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<span class="preheader" style="color: transparent; display: none; height: 0; max-height: 0; max-width: 0; opacity: 0; overflow: hidden; mso-hide: all; visibility: hidden; width: 0;">Five useful things I’ve built so far. Plus: Grok caves, and Thinking Machines implodes</span>
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 ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­  
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<a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/2467a719?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" class="post-title-link" style="text-decoration: none; display: block; margin-top: 32px; text-align: center; line-height: 1.1em; overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #000000;" target="_blank">Claude Code for writers</a>
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<p class="post-excerpt post-excerpt-with-feature-image" style="margin: 0; color: #15212A; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.4em; text-align: center; padding-bottom: 28px;">Five useful things I’ve built so far. Plus: Grok caves, and Thinking Machines implodes</p>
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By Casey Newton • <span class="post-meta-date" style="white-space: nowrap;">15 Jan 2026 </span>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">(Shutterstock)</span>
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<p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><em>This is a column about Claude Code. My boyfriend works at Anthropic. See </em><a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/4a47310f?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><em><u>my full ethics disclosure here</u></em></a><em>.</em></p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">Three years ago this month, the prominent AI researcher and commentator Andrej Karpathy declared that “<a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/b8b92e9f?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>the hottest new programming language is English</u></a>.” At the time, ChatGPT was less than two months old, and millions of people were discovering that natural language could now be used to generate code. GPT-3.5 had demonstrated that large language models could follow complex instructions with increasing reliability. Karpathy’s tweet predicted a world where knowledge of a programming language would no longer be required to program.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">At the time, I remember a CEO friend of mine gently scoffing at the idea of English as a programming language. As the leader of an engineering team, he spent all day “programming” in English: giving projects to his engineers and telling them what to build. The method was less reliable than you might expect, he told me. In the eternal quest to build digital products by describing them in words, something almost always gets lost in translation.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">Over the next three years, the CEO’s experience matched my own. English is the only language in which I am fluent, and for the most part it made for a poor programming language. Unable to write anything more complicated than HTML, I found that the advent of vibe coding (another Karpathy coinage) largely passed me by. After every major new model release, I would dutifully ask it to build me some basic but ultimately useless piece of software. Programming remained something other people did. </p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">As I noted last week, <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/14f03c24?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>the release of Claude Opus 4.5 in Claude Code changed that</u></a>. In just about an hour of typing into a box — of programming in English, as Karpathy put it — I made a personal website that far surpassed anything I had been able to put together in Squarespace. Like my CEO friend’s engineers, Claude regularly made strange choices and outright errors that I would have to correct. Without too much effort, though, I was able to get the site that I asked for — as well as several features I never would have thought to build had Claude not suggested them.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">In the week since, amid a general craze for Claude Code, I have let my imagination run wild. In just a few days, I built a series of tools I expect to return to over and over again to help me in my work. As with my website, I don’t understand the underlying code at all. But for the moment, anyway, I’m not certain it matters. </p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">ChatGPT was <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/09f259c4?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>the moment when people woke up</u></a> to the power of LLMs to generate text. The Claude Code moment, while orders of magnitude smaller, strikes me as potentially just as significant. It's waking people up to LLMs' power to generate <em>tools</em>. And I suspect the consequences of this strange new ability will reverberate over the next several years. </p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">In the spirit of showing rather than telling, today I wanted to share a few of the things I’ve built for myself as a writer. Some are tools I’ve wanted for years. Others were suggested by Claude itself. All are things that I would not have been able to create before a few months ago.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">A couple caveats up top. One is that I’m not interested in AI tools that do the writing for me. I occasionally experiment with trying to get models to write in my voice, for the same reason you might check the area surrounding your tent for grizzly bears before camping for the night. But I’m almost always more interested in tools that improve my thinking, rather than substitute for it. </p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">That’s why you’ll note that a common thread running through these tools is that they help me make sense of things. To cover technology is to be at the center of a sprawling collection of characters, events, narratives, and history. Tools that help me capture and organize them are invaluable to me. </p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">Second, given my <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/f0eb3eff?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>conflict of interest</u></a>, I realize today’s edition may come across as wide-eyed Claude-glazing. Should that be a concern, I encourage you to swap out Claude for <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/a11e3116?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>OpenAI’s similar Codex</u></a> or <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/951d83af?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>Google’s Antigravity</u></a>, both of which should be capable of building software of similar quality. My goal here is not to persuade you to use any particular framework to tackle your project; it’s simply to suggest what is newly possible.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">If nothing else, Claude Code fulfills a desperate need that every writer has at one time or another: to procrastinate. So, with that said, here are some things writers can build with the tools now available — along with some notes on the obstacles I still find myself running into.</p><table class="kg-card kg-hr-card" role="presentation" width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: separate; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: top; color: #15212A; margin: 0; padding-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 3em; font-size: 17px;" valign="top"><!--[if !mso]><!-- --><hr style="position: relative; width: 100%; margin: 3em 0; padding: 0; height: 1px; background-color: transparent; border: 0; border-top: 1px solid #e0e7eb; display: none;"><!--<![endif]--><table class="kg-hr" role="presentation" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: separate; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; width: 100%;" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: top; color: #15212A; padding-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 3em; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-top: 1px solid #e0e7eb; font-size: 0; line-height: 0;" valign="top"> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Build a website</strong>. While I covered this last week, it’s worth saying that I think a website is the ideal place to start after downloading Claude Code. Every writer can benefit from having a website, and you probably already have a few things in mind for what might belong there. (If you don’t, ask Claude for some ideas.) </p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">Building a website with Claude Code will help familiarize you with the basic rhythms of this work. Type what you want into the box; Claude either goes forth and does it or asks follow-up questions to help you refine your idea. Look at the resulting product, then tell Claude what you want it to change.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">The best part about this project is that you don’t even have to publish the site Claude makes for you — you can just spend an hour or so building something locally and tweaking it to your liking. </p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">If you <em>do</em> like what you build, you can publish your site more cheaply than you would on Squarespace using a service like <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/cb39d44e?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>Netlify</u></a> (which I’m using at the moment) or <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/33af4d3c?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>GitHub Pages</u></a>. As a bonus, you can integrate a simple blog onto your site. I used <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/60e34de6?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>micro.blog</u></a>. </p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Where Claude falls short:</strong> If you’re working on local files, Claude moves very quickly. If it has to debug anything in your browser, though, it will go <em>much</em> more slowly, and ask for permission at every step of the way. I implemented a simple website in about an hour; the blog, which involved lots of Code poking around in various online services in Chrome tabs, was a half-day project. There was probably a faster way to do it, and I’ll never know what it is!</p><table class="kg-card kg-hr-card" role="presentation" width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: separate; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: top; color: #15212A; margin: 0; padding-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 3em; font-size: 17px;" valign="top"><!--[if !mso]><!-- --><hr style="position: relative; width: 100%; margin: 3em 0; padding: 0; height: 1px; background-color: transparent; border: 0; border-top: 1px solid #e0e7eb; display: none;"><!--<![endif]--><table class="kg-hr" role="presentation" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: separate; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; width: 100%;" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: top; color: #15212A; padding-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 3em; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-top: 1px solid #e0e7eb; font-size: 0; line-height: 0;" valign="top"> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Build a searchable database of your own work. </strong>I’ve always wanted a database of my writing that I could run semantic queries on. Stuff like: “When was the last time I wrote a column about Grok?” Or, “what criticisms have people made of the Meta Oversight Board?” It is possible to get answers to these questions via Google. But I’ve always wanted answers grounded in my own work, with quick links to the relevant materials. </p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">After describing this idea to Claude, it went to work. It exported 818 editions of <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Platformer </strong>into a folder of text files organized by date, and then connected it to Claude. Now when I ask Claude questions about my archive, it reads through relevant posts and gives me an answer. I have wanted something like this for nearly half a decade now, and Claude built it in less than half an hour. </p><!--members-only--><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Where Claude falls short:</strong> For the moment, I haven’t figured out how to set up automated exports of new columns into my database. I also can’t easily add work to the database from before I started <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Platformer</strong>. I hope to work on both issues over time.</p><table class="kg-card kg-hr-card" role="presentation" width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: separate; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: top; color: #15212A; margin: 0; padding-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 3em; font-size: 17px;" valign="top"><!--[if !mso]><!-- --><hr style="position: relative; width: 100%; margin: 3em 0; padding: 0; height: 1px; background-color: transparent; border: 0; border-top: 1px solid #e0e7eb; display: none;"><!--<![endif]--><table class="kg-hr" role="presentation" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: separate; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; width: 100%;" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: top; color: #15212A; padding-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 3em; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-top: 1px solid #e0e7eb; font-size: 0; line-height: 0;" valign="top"> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Build an automated daily briefing for yourself</strong>. Every day I wake up and read <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/0eab6572?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>Techmeme</u></a> to see which stories might be worthy of analysis or follow-up reporting. I wondered if I could generate a custom briefing based on my particular interests and the companies I cover. It would be helpful if the briefing was structured the way we structure <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Platformer</strong>: with suggestions for a column on top, followed by suggestions for Following items, followed by the rest of the day’s links.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">What would make it particularly useful is if it had context about what I had written about recently. Claude managed to build all of this within an hour. It has access to the <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Platformer</strong> archive, letting it rank stories likely to interest me and suggest column ideas based on my actual work.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">Claude wrote a script to generate a briefing like this every day just before 6AM, and text me when it’s ready to read.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">You can see <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/4436cc01?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>what one of these briefings looks like here</u></a>.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Where Claude falls short</strong>: The rankings are imperfect. And the mechanism for texting me each day’s briefing seems to have broken. Something to ask Claude about!</p><table class="kg-card kg-hr-card" role="presentation" width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: separate; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: top; color: #15212A; margin: 0; padding-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 3em; font-size: 17px;" valign="top"><!--[if !mso]><!-- --><hr style="position: relative; width: 100%; margin: 3em 0; padding: 0; height: 1px; background-color: transparent; border: 0; border-top: 1px solid #e0e7eb; display: none;"><!--<![endif]--><table class="kg-hr" role="presentation" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: separate; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; width: 100%;" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: top; color: #15212A; padding-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 3em; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-top: 1px solid #e0e7eb; font-size: 0; line-height: 0;" valign="top"> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Build a companion for your journal.</strong> As a longtime journaler, I’ve often wished I could ask questions of it. What was going on for me this time last year? When’s the last time I saw my brother? What’s everything I’ve tried so far to address burnout? </p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">After I got my <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Platformer</strong> database working, I built something similar for my journal. I set up automated exports from my journaling tool, Capacities, and created a searchable archive of more than 1,200 notes. It indexed my journal and ran it through an embedding model (from OpenAI) to create clusters of meaning. Now, when I enter a query, Claude searches for relevant passages, ranks them, and synthesizes an answer. </p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Where Claude falls short</strong>: Honestly, I wish this were a native feature in Capacities. Until then, though, this works.</p><table class="kg-card kg-hr-card" role="presentation" width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: separate; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: top; color: #15212A; margin: 0; padding-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 3em; font-size: 17px;" valign="top"><!--[if !mso]><!-- --><hr style="position: relative; width: 100%; margin: 3em 0; padding: 0; height: 1px; background-color: transparent; border: 0; border-top: 1px solid #e0e7eb; display: none;"><!--<![endif]--><table class="kg-hr" role="presentation" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: separate; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; width: 100%;" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: top; color: #15212A; padding-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 3em; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-top: 1px solid #e0e7eb; font-size: 0; line-height: 0;" valign="top"> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Build a briefing document about the story you're working on</strong>. By the time I’ve decided to write a column about something, there has often been coverage of the issue in multiple outlets. It will have been discussed in public on social media. And it will have some larger context around it: a timeline of events leading up to it, for example, or a set of related stories that have brought it to everyone’s attention.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">You can assemble a lot of that information by Googling. But I wondered if I could get something that worked a little faster. And so I had Claude build a tool called “brief.” After typing that word into Claude Code, I enter a prompt about whatever story I’m working on. It then assembles a document and saves it onto a folder on my computer.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">Here’s <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/f80b3105?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>a sample brief</u></a> about the Grok controversy from the past week. Here’s one about this week’s Meta <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/0c972cd6?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>layoffs and reorganization</u></a>. I find this tool useful in cases where I'm parachuting into a subject cold and want to get up to speed quickly. It’s also good for reminding me of recent history that I might have forgotten, and suggesting questions that may still be unanswered and worth exploring.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Where Claude falls short: </strong>I actually just built this one today. We’ll find out!</p><div class="kg-card kg-image-card" style="margin: 0 0 1.5em; padding: 0;"><img src="https://www.platformer.news/content/images/2024/05/floating_linebreak_600px-1.png" class="kg-image" alt loading="lazy" width="600" height="157" style="border: none; -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; max-width: 100%; display: block; margin: 0 auto; height: auto; width: auto;"></div><div class="kg-card kg-image-card" style="margin: 0 0 1.5em; padding: 0;"><img src="https://www.platformer.news/content/images/size/w1600/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fc2a8d7e3-b0bc-4fd2-a8e7-dd07c8877df0_2912x728.jpg" class="kg-image" alt loading="lazy" width="600" height="150" style="border: none; -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; max-width: 100%; display: block; margin: 0 auto; height: auto; width: auto;"></div><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">On the podcast this week: </strong>Jonathan Haidt returns to the show to discuss his new research on the question of whether social media has harmed teenagers. Then, Kevin and I review your vibe coding experiments. And finally, Search Engine's PJ Vogt stops by to discuss the first week of <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/d08106d8?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" rel="noreferrer" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">The Forkiverse</a>. </p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/4d5b0131?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Apple</strong></a><strong style="font-weight: 700;"> | </strong><a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/512592f4?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Spotify</strong></a><strong style="font-weight: 700;"> | </strong><a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/730f6660?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Stitcher</strong></a><strong style="font-weight: 700;"> | </strong><a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/8a5943e5?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Amazon</strong></a><strong style="font-weight: 700;"> | </strong><a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/fa5e509e?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Google</strong></a><strong style="font-weight: 700;"> | </strong><a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/904d8400?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">YouTube</strong></a></p><div class="kg-card kg-image-card" style="margin: 0 0 1.5em; padding: 0;"><img src="https://www.platformer.news/content/images/2024/05/floating_linebreak_600px-1.png" class="kg-image" alt loading="lazy" width="600" height="157" style="border: none; -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; max-width: 100%; display: block; margin: 0 auto; height: auto; width: auto;"></div><h2 id="following" style="margin-top: 0; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.11em; font-weight: 700; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; margin: 1.5em 0 0.5em 0; font-size: 32px; color: #15212A;">Following</h2><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"></p><h3 id="elon-musk-caves-on-grok-but-only-on-x" style="margin-top: 0; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.11em; font-weight: 700; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; margin: 1.5em 0 0.5em 0; font-size: 26px; color: #15212A;">Elon Musk caves on Grok (but only on X)</h3><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">What happened: </strong>After weeks of backlash over the widespread creation of nonconsensual sexualized deepfakes of women and children (which could potentially be CSAM), <strong style="font-weight: 700;">X</strong> finally <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/056c4934?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>said</u></a> it “implemented technological measures” to prevent the <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Grok</strong> account from editing images of real people “in revealing clothing such as bikinis."</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">The company is also geo-blocking the ability for users to generate explicit images where that content is illegal, it said.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">While the problem seems to be largely under control on X, multiple researchers and journalists have found that “nudifying” images <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/8849bc77?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>can still be generated</u></a> on the Grok app, including with free accounts. </p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">The ability to ask Grok to create and edit images on X is now only available to paid subscribers, mirroring an earlier move that limits the ability to “nudify” real people to paid subscribers. (The move generated criticism from <strong style="font-weight: 700;">UK</strong> officials, with technology secretary <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Liz Kendall</strong> <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/b109d0fa?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>saying</u></a> it was “effectively monetizing this horrific crime.”)</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Why we’re following: </strong>X and <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Elon Musk</strong> have largely tried to ignore the problem. Even after multiple reports and tests from researchers, Musk <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/d24b49a6?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>claimed</u></a> he was “not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok. Literally zero.”</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">This week <strong style="font-weight: 700;">California</strong> <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/6ed9f862?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>joined</u></a> governments around the world, including the UK and <strong style="font-weight: 700;">European Union</strong>, in opening an investigation into <strong style="font-weight: 700;">xAI</strong> over the issue.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">What people are saying: </strong>X <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/4f8892f2?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>said</u></a> it continues to have <strong style="font-weight: 700;">“</strong>zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation, non-consensual nudity, and unwanted sexual content,” despite tolerating the content for at least two weeks.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">When asked about the <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Defiance Act</strong>, which recently <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/77697d19?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" rel="noreferrer" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">passed</a> unanimously in the Senate and seeks to allow victims of nonconsensual explicit AI images the right to sue, Republican Rep. and speaker of the House <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Mike Johnson</strong> <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/dc68ca2f?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>said</u></a> he was “certainly in favor of it,” adding “it should be a big bipartisan concern. We need to protect children online and we need to stop these abuses. It’s terrible, it’s horrible.”</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Ashley St. Clair</strong>, a mother to one of Musk's children, <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/b8e9d7cc?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" rel="noreferrer" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">sued xAI today</a> after Grok made non-consensual intimate images of her.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><em>—Lindsey Choo</em></p><table class="kg-card kg-hr-card" role="presentation" width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: separate; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: top; color: #15212A; margin: 0; padding-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 3em; font-size: 17px;" valign="top"><!--[if !mso]><!-- --><hr style="position: relative; width: 100%; margin: 3em 0; padding: 0; height: 1px; background-color: transparent; border: 0; border-top: 1px solid #e0e7eb; display: none;"><!--<![endif]--><table class="kg-hr" role="presentation" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: separate; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; width: 100%;" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: top; color: #15212A; padding-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 3em; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-top: 1px solid #e0e7eb; font-size: 0; line-height: 0;" valign="top"> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><h3 id="is-thinking-machines-imploding" style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.11em; font-weight: 700; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; margin: 1.5em 0 0.5em 0; font-size: 26px; margin-top: 0; color: #15212A;">Is Thinking Machines imploding?</h3><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">What happened:</strong> Two cofounders of <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Thinking Machines Lab</strong> <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/6b230173?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>have left</u></a> to rejoin <strong style="font-weight: 700;">OpenAI</strong>. The buzzy startup led by ex-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati now has only three of its six cofounders left, after less than a year of existence (they lost another to Meta last year). </p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">Cofounders Barret Zoph and Luke Metz, senior employee Sam Schoenholz, and <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/f12e84d9?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>two more staffers</u></a> are leaving for OpenAI.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Why we’re following:</strong> Thinking Machines has had a big first year: they raised a record $2 billion seed round this summer, and were in talks last year for a new round at a ludicrous $50 billion valuation. But losing this core talent, to the company their co-founders left, seems like a bad sign. </p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">Doubly so given their current high valuation seems to be based on the strength of their talent; Thinking Machines has made some <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/30c5ceb7?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>cool research tools</u></a>, but not any huge AI releases.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">It's also fascinating given Murati's <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/87b247f7?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" rel="noreferrer" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">prominent but under-discussed role</a> in <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Sam Altman</strong>'s brief ouster from OpenAI. </p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">What people are saying:</strong> Zoph’s departure has stirred up much speculation. The news was initially broken by reporter <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Kylie Robison</strong> on <strong style="font-weight: 700;">X</strong>, who <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/64dc6a69?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>wrote</u></a> Zoph was terminated “due to unethical conduct,” according to sources familiar with the matter. </p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">What was this “unethical conduct”? Well, a source <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/d77ac5c2?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>told</u></a> <em>Wired</em> that Zoph shared confidential company information with competitors. </p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><em>Wired</em> also reported that OpenAI CEO of Applications <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Fidji Simo</strong> said she doesn't share Murati’s concerns about Zoph, in a memo to OpenAI employees. </p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">In a later article, <em>Wired</em> added even <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/ae5dd3bb?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>more details</u></a>. The outlet reported that the firing was allegedly due to an unspecified case of “serious misconduct” from Zoph last year, and Murati didn’t know he was leaving for OpenAI before firing him on Wednesday. Also, apparently the sharing of confidential information only came out after the firing.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">But (bear with me on this one): different sources talked to <em>Wired,</em> saying Simo claimed Murati was told Monday, two days before his firing, in an internal OpenAI memo. That likely means somebody isn’t telling the truth about whether it was a “you can’t quit, you’re fired” situation.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">Interestingly, Simo <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/947b945d?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>announced</u></a> the three ex-Thinking Machines employees’ arrivals on<strong style="font-weight: 700;"> X</strong> with a note that it had been “in the works for several weeks.”</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">Onlookers on <strong style="font-weight: 700;">X</strong> were speculating about what the deal with the allegations against Zoph was. “feels like the type of character assassination leak you put out,” <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/bb45ea1c?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>said</u></a> <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Deepmind</strong> (and ex-OpenAI) research engineer <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Susan Zhang</strong>, “when you find out one of your cofounders might be splitting off.”</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">But CEO <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Mira Murati</strong> kept it brief in her announcement of the departure on <strong style="font-weight: 700;">X</strong>, <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/42cbb554?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>saying</u></a> “We have parted ways with Barret Zoph,” and Thinking Machines was “excited” that Soumith Chintala would step into the CTO role.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Chris Paxton</strong>, AI researcher at <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Agility Robotics</strong>, <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/3008d6d3?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>congratulated</u></a> Thinking Machines’ new CTO: “Huge news for Soumith, he'll be a great CTO for leading... whatever it is Thinky does.”</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><em>—Ella Markianos</em></p><div class="kg-card kg-image-card" style="margin: 0 0 1.5em; padding: 0;"><img src="https://www.platformer.news/content/images/2024/05/floating_linebreak_600px-1.png" class="kg-image" alt loading="lazy" width="600" height="157" style="border: none; -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; max-width: 100%; display: block; margin: 0 auto; height: auto; width: auto;"></div><h3 id="side-quests" style="margin-top: 0; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.11em; font-weight: 700; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; margin: 1.5em 0 0.5em 0; font-size: 26px; color: #15212A;">Side Quests</h3><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">ICE</strong> <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/e566612a?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>targeted</u></a> a <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Meta</strong> data center construction site in <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Louisiana</strong> and made two arrests. Time for another <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Mark Zuckerberg </strong>donation to <strong style="font-weight: 700;">President Trump</strong>'s super PAC? </p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">The <strong style="font-weight: 700;">US</strong> is reportedly <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/6c46475b?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>considering</u></a> enlisting private companies to assist in cyber attacks. How the cyber attack in <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Venezuela</strong> <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/cd542ad1?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>displayed</u></a> current US capabilities.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">The US <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/990af12f?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>greenlit</u></a> <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Nvidia</strong> <strong style="font-weight: 700;">H200</strong> chip exports to <strong style="font-weight: 700;">China</strong> with some rules. But Chinese custom authorities reportedly <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/7c993bac?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>said</u></a> the chips are not allowed to enter China. China is reportedly <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/ac1a881f?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>drafting rules</u></a> on how many advanced AI chips companies can buy from foreign makers.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Polymarket</strong> is <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/095cd0d2?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>drawing</u></a> legal scrutiny as it hosts bets on war. A <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/34394247?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>look</u></a> at <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Donald Trump Jr</strong>’s role as adviser to Polymarket and <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Kalshi</strong>.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">The <strong style="font-weight: 700;">UK</strong> <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/e26f0e50?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>dropped</u></a> plans requiring workers to get a new digital ID to prove their right to work. <strong style="font-weight: 700;">South Korea</strong> is <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/91a16b90?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>debating</u></a> whether open-source codes from foreign models should be used in its native AI push. Ugandans and Iranians shut off from the internet are <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/fde96735?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>using</u></a> <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Bitchat</strong>, an offline peer-to-peer messaging app by <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Jack Dorsey</strong>. </p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">Why 2026 <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/b0a6db76?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>may see</u></a> some of the biggest IPOs ever. (I bet you can guess.)</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">OpenAI</strong> is <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/52fc323b?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>seeking</u></a> partners that manufacture components in the US in its robotics push. It <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/27dd0a4f?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>struck a deal</u></a> to buy computing capacity from <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Cerebras Systems</strong>, reportedly worth more than $10 billion. Head of mental health safety research <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Andrea Vallone</strong> <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/a7815785?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>left</u></a> to join <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Anthropic</strong>. </p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">ChatGPT Translate</strong> <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/d53d244d?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>is here</u></a> to challenge <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Google Translate</strong> — just as <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Google</strong> <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/e12cd829?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>announces</u></a> <strong style="font-weight: 700;">TranslateGemma</strong>, its new collection of open translation models. <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Merge Labs</strong>, a startup cofounded by <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Sam Altman</strong> to connect human brains to computers, <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/e9fd7cc7?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>raised</u></a> $252 million.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">The <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/c782667f?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>debate</u></a> over whether AI can generate new ideas.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">Meta is <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/10db8259?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>closing down</u></a> some of its VR gaming studios, including <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Twisted Pixel Games</strong>, <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Sanzaru Games</strong>, and <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Armature Studio</strong>.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">Media publishers <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/8676e5db?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>have sued</u></a> Google seeking to get the profits the company allegedly made at their expense through its ad tech monopoly. Google is <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/558d207d?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>introducing</u></a> a new open medical speech-to-text model, <strong style="font-weight: 700;">MedASR</strong>, and updating its open <strong style="font-weight: 700;">MedGemma</strong> model with better medical imaging support. Why you should <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/60c2f84d?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>think</u></a> before letting <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Gemini</strong> look through your emails.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">YouTubers</strong> <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/141a1829?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>are going through</u></a> a vibecession. Parents <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/c9636171?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>can now set</u></a> a time limit on <strong style="font-weight: 700;">YouTube Shorts</strong>.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Microsoft</strong> is <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/9c217e12?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>on track to spend</u></a> $500 million on Anthropic in a year. Higher use of AI in richer countries risks deepening the economic gap, Anthropic <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/c482bc34?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>warned</u></a>.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">Microsoft, Meta, <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Amazon</strong>, <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Perplexity </strong>and <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Mistral AI</strong> <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/f778babb?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>joined</u></a> Google in paying <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Wikipedia</strong> for access to its data for AI purposes. Wikipedia <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/0ce1db89?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>turned</u></a> 25. Happy birthday Wikipedia!</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">X</strong> <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/ac85c9ed?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>revoked</u></a> API access for developers building “InfoFi” crypto projects that pay people to post.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Airbnb</strong> <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/117b847c?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>hired</u></a> former Meta AI executive <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Ahmad Al-Dahle</strong> as its new CTO.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Spotify</strong> <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/8c41250d?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>raised</u></a> <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Premium</strong> subscription prices to $13 a month.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Digg</strong> is <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/a50271d8?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>launching</u></a> its <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Reddit</strong> competitor.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Matthew McConaughey</strong> has <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/5db5710a?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>trademarked himself</u></a> to prevent AI from using his voice or likeness without permission. Music distribution platform <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Bandcamp</strong> <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/5c7b7f50?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>banned</u></a> AI-generated music. Self-help gurus are <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/c7d2783e?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>monetizing</u></a> AI chatbots that promise personalized advice.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">US teens <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/03d4df38?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><u>are split</u></a> on how they view cellphone bans in class, and are far less supportive on a full-day ban. But more support it than you might guess.</p><div class="kg-card kg-image-card" style="margin: 0 0 1.5em; padding: 0;"><img src="https://www.platformer.news/content/images/2024/05/floating_linebreak_600px-1.png" class="kg-image" alt loading="lazy" width="600" height="157" style="border: none; -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; max-width: 100%; display: block; margin: 0 auto; height: auto; width: auto;"></div><h3 id="those-good-posts" style="margin-top: 0; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.11em; font-weight: 700; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; margin: 1.5em 0 0.5em 0; font-size: 26px; color: #15212A;">Those good posts</h3><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;"><em>For more good posts every day, </em><a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/2e0e7e95?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><em>follow Casey’s Instagram stories</em></a><em>.</em></p><div class="kg-card kg-image-card" style="margin: 0 0 1.5em; padding: 0;"><img src="https://www.platformer.news/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-15-at-4.25.38---PM.png" class="kg-image" alt loading="lazy" width="600" height="217" style="border: none; -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; max-width: 100%; display: block; margin: 0 auto; height: auto; width: auto;"></div><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">(<a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/22977159?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" rel="noreferrer" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Link</a>)</p><div class="kg-card kg-image-card" style="margin: 0 0 1.5em; padding: 0;"><img src="https://www.platformer.news/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-15-at-4.17.59---PM.png" class="kg-image" alt loading="lazy" width="600" height="288" style="border: none; -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; max-width: 100%; display: block; margin: 0 auto; height: auto; width: auto;"></div><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">(<a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/18201603?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" rel="noreferrer" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Link</a>)</p><div class="kg-card kg-image-card" style="margin: 0 0 1.5em; padding: 0;"><img src="https://www.platformer.news/content/images/2024/05/floating_linebreak_600px-1.png" class="kg-image" alt loading="lazy" width="600" height="157" style="border: none; -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; max-width: 100%; display: block; margin: 0 auto; height: auto; width: auto;"></div><h3 id="talk-to-us" style="margin-top: 0; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.11em; font-weight: 700; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; margin: 1.5em 0 0.5em 0; font-size: 26px; color: #15212A;">Talk to us</h3><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; color: #15212A;">Send us tips, comments, questions, and Claude Code experiments: <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/cecff885?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">casey@platformer.news</a>. Read <a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/a5961d9a?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #2047FF; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">our ethics policy here</a>.</p><table class="kg-card kg-button-card" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: separate; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; width: 100%;" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="kg-card-spacing" style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: top; color: #15212A; padding: 0 0 1.5em 0;" valign="top"><table class="btn" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" style="border-collapse: separate; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; box-sizing: border-box; width: auto;" width="auto"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="font-size: 18px; vertical-align: top; color: #15212A; padding: 8px 20px 9px; background-color: #2047FF; border-radius: 6px; text-align: center; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" valign="top" bgcolor="#2047FF"><a href="https://www.platformer.news/r/f7cfe084?m=51418983-c335-42dc-b433-9fac3bd4e54a" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; box-sizing: border-box; color: #FFFFFF; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Sponsor a Newsletter</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>
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