Friday, June 27, 2025

Sources: Mark Zuckerberg and his lieutenants have discussed "de-investing" in Llama in favor of AI models from competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic (New York Times)

New York Times:
Sources: Mark Zuckerberg and his lieutenants have discussed “de-investing” in Llama in favor of AI models from competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic  —  Unhappy with his company's artificial intelligence efforts, Meta's C.E.O. is on a spending spree as he reconsiders his strategy …



Q&A with Peter Thiel on economic and technological stagnation, US growth and dynamism, supporting President Trump in 2016, the future and risks of AI, and more (Ross Douthat/New York Times)

Ross Douthat / New York Times:
Q&A with Peter Thiel on economic and technological stagnation, US growth and dynamism, supporting President Trump in 2016, the future and risks of AI, and more  —  The original tech right power player on A.I., Mars and immortality.  — 1.7k … Ross Douthat: Is Silicon Valley recklessly ambitious?



European Commission says Meta has proposed limited changes to its pay-or-consent ad model, and Meta faces daily fines if it determines they are not sufficient (Reuters)

Reuters:
European Commission says Meta has proposed limited changes to its pay-or-consent ad model, and Meta faces daily fines if it determines they are not sufficient  —  Meta Platforms made only limited changes to its pay-or-consent model, and EU regulators cannot confirm compliance with an antitrust order.



Monday, June 23, 2025

Study: only 32 countries, mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, host AI data centers, with the US, China, and the EU controlling 50%+ of the world's top facilities (New York Times)

New York Times:
Study: only 32 countries, mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, host AI data centers, with the US, China, and the EU controlling 50%+ of the world's top facilities  —  Only 32 nations, mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, have A.I.-specialized data centers.  —  E.U. 28  —  China  —  Other  —  Europe



Sources: Apple is locked in last-minute EU negotiations over App Store changes to avoid fines set for this week, and is expected to offer "steering" concessions (Barbara Moens/Financial Times)

Barbara Moens / Financial Times:
Sources: Apple is locked in last-minute EU negotiations over App Store changes to avoid fines set for this week, and is expected to offer “steering” concessions  —  Tech group must make concessions to comply with Digital Markets Act or be hit by escalating levies from Thursday



How Walmart, seeking to compete with e-commerce rivals like Amazon, built a multibillion-dollar HQ in Bentonville, aiming to attract workers and woo shoppers (Kevin Draper/New York Times)

Kevin Draper / New York Times:
How Walmart, seeking to compete with e-commerce rivals like Amazon, built a multibillion-dollar HQ in Bentonville, aiming to attract workers and woo shoppers  —  The retailing giant is spending billions to attract workers to a new headquarters and woo shoppers with drone delivery and a broader range of items …



Tesla quietly launches its robotaxi service in Austin, with ~10 vehicles and a human safety driver; Elon Musk says customers will pay "a $4.20 flat fee" (Financial Times)

Financial Times:
Tesla quietly launches its robotaxi service in Austin, with ~10 vehicles and a human safety driver; Elon Musk says customers will pay “a $4.20 flat fee”  —  Self-driving technology on which Elon Musk has staked the future of his company debuts in Texas



MediaTek says it has started to use Intel Foundry's advanced chip packaging in addition to TSMC's, as the mobile chip designer bets on AI demand for growth (Cheng Ting-Fang/Nikkei Asia)

Cheng Ting-Fang / Nikkei Asia : MediaTek says it has started to use Intel Foundry's advanced chip packaging in addition to TSMC's...