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1/ Microsoft’s AI Dream Has a Human Cost — 9,000 and Counting

Microsoft’s laying off up to 9,000 workers—its fourth round of cuts this year—as it pours billions into AI and data centers. While it hasn’t said which teams are affected, reports suggest Xbox is taking a hit. The company’s betting big on AI, hiring names like Mustafa Suleyman and investing $80B in infrastructure, but it's also struggling to get businesses to use its Copilot tool over ChatGPT. Meanwhile, the AI talent war is heating up—Meta’s throwing out $100M signing bonuses, and Amazon’s already talking about AI replacing jobs. Tough times if you're not an AI engineer.

2/ Spotify’s Viral Band Wasn’t Real — It Was Suno All Along

An anonymous band racked up 500k monthly Spotify listeners before being exposed as an AI-generated “art hoax” by Rolling Stone. With no digital footprint and tracks made using Suno’s AI tool, suspicions flew across Reddit and Deezer flagged it. The group denied AI claims at first, calling it “trolling,” but later admitted using Suno’s Persona feature for consistent vocals. Spotify didn’t require disclosure, so the music quietly spread across 30+ playlists. It raises the question: do fans care who (or what) made the music, as long as it sounds good?

3/ Sakana AI Just Proved 3 Models Are Smarter Than One

Sakana AI just dropped a wild new algorithm called AB-MCTS that basically makes top AI models like ChatGPT, Gemini, and DeepSeek work together like a super team. Instead of one model trying (and failing) to solve complex problems solo, they tag in based on strengths—some do strategy, others handle code. The result? They solved 30% of tough ARC puzzles compared to 23% solo. Even cooler, they learn from each other’s mistakes. Sakana made the framework open-source as “TreeQuest,” so devs can build their own AI dream teams.

4/ OpenAI’s Legal “Nuclear Option” Could Blow Up Its Microsoft Ties

OpenAI and Microsoft are beefing—big time. Their $13B partnership is now at a “boiling point,” with OpenAI eyeing antitrust action over fights about compute access, IP rights (especially after its $3B Windsurf deal), and power plays. Microsoft’s grip on GitHub Copilot isn’t helping, and OpenAI’s already cozying up to Google to break free. The AI honeymoon’s over, and things are getting real messy.

5/ OpenAI Just Shot Its Shot at Google Chrome

OpenAI says it’d totally be down to buy Google Chrome—if the courts ever force Google to sell it. The comment came during a major antitrust trial where the DOJ is trying to break up Google’s dominance in online search. Google’s not having it, insisting Chrome isn’t up for grabs and calling the lawsuit bogus. OpenAI previously tried partnering with Google (no luck), and now it’s riding with Microsoft and Bing. Meanwhile, Google’s flexing Gemini, and OpenAI might even be cooking up its own social network. The AI wars just keep getting juicier.

Prompt: “Write the body copy for a promotional email campaign about GAP spring sale. Write in an upbeat and friendly tone.”

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