celebrating Donald Trump’s victory. Economist

‘Friendlier climate toward new technology’ expected under Trump, venture capitalist says. What that means for AI, crypto CNBC

Eric Trump promises the ‘most pro-crypto president’ in history: NYT reports speaking at a Middle East conference, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s son said his family had embraced cryptocurrency because some banks stopped doing business with them after Jan. 6.

AP: Elon Musk signifies he’ll go beyond supporting Trump to serve as his political enforcer

+ Elon Musk said his political action committee would “play a significant role in primaries.”

Don’t assume AI is always the answer, says US Space Force data and AI chief: Generative AI technology is exciting and full of sci-fi potential, but it’s good old GPS and weather data that keeps Chandra Donelson up at night. Fortune

An AI companion suggested he kill his parents. Now his mom is suing. WP reports a new Texas lawsuit against Character dot ai, alleging its chatbots poisoned a son against his family, is part of a push to increase oversight of AI companions.

Years of Reddit posts have made the company an AI darling: WSJ reports the social-media veteran is profiting from feeding artificial-intelligence companies’ insatiable appetite for conversational text.

OpenAI’s video generator, Sora, aims to kickstart the AI video era: WP reports the artificial intelligence video creation tool can be used to make commercials, films — and maybe deepfakes.

In 2025, AI will elevate the CIO role. Here’s why: In 2025, internal pressures within enterprises will accelerate the move to mandatory AI governance. FC

Fortune: Motorola Solutions CTO says AI-powered ‘smart’ surveillance cameras will make the world safer

Gentrace makes it easier for businesses to test AI-powered software: The company’s new framework lets even non-coders tweak parameters and find ways to optimize AI performance. FC

CNBC: Alphabet shares jump 6% after Google touts ‘breakthrough’ quantum chip

Catholic church in Switzerland finds an opportunity for a spirited debate about AI: NPR reports an art installation by a Catholic church in Switzerland allowed visitors to step into a confessional and have a conversation with a digital Jesus that gave AI generated answers.

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | December 4

China bans rare mineral exports to the US: The move escalates supply chain warfare and comes a day after the Biden administration expanded curbs on the sale of advanced American technology to China. NYT

China blocks exports of chip materials gallium, germanium to US: Beijing says move is in response to Washington 'weaponizing' trade curbs. Nikkei

Bloomberg: Chinese hackers are lingering inside telecom firms, US says

+ US telecommunications companies are still working to kick out state-sponsored Chinese hackers who breached their networks as part of a spying campaign that dates back months, US officials said Tuesday.

Donald Trump is reportedly set to pick the crypto enthusiast Paul Atkins to lead the SEC: FC reports since 2017, Atkins has cochaired the Token Alliance, an industry-led initiative that represents crypto’s interests.

Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg seeks ‘active role’ in Donald Trump’s tech policies: Policy chief Nick Clegg says social media company ‘overdid it’ on content moderation, as it seeks to placate president-elect. FT

How close is AI to human-level intelligence? Large language models such as OpenAI’s o1 have electrified the debate over achieving artificial general intelligence, or AGI. But they are unlikely to reach this milestone on their own. Nature

An agenda to maximise AI’s benefits and minimise harms, by David Patterson: How technologists, researchers and policymakers can reassure people AI will serve the public good. Economist

AI, huge hacks leave consumers facing a perfect storm of privacy perils: Nearly unlimited highly personal info is available for anyone willing to pay. AI provides many ways to turn that into illicit profit or undermine national security. WP

A current Apple employee is suing the company, alleging it spies on employees’ private lives through their personal devices Fortune

‘Data brokers’ are selling your private information. This watchdog wants to fix that: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is proposing strict regulations to protect Americans’ private information. FC

Wall Street’s AI-powered rally risks ‘correction’, Vanguard warns: FT reports asset manager’s chief economist Joe Davis says investors are overplaying the near-term potential of the technology.

AWS is betting on generative AI as it goes head-to-head with Microsoft: FT reports CEO Matt Garman says technology can be deployed in business applications and fuel new demand for cloud services.

Amazon launches AI models to challenge rivals: AFP reports Amazon on Tuesday unveiled a suite of artificial intelligence models in its boldest move yet to compete with tech giant rivals in the fast-growing generative AI sector.

Amazon announces a set of Nova AI models: FC reports the company’s Nova models can help power generative AI applications.

Amazon announces supercomputer, new server powered by homegrown AI chips: WSJ reports the company’s megacluster of chips for artificial-intelligence startup Anthropic will be among the world’s largest, it said, and its new giant server will lower the cost of AI as it seeks to build an alternative to Nvidia.

The furious contest to unseat Nvidia as king of AI chips: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, and several start-ups are beginning to offer credible alternatives to Nvidia’s chips, especially for a phase of AI development known as “inferencing.” NYT

We’re all suffering from qualitynesia now: Borne along on the tide of technology, it is far too easy to forget that some things really were better quality in the past. Sarah O’Connor

The world needs more electricity—but don’t blame AI, Microsoft president Brad Smith says Fortune

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | December 3

China calls US’s new restrictions on the Asian nation’s access to vital components for chips and AI are “economic coercion,” according to a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. 

Inside the AI back-channel between China and the West: Computer scientists are reaching out across the geopolitical divide to try to stop an apocalypse. 1843 Magazine

What changing US AI policy means to South Korea: Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election earlier this month, securing another four-year term as the leader of the world’s most powerful country, has sent shockwaves across the globe and through various sectors on a magnitude and scope not seen in many years. Yoo Choon-sik

+ While details of the US AI policy under a second Trump term, starting in late January 2025, remain unconfirmed, the Center for AI Policy recently predicted that he would likely “radically scale back” regulation and prioritize “promoting American competitiveness, particularly regarding China.”

CNBC: How Trump’s mass deportation plan can use AI to extend immigration crackdown

+ The Department of Homeland Security allocated $5 million in its 2025 budget to open an AI Office, and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has called AI a “transformative technology.”

+ AI-aided surveillance towers, “Robodogs”, and facial recognition tools are all currently being used in homeland security in some capacity, and could be ramped up even further in the mass deportation plan floated by President-elect Donald Trump.

+ However, experts worry that increased use of AI by the DHS could lead to privacy and due process violations.

Will Musk’s ‘algorithm’ reduce military inefficiency—or increase risk? It's good to question Pentagon requirements. But many exist for deadly serious reasons that may not be obvious in a hasty review. Defense One

What the departing White House chief tech advisor has to say on AI: We discussed AI risks, immigration, the CHIPS Act, and eroding trust in science. James O'Donnell

The way we measure progress in AI is terrible: Many of the most popular benchmarks for AI models are outdated or poorly designed. Scott J Mulligan

Elon Musk filed an injunction to stop OpenAI from shifting away from its nonprofit structure.

Former Google, Stripe executives raise $56 million for AI agent startup: Bloomberg reports the company is looking to build an operating system to support a new crop of artificial intelligence products.

This website shows how much Google’s AI can glean from your photos: A photo-sharing startup founded by an ex-Google engineer found a clever way to turn Google’s tech against itself. Wired

Bloomberg: Apple readies more conversational Siri in bid to catch up in AI

+ Company is working on overhaul that employees call ‘LLM Siri’

+ Unveiling planned for next year, with rollout coming in 2026

Artists say they leaked OpenAI’s Sora video model in protest: “Artists are not your unpaid R&D,” their open letter reads. The Verge 

Nvidia’s new AI audio model can synthesize sounds that have never existed: What does a screaming saxophone sound like? The Fugatto model has an answer. ARS Tech

How Indigenous engineers are using AI to preserve their culture: Indigenous languages are rapidly disappearing, and AI could help preserve them, according to Indigenous technologists. NBC News

Bloomberg: AI startup Helsing is now making attack drones for Europe

+ New weapon designed to hit targets without need for GPS

+ Startup’s software will also be in strike drones for Ukraine

Larry Ellison tech institute unveils Oxford university tie-up: FT reports the initial £100mn investment comes as UK tries to improve record on building tech companies.

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | December 2

Biden’s farewell to China’s tech sector: A new type of forbidden chip: WSJ reports the US has restricted the export of memory chips used in AI applications, but a delayed announcement gave Chinese companies a chance to stock up.

Biden targets China’s chip industry with wider trade bans: NYT reports new rules prohibit the sale of certain types of chips and equipment to China, in an effort to close loopholes and cement the Biden administration’s legacy in countering the US rival.

US hits China’s chip industry with new export controls: FT reports parting measures by Biden administration aim to slow Beijing’s development of AI with military applications.

Bloomberg: US tightens curbs on China’s access to AI memory and chips tools

+ New rules affect 27 types of chip design and fabrication tools

+ US to sanction 140 Chinese entities; curb US, foreign-made HBM

How Ukraine uses cheap AI-guided drones to deadly effect against Russia: Ukraine is making tens of thousands of them. Economist

Biden’s economic legacy tied to fate of his industrial policies: Companies have committed nearly $400bn since he signed flagship legislation. But will it last? FT

Amazon Web Services CEO promises ‘needle-moving’ AI updates: WSJ reports as the cloud-computing leader kicks off its re:Invent conference, Chief Executive Matt Garman says there is no end in sight to the artificial intelligence race.

WSJ: AI ads can look weird. Brands like Coca-Cola are making them anyway.

OpenAI explores advertising as it steps up revenue drive: ChatGPT maker hires advertising talent from big tech rivals. FT

OpenAI targets 1bn users in next phase of growth: FT reports ChatGPT-maker aims for big boost from new AI products, Apple partnership and infrastructure investment.

Bloomberg: Intel CEO Gelsinger leaves as chipmaker’s turnaround flounders

+ Company’s CFO and product CEO to serve as interim leaders

+ Once industry leader, Intel has struggled in shift toward AI

Intel announces retirement of CEO Pat Gelsinger: BusinessWire reports David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus named interim Co-CEOs. Holthaus also appointed to the newly created position of CEO of Intel Products. Frank Yeary named interim executive chair.

MicroStrategy bought another $1.5 billion in Bitcoin, the fourth consecutive weekly purchase announced by the crypto hedge fund proxy.

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | November 20

Commerce: Trump says he has chosen Howard Lutnick, Cantor Fitzgerald's chief executive, as his Commerce secretary nominee.

Bloomberg: Trump picks Cantor Fitzgerald’s Lutnick as commerce chief

+ Executive will help lead tariff and trade agenda under Trump

+ President-elect still weighing choices for Treasury secretary

Why the crypto community loves Howard Lutnick, Trump’s pick for Commerce secretary: If confirmed, Lutnick will be in regular talks with CEOs in the business community—and could be an influential evangelist of crypto acceptance. FC

The US Patent and Trademark Office banned staff from using generative AI: Wired reports the agency dedicated to protecting new innovations prohibited almost all internal use of GenAI tools, though employees can still participate in controlled experiments.

US government commission pushes Manhattan Project-style AI initiative: Reuters reports a congressional commission on Tuesday proposed a Manhattan Project-style initiative to fund the development of AI systems that will be as smart or smarter than humans, amid intensifying competition with China over advanced technologies. The bipartisan US-China Economic and Security Review Commission stressed that public-private partnerships are key in advancing artificial general intelligence, but did not give any specific investment strategies as it released its annual report.

Meta opens its AI models for the (US) military but will the second Trump administration see AI as a friend or foe? IEEE

San Francisco’s mayor-elect picks Sam Altman to co-chair transition team: FC reports Daniel Lurie wants to rebuild the city’s relationships with tech and business leaders. Altman can certainly help on that front.

Reuters: OpenAI's Sam Altman becomes latest tech executive involved in San Francisco government

How Mark Zuckerberg has fully rebuilt Meta around Llama Fortune

+ Zuckerberg has pushed Meta to build Llama into all its products and services, including its Orion augmented reality glasses.

Rox, a startup developing artificial intelligence-powered agents for salespeople, has raised $50 million from investors, including Sequoia Capital and General Catalyst.

Artificial intelligence models are getting better at predicting the paths of hurricanes: Earlier this year, a model called GraphCast from Google’s DeepMind AI lab was able to accurately predict the path of Hurricane Beryl, forecasting that it’d take a turn away from Mexico and hit Texas. That prediction was correct — and came a week earlier than conventional meteorological models.

AI can learn to think before it speaks: Advances in reasoning will lead to substantially improved capabilities in mathematics and science. Yoshua Bengio

50: Foxconn said that AI-specific servers will comprise 50% of its total server revenue next year, citing “very crazy” demand for access to Nvidia’s AI chips.

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | November 13

UK to trial sales of blockchain-based gilts within two years: Bloomberg the UK plans to begin issuing digital gilts within the next two years, as the government latches onto technology it’s been slow to embrace.

+ Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce a digital issuance trial in her Mansion House speech to the City of London on Thursday, according to people familiar with the matter. Chancellors traditionally use the forum to announce policies to support the financial industry.

+ The new Labour government is striving to modernize its financial markets, in this case by using blockchain technology that underpins Bitcoin to “tokenize” its government debt. The hope is that it will make gilt trading faster and cheaper.

In Europe, Instagram ads are about to get less personal: WSJ reports Meta faces pressure to ask before using data to target ads or train artificial intelligence.

French newspapers to sue Elon Musk’s X over copyright violations: The Times reports a coalition of media outlets say the billionaire’s social media platform is using their content without paying for it.

Le Monde and several French newspapers sue X over 'neighboring rights' payments: AFP reports several news organizations accused the social media platform formerly known as Twitter of running their content without payment.

Chinese army unveils robot wolf, the new leader of the AI pack: The Times reports the Quadrupedal Unmanned Ground Vehicle Wolf is a step up from recent robodogs — it can run, obey commands … and has its own automatic rifle.

Biden admin to support controversial UN cybercrime convention: Politico reports the decision follows months of internal deliberations over whether to support the treaty, which digital rights groups have raised serious concerns over due to its potential misuse by countries like Russia and China.

Bloomberg: Biden administration to support controversial UN cyber treaty

+ Critics fear it could be misused by authoritarian countries

+ Agreement would help pursuit of cybercriminals, official says

From AI to hardware costs: Enterprise tech leaders prepare for Trump 2.0: The president-elect’s focus on tariffs and reducing regulation could affect hardware costs and AI deployments, and set off an M&A frenzy, CIOs say. WSJ

84,653: The price of bitcoin hit a record high of $84,653 on Monday afternoon on hopes that President-elect Donald Trump will offer cryptocurrency-friendly policies. A year ago, bitcoin sold for about $37,000.

Why crypto mania is reaching new heights: Are bitcoin bros right to be so thrilled by Donald Trump’s victory? Economist

Silicon Valley protested Trump in 2016. Now it wants to work with him. Donald Trump’s first White House win triggered public outcry from tech executives and employees but this week, industry leaders were friendlier. WP

Meta will offer paid subscription plans, with no ads, to Facebook and Instagram users in Europe.

AI groups rush to redesign model testing and create new benchmarks: Rapidly advancing technology is surpassing current methods of evaluating and comparing large language models. FT

+ OpenAI’s next artificial intelligence model, Orion, reportedly isn’t showing the massive leap in improvement previous versions have enjoyed. 

AI-generated images threaten science — here’s how researchers hope to spot them: Generative-AI technologies can create convincing scientific data with ease — publishers and integrity specialists fear a torrent of faked science. Nature

Which workers are embracing AI? A subset said the technology could help them work faster—but many still won’t use it. CBR

Reuters: Baidu bolsters AI lineup with enhanced text-to-image tech, no-code app builder 

China’s Baidu joins Meta in race to make AI-integrated smart glasses: FT reports the launch comes as Chinese internet groups jostle for dominance in hardware.

Baidu boasts strong AI user growth alongside launch of first smart glasses: SCMP reports at Baidu World 2024, where it announced the new Xiaodu AI Glasses, CEO Robin Li said the Ernie model now sees 1.5 billion API calls per day.

Apple, aiming to catch up with rivals in the smart home market, is nearing the launch of a new product category: a wall-mounted display that can control appliances, handle videoconferencing, and use AI to navigate apps.

Reuters:  Shopify delivers upbeat holiday forecast as AI draws customers, shares surge

Salesforce plans to hire more than 1,000 workers to sell its new generative AI agent product.

OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman has returned to the artificial intelligence startup three months after taking a leave from his role as president, bringing a key figure back to the C-suite amid an exodus of top executives.

+ "We've started a war between technological productivity and human skill, and skill is losing." — Matt Beane, a Digital Fellow at the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, in his new book "The Skill Code: How to Save Human Ability in an Age of Intelligent Machines," looks at how technologies such as robots and AI can interfere with old ways of learning, with potentially devastating consequences.

Amazon steps up effort to build AI chips that can rival Nvidia: Big Tech group’s Annapurna Labs is spending big to build custom chips that lessen its reliance on market leader. FT

Bloomberg: Southern CEO says extending coal among options to meet AI demand

+ Utility head open to keeping coal plant online longer

+ Companies scrambling to secure power amid expected demand hike

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | November 7

UK will legislate against AI risks in next year, pledges Kyle: Science secretary says voluntary accord with developers of fast-evolving technology is ‘working.’ FT

UK government launches new AI safety platform for businesses: Science and tech secretary Peter Kyle wants country to be global leader in testing safety of new technology. FT

The scramble is on to fill out Trump’s cabinet: President-elect’s transition team sorts through spreadsheets as allies float names. WSJ

President-elect’s team already eyeing contenders for top appointments: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Vivek Ramaswamy are among those being considered for cabinet positions, according to people familiar with the deliberations. WP

Who will run Donald Trump’s new administration? The new US president is expected to prize loyalty in his picks for key posts. FT

Robots are taking over low-skilled jobs — and changing votes: Automation is reducing job mobility for low-skilled workers, which can influence political preferences, according to research from Wharton’s Pinar Yildirim. K@W

What Big Tech CEOs want from a second Trump presidency: Leaders of Silicon Valley’s giants hope for a more permissive attitude on deals, antitrust, and AI in the next administration. FT

AI advocates see Trump re-election as industry boost but urge caution on policy Emerge

+ A priority of the next administration will be protecting the US’s position as an international AI leader, an issue Trump has promised.

+ The Center for AI Policy, a research organization that works to “mitigate catastrophic risks from AI,” warned the new administration against moving too fast.

“While there is certainly room to improve on the Biden AI executive order, a careless or hasty repeal could negatively affect the consistency and rigor of safety testing across the AI industry,” the group said in a statement emailed to Decrypt.

NYT: Bitcoin surges to record as crypto investors cheer Trump win

CNBC: Bitcoiners celebrate as $40 million campaign brings down Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown

+ Republican Bernie Moreno, a blockchain entrepreneur, won the Ohio Senate race, knocking off Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown

+ "This is what happens when you mess with the crypto army." -- Crypto twin Cameron Winklevoss celebrates the victory of blockchain entrepreneur Bernie Moreno, new Senator-elect for Ohio, in a post on X.

Crypto politics: Liberals’ and Conservatives’ confidence in cryptocurrencies: New research from Wharton marketing experts is helping to clarify what factors drive confidence in cryptocurrencies, despite the price swings, bank failures, and PR challenges. K@W

TI: TikTok sees Trump victory as app’s best hope

+ @JeffBezos: Big congratulations to our 45th and now 47th President on an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory. No nation has bigger opportunities. Wishing  @realDonaldTrump all success in leading and uniting the America we all love.

Trump’s victory is a major win for Elon Musk and big-money politics: The candidate largely let the billionaire run his $175 million ground game — a gamble that future candidates could look to emulate. NYT

Trump’s victory is a major win for Elon Musk and big-money politics: NYT reports the candidate largely let the billionaire run his $175 million ground game — a gamble that future candidates could look to emulate.

WP: Musk announces plans to push GOP candidates in 2026 midterms and beyond

Elon Musk’s gamble on Donald Trump pays off: Billionaire chief of Tesla and X looks set to take up influential adviser role in White House. FT

Recent breakthroughs in AI promise to improve employee productivity: Gallup finds that employees who use AI are using it most for idea generation (41%), information consolidation (39%), and task automation (39%). Employees who use AI also report that they find it helpful for their work. Nearly half of employees (45%) say that their productivity and efficiency in their role have improved because of AI.

A battle is raging over the definition of open-source AI: Companies that bet on the right one could win big. Economist

Big Tech goes bananas on AI spending: BI reports the AI frenzy shows no signs of slowing among the tech giants: Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft are expected to invest about $300 billion in the tech next year, according to Morgan Stanley. The bank said the spending spree is driven by generative AI and large-language model opportunities.

If Your tattoo was designed by AI, does it have a soul? Ink enthusiasts are divided over whether using artificial intelligence to design body art is fair game or taboo; ‘It’s like doing sports on steroids.’ WSJ

Mozilla is cutting 30% of staff. 

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc